The sky was grey. Thunder boomed in the darkness but in the darkness was a tall structure. Its grandeur was only matched by the slightly smaller cathedral in the opposite side of the City.
The castle was a beacon of light in the darkness. Every second you could see shadows shuffling through the building presumably maids and other workers. This made the structures size even more unimaginable. Every shadow that passed was similar to an ant in the shadow of a lamp.
However, in a crown of the tower there stood an older teen girl her plum hair flowed far down just below her shoulder blade ending in little ringlets
She wore a dark jade embroidered dress each crease and fold of the dress was riddled with white ornamentation. On her neck rested a black choker. Her left ear studded down to the lobe her right however remained bare. Her silver eyes reflected the dark storm in front of her.
She sighed and rested her palm on her face.
" It's so boring here...Is this really the life I was meant to live?"
A clear crisp knock was heard on her door. She didn't turn to look she already knew who it was. Seeing no response after a few seconds the knob turned slowly.
A pale young man walked in. His silver eyes seemed to be a lot darker than the girl's.
There even seemed to be shadows festering in them for a split second. He was dressed in similarly but instead of black it was white ornamentations. He wore grey trousers with a white shirt covered by a blazer. On his hands were thin black gloves and on his shoulders was a black tassel.
His rosy lips smiled in her face in the reflection of the window.
" Belle it's not kind to not answer when someone knocks at your door"
He was met with silence. A frown slowly formed but quickly disappeared. He continued
" Hey...I know you don't like the thought of marriage so young but it's for the good of the kingdom. Father thinks this will help the kingdom of Rima soar to new heights. As you know the kingdom's wealth is your wealth little sister".
As audible scoff was heard.
She turned to look at her brother. Her sliver eyes seemed to imagine him younger and her gaze softened. In her vision his eyes were brighter and his red lips and chubby cheeks made him look extremely cute.
She looked at him and her voice was soft yet regal.
" I don't want to be stuck in another castle locked up like the princesses from the stories. I want to be free"
Her brother was instantly shocked. He didn't expect her to respond much less the response she'd given. She would sacrifice the perks of royalty for a bit of extra freedom. He fell into contemplation and remained silent for a very long time.
Seeing his silence, she returned her gaze to the storm outside.
He then looked towards his black dress shoes and sighed.
" With your new husband...you could ask him to go on regular family trips but I know that's not what you want". Seeing her silence, he quietly turned to leave.
As the door shut he muttered something under his breath while looking back. His eyes significantly darkened and his footsteps seemed to echo down the halls in frustration.
The girl turned to look at the door before getting up and turn off the light in her room.
She walked towards her dresser covered in different size brushes polishes lipsticks and all assortments of jewelry and removed the different sets on her body.
She then took off her clothes and changed into a blue nightgown. The nightgown had small bunnies doing a native dance. The bunnies were shaking their posterior left to right.
Her bed was filled with a multitude of stuffed animals and different sized pillows. She then plumped herself loudly on the bed and let out
a tired sigh.
She then shuffled up to her favorite pillow and slammed her face into it and a loud thud was heard.
A brief pause ensued before a skin curdling scream was let out. Immediately hurried knocks were heard throughout the castle.
A Guard knocked persistently asking if the princess was ok. She let out pained groans but was able to let out a response.
" I'm ok I just hit my head"
The door knob which was slightly turned paused and clicked back into place.
" Ok princess..." The guard slowly walked back towards his station at the end of the hallway.
The princess with an obscure shape plastered on her forehead lifted up her pillow. Under it was an unusual object.
It was a trinket. On it was different inscribed runes. They didn't make any sense to her but they felt familiar. She examined it once more and placed it under her pillow. How did that get there?
The night passes without any hitches and day arrives...
It was 2 hours before noon. The blinds in the room were opened and beaming sunlight shined on a haggard face startling awake.
A bright and cheery voice woke up the sleeping beauty.
"Sorry Belle, its already noon and Silos told me to wake you up this morning"
Her comments were met with an irritated groan followed by pristine feet slowly hitting the cold tile floors. Belle wiggled her toes and looked up at the girl standing in the sunlight.
Her hair was a curly bob cut which matched perfectly with her chestnut hair and freckles. Her amber dress fluttered from the slight breeze that entered through the blinds. She looked towards Belle and smiled.
"Oh jeez Belle you really aren't awake its almost noon! Get ready quickly The king wants to speak to you!"
Belle moved with a bit more invigoration hearing that her father had requested her presence and he was not one to be late to a meeting with. She put on a similar dress to the one she wore the day before but instead of a choker she wore a shorter pair of evening gloves.
During her dressing she made small talk with her personal alarm.
"What does father want with me Liz?" She said putting on her undergarments.
Liz responded putting on a class act.
"I don't know what the big bad King has planned for you sweet Belle. Could…Could….Could he want to kill you his most precious daughter?"
Belle scoffed at Liz's immaturity and walked out of her room. Liz seeing that she wasn't getting the reaction she wanted slowly followed behind her. Every few hallways she would be greeted by a pair of guards and after a while she stopped responding.
Although this is the farthest she has ever gotten with the responses so she jotted that down as a small win.
Surrounding them was different furniture worth more than the average peasant's life but she looked at them like empty parcels. Paintings of her and her family scatter the halls.
Her 4 older brothers and sisters and 3 younger siblings all fit into one glorious painting that sat outside the throne room.
The throne room doors had the symbol of the Sun God Holios. It was a six pointed trigram each with a Little sun on the tips. Smaller or broken versions of this decorated the archway around the door and even the mechanisms to open it.
This symbol was supposed to represent unity and prosperity among Rimans.
" For every shadow is cast there is light that surrounds "
She recited something she had once read in a book.
Two guards stationed at the entranced pushed open the door and Belle walked in alone. Behind her you could see a worried Liz gently waving.
The doors slowly close behind her and a darkness seems to enter this sanctuary of light.