* * *
Drizella
Since we were racing to the Thomas household, we arrived sooner than the twenty minutes that Peter had mentioned. We slowed down as we got closer to the home and tied the horses to a tree branch across the yard, it shouldn't take too long to offer our condolences.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
After the first knock, we heard barking from inside that then seemed to move outside and to the side of the house. The back door must be open for the dog to roam around, I figured.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
After a few more attempts and still no answer, Peter walked over to the side of the house to look over the fence where the dog was barking at us. "Hey, Gemma!"
Looking over the fence where Peter was, I saw an older dog with a white face and a black and brown body, its ears were large and pointy and its bark was so loud and rounded that I
Driz and Peter arrived back at the castle along with the remaining posy flowers just past noon and hurried to the guest quarters to share the news that the plague has spread throughout the kingdom.Their footsteps clicked on the ground as they walked and caught the attention of the Prince who was talking to Malcolm out in the hallway.
* * *DrizellaPeter left for the village that same day as he had promised his old childhood friend, Derek Thomas, who appears to have come down with the same illness that killed his father, the town's mailman; It was the plague, and it seems to be spreading faster tha
Prince Charles headed to his father's quarters where he had been told by the servants to remain until the illness is well maintained. Charles found his father inside his study, overlooking some paperwork.*KNOCK KNOCK*"Enter," the King said.
After doctor Laënnec arrived and Driz had gotten the brew ready for Malcolm, Peter felt confident enough to leave for the village where his childhood friend Derek was sick. Before leaving, he had a small exchange with the Frenchman,"Monsieur Callahan, did you find any of the posy flowers?" The doctor asked.
Derek had fallen asleep shortly after sundown and Peter was still at the small table in the corner of the room with his various flowers, trying to come up with a cure for his friend's symptoms. Gemma, the German Shepherd, was asleep on the bed with Derek watching over him.Stretching his back, Peter decided to stop next door to check on Mrs. Ivie, their old babysitter. Earlier that day, when Peter and Driz stopped by, Mr. Ivie
Back in the King's study, he was pacing back and forth in front of the fire when his son entered the room."Charles, I need to know everything that you know, I need to find out where and from whom this all started." The King spoke quickly."That is what La
Alma took Ella to the receiving room today for her bridal training. Ella wasn't sure entirely what bridal training consisted of, but she had expected it to have something to do with etiquette and manners."The first thing that we need to get you prepared for Lady Ella is the parade," Alma said."Parade?""Yes, when your engagement is announced there will be a parade to go through the villages where you and the Prince will wave and smile at all the people and show them what the future of Briarglen holds." She said with a smile.The thought of strolling around the kingdom in and out village after village didn't sound only tiring, but also horrifying. Ella was the reason for this outbreak in the first place and it was only her
Saturday- The day of Ella and Driz's dates.* * *AnaMy sisters left for their dates at the castle this afternoon. Since the King put me on house arrest after my outburst at the ball, I was unable to do anything but stand by and watch as my sister's dreams were coming true. What about my dreams? I sat in front of my vanity looking at myself in the mirror.
Five years passed after Lady Tremaine’s death and Driz and Peter had now assumed the throne. A new mailman was appointed to share the news, and the royal colors had been changed from purple and gold to navy blue and white, same as Driz's dress at the ball.King Archibald remained on the throne for an extra year to prepare Peter and Driz for their ascension, stepping down when he felt they were ready. He now lived in the West Village with Malcolm and Alma, helping to repair the village after Lucinda's attack there.Peter had worked things out with his parents and used his new power as King to bring new plants overseas to learn their medicinal properties - the plants were left in his parent's garden to grow and the experiments were handed to Driz to conduct and discover their benefits.They built a hospital in the center of the kingdom, equal distance from each village, and put former coachman Davis in charge as the
* * *AnaThe surprise of our uncle showing up after neither of us remember meeting him and our mother telling us that he ran away a decade ago was perplexing, and neither Driz nor I knew just how to feel about it, or about him. He seemed an odd man, but then again, his entire family was killed, possibly because of his own sister, God, how I wanted to be in that dungeon to hear everything.It was barely midday when Joseph showed up, and it was now dinner time, everyone was gathered at the table for once, enjoying our time together.“Is Joseph still in the dungeon with mother?” I whispered to Driz from her side.“He must be, no one has mentioned seeing him since,” she responded. It was odd that Joseph had spent hours in the dungeon alone with our mother, then again, he seemed like an odd one from the beginning. “They haven’t seen each other in nearly a decade
