by A. Kingsley
The Goddesses Throne
A. Kingsley
Copyright © 2021 A. Kingsley
All rights reserved.
DEDICATION
Thank you to everyone who was so incredibly supportive during this process. I am grateful for all of you. Thank you to anyone who is opening up this book with the intent to read it all the way through. You are making my dreams come true.
CONTENTS
1
Prologue
2
The Proposal
3
A Red Flame
4
Magic Fight
5
Words of Affirmation
6
The Servant
7
Discovery
8
The Library
9
Fighting Flames
10
The Antias Family
11
A Servants Task
12
Preparation
13
Paint
14
Cassius V.S Clare
15
The Worlds Test
16
The Arena
17
The Undead
18
No Return
19
A Servants Journey
20
The Death Note
21
A Wise Woman
22
A Broken Man
23
The Dead
24
The Goddesses Cave
25
A New Home for the Holidays
26
Winter and a Cross
27
The Second Red Flame
28
Poisonous Sun
29
Lost Souls
30
Sympathy
31
All Hail the King
32
War
33
A Tough Decision
34
Home is Where the Heart is
35
Unbreakable Bond
36
A Permanent Decision
38
The Goddesses Throne
Prologue
The palace hadn’t been this crowded in years. Though the Pax family threw parties, they were never this large. There were people from all three kingdoms in almost every room of the palace and the large celebration was all for Sage. The sun was beating down hot on that mid September day and the summer days were dwindling. Sage was standing by the large window in her bedroom, the sun pouring in and warming up her skin. She stared out at the carriages pulling up to the palace, “I told mum I didn’t want a party and she threw me the event of a lifetime,” she said.
Her eyes flickered behind her shoulder to the woman who was tightening her corset. “Ouch,” she hissed lightly underneath her breath as the tight material synced her ribs.
The woman then helped her put on her hoop skirt, petticoat and dress. The dress she wore overtop of the corset was large, puffy and olive green. The fabric was hemmed with white lace along the collar, the skirt and the sleeves. The outfit was no where close to what she would have chosen to wear on her own accord, but this event meant a lot to her mother. She was turning twenty and in her mother’s eyes, she was now an official woman. Leaving her teenage years behind didn’t feel like a relief because she would be forced to grow up and for Sage that wasn’t easy. She had felt that even her eighteen year old sister was more mature than she was.
The older woman fastened a thin silver chain around her neck and straightened the white elephant charm attached to it flat against her neck. “I know it’s not what you wanted, but try and enjoy yourself, you deserve it,” she said sweetly.
“Ah yes I will try to enjoy myself as every man around me flushes himself with alcohol and asks me to dance. Pathetic, who even dances anymore?”
Sage and her maid knew the answer to that question. ‘Everyone still danced,’ yet neither of them responded with that answer.
“You should come down and enjoy yourself as well Esmeralda, you could use a break,” Sage recommended as she slipped on a pair of olive green shoes with a two inch heel. Normally she would have picked her best pair of flats to go with this dress, but she didn’t want to embarrass herself when her mother invited everyone in Pax et Lux to their home.
“I should go downstairs, does my makeup look okay?” The princess approached Esmeralda, their faces were only a few inches away from one another.
The young woman pretended to study Sage’s face. “It looks perfect.” She ran two fingers through the girl's pin straight, short ginger hair, that stopped just above her chin. “You look gorgeous. Now go, the royal carriages have just arrived.”
But before Sage could leave, Esmeralda pulled her back and placed a thin silver crown with tiny white flowers twisted into the metal, on top of her head. “A future queen must never forget her crown.”
The princess forced herself out of her room and down the white grand staircase. After a few minutes, she reached the entryway where her mother and sister were waiting. Gracielle, her mother, embraced her older daughter in a warm hug. “You look gorgeous,” she complimented, pulling back to get a good look at her daughter's hazel eyes.
Sage directed her eyes away from her mother to her younger sister, Clare, who looked like an angel. “Not as gorgeous as Clare.”
She wasn’t trying to degrade herself, but everyone knew that Clare was the graceful one, the beautiful one, the one who should have been queen. In the eyes of the people, it was a shame that Clare was two years younger than Sage.
Clare peaked her head around the corner of the stone pillar and fully made her way into the entryway. She was wearing a white, lace dress that had a short train. She looked like a bride without the veil. Instead of a veil she wore a crown that was identical to Sage’s. Her loose ginger curls fell neatly against the middle of her back, her makeup was natural, but present. “Sage, don’t say that please,” Clare whined, pulling at her sister's arm. No matter how much she whined, Sage would never stop and deep down, Clare knew that.
