Bright and early in the morning the inn was buzzy with discussions, pointing at the paper pasted on each notice board. Those who could read, read it out to the crowd.
"A position for the Queen's assistant. Requirements: literate, young, and able to calculate numbers." After hearing the reader's voice, the crowds burst into discussion with different expressions.
From the rumours, the queen is an unpredictable, cruel person; some felt the rumours were not to be believed and actively ran out to inform their daughters or sons who are literate.
A hooded figure listened to the news and climbed upstairs, standing in front of a closed door, he knocked.
"Come in." A voice called from inside. The man turned the knob and entered. As soon as he saw his prince he bowed.
"Your Highness, I bring news." He said, his tone filled with respect for the man.
Thorn sat on the chair with his legs crossed, his gold hair spread across his back, wearing a pair of glasses, a silver earring dangling on his left ear as he read the book in his hands.
"Speak." He ordered without glancing away from his book, his pale fingers flipping the next page.
"Your Highness, Queen Elora put out a notice to hire a personal assistant." The guard said those words, only wanting to pass on information since they were in a foreign kingdom. But didn't know his prince paused, a smile formed against his lips, as he entertained the idea.
"Go register for me, I'll be entering the castle." His order stunned the guard in place, but he didn't ask but turned to leave the room to carry out his tasks. His mind reeling at what was going through the prince's mind.
"Make sure you omit by first name and the title. From now on I'm Thorn- the orphan." The guard almost fell on his feet from the madness of such orders-how would his master, a royal, disguise himself as a lowly orphan to serve the queen? He swallowed hard from confusion but held his composure and left the room.
Thorn, held his chin, a wicked smile crossed his lips. 'it would be fun to work with the mysterious queen. I'm growing bored anyway.' he thought, confident he would enter the castle against all his competitors.
He looked down at his attire and felt it was too eye-catching. He has to change his clothes to fit the image.
The mood of reading left him and he stood up, "Come, we need to go buy some clothes." He called out to the other hidden guard, putting on a hooded cloak, and left the room with a pouch filled with mana stones.
****
The Palaverda kingdom was buzzing with discussions; their queen had been mysterious with no information on her. Suddenly, there was one, and it was cruel. Which made the commoners of the kingdom have different outlooks of their queen. As long as she was like the late queen and didn't cause the commoners to suffer, they didn't care much.
It's the prestigious family who felt the pressure; some saw this as a chance to send their children to get closer to the queen.
The road to the capital -Volaria, buzzed with life at the hums of flying beasts and land transportation beasts. Some of the wealthy ones paid mana stones to use the waygate and teleported faster to the capital.
The capital, Volaria, was a beautiful sight to behold, surrounded by a high mountain with a gushing waterfall, on the highest hills are the castles. The sun hung high, casting a warm glow over the bustling below.
The lower ground is a beautiful city with clear blue water with rocky bridges connecting every water channel in the city.
The opulent mansions and the streets made lively sounds as hawkers sold their wears, ranging from potions, words, clothes, jewels, and so much more.
The city was busier today, crowds of people flooded in, paying for inns to stay for tomorrow's interview with the queen.
The smell of baked goods and perfumes lingered in the air; Thorn and his guards arrived. Thorn wore merchant clothes, comfortable grey clothes, but his earrings were still dangling against his ear. His hair was packed back, giving him a scholarly ambience.
They were not fazed by such a beautiful sight, filled with a thriving economy. The guards asked around for the best inn.
Lodging in a private room, Thorn sat back on the chair with a wine brought out from his dimensional bag.
He unscrewed the cap, and an intoxicating aroma filled the room. He sniffed it, his eyes brightening. Pouring half a small cup, he covered the wine carefully; he was saving it since it was the last fae brew from his land- he had to manage it.
He picked up the cup and took a sip, his face pink from the wine, his eyes were watery, already feeling dazed. He leaned back on the chair and looked out the window at the towering mountain where the queen resided and smiled.
He hoped for some entertainment because he was feeling bored and curious about this female ruling kingdom.
Meanwhile, the queen who he was thinking of was being measured by the seamstress; she tried hard to fight back her yawns.
She couldn't endure the torture of going through designs and measuring, her head was already aching, and she was feeling very tired.
"Use the purple fabric for the gown." She ordered the woman, after being brought a colour book to choose from.
The average-height woman wrote down on her note. Seeing she was bringing out another book again.
Elora stood up, "I believe in your expertise and I leave everything to you." She left those words, and before the woman could react, she saw the queen walk out of the room at a fast pace.
The woman was about to panic; she wasn't done showing her the designs, then she recalled the queen's words, and she felt a surge of fighting spirit.
'The queen believes in me, I'll create the best gown that would be talked of far and wide.' Her eyes were in flames, and her heart filled with determination.
Elora patted herself for her fast actions of escaping; she would throw up if she saw any more designs.
She doesn't understand why humans have to make new clothes for every occasion. She missed the days of her dark grim reaper's cloak. She didn't have to change it.
As she walked back, she sighted the butler and followed another hallway quickly. The guards looked at her actions and smiled helplessly. It seems the butler had traumatized the queen with so much work for the celebration party.
Elora, who was escaping, accidentally walked into a room. The room was as large as the throne room, but it had the smell of books; books lined all the shelves, even going up to the ceiling.
A cosy desk and chair were placed in the middle. Her heart filled with surprise, and she walked further in.