* * *
Drizella
I woke up just as I had remembered falling asleep; still in my clothes from Maddie’s wake, on top of the sheets, tear-stained face along with my sister who lay right in front of me. We cried ourselves to sleep last night.
This morning I am troubled. We cried for our mother last night when just hours before we had been in her house to gather evidence against her. We asked for this, didn’t we? Last night, I fell asleep feeling sorrow. This morning, I wake up feeling numb. My mother is about to be executed, and I have run out of tears.
I bathed quickly to fix my face and my ratty hair, I wanted to throw my black dress into the fireplace because it held too many poor memories, but I held back. The dress didn’t do anything – it was all me. I was in this position because I chose to be.
After getting dressed and waking up Ana so that she could bathe and change,
* * *PeterDerek and I began walking the halls of the castle silently. He didn’t pry but left me alone with my thoughts for a while until I was ready to talk.As a palace guard, I’ve walked these halls for years, but today I am seeing them in an entirely different light. There is a chance that someday all of this could be mine, and the thought horrified me. I inhaled deeply to take it all in, then exhaled to relieve my stress, but it didn’t work.“What’s going on, Pete?” Derek finally asked.I sighed and stopped walking, “I don’t know if I can do this,” I placed my hand over my mouth and started pacing from wall to wall.Derek stood where he was, “Can’t do what?”I looked up at him then, still pacing back and forth, his hair and eyebrows seemed especially bushy today, but that may
* * *PeterWe rode for a few minutes until the house was no longer in sight and I pulled on the reins of Onyx, stopping by a tree with a small pond nearby. I walked behind a tree and let out the biggest “FUUUUUCK!” at the top of my lungs so loud that the tree’s rattled and birds flew away.Derek seemed to expect this reaction, for he didn’t flinch at my outburst at all. I tried to breathe in and out to calm myself, I felt my blood boiling and my face turn red and hot, I needed to cool off. I saw the pond nearby and started taking off my clothes. First to come off was the jacket, then my shirt, then my shoes, and I walked into the pond, laying down in the shallow water.I closed my eyes to focus on the water cooling my skin for a moment until a shadow blocked the sunlight from me, “What are you doing?” Asked Derek from above me.My eyes were opened now and g
* * *DrizellaAna and I left the kitchen arm-in-arm towards Ella’s room to give her the tea to help her throat. We both felt awful because it was our mother who put her in the condition that she is in, but at least our mother will get her punishment in due time.It was odd walking into the Prince’s private quarters, but that’s where Ella was resting and we wanted so badly to check on her. One of the twin doors to the bedroom was opened and we knocked lightly when we saw Charles sitting on the side of his bed and Ella at the head of the bed.“Come on in,” he smiled at us and motioned for us to enter.“How are you feeling, Ella?” Ana asked her as I poured a cup of tea, she only shrugged in response but she had a smile on her face that was somewhat reassuring. She was obviously doing better in the sense that she had been pardoned from execution, but she
*Mature Content** * *DrizellaI went back to my bedroom to lay down for a while after speaking to Charles and Ella about who is to take over the throne and Ana showing me the coronation dress. I tried to rest and close my eyes, but my thoughts were swirling my head a million miles a minute.After a decent hour of tossing and turning in bed, I heard the door open and I sat up on the bed. Peter was standing by the door with his jacket in hand looking at me, he had the same troubled look that I had.“So, it wasn’t a dream, then,” I said and he shook his head.“No.” He sighed, “No… it wasn’t.” He began walking towards me to the bed, he threw his jacket over a chair and sat on the edge of his side of the bed with his back facing me. I crawled over to him on the bed and wrapped my arms around him from behind, my head resting against his
* * *AnaDriz became overwhelmed and went to lay down, but I stayed back to continue on the dress some more. It was currently only pinned together since I have only been in the castle for a few days, but the prince supplied me with everything that I would need to finish it before the crowning of the queen, which I was told would be in a matter of weeks, should we ever figure out which of my sisters would take the crown.God, what a crazy thing to think. One way or another, I would be close to the Queen of Briarglen, either the sister to the queen or the stepsister to the queen, either one I was fine with.“What are you smiling about?” Asked Derek from the doorway. I hadn’t closed it after Driz left the room and didn’t notice him arrive. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed and an amused smile as he looked at me.I put my hand on my cheek to find t
* * *AnaI walked over to the branch-covered doors at the side of the house, ignoring Derek’s question, “Where are you going?” from back at the carriage.I got on my knees and brushed aside the cleverly-placed rubbish to camouflage the doors and unlocked it by moving the wooden rod that prevented it from being opened from the inside. My heart began to pound and I hesitated to open the doors, but then I remembered that mother was far away and locked in a dungeon, she couldn’t hurt me or trap me in here again.Taking a deep breath, I finally opened the doors and saw Derek walk around the corner and to me. His bushy eyebrows shot up when he saw me start to descend underneath the house and he hovered where he stood for a moment, unknowing if he should follow me.I brought a light with me, remembering that the oil lamp had burnt out the night that I was stuck in here readin
* * *DerekI couldn’t fathom what I was seeing; this cold and dark room underground that held an eerie feeling, I couldn’t imagine in my wildest dreams being trapped in a place like this, my heart broke for Ana to see her here again. I remembered the fresh marks on her back that I saw for the first time last night, and a shiver went through my spine at the thought.I had to comfort her somehow, and also myself, so I finally kissed her, and it was amazing. I knew that I liked the girl and we got along, but our conversations had always been so casual that I didn’t know if she liked me the same way, but the way she kissed me made me feel like she did.I didn’t want to leave her in the torture chamber, so I sent the coachman down to be with her while I snuck inside the house and packed a couple of trunks worth of her clothing and personal items from her room upstairs, I wanted to make sure tha
* * *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
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