Her mother pushed the two sisters forwards towards the door. Today they would meet their suitors for the first time since the arranged engagements. For Sage it worked out perfectly, for Clare it was a nightmare and she was a nervous wreck.
“Sage I’m nervous,” Clare whispered, swaying on her heels. Sage looked over to her sister and shook her head. “Don’t be. Everyone will love you, including him. Take deep breaths.”
The carriages came to a halt outside the front of the palace. The first carriage to stop was royal blue with red rubies around the edges, it was pulled by four white horses. Stepping out from the high carriage was King Maximus of Deus. His hair was a fiery ginger orange that curled on the top of his head in perfect coils. He had almond sea blue eyes, a tall figure and a sharp face. His eye lids were dusted with golden eyeshadow, his lips bright red. The outfit he was wearing caught the attention of many. A bright red vest over a pure gold button up shirt. His pants were a velvet red and his shoes looked as if they were made of pure gold. On top of his head was a golden leaf crown that fit snugly against his curls. He was only nineteen years old and headed an entire kingdom.
Behind him was his twin brother Prince Julius. A gentler figure, his features were soft and round, blush and fair. His hair was a dusty brown and fell against his head in light waves. Sitting on top of his soft hair was a silver leaf crown. He wore a royal blue suit and simple brown boots. There was no makeup on his young and tired face, just a bright smile as he followed his brother up to the castle doors.
The two guards dressed in olive green armor
and white fuzzy hats, lowered their metal crossbows and opened the doors for the neighboring royalty.
Maximus took the lead. He shook hands with the older queen and then bowed to both Sage and Clare. “Happy Birthday Sage and good day Clare.” He turned to his brother who had almost tripped on the steps up to the palace.
Julius’s face was hot. He shook hands with the queen, waved hello to Clare and then approached Sage with a large smile on his face. “Happy Birthday, you look beautiful.” Though the two of them had been arranged to marry one another recently, they both had already been seeing one another for three years.
“Thank you. You look handsome as always.” She took his hand and was about to walk away when her mother pushed them both back.
"Not until the Antias’s arrive.”
Sage had to resist the urge to roll her eyes back into her head. Normally she would when she was alone with her mother, but she figured it would be in bad taste in front of a crowd. She turned herself back around and blew the stray piece of hair out of her eyes while she awaited the dreaded visit from the Antias family, who reigned upon the kingdom of Excidium. Though the Queen who had all of the real power was fair and so was her son Cassius, his father, the king, was a wicked man who had caused the kingdom to take a downward tumble. No one got along well with the Antias family, for reasons they often did not speak of, but for peace, an arranged marriage was formed between Prince Cassius and Princess Clare, so they were invited to the day's festivities.
The Antias carriage was dreary yet elegant. The base was painted a solid pitch black, the rim was silver metal and along the carriage were tiny silver stars that sparkled in the sunlight. The carriage was pulled by four black horses and it came to a stop just behind the royal blue one.
As the doors opened, the queen struggled to get herself out with her puffy, black ball gown dress. Before climbing out, she straightened the black metal crown that had white pearls on the center of each thick spike and small silver stars lining the rim, against her head. Once her tall black heels hit the floor, she made her way through the blinding white doors into the palace.
Quickly scrambling behind her came her husband, the king, envious and bitter, as he had no direct control over their kingdom. His skin was a tan olive, but rough and ragged from his years of training. He was older than his wife and looked it too. While she was in her early forties, he was five years older than her. He lacked hair on the top of his shiny head, but he had a large, fluffy black beard on his chin. He confidently sported a pair of black dress pants, and a grey button up collared shirt that was layered underneath a black vest that was adorned with silver buttons. Upon his feet were a pair of shiny black shoes that must have been freshly polished by his servant. His crown was a plane silver with pointed spikes and black jewels. He stuck his large fingers in his mouth and whistled. Like a dog following a command, his eighteen year old son stepped out of the carriage.
Cassius Antias was graceful, he hopped out of the carriage like a cat who always landed on its feet. Even though he was the prince of Excidium, Gracielle, queen of Pax et Lux gave him more credit than his parents. She believed he had a bright future ahead of him and could change the reputation and fate of his kingdom when he ruled. She also believed that he was quite handsome and with time, would eventually make a good match for her daughter, Clare. Cassius had honey gold skin with rounded wood brown eyes. His short, straight black hair was gelled into a smooth combover on the top of his head. He wore a shiny silver suit with black spiral details running up and down the edges, paired with black dress pants and silver boots. His crown was a pure black metal and rose in thin pointy spikes at the top of his head. He also wore a cape over his shoulders that was pitch black in color and dragged along the floor as he walked.
