Under the golden trees of Lorien, the Realm of Lanriel stands elegant and proud. The People of the Stars, celestial elves, populated these glittering and gold walls of gold and crystal, radiating a light of their own apart from the reflections of the sun upon the shimmering surfaces. By the Moon and stars, this realm thrives under the blanket of night, in the light of these celestial bodies. The Kingdom itself sat high on a marvelous plateau above the Lorien trees. Water flowed down the edges of this cliff, feeding the trees a magic that only the celestials could wield.
Lanriel was magic incarnate, but visitors were often regarded with suspicion. The elves were not eager to share their magic with outsiders as they revered it as part of their sacred culture. Few were so well versed in it as these elves.
Odd, though, the only one in Lanriel forbidden from practicing such magic was the princess of the realm. Leoaureli: a stunning example of Lanrielian beauty. As was common in her family, Leoaureli boasted long and silky silver hair that glinted in the moonlight. Her eyes matched such a shade; her pale complexion complimenting the color. She stood tall and thin, but sturdy with a sword.
Leoaureli, disallowed from leaving the walls of the castle “for her own safety”, loved to watch the males in the courtyard practice their skill. It was how she learned, at least, she hoped to have absorbed enough without actually holding a blade. It was of no matter that she practiced with a broomstick she stole because she would never admit to it.
She leaned on the edge of the cool crystal wall, chin in hand, and looked on, almost bored. It was all the same, she knew these men’s movements, she knew their gruff and harsh style, and she thought it was tactless. Though, who was she to speak?
“I do hope you’re not pining, Leoaureli.” Leoaurin, her brother, sighed as he approached her. He was the odd one out amongst the Leo family. His hair and eyes were dark; iridescent to her pearl, a shade she could not describe, as if it changed before her gaze. He wore a light purple doublet over a slate linen shirt. His pants were dark, they always were, and they hugged him just enough that he could still be nimble.
“Pining?” Leoaureli stood and looked at her brother challengingly. “Do you think of me as such a lady as to pine for a man who can hold his own? And me?”
Leoaurin cleared his throat and clicked his tongue. He felt the warmth of jealousy fill him.
Leoaurin was twisted. A black stain on the Leo family. He was adopted nearly four hundred years ago as part of a devil deal with the manipulative Siren Queen of Vansyre, Pharon Gallo. Using her son as barter, she bid King Leonaurus to take the boy in and train him in the ways of Celestial magic. In return, she would provide an alliance and teach Lanrielian scholars how to wield Devil magic. Together, the kingdoms would grow as one and become the highest authority in the land.
Or, so Pharon described, whispering spells into the ear of the King.
What was her goal? Domination, of course. To have every inch of the land in her hands. To rule above all. And to accomplish this, she needed the aid of celestial magic.
Hence, Leoaurin.
“Don’t speak so boldly, Leoaureli.” Leoaurin muttered, coming to stand next to her. “Why do you watch them so often?” He asked in disgusted bewilderment. Leoaureli sighed and tilted her head ever so slightly as if falling into a dream.
“Because, my dear brother, I need to know how to wield a sword should the time come.” Leoaureli mused, shrugging her shoulders. Leoaurin laughed, “You think you will ever touch a sword? My dear Starlight, I am your sword. I will never fail you.” He stepped back and bowed to her in a grand sweeping gesture.
Leoaureli chuckled at his antics. She was not stupid. She knew well Leoaurin’s feelings for her. That, and she had read his diary, the sneaky little minx. While this fact made Leoaureli feel greatly uncomfortable, there was nothing she could do about it. She had no outlet, no trust worthy support.
There were no friends and the staff were not allowed to speak to the princess unless necessary. The goal to keep her isolated was intended to keep her naive of the world.
Why? The kingdom could not lose the only princess, the only true heiress to the throne of Lanriel. She was a means to an end for a deal made centuries ago.
Keeping Leoaureli under lock and key was imperative due to the mysterious disappearance of her mother, Leodaunna, a celestial with immense power who was ambushed on her travels and never seen again.
Or so they say.
So she played the strange discomfort off as best as she could, her circumstances far too restrictive to try anything else. “Please, please.” Leoaureli waved her hand. “I want to be independent. I might as well be, I have no friends.” She took a few steps past him and walked away back inside. Leoaurin sighed and rolled his eyes, but, like a magnet, he followed after her.
