Dallius could not help but feel insulted. What had they done wrong? Or was it all just his doing? “Have I offended you somehow?” he could not help but ask.
The Princess took a moment to regain herself and when she had, she rose from the bed and straightened up her gown again. “I have to go. I’m sorry. Thank you, Captain, for everything you’ve done. I-I’m afraid I have to go now.” she replied without even a glance in his direction. She felt so embarrassed. “Forgive me; that was foolish of us. To do such a thing.”
Dallius caught the Princess by her arm before she could flee without another word. “But what? What was foolish of us to do?”
Adelaide could hear the desperation in his voice. It made her feel worse. “Dallius I, I’m promised to someone else. The Prince of Bordennia,”
The Captain shushed her gently, trying to bring her back to him. To comfort her in some way. “Adelaide,” he only began to try again.
But the Princess was not hearing any of it. She pulled away, without the intention of being mean. Shaking her head, Adelaide felt the sting of tears threatening to expose the full extent of her shame. “I’m sorry. You don’t understand, I’m to marry a Prince and give him a son. I’m but an opportunity to secure an alliance between the Redbanes and the Mouridieus’. On any other occasion, I would have gladly defied such a prospect. But my father is dead and I must honour my role in this family. I mean no offense, Captain but,” Adelaide did not finish her sentence as she excused herself from Dallius’ room, leaving him to follow after her with only his eyes and an expression equally embarrassed.
Valerius
The three Lords left the meeting room in silence. Whatever they had wanted to say had already been said, rather angrily too. It was always moments like this which caused a strain between the three of them but, arguments were inevitable. Any minute now one of them would break the silence, admit that whatever they were arguing about had been stupid and that they should forget about it over a drink.
“Damn it, we’re Valentis’. We don’t let arguments of all things cause tension between us, how about a drink to forget it ever happened?” Marcus suggested.
Just as Valerius had expected. He shared a glance with his cousin and they both nodded in agreement. “This whole ordeal with Hathor Redbane has been getting under our skin,” Aderico began.
“Hey!” an aggressive voice called out from afar, breaking off their conversation entirely.
The three Lords looked ahead and found a hooded figure sweeping around the corner of the corridor. It moved on light feet and did not stop at the sound of the guards calling out to it.
“Princess? Where do you think you’re off to?”
The hooded figure did not respond as she continued to run away from the guards in pursuit of her.
What was Serendipity doing? Valerius could not help but think.
“Where have you been, Serendipity? Off wandering again in places you shouldn’t be?” Axel’s voice came from behind the three Lords.
There was a mess of voices and figures, enough to confuse them all as they looked around the corridor in a frenzy.
“Oh, shit!” Serendipity hissed at the sight of Marcus and the others. She spied the hooded figure up ahead, realised her cover had been blown, and wondered what she was supposed to do now.
Axel went to grab the Princess as he approached, only to stumble as she dodged his hand.
Serendipity could not contain a laugh as she ran past Aderico’s side, ignoring her fiancé as he jumped out of her way and collided into Marcus as he did. She stopped some distance away from Axel and stuck two fingers up at him, jeering and waving them around frantically. By now, she had caught sight of Alena dropping her cloak and urging her to run.
The Chief of Staff was furious! “Come here, Serendipity!” he called out. He was already fumbling with the belt around his hips. “I said,”
The Princess grabbed hold of Alena’s hand and together they bolted past the guards chasing after them too. All hell had broken loose. Still, Serendipity continued to laugh.
Whilst Valerius and Aderico laughed amongst each other, Marcus could only share in the Chief of Staff’s rage. “Don’t just stand there,” he snapped at Axel. “I want her brought back and disciplined.”
Aderico placed a hand onto Marcus’ shoulder, chuckling still. “Come now, Uncle. She’s only-”
The Grand Lord shoved his nephew’s hand away and turned on him. “Serendipity is making a fool of us! She is belittling our men and mocking the defences of our castle. How the hell had she managed to trick a dozen guards with the help of that serving girl?” he was really angry now. Marcus did not appreciate being made fun of and it appeared Serendipity had crossed the line.
Valerius and Aderico could only watch as he stormed off after Axel. They said nothing and instead took a moment to stare with worried gazes before following after the Grand Lord, with hopes of cooling his temper before he did something he would surely regret.
Vestus
After a good length of time, the Lone King of Skull Island had finally had quite enough of his own sulking. He figured there was no point in just lounging around in bed all day and hoping his sickness would go away, so he dressed himself and left his room with the help of his handy walking stick.
Vestus was disappointed that the various treatments he had been tortured with earlier on had not worked but, he found no reason to throw a tantrum about it. It would only make him seem ungrateful and dubious about his healers talents with medicine. Right now he could not afford to lose anyone on his side. The few servants within the castle (although Vestus preferred to refer to them as staff) gave their King well practised bows or curtseys as he passed, earning a brief nod of his head. They liked knowing their King acknowledged them, unlike a certain Marcus Valenti who was renowned for not giving a damn about his people.
