Home > Unreal > The Light The Darkness! > II. Duty

The Light The Darkness! II. Duty

Author:Thomas Category:Unreal Update time:2022-09-25 07:03:52

Edward Harris

My family and I were waiting for the royal family in the dining hall. The palace guards led us to the dining hall an hour earlier as the royal family was still preparing themselves for the evening. We sat at the long dining table, looking around at the magnificent delicate paintings.

The palace is a gorgeous palace to live in, and no wonder why the Princess has such pride. I would too if I enjoyed all these extravagances such as the palace. My mind wondered what other amenities were put in the path of the princess to make her so arrogant.

Though the fear of the queen and kings wrath wrapped around my body. I would promptly become a corpse if the princess expressed her dismay at their garden conversation.

Though, my mind was dwelling on frightful thoughts. I needed to end a prophecy, and whether the princess liked it or not, my death could never happen. She may think she remains the only necessary factor in this prophecy, but it takes two waltzes.

I snuck in a breath, setting all my nerves and doubt inside as the dining hall doors opened. The guard blew his hot breath into a long pure golden buisine as my family, and I stood from our comfortable chairs.

"Their majesties, Queen Rosa and King Richard!" The guard announced, and their majesty entered the room with all their children following.

As he announced the royal family members, each of them came in one by one sitting in their respective seats rendering to the seating arrangements already set. I looked over at Princess Mary, slightly seeing her stand next to me as the rest of her brethren followed.

She had a stone expression and didn look too joyful about this dinner. I was not all that excited to be here either or rather go back to the castle, but I had no choice, like the princess in this case.

When the youngest York Prince came to the table, Queen Rosa and King Richard took their seats at the tables heads, and everyone else in the room, including me, took our seats.

Princess Mary sat to my left, at the edge of this sanded-down chestnut table, while Prince Richard sat next to my sister Jane smiling at her alluring as his eyes ravished my younger sister. I could tell Jane knew what the prince was doing since the grin on her face was wide enough to fill a household.

My lady mother sat next to Prince Henry, and the young prince named George sat next to his elder brother Prince William. Prince William moved around in his chair a lot and was told multiple times by his governess to remain still. He is a troublemaker by the looks of things.

Prince George joined in the naughty behavior with his brother, which caused their mother, the queen, to warn them about their behavior which both boys took heave.

At the other end of the table, my father sat near the king, already stirring up a conversation with him. The king seemed intrigued by my fathers words, and not once did he turn to look at me. I sighed in relief as Princess Mary didn explain the words exchanged between the two of us to her mother and father. Although I still had to be wary of the king and the royal family.

My half-sister, Catherine, sat next to my father, observing everyone in the room as she inevitably does. It didn matter where she went before speaking with someone; Catherine would look over a person, considering their true intentions beforehand. She didn trust people very well and never let herself be fooled by men. It was one of the various reasons why she was still unmarried at her age.

Catherine sat next to Prince Matthew with his short-cut, dusky hair that had the same color as this polished table we sat at. The young prince sat tall at the table with his proud shoulders fixed straight as he aligned his knife and forks to be straight. He looks at me with such intent that I can feel his disapproval across the table.

Then came Prince James, who sat next to his brother, and I couldn tell much about the prince. His emotions appeared to be blocked by something, but I couldn discover the answer. The only witches I know of to hold power to block my magic are visions witches, and no vision witches have lived since the rebellion of the Del Banks family.

The rebellion almost cost King George his throne and life, but if it weren for his sister Queen Victoria of England informing him about the uprising, the York line would have ended with him.

As the servants brought out tonights meal, I listened to the conversation between my father and the king. "So Thomas, what skills may your son be credited for?" The king asked, and my father looked up at the king, a proud smirk on his face. "My boy, Edward, possesses archery and jousting skills and is extremely skilled with a sword."

"Magnificent! There will be a jousting tournament in a fortnight to celebrate the engagement. Your Edward should joust against my son, Richard," The king said, and my father nodded in agreement as there was no objecting to the king. His suggestion is an order. "We shall arrange it then."

A rush of delight runs down my body as I am ready to take on the undefeated prince. I have heard the stories of the princes jousting skills and how he has never been beaten. However, all men are not invincible. All men must lose at some point, and the prince has lost to someone who matches his skills.

