Chapter 2

I'm mesmorized by the stars, they are so complex. They tell all the stories, all the prophecies that keep my father on edge. It's silly really. No, I prefer to keep the tiny balls of light simple. this is one of the few things I can keep simple. Maybe it's because those beautiful twinkling lights are too complex to begin with, arranged in a pattern that no one can see.


Running footsteps disturb my thoughts. Then I can hear my father yelling. Sounds like it's time once again to play the part of the diplomat. I sigh and turn on my heel, heading in the direction of the kitchen door. I take my hands out of my cotton khaki pockets and break in to a sprint. As the wind starts to rush past me, I hope that mrs. Bonovie is in the kitchen. Sneaking in is so much easier with her around. Not to mention, she probably knows what my father is raving about, but as I lightly vault over the antique dutch door, I realize that the kitchen is completely empty. That can't be goo, there should be a bunch of people, it is the court's dining hour. They get angry when their meals aren't running according to schedule.

My father's booming voice pulls me away from this conclusion and towards the urgency and rage in his tone.I sprint to his chambers at the other end of the castle, slowing to a walk just before the light from his open doors breaks the shadows outside his room. I construct a very concerned face as I step into the open doorway at the end of the hall.

"What's going on? Father, are you alright, I heard shouting and I came as quickly as I could." My earnest and calm breaking through the shouts. People made a path for me to get through.

"Oh Sebastian! Thank goodness you are here! This filthy kitchen maid tried to kill me!" He said with honest disbelief. He was pointing at a small girl huddled in a ball n the floor. She was sobbong and and her face was streaked with tears. It was obvious that my father had hit her, her cheek turning purple. I couldn't restrain myself, she couldn't have been more than 13. I went over to the fruit platter and grabbed some ice, folding it into the nearest napkin. I walked over and helped the girl sit up supporting her back with my arm. I gingerly placed the ice on her cheek, and then motioned to one of the guards.

"Please help this young lady to my apothecary." I ordered. Once they had left I ordered the rest of the court to leave as well.. When they had gone I turned to my father with a look of disappointment upon my face. “She was just a girl. She had not the reason, nor the skill,” My father opened his mouth to protest but I didn’t give him the chance. “I know you listen to the prophets, but you take them too seriously. You need to stop; it’s getting out of control. If it makes you feel better I will hold a meeting of the council tomorrow afternoon.”


“You are a sensible one, son. I’m glad you can be sane when I am not. It would relieve me greatly if you would, thank you.” He said defeated. “I’ve done okay, haven’t I? With you I mean.”

I sighed and nodded, “It’s late, and we both need some rest.” I smiled reassuringly and left. I didn’t look at his face, I didn’t want him to see my lie.


I didn’t go to my room. Instead I went to make sure that the girl was okay. Doc was sitting in a chair beside his exam table. He turned and smiled to me as I walked in, then returned himself to the task at hand. It looked like he was looking for any broken bones, feeling the girls face with his thumbs. He was a very thorough physician, and he was considerate. That’s why he was my doctor.

“Well there’s nothing broken. I’m surprised by that,” said Doc with a chuckle. The girl looked a bit confused.

“Not many live through the king’s back hand, let alone escape without any broken bones.” I collaborated.

“Oh, I see,” she said, a hesitant smile growing on her face. “Thank you very much, and I really didn’t try to poison him I swear!”

“I understand, my father is just a bit paranoid lately. I have talked to him and he has realized his mistake. He sends his apologies. However, he doesn’t like being reminded of it. I’m going to have the Lord of Valadore add you to his staff. He is very kind, and he pays as well as my father. I’m sure you will be much more comfortable there.” I told her, with a gentle smile meant to comfort her. She nodded her thanks and I left, thanking Doc as I went.

Now I could go to my room. I walked through the halls and I was almost there too, but she caught me, she always did.

“Prince Sebastian?” she called after me.

“Yes, Lena?” I asked through my teeth, not turning around to look at her.

“Well, I just heard that the King was poisoned, is everything alright?” she said with a dramatic look of concern.

I was about to answer when a thought occurred to me. I turned to face her with an expression of pure devastation. . . Well, maybe not pure, but it was convincing.