It was no secret the Grand Lord of Valkenn ruled his people with an iron fist, preferring to be respected on foundations of fear more so than actual love. Marcus was one of the many rulers people feared but, never wished to become like. Perhaps that was what made him so unique? In a strange sense, at least. Vestus had never met Marcus himself, the man was but a whisper in the courts of every castle in the Allied Kingdoms (even ones as small as his). He had heard of the things the Grand Lord did, the things he wanted to achieve. They all made Vestus grow cold to the bone. But as King and with great hopes of becoming Adelaide’s ally in the near future, he knew he would have to join the fight and face the Grand Lord like the King he was supposed to be.
The sound of the walking stick tapping against the floor echoed down the corridors, in tune to the King’s whistling as he walked. With everyone else so busy going about their own duties, Vestus was left alone with his own thoughts. He was mightily pleased to hear about the fleet Seb was building up for him, now all he needed to do was begin sending out letters of admiration to those he wished to call his allies. The Redbanes, of course. The Mouridieus’ and the Broadblades, both powerful families and rulers of their own lands.
What Vestus needed to do was find his way into the inner circle of families, those loyal to the Redbanes themselves. Yet, there was also the option of forging an alliance between another group of sea dwellers. If Skull Island was to have the greatest fleet across all the Allied Kingdoms. The only navy fleet able to make even the Grand Lord of Valkenn shake in his boots was-
The King’s walking stick lodged against a loose slab of flooring and before he could fully comprehend what was going on, Vestus’ face met the floor. “Ah, ha! God, damn it!” he hissed. For a moment he just laid there and allowed the full extent of the pain to course through his body. When he finally lifted his gaze, he found a heavy wooden door hidden in the shadows before him. How he had never even noticed it, Vestus did not know. “A door.” he muttered, feeling rather unimpressed by its overall appearance. “A door?” he repeated. This time, he felt a tinge of curiosity spark up within him. With every door came a potential adventure hidden behind it.
Vestus ignored the agonising burn of his fall as he slowly but surely found his feet. Gathering up his walking stick, he struck the door with the butt of it. When nothing interesting happened as a result, he took hold of the door handle and turned it instead. The thing was so damn rusty, it took a considerable amount of effort to even turn it. The door gave way and sent Vestus flying forward as it opened.
Vestus let out a terrified gasp as he felt his feet leave the ground again. Had he not been holding onto the handle any longer, he would have tasted stone between his teeth again.
There was only darkness behind the door but, the King could feel a series of steps leading upwards. It must have been a tower of some kind.
Retrieving a lantern, Vestus held it up against the darkness and saw not only a staircase leading up but, one leading down too. He chose to venture down, seeing as he was bored out of his mind with all this waiting and was in desperate need of an adventure. He was not too sure what kind of King he would be if he did not know his castle inside out.
The floor was slippery beneath his feet, giving the King enough reason to move at a snail’s pace. All whilst a bitter cold breeze clung to his skin like a wet kiss. Yet, the smell was the worst thing. It got stronger the deeper Vestus went, all unfamiliar and vile. Not knowing what it was that made it worse.
“Careful now, V.” Vestus whispered to himself as he shone his lantern into the darkness again. Still, he could not see anything further than an arms length. It was only until he lowered his walking stick before him and swung it around, did he realise there was an opening before him. Like a mouth, it swallowed up the darkness before Vestus and one wrong footing was a certain call for death.
Vestus took extra care now, having discovered what it was he was exploring. All it took was one flick of his eyes, over his shoulder, to send Vestus’ foot slipping and his boot caught onto what felt like an iron ladder. Red hot pain shot through his leg and as he pulled it away with care, he was certain the metal had torn through breeches and skin alike. He would have to return to the infirmary at once. Rust and fresh wounds did not go well together.
“I can’t explore this tunnel alone and in the dark.” Vestus reprimanded himself. “It’s not worth losing my life for it.” It was true. He would have to wait until Seb was available, to explore this strange new discovery with him. Maybe even Tom could go with them both, the more the merrier. It would be safer that way, most importantly. The last thing Vestus wanted was to send Tourri, the poor thing, into a state of panic over his wellbeing and that of Seb and Tom’s safety too. For her sake and his own, Vestus left the way he came and deemed the tunnel an option to explore for another time.
Adelaide
It was only midday when Adelaide stopped reading again. Amongst the silence of the library, she found herself all alone with nothing but the musty smell and sight of books.
Not even the librarian was around.
Adelaide couldn't focus on the words in front of her. Even though she loved to read, she couldn't find herself enjoying the book at all and she had already changed it three times. Adelaide rose from her seat with an irritated huff and stretched her legs out before turning to leave.
There came a shadow dancing on the bookshelves. It caught the Princesses attention as it moved gracefully from one shelf to another and then disappeared around a corner. Curious as always, Adelaide picked up the small lantern she had taken with her and followed after the mysterious shadow.
Perhaps the Librarian was around and was sorting the bookshelves out?
The shadow continued to lead the way, and she obediently followed. To her own disappointment, Adelaide was quick to come to a dead end. She knew it had been her imagination, so she wasn't too surprised when she came face to face with another bookshelf instead way further down the library.
A book hung out halfway from its space on the bookshelf. Adelaide placed her lantern down onto the floor and went to push it back in, only she found that it wouldn’t move. She pulled at the book instead.
