Since I slept in late, Helga was the one who woke me up. Ari woke up along with me from Helga's voice. I sleepily went to the bathroom and refreshed myself, and got ready. I bathed Ari, who refused so many times. You have no idea how wet I got. I was completely drenched, but Ari smelled better. I didn't want Ari to smell like dirty socks when we entered the palace. I put on the first clothes that I found in the closet until Helga made me change into a better one.
I went downstairs. I was in time to see Arthur leave for the Academy. Apparently, he got enrolled in the number one academy in the kingdom since he excelled in every mock magic exams.
"Hey Arthur, good luck on your first day!"
"Thanks, and good luck at the palace. You might even get meet the crown prince!" I already met him when I was three and met him again like two weeks ago, but I don't know if he will remember me when I was three. I waved as he left and walked to the table to get some breakfast. Ari sat on my lap, waiting for the food. Helga gave me some eggs and bacon with a glass of milk like I get every day since I entered this mansion. Ari got a bunch of bacon pieces and a bowl of milk. I devoured my breakfast and waited for dad in the living room. I was patting Ari the whole time we were waiting for Dad to come. I can't say I wasn't excited either.
After a couple of five minutes later, Dad came in with his formal general uniform. It was dark gray with red and black outlines. There were black tassels off of his shoulders. I didn't expect a black uniform. The soldier back in Bisea had red uniforms. The uniform suited dad, even though he looked dark.
"Let's go!" I followed dad to the carriage and got in. It was the same carriage that we used to go to the dungeon. I didn't remember anything from the moment I passed out. There was no blood in sight. I was really curious about what happened. Should I ask, or should I not? I was pretty sure that it was a bad memory, but I know that I couldn't have survived that long from the dungeon to the house.
"Dad, may I ask a question?"
"You already asked one?" Dad chuckled as I rolled my eyes. "Go ahead."
"I don't want to bring up any bad memories, but I have to know." Dad gave me a slow nod, telling me to proceed. "After I passed out in the dungeon, how did I survive that long? How was I still alive after that?"
Dad took a deep breath and looked out the window. His eyes were dilated as he was staring outside. I watched as tears started forming.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to? You can tell me when you are ready."
"It was Diana." Dad looked at me. "Diana used forbidden water magic to save you. I won't say what spell it was."
I have read about forbidden magic in the palace library. The element could be infused with black magic to create something new, but it came with a cost. Black magic could be infused with any element except for the light. Black magic was something that can be learned, not earned, unlike the other elements since darkness was in every living being. Once black magic is used, there was no way to reverse it, including light magic. If Diana used forbidden magic, that meant she had to offer something.
"Dad, what was the cost for her to use that forbidden magic?" Dad looked down at his hands.
"I don't know."
He was lying. Did he feel like I would be burdened?
"Dad, please tell me. I need to know." Dad shook his head. I guess I won't be able to get any more answers out of him.
"Fine, but can you tell me when I am older?"
"I will think about it."
"Alright." I needed to find out where Diana was living so I could go meet her. I need to find out what happened to her. I kept on assuming the worst whenever stuff like this happens. It didn't take that long for us to get to the palace, since there wasn't that much distance between our house and the palace. The carriage stopped in front of the palace gates, and a soldier came to check dad's ID. Once he looked at the ID, the soldier yelled to open the gates. That went really smoothly.
The palace's front space was huge. There was like a whole garden welcoming us. I spotted different kinds of flowers along the way. It was placed neatly and wonderfully, especially the color designing of the flowers. The bushes were cut neatly in the same proportion and cut in a unique way but eyecatching. I wonder who their gardener was.
I watched as the main castle got closer as we traveled. It didn't have much width unlike the Bisea castle, but it was tall. I noticed a girl, probably a few years older than me, playing with a bunch of other her age. Her blond hair was eye-catching. I couldn't see her other feature that well.
The carriage stopped when we arrived at our destination. I never really saw the castle when I first came, but it sure was beautiful. There were a couple of guards stationed at the front door. I guess no one was welcoming us.
I let dad lead us up the stairs since he was the important one. Dad showed them his ID and the gates slowly opened, leading me to see the already seen inside of the castle. It was a little bit different than I saw it to weeks before. There were more flower decorations everywhere, which was probably for the upcoming parade.
I wonder how things will turn out once we break the news.