Jotham, Silvera Capital
2030
Birds chirped, the flowers swayed gently as the cool evening breeze washed over them. Hazel and Yuka sat side to side, staring at the fountain flowing out of the mouth of the statue of a dragon which was located in the center of the east wing garden. No words were being said at the moment and there was a look of contentment on their faces. Being in the company of each other, seemed to give them a certain peace. Yuka eventually broke the silence, his gaze still resting on the fountain.
"You still miss them, don't you?" he asked, his voice soft.
The corners of her lips curved upwards slightly.
"I do" she responded, a sigh escaping her lips when she thought of her family. She couldn't help but wonder if they were okay. Did they miss her as much as she missed them? Were they eating well?
Were they having sleepless nights because they couldn't stop worrying about her? Hazel hoped that they weren't troubling themselves to the point where they would become sick with worry.
"I can give you a chance to see them, you know? " Yuka said, turning to look at her.
"We can't just leave the palace, remember? The queen would have punished you if she'd found an evidence that you'd left Silvera and had helped my family. I miss my family, Yuka. But, I don't want you to get punished" Hazel said, lowering her gaze.
Yuka gave her a smile.
"We don't have to go anywhere" he told her. Hazel frowned, a confused expression on her face.
"How is that possible? I mean, they are far away in..." her voice trailed off and she looked around to make sure no one was listening in on them. She leaned closer to Yuka and completed her statement.
"....Galactica. I know you're just trying to help, but I don't want you to get into trouble again"
Yuka shrugged.
"I guess you don't really understand how different black bloods are"
Hazel's frown deepened. "What do you mean?"
"I can act as a medium of connection between you and your family. Except, you will actually get to see them and they will also get to see you"
"You can do that? That's impossible" Hazel breathed, her eyes wide.
"We can't do that here, though. We don't want to be watched by the queen's men, do we?"
Hazel nodded absentmindedly. Her mind was reeling. Just how powerful was Yuka? Hazel was amazed.
He rose to his feet and held out a hand to her. She quickly took his outstretched hand and rose to her feet. They walked hand in hand into his chamber, her heart beating faster as excitement coursed through her. Would she really be able to see and speak to her family? There was only one way to find out.
"Sit down" Yuka said to her and shut the door. She watched him take off his jacket, quietly admiring the way his white shirt outlined his muscular upper body. Just as he sat down directly opposite her, there was a knock on the door.
"Who's there? " Hazel whispered to her companion. He narrowed his eyes and stood up when he sensed the red-blood standing just outside his chamber.
"Is it the Queen?" Hazel whispered and he shook his head, his hair falling over his face.
"A maid" he responded, making his way towards the door.
....
The Queen Mother sat in her chamber, Guma, Silvera's captain, bowing before her. There was a mischievous glint in the queen's eyes.
"My queen, you said you have something in mind" Guma said.
"Yes. Today, I will finally get rid of Silvera's enemies" she said, rising to he feet.
Guma tried not to show how surprised he was. He knew that the queen had tried to get rid of the second prince several times. But, she'd always failed. He wondered if it would be different this time.
"You're surprised, aren't you?" the queen said with a smirk on her face.
"My queen, does that mean that you have found a way to get rid of the second prince and the red blood?"
"Aye, that's right" the queen said, slowly making her way towards the window of her chamber.
"They will not see tomorrow's sun"
"But, how? How will that happen, your highness?" Guma asked.
"A maid has been sent to the black blood wih a tray of food" Clarice stated
Guma's eyes went wide.
"Is the food poisoned? "
"You know the answer, captain"
"You know how the black blood is. What if he finds out? "
The queen turned to look at him, a cold smile on her face.
"Then, we will have to improvise"
"There's a plan B?"
"Of course. There always is"
...
As soon as the second prince opened the door, the maid flinched visibly.
"Who sent you?" he demanded. She shakily bowed her head, her thin frame shivering as a result of her paranoia. She held out the golden tray in her grip, her gaze rooted to the ground.
Yuka was growing more annoyed by the second as he watched her tremble in front of him.
"The k-king sent me to serve you food, seeing as you haven't eaten today, your m-majesty" the maid stammered. Yuka frowned, a skeptical look in his eyes.
"My father sent you here?"
"Yes, your majesty"
He quietly took the tray from her shaky hands. It contained both tea and a fancy dish. There were a lot of things that were suspicious about this. First of all, his father had never sent food to him through a maid. Secondly, he was sure he hadn't informed anyone that he hadn't eaten all day. Thirdly, a maid had never dared to step her foot into the East wing.
"You can go now" Yuka said to her, a blank expression on his face. The poor maid practically ran away from him. He sighed and stared at the cup of tea. Something was off about the smell. He was very sure someone had spiked it. This only made him angry. Of course, the queen had tried to kill him again.
"What's wrong? You look so upset" Hazel suddenly said from behind him.
"The queen tried to poison me again" he stated and she gasped, her eyes wide.
"How could she-"
He let out a bitter chuckle.
"She has always been so stupid. It was so obvious" he said through gritted teeth.
He was unaware of the fact that the queen had just begun to play mind games with him. This was just the beginning.