POV: Lianne
One week admission in the hospital was considered a short stay for a man who sustained a gunshot wound in the left upper chest. The cardiologist doctor of Since Hospital said that it was a miracle for Ruen to have a near-miss...only just a couple of millimeters away from his heart. It was a miracle truly. One that I was thankful for.
I was leaning against the railing in the open balcony of Ruen’s rest house. The evening was cold, but I took it upon myself to gaze at the beautiful sea of stars in the blanket of darkness. I really missed this place, and I am happy to be back here again.
I was wearing a peach-pink evening gown with crystal beads on the strap shoulder, neck, and waistline formed into a bouquet of flowers. He bought the gown for me from a well-known designer. The fabric used was a soft chiffon and it had a one-meter trail, enough for me to manage in the Since Mans
“Kill them! All of them!”That was the last judgment declared by King Garlow, the ruthless king of the Kingdom of Regaleria. He was on his mount, a strong muscular black horse, holding its golden reigns with a posture of a calculating, self-assured, proud man. His eyes were a deep blue; cold and icy; piercing through the destroyed walls of the Vhillana Kingdom. The smell of gunpowder, burnt wood, and rotten flesh reached through his nostrils even though he was just waiting at a hill miles away from the attack.The fortification of the main city of Vhillana was now breached and all the dwellers of the city, panic-stricken, were trying their best to save one’s own lives. Flames everywhere - from the rooftops of the houses to the marketplace - and even the Vhillana Palace was not spared. It was in total chaos. Men were slain. Women and children screaming desperately in anguish.The smell of metallic blood
Regaleria Mansion (Present)“Your Highness...”Lady Faye lowered her head in acknowledgment of Prince Ruen’s arrival in the main kitchen. Seeing the crown prince in such a place wasn’t new to her and she knew exactly the reasons why even without him saying a word.He stopped right beside the Head Servant who was sitting at the center table carefully placing white roses in a porcelain vase.His cold, domineering eyes scanned the whole place. The room immediately fell silent. Maidservants, errand boys, and the chief cook, without a second thought, skittered out of the room to provide the two some privacy.“Faye, where is she?” he curtly asked the moment they were alone.She smiled slightly in response. Although he specifically didn’t mention a name, she knew exactly who he wa
In one of Lianne’s wanderings around the mansion, she discovered the royal library at the north wing of the second floor. It immediately became her personal favorite place of solace among all of the areas being that she loved to read books. Never was a day that she wasn’t holding a book in her hand. However, with such an enormous collection of these inside the library, it was no wonder that her time would be spent with it.Prince Ruen was sitting at an intricately carved bergère near the library’s fireplace when he heard the twisting sound of the doorknob. He didn’t mind it though thinking that it was Lord Jared, the majordomo of the mansion, informing him of his rest.Even though it was a quarter before one at midnight, sleep was the last thing on his mind as he was engrossed in finalizing a plan for a large vessel to be built upon his father’s approval. Blueprints and crumpled papers spread throughout t
Lianne never gave a word about last night, even with Lady Faye’s questioning. When she was informed that King Garlow had summoned her to his study room, she didn’t think twice of going there, instead, she decided to lock herself in her room feigning that she was feeling ill.Lady Faye wasn’t surprised by her behavior though. Of all the people living in Garlow’s kingdom, she’d be the first to openly display her hatred of him, and Garlow knew it fully well to his apparent amusement.It was morning the next day when she came out of her room. It seems as though the maidservants weren’t troubling her with annoying questions anymore, much to her relief.“Nahhh, you’re kidding! Are you sure of it?” one maidservant named Erza squealed in disbelief while dusting off the window panes of the kitchen room.Loretta, the second maidservant cleaning the dishes i
“Your Majesty,” a muscular man said, partially kneeling in front of the King to show his respect and utter submission.“Midas,” King Garlow replied, sitting in his own regal seat at the throne hall which was located on the third floor, center of the mansion.He wore a richly embroidered Persian gold cloth with a brilliant vermilion red fur surrounding his shoulder. His head was adorned with an extravagantly-decorated crown of precious stones and diamonds and around his neck, he wore a thick gold-plated necklace with an emerald pendant as its centerpiece. This emerald pendant was in fact the very heirloom of the Vhillana royal family. It was evident that he adored such a pendant for reasons unknown to any subject of his nor even his own son.The throne hall was probably the crème de la crème of all the rooms in the Regaleria mansion; the Regaleria grand hall was only second.&n
So, three days after their deal, Cain started training her to ride.The very black colt that Lianne had befriended when she was the age of twelve had been shipped to one of Garlow’s chateau to her dejection. Cain instead gave her a stallion, straight from the Soulisse mansion, handpicked by Cain himself for the princess to ride, and it was a pure white Hanoverian horse; tall and slender, with strong limbs and robust, powerful body - exactly a trainable horse that was perfect for the princess. She immediately named the young creature, Arinna.For the first four weeks, they trained basics at the stables. Although Lord Cain had to attend an invitation to a party at Chateau de Roxe, a day ride from the Soulisse Mansion to the chateau, and another day back to the mansion, Lianne didn’t stop herself from practicing. He didn’t return until seven days later, after which they resumed their training which progressed to more complex r
“Cheers for a job well done.”Vancent held out his own champagne glass on the air after his long-winded toast was over.He was sitting next to a beautiful lady of twenty-four years old wearing a very revealing black sequined gown with her bodice pushing up her bosom presenting an alluring display.She was Lady Kathrine de Forte, a distant cousin of the Lutfergaurd Family.Apparently, the caretaker of the Chateau de Veirsalles, Madame Trina, invited her for an evening dinner with the prince of Regaleria who was sitting at the center of a long dining table, but ever since the prince arrived at the chateau a year ago, Kathrine had been intentionally rubbing her way into the prince’s attention without any progress.Prince Ruen’s own vessel, the Esclava, was nearing completion. There were only just a few minor embellishments to be accomplished before he could f
It was the turn of a new year.Two nights ago, there was a blizzard that visited the Regaleria Kingdom. Snow falling heavily on the sky covering every track visible. The lush green mountains transformed into white crystal cones, bald trees seen everywhere, and even the beach that once boast its blue-green vibrant color changed into ice.Apparently, King Garlow hated snow. That was the only thing that Lianne agreed about him. The pureness of the white snow didn’t suit the stark contrast of his dark demeanor. Winter always visited the kingdom every year, and Lianne knew this was the only time that drives the King out of his own castle.Just five days ago, he left for Arlington along with Lord Jared which was just two days sea voyage away from Regaleria. He had another chateau there which was half the size of the Regaleria mansion. At this time of year, Arlington had an opposite weather, warm sunlight with easy breeze