Maybe, if I out best Prince Richard in the joust, Princess Mary won regard me as less than a dog.

After dinner, I decided to walk around the palace and then go back to my chambers. I wanted to explore more of the palace to get more of a feel of my new home. This palace may remain a dream for every lord in Cyandare, but I missed my home in Brantos.

I am an outcast here; everyone sees me as a beast who taints the royal bloodline as if I wanted any of this. People on the court are crueler than my father explained. They are vicious men who come at you with daggering words high in hand.

The men of the court want to bend you so far that running away is not such a terrible idea. Princess Mary also plays her part with her callous remarks. Even though we are supposed to marry, she creates an uneven tension that grows the doubt on my part in ending this prophecy.

I came across a door at the end of a hall, and I had no idea where it would lead. I don even think people of the court knew of this door since I have not seen anyone walk down this hall. Opening the doors, I came into view of a beautiful field with white, red, and pink roses bushes sprouting from the ground.

My eyes wandered around the field as I caught a glimpse of Princess Mary sitting under a large tree with blooming white roses sprouting from it in a purple dress that fitted her body tightly as her sleeves were thin with laces. I hadn spoken with her since our meeting in the garden, and I wanted to make amends for my actions.

I knew my words cut a deep wound into the princesss heart. I could feel her emotions from afar as she rushed away from me in the gardens. My extraordinary power of mine, feeling the emotions of others, is a curse and a blessing.

To rid myself of this power would be the greatest happiness in the world, but no man can gain the desire of his dream. Work of the hands and the mind must be drained to gain the desire of a mans dream.

If possible, he could have the world at his feet. No man can have the world at his feet, for he is not God.

I motion my feet to walk toward the large tree, questioning my decision to go toward the princesss presence. She may throw me across the field and kill me on the spot. The anger I could sense from her was a wave of anger that could burn down a village.

Its the same anger that is inside of my mother and soon will be inside of me. The grand witches have incredible power with a burning rage that no one can tame.

As I walked closer to Princess Mary, she held an old bronze book tightly wrapped in leather. The pages of parchment were close to falling from the ridges of the book. The moon shone off her face bringing out the aspect of her beauty that rushed a tingle down my spine, which made me want to kiss her.

Though it could never happen at this moment because she wanted me dead.

Despite my caution, I continue to walk towards Princess Mary, ignoring all the low-pitched voices in the back of my mind. As I moved closer to her view of sight, she looked up at me with an odd grin on her face which seemed genuine and soft though I had to be careful because she is a York and Princess of Cyandare.

There is always suspicion behind the smile.

Princess Mary moves over a little, producing an open space for me to sit. I delivered her a bewildered look as I didn know how to respond to her actions without it seeming rude or disrespectful in the princesss eyes.

I wanted to annul the hostile tension between our bodies and mind as the combination of the two of our powers will presently have to become one. We have to teach this new power of control and knowledge if we ever want to end this prophecy.

Therefore, I took the leap and sat on the ground. There was a silence between us different from the one in the garden. This tension wasn as hostile, though the air around my throat generated a raspy feeling which made the nerves in my body rise to their peak on the mountain of fear.

"May I ask what you are reading?" I asked with a shaky stutter in my voice. The princess looked up at me with a melancholy smile, and the senses in my body informed me that my words saddened her.

"This is the grand white witch spellbook. My mothers spellbook," She said, and still, the despair in her heart shone brightly through her skin. "I am to be the grand white witch. I must pursue my fair trade if I am to rule."

My heart began to ache for the princess as I could recognize the feeling of waiting for her mother to die to gain ultimate power. Yet, I cannot resemble the misery she feels, and I wish I could help her relieve some of that pain.

However, I cannot aid her in this matter.

"Forgive me, princess, for my words earlier in the garden," I told her, trying to figure out some way to relieve the princess. Though it felt like every word that fell from my lips was not enough. "It is alright, Milord Edward. I needed to hear it from someone sooner or later. I have denied this power for too long, and it becomes tiring," Princess Mary says slowly, returning her gaze to the book.

"I could have been kinder about the situation. I grasp how it feels to know you will be the reason for your mothers death. It will be the sole reason for your life to take purpose. I know what it feels like to know when she dies you-," I began to say merely for the princess to complete my thoughts with the despair of words. "Acquire all her powers."