The bookshelf budged but, only slightly.
Adelaide pulled at the book again with both hands and the shelf swung open, revealing a set of stairs leading down into darkness. Now Adelaide was even more curious, she had to find out what was hidden behind the shelf. She retrieved her candle lantern again and descended the stairs; quickly ending up in a small room, rather than a dead end.
It was very dimly lit down here and Adelaide was grateful to have brought her lantern. She looked around at the room and was surprised to find that it wasn't covered in a layer of dust. However, she swiped her finger over an oak desk sitting in the centre, just to make sure of it. Placing the lantern down, Adelaide scanned the room carefully until she rested her gaze onto an oak bookshelf, filled completely with books and old pieces of paper. The Princess took a book out at random and scanned the cover, then put it back and reached for another, only to end up doing the same. She reached for her third book and scanned the cover, it read ‘The Awakening: Book One’.
“I believe third times a charm.” Adelaide muttered and went to sit down in a plump chair that stood behind the large oak desk. Once checking it wasn’t too dirty to be occupied, she sat down and opened the book to read:
Alas, we humans all perish as immortality
has not been bestowed upon us.
We shall wither like plants during the days of winter
and once dead, we cannot blossom again.
But amongst the people of Iradas,
bound in blood, the cure for death is held.
The only blood that will satisfy the dead and so it would begin...
The Awakening.
Adelaide looked up from the page and thought for a moment.
“What does this mean?” she asked aloud. Confused but, wanting to know more, she read on with eager eyes:
The Land of the Unliving shelters the corpses of the fallen.
Only there can the dead be revived.
Adelaide was certain she’d never heard of the Land of the Unliving. Yet it confused her even more as to who would have written this book. She looked around the room and found it clean and organised, or perhaps just unused for some time. But what would explain the lack of dust or dirt?
No one could live down here all day, every day? Maybe there was more to the castle librarian than she had thought.
A quiet hissing sound had Adelaide looking up from her page. She was all alone though. “First the shadow and now the hissing. You're going crazy Adelaide.” she said aloud and laughed hesitantly afterwards.
The hissing returned and this time it was louder.
Adelaide dropped the book in her hands and removed a blade she always kept hidden in her corset. She stood up and pointed her dagger in every corner of the room, a challenge to whoever or whatever was hiding there. Moments later something hit Adelaide in the back, causing her to jump; screaming as she did. She turned and ducked just in time as a book flew at her again.
“You're quick but, not that quick.” a small voice sang.
Another book flew towards the Princess and this time she caught it and put it down on the desk beside her. “Who's there?” she asked and picked up the blade she had previously dropped.
The sound of light footsteps running echoed across the shelves and moments later something emerged from the shadows on top of the bookcase. An imp. It was a small black imp with gargoyle-like wings that sprouted from its back, the tips and edges of its wings were a blood red and as were its horns that sat on the top of the imp's fat face. The creatures eyeballs were a light yellow, but its pupils were of a similar red to his horns. and in his mouth sat two rows of sharp, surprisingly white, teeth along with two fangs that hung over his bottom lip.
Adelaide’s jaw dropped. “You,” she began in a whisper. “Are the ugliest thing I have ever seen.”
The imp grinned and flew down to where she stood. “And you,” he began. “Are the palest person I have ever seen. I think you need to go out in the sun more often little girl. Or are y
ou a woman?”
Adelaide crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the creature. “Do you have a name, Imp?” she asked.
“Of course you stupid woman, girl, whatever you are. My name is Daegar. Daegar the Imp. Now what’s your name?”
“Adelaide Redbane, Princess of Iradas.” the girl replied in turn. It appeared she had made an unexpected new friend in this castle, exactly when she needed one too.
*****
After a moment of arguing, Adelaide finally agreed to take Daegar up to the castle. He hid under the Princesses dress and forced her to waddle at times as he clung to her leg so tightly she could barely walk straight.
“You know, you didn't have to start crying.” Adelaide complained. She carefully shut the secret bookcase in the library as she spoke.
“You know, you didn't have to fall for it.” Daegar simply replied.
The Princess let out another huff. “You're right; I'll have to hit myself later for that.” she grumbled and made her way to her room where she could question the imp further. She just had to walk through the hall naturally, as if she didn't have a disgusting imp attached to her leg.
Dallius stood by a table at the far end of the hall, observing a set of records and a heavy map stretched out before him, the assassins lounged around nearby. He immediately looked up as Adelaide entered the hall and smiled but, it was quick to fade. “Is everything alright, Adelaide?” he asked at the sight of her waddling.
The Princess nodded. “I'm fine, my - legs just ache. It's nothing.” she said and laughed hesitantly.
“And what lovely legs they are, Princess.” Daegar tittered under her dress. “Such a shame you're wearing breeches.”
Adelaide growled and looked down at her feet.
“What was that?” Jasper asked and got no reply.
No one spoke. Daegar only giggled quietly again under the dress he was hiding in.
“That's it,” Adelaide yelled. She shook Daegar off her leg and sent him rolling across the floor. “What part of shut your face don't you understand?” she asked the imp.
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