The Princess of Etaeris had finally woken.
For as long as I had lived in this palace- since I was quite young- she had been asleep. She was a good eight years younger than I, and by that time, she was merely a child, but now, she had awaken, and something didn’t seem right.
Of course, the entire situation was not, but the way she acted and reacted to things didn’t seem completely instinctual, and from just looking at her, I could see a calculation in those deep blue eyes of hers, sensing something off.
Was she really the Princess who had been cursed to sleep by a sorceress soon after birth? If she were, she would have no knowledge on how to do anything, for she would have never had a chance to learn.
She walked perfectly. Casually. Like any normal person. Her expressions were too precise, too intricate, and her ability to acknowledge words- frowning at the Queen’s expressed relief- made little sense at all. The Princess should, essentially, have had the mind of a newborn child, if I understood things correctly, but everything about her was too complex.
I couldn’t pinpoint any sort of problem, but I cared about the royals, even if they were people with little care for the lower class. They paid too much attention to their own needs, satisfying their nobility and their own selves, and after the Princess’ awakening, I knew their attention would remain diverted from the true problems of the Kingdom.
Eilan always pointed it out to them, but they would brush him aside, leaving him to complain to me later. If only they weren’t such fools, he would say. For being their eldest child, I was surprised that he was much unlike his own parents, but it was because of that that we became friends.
But Eilan wasn’t here anymore. Three years ago, he’d left for the School of Magic- such a generic name- to hone newfound skills, so late into his life. His mother’s side had no magic to speak of, but on his father’s, magic skipped a generation, and they were strong with force magic, having high affinity for it.
I couldn’t go with him, of course. I was sort of like his advisor and guard all the same, a friend to stay by his side, and I was paid for my work, too, but it all felt like I was the foster child of the family, here and involved but not really a true part of it all.
Now, the family would be changed again. With the Princess’ awakening, surely Eilan would be alerted, and whether he would rush to finally meet his sister or not was a question I could not guess at because truly, I never knew how he felt about the mysterious sleeping girl.
Sometimes, it seemed like he hated the fact that she was like that, that he didn’t care, and other times, he seemed desperate for her to wake so that he wouldn’t be alone with his royal duties.
But now that she’s awaken, she wouldn’t be able to handle such complex things such as ruling a country. She shouldn’t have any knowledge of her own, and this world, everything in it, was foreign to her. The unnamed Princess had just been born.
At least, that was how I knew everyone else would view it. I, personally, had yet to discover just what was behind that lively look in her eye and her subtle displays of intelligence. It was a possibility that she was being used as a vessel, perhaps for a demon or the sorceress herself.
Nobody could locate the woman, and no blood mage would come forward to help discern the truth to the situation. At least, not anymore. The last was chased out, having been believed to be doing something bad to the Princess, even though she was attempting to test the girl’s blood. It was probably for the best, though, but at the time, I thought it was a bit unfair.
“Wren,” the King called an hour after her awakening. I was strolling through the halls, intent on taking a nap or avoiding responsibility following this strange situation, but it would seem that could not be an accessible option today. Turning, I faced the King, eyeing him carefully.
King Marius Varelas was a tall man with short cut black hair and blue eyes as deep as the sea- perhaps the only thing he had in common with his daughter- and he had a voice like rolling thunder- if thunder were hungover all the time. He hardly sounded serious, despite the deepness of his voice and the sharp, stark edge to it.
“Yes, Your Majesty?” I questioned with a short bow, keeping from going over the top. He wrinkled his hawk’s nose at this, clearly finding a bow from me in distaste, but I insisted, for I didn’t want to become too friendly with the man.
He huffed air from his sunken cheeks and took a few steps closer, stopping at a point where he could properly look down on me- by one mere inch, that is.
“I’d like to ask something of you,” the King explained. I raised a brow in waiting, expectantly watching his face as he spoke. “Sylvia and I are concerned for our daughter. She has just awoken, and already, she seems to be afraid of the world. We both wish for you to keep an eye on her, stay close to her side. Considering she was enchanted with blood magic, there could possibly be something wrong with her- or she could be in danger of the sorceress returning.”
“So, you are asking me to stand by her side, similarly to Eilan some years back?” I asked for clarification. Because I no longer had a pretty Prince to follow around, I had little to do, and now, it seemed I would be given a pretty Princess to follow around, and with my suspicions, it seemed fine enough. I was concerned for her, of course. She was a royal, and she was Eilan’s sister.
“Yes,” the King nodded, tugging down at the nearly too short blue vest covering his white tunic. He was not overweight, but he was not slim either, and in recent years, he was getting a bit bigger, losing the strength he once had. Who knew if Marius could even wield a sword any more?
“I will agree, then,” I said. “Shall I leave now?”
“No, no. That won’t be necessary.” He waved his hands, shaking his hand a bit too passionately. “Let her rest and accustom to the world for today. You may begin tomorrow morning. Get yourself some rest. We have all had a long day, and the sun sets soon.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” I bowed, and he nodded and proceeded to spin on his heels and saunter away, keeping his head held high, his shoulders back, displaying himself like the true superior he was. I flashed a wry smile to his back and turned mine to his, proceeding to continue to my own room.
It seemed that nap would turn into an entire night’s rest, then.
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