Princess Marys pain aches my heart as I listen to the little girl in her sorrow. There is guilt drawn in-depth on her face. "I desire you to perceive something. If we are to be married, I want to try to find common ground and work together as friends," I tell the princess, pushing myself further into the princesss mind.

"For all one knows, you are right, but as I said before, I never desired this marriage. Its a duty I must obey," She implied, and unlike the princess, I consider marriage to be one of two things.

A true love tale or an arrangement to exchange property because, that is, all women remain property.

The only value they have is the significant dowry bestowed on the husband. The most vital job of a wife is to bear sons and raise them in the likeness of the father. Love is rare in a marriage, but a woman must never neglect the duty that God imposed on them when creating a woman.

The bearing of a legacy. I believe that Princess Mary will bear a long-lasting legacy of kings to come.

Although she has something that many women do not have, she has power. A power greater than any man. She has power over men, and they must bow to her and not to them.

She is to be a queen with a duty to protect her people and kingdom, with the responsibility of every woman in the world.

In spite of all her duty, I must come to terms with this marriage just as the princess. I must put away my pride and work for the princess because I might not say the words to her face, but she is a great beauty.

And I don want her, while in the marriage, to believe that I am just as cold-hearted as the men at court. I am nothing like them, and nor will I ever become them.

I wanted the princess to understand me for the man I am and not the man she fears me to be. "Your highness, I didn mean to offend you in the garden. I have this power to know the feeling of others and-"

Yet, again the princess interrupts my thoughts with her own words. "My life has been hell on earth since the day I was born. Families are torn apart because of the mothers line of succession decree. I have been taught to be silent and speak when needed. To learn the corrupt ways of the court to outsmart my enemies. I had to know that the world will never be kind to people with good hearts as the queen will always have blood on her hands. Even with all my training, I am never good enough for my family. My father makes sure of that every hour of the day. He hates that I am to be queen instead of his precious sons. The pain of knowing your father hates being a girl crushed you in many ways. I cannot change the past, but I can change what the future holds. I can make this prophecy from killing thousands of innocents."

There were no words my lips could form to comfort the princess in her pain. Never have I experienced the disruption of a family tournament. How could I compare to her pain when I have suffered little to nothing?

Princess Mary grabs hold of my hands, and I reach the peak of her eyes, looking past the pain. "I don want to be the reason for the death of innocents because of a prophecy I could have stopped. If we have to come together on the hollow grounds of marriage to stop a war of all wars, then so be it. But I ask one thing of you. "And I quickly nod my head, not even pondering her request.

"Don turn against me. Don try to kill. I know I have a destiny on this earth, and I believe you are a part of it. So, be on my side and not against me," she said, and at this moment, the closeness between the princess and I that the mere movement of my lips could connect hers to mine.

I release one of my hands from the princesss tight grip as it slides up to the side of her face. "I am by your side Mary," I say in almost a whisper, and she smiles at me. This smile was genuine and warm, not the suspicious or cold smile I have seen.

Hours seemed to have passed as we sat with Princess Mary under the vast rose tree, listening to each others words. I never thought I would see the true Princess Mary that hid behind the fairy tale of royalty.

She is kind, humorous, and so beautiful when she smiles and the indents of her smile beam brightly through the moonlight. She likes to conceal her smile at any chance I take to acknowledge her beauty.

I had misperceived the princess in the beginning. She is not callous or cold-hearted. She is just a girl seeking peace. It seems as though she never had it in her family since everyones eyes were on her from the moment she took in life.

People desired her to fail or succeed, but she could only pass in one.

As a boy, my mother always told me that one day all the lands she and my father owned would be mine, and I would lead the coven to glory one more. I would be the one to repair the damage my ancestor left behind, but I must consider that all the grand dark witches were women. Women with fertile ideas to which caused the downfall of the Bennett house.

It is I who will restore the Bennett houses honor. Nevertheless, the Bennett house will no longer live through the dark witches. It will be the house of Harris who will correct the damage to women.

I do not produce any transgression against women, and I had taken a particular interest in a woman living in the village near the castle. She was nothing like the princess. She had more of a fire than a cold perception of hiding her pain.

