"Why are there more guards than usual?"
Morrigan noticed how the hall is not just packed with envoys and aristocrats waiting for her but every corner and most of the hall there stood guards standing straight and even inspecting all guests coming in from every direction. Checking the pockets of every man, maids inspecting the women dressed and fancy garbs. Even the garden is packed with guards on alert and patrolling non-stop. Watching the guests that get in and out of the hall. "The security is even more strict than before," she commented, as she observe the hall from above. Noticing the difference in the security from the usual gathering she had attended when her father was still the king. This time it's so tight she felt suffocated by the number of guards patrolling the area. Mathias' footsteps reverberated behind her. He stood beside her watching the crowd of people enjoying themselves. Dancing and drinking high-grade alcohol. Bachelors and Bacheloret
Morrigan's lips quivered, trying to find her voice and strength to answer her uncle. The Prince Regent's taunting voice echoes in Morrigan's ears. Her hands started to shake uncontrollably, concealing it by holding it close to her. Her eyesight started to blur as tears slowly brimming her eyes, she blinked repeatedly trying to clear her eyes. She started to feel a lump on her throat, the air around her getting stuffy that it is hard for her to breathe. Her lips are slightly agape as she tried to breathe from her mouth, feeling her whole mouth and throat dry. Her eyes remained to gaze at the couple who were held hostage by the guards. The silent buzz of whispers around her ringing in her ears. "Where is the ring, Morrigan?" Her uncle's voice is thunderous that even the guests circling them felt intimidated. Morrigan flinches and shivered in fear. His cold and ruthless gaze focused on the princess who seemed to be pinned on the spot where she stood, trying
Morrigan remained in the same position for the whole night. Crying her eyes out till she had no more tears to cry. Her throat was dry and out of voice from all her wails and agony. Whispering things like an old chant or prayer she learned since childhood. Her hands twitching uncontrollably once in a while. "They didn't do it..." She whispered, the words barely coming out of her throat. Her voice was rash and almost gone, totally different from the usual sweet and melodious voice of the princes. Her hands laid on the floor lifeless, and even the slightest spark in her eyes died down. She went back to her state before the couple found her in a single night. Like a dead and empty shell. Her eyes remained bloodshot and tired, dry even that it stings occasionally but Morrigan seemed to not mind it at all. She remained leaning by her door unmoving and had not gone back to the hall for the celebration that was meant for her. Even with the maids or guards knockin
"The crown princess had gone insane!" The rumors had flown fast and wide, reaching the ears of almost everyone in the kingdom. The news of the princess' stunt during the public execution had come to the ears of even of those busybodies in the pubs, and even of those who are living in the secluded part of the nation. From the streets of the capital to the darkest alleyways, to the deepest part of the outskirts, it had reached such lengths, and that the news of the princess acting insane had spurred the talk of the town. "She had been screaming and crying like a madwoman that day! If not for the maids that pulled her down it might have been fatal for her if she accidentally fell from that height." The people around the streets had been talking about it, taking into accounts what they have seen and heard that day. A young man dressed in a black cloak, its hood covering his head looks toward the palace. Gazing at the tall and glo
In Morrigan's eyes, the person she is strangling right now is neither a royal member of the family or her uncle. In her eyes, he is nothing but a devil's incarnate that had done nothing but torment her and take away those who are around her. Her grip around his neck tightens but the eyes of the Prince Regent had already regained their composure. He was neither taken aback nor surprised by Morrigan's outburst, instead, he was amused and intrigued that the dignified and sophisticated Crown Princess can act this way. The meek Little Raven that runs around the palace could be this mad to the point of her glaring at him with her murderous look. Screaming at the top of her lungs like a wild animal in the wilderness. She was nowhere the girl everyone watched to grow in grace and sophistication. A wide smile grew on his lips as he looked at her with great intensity in his eyes of intrigue and amusement. "Look at you, Little Raven, you are no different from me." An amu
"Scram! Get out of here!" A loud shattering of glasses and thuds come from Morrigan's room. The Old Physician and Lord Toiba looked at each other when the loud noise came from the Morrigan's chambers, followed by her screams and curses. The alarming havoc happening in her room made the Old Physician and Lord Toiba ran towards her room. The loud crashes of expensive pottery continue along with her screams asking the people in her room to go away from her. Even the guards outside of the room don't know what they should do at that moment for they have not seen the princess throwing things that she can get her hands into. The two gentlemen in front of her room looked at each other as they hear the continuous screaming and violent collision of vases and ceramics towards the floor and walls. Lord Toiba's hands were about to reach for the door handle when the door suddenly opens and a maid squealed as she see the men standing in front of Morrigan's room. She im