“No, he’s not okay, he’s in bed right now, and he is very ill,” I paused and threw in a sigh of despair and a shake of my head. “I just cannot take another minute of this, I must retire for the night.” I turned and walked away with my shoulders slumped trying to fight the smile. I heard her gasp and run off, no doubt, to tell the world.

As I turned the corner into the empty hall that led to my room, I saw a flicker out of the corner of my eye. I turned but nothing was there. I kept moving to my room at the end of the hall. I took my time and observed the hallway. It was always darker than the other entryways, I wasn’t into bright lights and colors. There were only a few entryway suites in every wing. I’m not Goth or anything like that, I just prefer darker pastels.

I got to my room at the end of the hall and went in. All of the furniture was mahogany. I flipped up a piece of wood, lying on the hearth, with my foot and tossed it into the fire. I lit a few candles, so I had some light, and went to my bed. I know I’m not a big lamp guy, I like dim lighting. As for the bed, I didn’t really need it, it’s not like I slept.

My father had my whole room done up like some sort of honeymoon suite. It was a little overdone. The fireplace was all stone and there was a lush white rug in front of the hearth. The rest of the floor was mahogany, like the furniture.

The walls were a real piece of work too. They had to of painted it and then held a rose petal up to the color to make sure they matched. The walls had an intricate design that was just a little bit darker than the background. It was a vine-like pattern that had roses budding here and there. When I had first seen the walls I thought they were covered in wallpaper. I soon realized I was wrong. I feel bad for the person that had to paint all those vines.

The bathroom was somewhat strange. It had the same red walls and mahogany floors. It had a shower stall, a toilet, and a sink. The tub, on the other hand, was on the other side of the room, with two big white double doors that I have only opened once. The tub was ivory with two shallow steps leading up to it. The steps were covered with the same white carpet that also lay in front of the hearth. Everything else was the same in there. The tub itself was huge. It had jets and lights but you couldn’t see them when it was empty. Little ivory covers mechanically covered them when the water level went down. I could have fit at least six people in that tub, but I never did. I hadn’t even used it myself. I just didn’t have time. I’m sure I could have made time but, I just wasn’t into the luxury of it all.

The walk-in closet was the only room that wasn’t red, and yes, it was a room. This room was white with the same mahogany floors as the rest of the suite. It had a huge mirror on the far wall, with cushioned benches, and drawers, and cabinets of all shapes and sizes in between.

My father had added the magnificent white French doors that opened up onto a small balcony of wrought iron that overlooked the garden. If that wasn’t enough the wall adjacent to it had a bay window overlooking the castle wall. It was my favorite place to read.

Then of course I failed to mention the bed, I had already retired to. It was ginormous. I bet you can’t guess what kind of wood it was made of. No, not maple, it was mahogany! It had red curtains with the same designs as on the walls except they were black. The throw folded at the foot of the bed had the same color scheme except reversed. The pillows were the same scheme as the curtains. The pillows covered the majority of the bed. They were every shape and size. The sheets were black underneath a black comforter that covered the bed. It might have been a bit much but it was like float on air.

My father had spent a year designing the room for my 16th birthday present. It wasn’t because I was turning 16, a man then, that he made the room. It was because he wanted me to be a lady’s man. He wanted me to spend time entertaining girls, like young princes do. Oh, I had girls in there all right. The maid visits every day, and my sister Jade used to come to my room all the time.

Jade was a wonderful sister, she was without a doubt the closest person I had to me. She was just a bit too rambunctious for the rest of the court. She was a party girl by day, and well, she was a party girl all the time. She liked playing pranks and getting into trouble. She was the mischievous types. If she was wasn’t causing a scene she was planning one. I would tag along and get into trouble too, so my father would blame her. He said she was dragging her innocent and righteous brother along with her, through her dark deeds. A lot of the girls hated her, it was either they liked her or they hated her. Most hated her, she fit in better with the guys. She wasn’t a tomboy though, no her style and need for girly, material things made that obvious.

