"Clementus! All the kingdoms are hunting us. Someone sent a letter to the King with my insignia! Who the hell would do that?! I just sent him a medicine that's all and then suddenly there was..." Ariya felt agitated. Even this past seven years someone is doing something out of her control.
"Young Mistress, calm down." Clementus said in calm voice. Ariya is the type of girl who would not let others see her weaknesses or even a slight opening for her enemies to attack. 'Facing them with these thoughts on her mind, it must hard for her to remain her composure in front of those fools.' Clementus thought. Ariya is caressing her hair backwards, her actions clearly shows she's in panic to think calmly, but she has to.
"Young Mistress calm down. This is not the right time to panic! We will settle everything one by one ok?" Ariya bit her lower lip and nodded as she closed her eyes. She's contemplating her actions and breath out.
Ariya sat down and calmed herself. She clench her gown and bit her lower lip. Clementus sighed at her actions. This is her habit whenever she's thinking of something intently.
"Queen Shekinah!" shouted a short girl with a long brown hair and an eye patch on her left eye. Ariya smiled at her and gestured her to come closer.
"Did they bully you? Did they do something to you?" Ariya chuckled at her continuous questions and just patted the little girl's head to assure her.
"Let's do another plan. Something that would hit two birds with one stone." A dark aura enveloped her and everyone in the room bowed down.
*******
"You keep on humming, you must be on a good mood." Prince Lance smiled and continued humming. He is in the garden admiring the flowers before him. The sun is shining down on him which made him look brighter.
"It's my first time seeing the moon ashamed." His butler was confused and asked further.
"What do you mean Your Highness?" The Prince looked at a beautiful rose, he slightly bend forward to smell its fragrance.
"She seems more beautiful than the moon that it hid behind the clouds giving way for her." He smiled reminiscing the time he met the beautiful girl.
"His Highness is in love I must say?" The Prince suddenly stood up straight and looked at his favored butler. He laughed heartily and nodded.
"Love? Yes, maybe I am truly in love." with that they both left the garden and went to the King's study room.
His butler continued to tease his Prince and just like that, they have already arrived in front of the King's chamber.
"Your Highness, if the King would want you to marry someone, why not just take her as our future Queen?" The butler suggested. He gave his butler a slight nod and entered the room.
**********
"Young Mistress? Do you have a fight with the moon?" Clementus jokingly said. Ariya kept staring at the moon through the window and frowned.
"What's wrong with the moon?" Clementus stooped whatever he's doing and looked at her Queen confused.
"Pardon Your Highness? "What's wrong with the moon?" you said?" He inquired checking if he heard it correctly.
'So you heard.' Ariya thought but gave Clementus a nod to confirm.
"Hm, I think because you're like the moon Young Mistress." Clementus said smilingly and stared at the moon with his Queen.
"We're alike? Yes it seems so. I think were both hideous and pathetic. We are misunderstood. We are deceptive--utterly pathetic." A saddened expression etched on her face. She touched the reflection of the moon on her window as if she's longing for it to come and save her.
"Your Highness, you have us, your subordinates that will give up everything for you. Order us and we will obey, anything for you." Clementus bowed down and then looked at his Queen who's staring at him.
"I know." She gestured Clementus to leave the room and then went to bed. Her Kingdom never experienced light, only darkness. The Kingdom of Layla can be described as "Nothingness". But its darkness was never ugly, everything sparkles like the stars above it's like fireflies that swarm around the Kingdom making it extra beautiful. The Queen is often called by her subordinates "The Moonlight Goddess" and everyone beside her knew what this exactly means.
********
"I don't approve of her! She humiliated you in front of the other Kingdoms! She's arrogant and she speaks evil so lightly." The King was pacing back and forth while his son is sitting comfortably on his seat.
"Why her? Can't you choose another one? I will have a selection for you if you want to. Just choose another girl." The king's tone is desperate. Prince Lance understood his father's worry but, he's stubborn in his own way.
"Father--" before he could continue a messenger hurriedly shouted at the King"s door.
"Your Highness, Our King! This is an emergency!" The King let the messenger enter letting him continue. The messenger bowed down and delivered the message.
"Another General has been taken down. This time it's General Kang Mei of Fradzbeir" Kang Mei is known for his swordsmanship. The Prince studied under him before and was well aware of his skill.
"Your Highness, it appeared again, the raven insignia."
Then there was silence.