Morrigan sat by her seat on the balcony. Wrapped in a silk wrapper. Hugging her legs, her chin resting on top of it. Resting her head with her eyes full of pain and agony. Tears brimming her eyes. She looked at the locket in her hand as she reflects on the things she overheard. She heaved a deep sigh. Closing her hands around the locket, its chain dangling from her hands almost touching the marble floor. Her sad eyes stared at the moon, appreciating its marvelous beauty, drowning her with her thoughts. Its soft glow shining on her pale skin which seemed to be porcelain glistening under the luminescence of the moon. The silence around her, and the cold air giving her the peace that she had once in a while. Finally drowning herself in something that she had longed for. A few strands of her hair dancing along with the wind. The fresh scent of camellias was blown by the wind to her, like a calming incense that help
Dusk came, and Morrigan sat on her bed unmoving. Her eyes are bloodshot from all her pleas and cries. Still traumatized and pondering about the things that happened to her. Her hand holding the cold locket close to her chest. Sitting there with half of her bare body exposed to the cold morning air. Every part of her body was marked by what happened last night. From scratches to bruises, up to marks that are trickled all over her neck down her chest. Her wrist was red from when Mathias bound her on her bed frame. Morrigan heaved a sigh. Hauling the blankets she could grab, covering her body helplessly as dusk approaches. Knowing that any moment someone will find out what happened to her. Preparing herself to be ostracized by their slanderous mouths. Her tears streaming down her face incessantly just by the thought of the news that her innocence was taken away even before matrimony. She was disgusted by herself but a growing abhorrence towards Mathias is ev
"Have you heard of the rumor?" A young man dressed in finely tailored clothes, veiled in a heavy cloak stood frozen on the spot as he heard the two young ladies standing in front of a seamstress' shop gossip with each other. Their hands inspecting different kinds of fabrics and silks that are laid out of the seamstress' shop. "What rumor?" The other lady asked her colleague as she diverted her gaze towards the pouches displayed on the rack. Choosing the finest one with exemplary embroidery. The other lady seemed to blush as she heaved a sigh and gestured towards the palace. Her eyes look at the towering infrastructure with great adoration. "It seems like we will witness royal matrimony soon. The tenth prince from the neighboring kingdom and the crown princess seemed to have fallen in love with one another!" The other
I, Morrigan of Hymir, the current queen of the blessed lands of Hymir, hereby abstain from my position as the monarch and mother of the nation. For I have sinned a thousand unforgivable sins. My hands are tainted with the blood of innocents and thus haunt me from night and day. For vengeance clouded my reasonings, I have killed my uncle who had been struggling with me through the race to power. Killed a foreign prince that caused havoc and war to the nation, making hundreds if not thousands of mighty soldiers died on the battlefield. Kept the secret of me having a child out of wedlock, that in the end died prematurely even before I was proclaimed the mother of the nations. Accused wrongly of the ministers that tried to support and help me regain the grace of the kingdom. And killed the man that I loved for my whole life, the man that I have been looking for years o
The night is cold, the moon is bright. The palace halls are silent and only the howling of the winds at the night could be heard. The soft glow of the moon illuminated the palace halls. Basked in the luminous glow of the moon the palace marble floor glistened like a rare gem. Morrigan looks out of the window as she gulped the last of her glass of wine. Holding the locket that she wears close to her heart. “The sky is clear, my lover. Have you been waiting for me?” She whispers as she gazes at the clear night sky. She smiled as she put the crystalline goblet she uses on the table before her. Her bare foot touched the cold marble floor. “I’ve also waited for this day to come.” Her steps are light as a feather, her graceful strides bless the pristine marble floor. Her shadow was like a ghost floating along with her gracefu
The mellow and comforting sound of a music box reverberated around the palace’s gardens. As the camellias bloom in beautiful bloom and the soft glow of the breaking dawn approaches with golden rays kissing the fragile flowers in the garden. The morning dew cascaded down the luscious foliage around the place. However, in the middle of the gardens the contrast of a woman clad in black, wandering around the garden as she walks by the patches of grass with her barefoot. Humming along with the sound coming from the music box from the locket that’s laying down peacefully on a velvet pillow on a finely crafted case sheltering the meticulously made locket, besides it was a necklace with a key pendant. The wind howls and caresses her body, a black curtain of hair sways along with the wind as the soft and warm rays of the sun touch her delicate skin. “There you are, I have been looking for you.” Morrigan whisked her gaze to the voice that caught her attention. Their eyes looked