My father had sent her away from court a few years ago after it had gotten worse than just kids getting into trouble. People liked to talk about Jade, they spread rumors about her like no tomorrow, and she loved it. When rumors started flying about Jade being pregnant, my father blew it out of proportion. Don’t get me wrong, jade was a hot item, and she went through guys like they were going out of style. She only did it because she knew they thought they could get some. She’d toy with them for a while, just until they thought they were going to get lucky and then she would dump them. Jade wasn’t another one of those pathetic girls in court. She was a bit vain but not because she wanted boys to notice her. She wanted the right one to notice her. If she stood out just a little beyond those other girls than she thought maybe he wouldn’t miss her.

I had always thought that Jade deserved that, so I was very angry with my dad after he sent her away. . .My light bulb flew on at that moment. I could get Jade home, make her wish come true, and solve my father’s case of paranoia all at once. I started working out the details in my head. I had the rest of the night to figure it all out but I would need to get around early tomorrow.



I opened my eyes and looked at the clock. It said 8 o’clock. I got up, took a shower and brushed my teeth. I went to my closet and chose a pair of khakis and a black polo shirt. . . Time to get to work. I needed to call Jade and get in touch with Lord Valadore. Plus, I needed the Earl of Hendire to organize a meeting.

I called Jade first and told her my idea, leaving out the part about her soul mate. She thought it was a great idea. Though she wasn’t sure Dad would go for it, I just laughed and reminded her I was his golden boy. She laughed with me and suggested that I convince him to let her to lend a hand in the preparation stages of this court-wide event.

Then I went to see the Earl. There was always a million people coming and going from his apartments but I figured that he would be free at this hour. I was wrong. There was a line and this needed to be taken care of stat. So I decided to use my face, I hated to do it but desperate times call for desperate measures. I walked past everyone, opened the closed door, and stepped inside, closing the door behind me. He looked up when I entered, I didn’t look at him to show he could continue. He was talking to a disgruntled merchant. I walked to his desk and jotted down my message on a piece of paper and placed it beside him and left just as quietly and politely as I had entered.

Then I headed for the kitchen. Mrs. Bonovie was there now, and she was very interested to know where her apprentice had disappeared to.

“Sebastian! Did you know I actually went to bed at a decent hour last night? That girl could really run the kitchen and you’ve gone and given her to Valadore!” She hollered loudly, while waving a soup ladle. I laughed as she dodged my attempts to thwap me with it. I continued laughing as I spun around the island in the center of the kitchen, dodging cooks, waitresses, and the ladle. I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl as I spun again.

“Don’t worry! I’ll find you another one, I promise.” I chuckled as I went out the back.

I walked around to the front steps and signaled the valet to get my car. It was a black Camaro, the new model. The valet stepped out and handed me the keys. Away I went, to Valadore’s humble abode.


I spoke to Lord Valadore and got back by noon. Jade had left me a message saying she would be getting a ride from one of her friends. Her friend was going to spend a few days at home before heading to court. She ended the message by telling me there would be serious repercussions if I missed her call later this evening.

I had an hour left to burn and nothing to do, so I decided I would go visit my mother. I went and got five baby blue roses from the garden. I trimmed them up nice and pretty myself. I walked along the grassy path that stretched past the maze of a garden into the woods, where her favorite spot was. She loved it there, even as a child I knew I could always find her there. I remember she used to sit there and think on the wooden bench.

I touched the cold stone. It was simple, the way she would have wanted it. I placed the flowers in the grass beside her and left. I could never stay there with her for too long. It hurt too badly. It tore at my heart, or at least that’s what she told me the pain would be from. I had refused to believe that I ever had a heart, but when she died, all that pain she told me I would feel, it was there. It got better over time, but whenever I was there it was fresh in my memory, like an open sore. It was comforting though, to know I had a soul. It meant I had something to give, and I knew just how fragile it was.

Prologue

    Have you ever wondered if you were alone in an empty house? Do you ever wonder where the grape you dropped on the floor in the kitchen went? You spent fifteen minutes looking for it on your hands and knees. You even swept the whole floor and searched under the fridge. How many times have you seen something out of the corner of your eye, looked, but saw nothing? Do you think your house is haunted because you hear footsteps in the night? If you cut the branches back on a tree outside your bedroom window, will you still hear tapping and scratching on glass? Do you really need to be afraid as you're lying in bed, wide awake, after watching a scary movie? I know the answer. . . it's 'yes.' 


Incomplete.