Dear sister,
It has been a while since my last letter... but for good reason. I do not wish to overwhelms you, I know you are busy, but, so much has changed in just a few months... it's been quite drastic.
It had seemed gradual at first.. gosh it was even expected with the loss of our Queen for change to occur... but now... I do not understand this kingdom anymore- nor do I even recognise the streets at night! The bordering forest no longer glows like it used too, even with the winter frost bringing us into spring; people stopped smiling, such a simple feat that caused even the brightest early morning strolls to become dull and sluggish.
I don't understand what is happening to our kingdom. I don't even know if this change is only happening to our village close to the town centre. But all I know is that this... 'change' doesn't seem to want to stop- nor does it look like it will.
I get that the pain of our Queen has scarred us all... I myself have had sleepless nights where I would cradle under the sheets and escape to the comfort of a quill and my diary. But I know she would -at a time like this- ask us in the voice of a mother, not a queen, to continue to push and live our life without a second to spare.
Her words were comforting yesterday where I had my revelation that I in fact was not going crazy, and that yes, things were changing... but I don't think for the better.
Take the town centre for example, the most densely populated area that strips off into secluded villages (like ours) around the kingdom, have become infested with these horrible looking soldiers! Only this morning I walked as I do every day to mother's bakery in the town centre, where on my trip through a friendly neighbourhood I witnessed a barbaric sight!
A soldier had threatened a child running carelessly across the road! With all fairness he should not have been left unattended at first light... but his attitude towards the child was un-acceptable. He screamed at the kid to go home and even gripped his pommel in anticipation. I don't think he saw me and the look in that mans eyes was not that of a soldier... wasn't even close. To say they took the name of a soldier disgraced all those who died as one for freedom. No. They were mercenaries. The troubling kind...
However, I was surprised to even see a child! Especially now while the sun remained dipped in the horizon blocked by housing estates, with no flicker of light from the street lamps, it would not be safe for them outside... when before it always was.
Those 'soldiers' moving in drove the innocent laughter of the children out. Everyone acts so tense with one another, especially with the mourning banners across the entire kingdom. It is a shame that I can do nothing to revert it back to the old times, when bad things did not pile on top of one another so rapidly...
With nothing good happening here, I was quite excited to sit by firelight and read your previous letter, to which I am glorified at the fact that you actually met the crowned royal. As you know how mother is, the moment I told this to her she immediately demanded more details, so I am sorry for that. However, by the way you described them, they sound wonderful! What an honour, you are the first to ever speak with a royal in our family, even if it is in the west.. but the heir... It is incredible without a doubt! Remarkable! I have no words to describe.
I am glad that at least you seem to be enjoying life while being treated well. We all love you so much Ciana, and cannot wait to see you again someday in better circumstances... and that means I have to deal with mother's endless concerns that you are not eating enough- you know how she acts.
I hope things return as they were when we were children, our home is in shambles...
What is happening to our beloved kingdom?
I hope to hear from you soon, stay well,
- Your sister, Kasey W
P.s all this 'change' has started since the Northern family entered our borders- I knew the wedding arrangement was a mistake.
—
Her quill was placed gently to the letters side, an envelope stamped and ready to go adjacent.
Today, the government had announced the coronation of the new king, Mort, in the light that Prince Liam had fled from his duties like a coward. It was so sudden and shocking that she did not include it in this letter. There was still so much left unsaid. Yet, she preferred it that way, it kept an incentive to keep writing.
Kasey could only believe what she had been told, but it didn't feel right. The Prince, a coward? He never shied away from a challenge, always appearing in public to do his part, to shower his people with love while aiding where he could; he was anything but a coward.
Then again, grief did hold a strong influence, and even the most bravest of men were known to lash out once the instil of suffering and loss settled in. It was a scary thought.
Kasey did not approve of the coronation, for she had always felt something off about that northern king, and new there was something kept amiss from them all. Everything was far too convenient, the wedding, the assassination, the runaway heir... No. It seemed staged, like someone was playing the royal family like flute among the winds. And that man sat at the top of it all took the ropes that dangled the south's desperation, and used them to get his way. Well... that's what it felt like. Of course, others could argue, but she wouldn't give them night or day.
To hear such news in the first place was a horror to the ears, the disappearance of the Prince worrisome.
There must have been a reason... had to be.
Still no news on the princess either, for all they knew, she could be dead.
Sighing inwardly, she prepped the letter in its case, stepping outside the comfort of her room lit by candlelight, and handed the letter to her older brother.
He took it displeasingly, brooding over something in his mind as he sat at the dining table with a frown: open collar, and crinkled trousers.
"You know, Ciana was lucky to leave the south when she did, this place is turning into a nightmare" he grumbled.
Kasey plodded herself next to him, the seat facing his wide-spread legs that reached her own dainty ones. Leaning with her elbow she huffed, "Well, at least we know she's safe there. Even with the assassin in the west, she works within the tower walls, so it's one less thing to worry about."
"Lucky cow, why couldn't I be the one with that idea?"
"Stop it, the pair of you" a woman's voice called out from the corner, her apron dusted with flour; face a tired age. "No talk of politics, assassins, or royals for the rest of the evening, I get it all day from the customers, I don't want to come home to it too"
The two lowered their head at their mother, her smile warming back as she sauntered into the kitchen divided by a half wall. She glanced at her daughter, then at the the paper her son was crinkling. "You've already written a response Kasey? That was fast, I hope you mentioned something of me in there", she laughed earnestly, "You know how I worry about her"
Kasey smiled, "Of course mother, it would be a crime if I didn't"
She eased into her seat, her eyes glaring at the letter. "With all these new rules and regulations, do you think this letter will even make it to her across the borders?"
"I hope so, that stamp cost a fortune, and with our bakery on the decline... I'd be angry if it didn't"
The mother stopped in her tracks, closing her eyes with a deep exhale. She faced them, "sales will increase, people are just scared of what's happening at the moment, it's nothing to worry about"
Her words were not convincing. A worrisome edge to her voice gave that away.
The room was quaint in the silence, even in the late afternoon the gentle candlelight awoke every corner; a table pushed against the half wall overlooking the kitchen.
Granted they were quite lucky to own a small business and get money sent from their sister in the west, but it was barely enough to survive in these times.
Guilt for having such things was at an all time high, especially from recent events that still racked his brain.
The robbery.
A man, only after food, stormed into their bakery at dawn, threatening his mother with a second hand blade. The events replayed over and over. The fear, anger, and sheer horror of gazing his eyes upon such a thing curdled his stomach. He was so enraged that he saw red.
The very thought made his blood boil. If he wasn't there helping her close... he didn't know what would've happened. The tense suffocation still, of that night, lingered. It was the reason he looked about as messed up as he felt.
He didn't kill the man responsible, but was dammed near close enough.
His body roiled with a nauseating uneasiness, flashes of that day prominent in his mind.
It wasn't him who dealt the blow of justice, but that of an assassin.
The Shadow...