“As for the Queen’s order, the late Lord Toiba who remained as a loyal confidant of the royal family till the end of his life was to be freed from his sins for the Queen proved that he had served the royal family with all his might. Freeing him from the sins he had been accused of leading to his very execution. The House of Toiba could rise and join the society once again along with their distant relatives. However deception is a capital crime, Colum Toiba, the son of the late Minister and Lord Toiba and the current Head of the noble family of Toiba deceived the Queen by giving birth to a fraudulent identity behind the name Colfre. Sowing discord and hate, as he carefully machinates his hidden agenda, and eventually betraying the Queen, threatening her life with his very sword. Humiliating and putting Her Majesty’s life in line proved him guilty of his sins, and his execution will follow by the Queen’s orders. By the pardon of the late Lord Toiba, the Queen gives honor to the f
Morrigan could not feel anything but her aching heart. Her mind was muddled with devastation and betrayal. The hall that was packed with joyous celebration and cheers earlier is like an ice-cold desert, with only her and the guards around her as Colfre stood in front of her. Looking at her with the same hazel eyes she fell in love, but this time the warmth she could feel when she gazes at his eyes was nowhere to be found. All that there is a cold and ruthless gaze, a gaze that will never bow down to anyone. A smug smile grows on his lips as he bends down in front of Morrigan. Morrigan bit the insides of her cheeks as she watch the man in front of her, gone were the soft and gentle gaze from Colfre’s eyes, instead he turned to be the cold Colum Toiba whom he revealed he was. Morrigan’s mind and the heart do not correspond with each other. Her mind wanted answers, but her heart was afraid of the answers he might give her. It was the fear of uncertainty, her mind is in haywire. Her lip
As dawn comes in the Kingdom of Hymir, the people started to bustle the streets, street performers dance gracefully in colorful dresses. Teahouses flocked with tourists and locals alike, ecstatic to hear the romance that had been told for weeks by esteemed storytellers. With the pavements of the streets near the palace flooding with flowers offered by the citizens, from camellias, roses, tulips, to stargazers that were brought by the tourists, offered to the queen as they celebrate with her for another year given to her by Fiachra. The festivity in the streets was in equal terms of the nobles inside the palace, as coaches line the front of the palace gates, with esteemed diplomats and nobles presenting their invitations in their fine tailored dresses and suits, with their lavish gifts for the Queen of Hymir, and their wishes for her reign's longevity. And as the bustling streets and the palace halls were filled
Clouded with thoughts that left her scarred throughout her youth, Morrigan couldn’t help but shake in fear as the images of her family being devoured by walls of flames flashed back in her mind. Just the thought that someone is plotting against the royal family is enough to bring the slumbering fear within her. Everything came rushing back, the pain, the agony, the grief, and the betrayal. The very same feelings she tried to bury down at the back of her mind came backstabbing her with just a single parchment. She wondered if what she did on her coronation was not enough to warn people of what she could do for people who dared act treacherous against the royal family or did she put her guard down so much that they found her vulnerable. Morrigan’s nails dug on her palm, enough to make her knuckles white. The growing fear within her is not just for herself but for the people dear to her, for Colfre and Rita. She already lost enough and the though
Morrigan and Colfre walked by the long hallway of the palace hand-in-hand. The sun’s golden hues glowing by the window touching the pristine marble floor of the grand abode in the heart of the capital of Hymir. Fresh calla lilies and camellias are displayed by the walls just beneath the golden sconces on the wall. Vases made from fine porcelains that hold the simple yet elegant floral arrangements make the hall look even livelier than before. Now gone of the gloomy and eerie aura of the hallway that once reverberated the cries and agony of the queen. Now it was enveloped with images that reflect the joyous occasion that is coming. A few days from now Morrigan will celebrate her birthday with another joyous occasion of her announcing her betrothal to Colfre. Morrigan looked around the hall, letting herself drown by the comfortable ambiance of the place. “When I was young, I remember this hallway was adorned with gold and freshly picked red roses. It smelled hea
The palace is bustling with maids and guards running around the long palace halls. Maids run around with vases of white camellias on their arms, and guards training for the security of the palace. Everyone is busy as the day of the queen's birthday approaches. With a celebration not just of the queen's birthday but also the day where the queen will announce her other intentions and plans for the kingdom. With news spreading around the kingdom that the queen is now finally settling herself down as she found the person who she will entrust her whole life with. The whole palace turned into the reflection of the streets. The insides of the palace are draped with festive colors of pink and red, with glints of golds and silvers. The heavy curtains that used to be in the shade of maroon were then changed into red velvet curtains that bring out the grandiosity of the palace. The dull lifeless façade and ambiance of the place turned regal and mighty. As if telling