The dungeon was now only occupied with Joseph and his sister Lucinda, waiting patiently for her sentencing to commence. The sibling's reunion was a difficult one, Joseph had kept his word about looking over his sister until she wed, but Lucinda thought that he took the easy route by marrying her off to the first man he could, and she blamed Joseph’s wife, Danielle, for the influence.The man that he married Lucinda to, was a kind one, tall, good-looking, well-spoken, and they began a family in no time, but he was the first man to show interest in Lucinda after Archibald left her for Malinda; She was heartbroken at the time, and longing for attention to bandage her wounded heart, so she didn’t fight it and married the man who would give her two beautiful daughters in the coming years.Her husband died of natural causes, leaving Lucinda and her young daughters alone until they showed up on Joseph’s doorstep one day, begging f
* * *DrizellaAna and I headed back to the receiving room where Derek was supposed to bring our uncle Joseph after tending to the horses, they should be there by now after our walk to find Charles and ask if it was alright for Joseph to speak with her.“What is he like?” I asked Ana before we reached the room, “our uncle, what is he like?”Ana took a moment to calculate her response and the silence made me slightly nervous, “He is very much like our mother, I’m afraid. Mannerisms, expressions, features, I don’t know about tendencies, though.”“Good to know,” I nodded my head at her as we continued to walk that way. We had to be careful who exactly to trust now that we learned our mother is a murderer and someone who scrapbooks her tortures.Ana and I took a deep breath before we turned the corner to enter the rec
* * *AnaDerek and I walked into the cottage with Joseph just behind us and looked around; the house was cozy and looked like it housed a large and happy family for years. The tapestries were colorful and there was a full china cabinet, trinkets along the fireplace shelf, and wind chimes you could hear from outside filled the house with a whimsical charm.“Can I offer you two some tea?” Joseph said but I denied, still wary of the gentleman. We all sat down on sofas that were opposite each other and stared at each other for a good moment before he spoke again with his palms facing upward as he asked, “What can I do for you two?”I had no idea what exactly we were doing here, so I looked at Derek and let him do the talking, “We heard of your in-laws passing and wanted to offer our condolences.”Joseph’s eyebrows shot up for a moment, “Oh, why that
* * *AnaI was swooning around the castle after seeing Peter propose to Driz, it was straight out of a fairy tale that I got to witness, and my heart was so happy for my sister, I know how much she loves him. I began twirling in the hallway as I walked back to my room and of course, I tripped.Derek caught me again, just as he had caught me the first time I ever saw him in the castle, only this time he held me there midair longer, just looking at me before pulling me back upright.I straightened my dress and cleared my throat, “Thank you, please excuse me,” I bowed my head quickly to him and continued on my way to my room. I could feel that he had stayed where he was, watching me as I walked away, but I paid him no mind. He left me after we kissed and then got all awkward about it, I didn’t want to be around him after he embarrassed me like that, even if there were no witnesses to my humiliation
* * *PeterI knew exactly what I wanted to do to ask Driz to be my queen, I would ask her the way that I had originally planned to ask her to marry me. I ended up asking her to marry me while we were lying in bed the night after I saved her from the bandits, I was watching her rest peacefully next to me, and she had a black eye, which had thankfully healed quickly.My original plan was to wait until I had my blue roses and present her with one, but thinking back on the idea now, it seemed too weak, I needed to go big.“Derek!” I caught him in the hallway and rushed to him, “I need your help with planning a proposal for Driz,”His eyebrows scrunched together, “But you are already married?”“Not to be my wife, to be my queen,” I told him and his face lit up, his eyebrows went back to normal and he smiled broadly at me.
* * *DrizellaPeter seemed lost in his thoughts as we tended to the new patients in the castle, I feared that it was my mother’s doing that made these ten people fall ill suddenly overnight, and guilt came over me as I looked at them.We were walking together towards Charles’s room where he and Ella had been staying when I asked him, “What are you thinking about?”He continued looking forward when he answered, “You know, if we end up really doing this, we will have a lot of support behind us,” he looked at me with a twinkle in his eye that made me smile, “I am shocked at what they said, but I got thinking of everything I could do, that we could do, and it’s really exciting, don’t you think?”I smiled back at him, “Yes, it is exciting, it will take some time to get used to being referred to as ‘your highness&rsquo
* * *PeterDriz and I talked some more and decided that no matter what happens, we will be strong enough together to get through it, but the decision was a massive one, and we wanted to speak with Charles and Ella together before deciding anything and announcing it. We were leaving our room when I saw Derek running towards us, a slight look of panic across his face.“Pete! I just talked to one of the servants and he said that ten more people have fallen sick just overnight,” he was panting from his run.I looked at Driz and she had the same startled look as I did initially, but then her face turned to determination and she said to me, “I’ll be in the greenhouse,” and I knew that she was going to make some of my signature brew for everyone.I grinned at her and kissed her forehead before she left and then looked back to Derek, “Take me to them,” and he