“Forward,” the king spat and he and his son followed the queen into the palace.
Upon seeing the Antias family, Sage took this as her cue to leave, but was held back by her mother who had a firm grip on her arm and a fake smile upon her face. She let go once her daughter got the hint.
Both King Maximus and Prince Julius hurried away in haste, leaving just the Pax and Antias family in the middle of the grand hallway.
“Well it’s been a while since we have been invited to anything,” King Erebus mused as he glanced around the white hallway that was glittering with golden trim and decorated with olive green furniture. “You have furnished it well,” he complimented. Queen Gracielle ignored his attempts to make her feel pity, “well it is Sage’s birthday after all and you were invited to the celebration so that Clare and Cassius could become engaged.”
From behind both of their mothers, the two met eyes. Clare quickly looked away, putting her focus on her sister’s tense shoulders. Sage caught her strong gaze and glanced over to see her nervous face. ‘Go introduce yourself,’ she murmured, her voice almost unheard.
King Erebus looked down upon his son, his brows furrowed and his lips curled up in a sneer. He grabbed his arm and pulled him out behind his wife, shoving him forward. “Though the deal is done, you will formally propose to her today. You might as well learn to enjoy her company.”
Cassius moved forward cautiously. “You look beautiful today,” though he wasn’t lying, under the eyes of many watching, his breath was tight and his words were forced. He had skipped the hello and went straight to the compliments.
Clare put a smile on her dark pink lips, “thank you.”
Sage couldn’t bear to watch the two of them awkwardly converse anymore and as much as she wanted to help her sister through this, it clearly wasn’t her place. She turned on her heels to leave, pushing a short strand of ginger hair behind her ear.
A voice called out to her, dark and cynical, “happy birthday Sage,” the voice said. Then the voice that belonged to King Erebus quieted and whispered, “she’s going to become a horrible queen if she can’t properly greet her guests.” Though she was now out of earshot he continued, “I am glad that Clare is your youngest. I don’t need a fool like Sage running around my castle grounds.”
The Proposal
Clare had been standing right there when her future father in law declared her sister a fool. Helpless and furious, she felt her palms radiate heat. She had never been great with words, but her face was twisted with scorn, an anger she couldn’t put into words.
Cassius spoke up, “Father, you can not say such negative things about Sage, especially on her birthday. Though you think it may be kind, your insult towards Sage is not a compliment to Clare.”
Clare’s facial expression softened and she took a step towards Cassius. Her eyes then shifted to her mother.
“She’s right, don’t speak about my daughters unless you have something positive to say Erebus,” Gracielle said bitterly. “Now you two go ahead and spend some time together. I don’t want to see you both until dinner. Though we don’t agree on much. Both King Erebus and I would prefer if this arranged marriage was a happy one,” Gracielle said to the two teenagers.
Clare didn’t need to hear her mother’s words twice. She turned on her heels and headed up the stairs, not bothering to check if Cassius was behind her.
With his long legs, he easily kept up with her quick strides. Once they were side by side and out of earshot of their parents, he spoke. “I’m sorry that my father was such an arse. Can we go somewhere and speak? Both you and I were only informed of this engagement a few days ago. I think it would be best if we processed the news together.”
The princess stopped walking and paused on one of the stairs that was lined with an olive green, silk carpet. Still angry, nervous and confused, her hand moved to push him away, but she stopped halfway through the motion. Her hand froze, pale and delicate in the air, before she lowered it and outstretched her hand towards him. He gulped and took her hand gently in his. It took him a moment to gather himself before he intertwined her fingers around his own and led her up the stairs, and to the garden that they had played in together when they were just little kids, when his par
ents hadn’t ruined everything.
Silence between them wasn’t comfortable, so Clare began to speak. “Cassius, I do not hold you accountable for the wrongdoing of your parents,” she told him as she let go of his hand, so he could push open the doors to the indoor garden on the second floor. He let out a sigh as he pushed the door open with one hand.
He made sure that she was safely inside before he let it close behind them. “I know that I am not deserving of you because of my past and because of who I am, but I promise I am not my father. I do not condone what he did when he—”
Clare cut him off, she didn’t want to hear him retell that horrific story.
She moved through the humid greenery, her heels clicking against the cobblestone, the sound dying out as she found the marble bench. She sat herself down and smoothed out her dress, letting the only sound be the echo of his footsteps and the rush of the water fountain, until he sat down next to her.