Clara is a woman with a blazing fire that burned a mark into my soul. I could never overlook her, but I cannot love her in the eyes of a husband, for I belong to another. I belong to Princess Mary.

"So, do you miss it?" Princess Mary asked, and I looked at her in confusion as I didn understand her question. "What do you mean, your highness?"

"Do you miss your home? Do you miss being away from court? Away from me?"

I did miss my home, and I have only been away for a week as my family, and I just arrived today. I miss the smallness of my life back in Brantos, but my life is not small anymore. The growth of my life is coming to full size.

"I do miss my home, but I believe there is something great for us in the near future with this marriage." A bright smile appears on Princess Marys face as she tries to turn her head, trying to hide the beauty of her smile.

I grab the bottom of her chin, turning her head to face me. Once I saw her smile, the warmness in my heart began to flutter. There is a light around the princess Ive never seen before. A light I have never seen around Clara.

A light that brings joy to my heart. I could not look away from her.

"What? Why do you gaze upon me that way?" She questioned, and I could not explain the meaning of my admiration for the princess. I could not explain my attraction towards her. The more I sit and stare at her lovely figure, the more I fall into a deep spell. "You

e beautiful."

"Milord, you do not have to flatter me with such words," She says as soft giggles escape her lips like honey. "It is the truth. You are beautiful, and I care to tell you that every day of our lives."

"Your words are charming, but how do I know they represent the truth? Men lie with the words of beauty only to break the hearts of women," Princess Mary said, and her words stunned me as I thought she would believe in such a beauty of love. Many princesses believe in the beauty of love, so why does the princess change her tune?

"I am not like the other men in your life, princess, and I will not break your heart."

Princess Marys smile gradually fades as the light slowly burns out. "My father declared the same thing to my mother. Then he broke her heart," she said with coldness in her voice as she mentioned her father.

The king is his own man with his trail of lustful sins behind him. I am not the king. I am my own man and will not fall to the temptations of betrayal because I can sense the pain inflicted on Princess Mary by her father.

"I am not your father. I am Edward of Brantos, and I believe once you truly know me, then you will see the man I truly am," I say, and Princess Mary did not utter a word as her eyes gazed upon me.

I never wanted her eyes to leave me as I never wanted my eyes to leave her. The princess holds out as she mumbles something in Latin under her breath. A white rose on the large above began to glow as it gracefully fell into her hand.

The small rose began to bloom in the princesss hand with the glow of shimmering light. "This rose is a symbol of our blossoming friendship. I hope we can learn from each other," She said, placing the rose in my hand.

My fingers lightly cross over the rose as I watch Princess Mary stand to her feet. She holds her hand for me, and I grab it rising from the ground. I follow the princess back into the palace as she leads me straight into the lions den of court.

When entering the room, the guard blows the horn announcing our arrival. "Her royal highness, Princess Mary and Sir Edward of Brantos!"

I watched as all the eyes of envy and jealousy followed me from the men of the court. I noted the eyes of lust follow me from the women of the court. Before long, the prying eyes became unbearable, but I had to stay strong, for I must become familiar with them.

The eyes of the enemies followed me everywhere in this court.

The king and queen sat on their regal thrones in court as Mary, and I walked towards them. The king retained a stone-cold expression on his face. The same expression Princess Mary had on her face when we initially met.

On the other hand, the queen sat with a radiant beam as she looked down on her daughter. You had to be a fool not to see the admiration.

Its uncommon to see a mother favor her daughter over her sons, but in the case of the princess and the queen, a mothers love is great.

Both Mary and I bend down into a curtsy to the sovereign monarchs. "Your grace," I said as I waited for the queens reaction. "It is joyous to see that the hardened time has passed between you two, and now peace may ensue," said the queen, and her eyes never left the princess, which caused a wave of confusion.

"Please, a dance for the newly betrothed," the queen ordered the court musicians. They grabbed their instruments and began to play the basse danse. I grab hold of princess marys hand, stepping forward with my left foot as she did with her right.

I continue to look forward to the court as I dance with Princess Mary, fearing I would fall to my knees if I looked into her eyes. Her beauty sweeps the men of court away as she gracefully turns to me.

A slight smile is on her face, and I have realized that I am slowly falling in love with Princess Mary. I am falling in love with someone who will never be genuinely mine.

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