“Not the ‘friends’ argument again. You can’t have friends, Leoaureli. You can’t trust others. You never know who’s out to get you. You’re valuable. Like Lorien, the most beautiful star in the sky. I have always thought of you as her reincarnated.” He admitted with a dusting of red on his pale face.
Hiding the disgust, Leoaureli glanced over to him. “And you think that makes you Faenor? My dear brother, please. To compare me to Lorien of the Golden Trees is an insult to Lorien!” She stopped in her tracks and turned around to catch him nearly stumbling into her. “What do you want? I suppose you’re buttering me up for some reason, no?”
Leoaurin laughed and waved his hand. “Please. I want nothing more than to spend time in your company. That is all. I have been so busy as of late. There is a war brewing. I’ve spoken to the King about this. His frailty is a concern during this time and he’s granted me authority on his behalf.”
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Leoaureli blinked then furrowed her brows. “Father gave you power of the throne?”
He nodded, quite smug in his manner. “Worry not, it is only temporary. As long as things go to plan, you’ll have the throne when the time comes.” He reached out to her and took her face into the palm of his hand. “I meant it when I said I would be your sword. I have always thought that from the moment you were born. I would never let anything harm you, Leoaureli.”
Swallowing thickly, Leoaureli took a big step back and gestured towards her head, “Oh, I nearly forgot! I have to check on the caterpillars in the garden!” With a laugh, she picked up the skirt of her dress and rushed down the hall and around the corner.
When she made it to her room, Leoaureli locked the door and pressed her back to it. Then she pushed off with a renewed sense of urgency. Her future was unknown to her and that was not something that sat well with her. The moments she thought about or questioned what her future looked like, she was never given a straight or comforting answer. It left her feeling lost in her life, out of control of it, unable to know herself.
She needed to take control of her life, desperate for the taste of freedom. Her life was not meant to be spent as a prisoner. Leoaureli fell to her knees and crawled under her bed until she was entirely hidden. She lifted a loosened plank off the floorboard and then another. Underneath, she kept a bag with two sets of clothes, extra boots, two cases of small bottled potions, and some non-perishable star bread. Lastly, her most prized possession: Argus, a grand tome with infinite pages, a green leather cover, and an eye in the center with golden skin surrounding it. The eye remained closed and always had as long as Leo had it.
Leoaureli pulled out Argus and the bag, stuffing them under the pillows on her bed, and ran through the plan to escape. She went about her room and pulled all the curtains closed. Then, standing in the center of her large chamber, she raised her hands near her chest, one above the other.
Between her palms a bright blue light shone in the shape of an orb and then, in an instant, she was gone.
Her visage became invisible and when she stood in the mirror, she could see nothing. She reappeared suddenly as she jolted in surprise. There was a knock at her door.
“Leoaureli? Why is the door locked? I’ve come to fetch you for dinner. Father wishes to see you.”
The princess relaxed and ran a hand through her silver tresses. “Even in prison there is no privacy.” She muttered to herself and waved her hand towards the curtains. They swung open and she unlocked the door. “Thank you for knocking. Seems like you’re learning.”
Leoaurin smirked and gestured for her to lead the way.
Dinner was never a pleasant event for Leoaureli, but she knew she ought to be grateful for being granted company during. For the first fifty years of her captivity, she was forced to live and eat in her chamber. But now she was sitting in the great dining hall. It was brightly lit with natural lights pouring in from the sun through the large windows and brilliant crystal walls.
It was beautiful. But a cage in a garden is still a cage.
“My darling, it is always so good to see you.” the patriarch of the family, King Leonarus, reached out for his daughter. He was once a large man, almost seven feet tall and burly, but now he was little else than a shriveled man. He’d become greatly ill not long after his wife disappeared and never recovered. Due to his inability to rule effectively, his adopted son, Leoaurin, was granted stewardship, though it was only this day that it was to be more than “temporary”as was promised to the princess.
“And you, father.” Leoaureli smiled, leaning down to hug him from where he sat in his wheelchair. She crouched down and took his hand in hers, “And how are you feeling?” She asked. He chuckled and pat her hand, “No better, no worse. Worry not, my daughter. You will remain secure.”
The princess frowned. “It is not me I am worried about, father. I know I will find a way. It is you I fear for.”
Leonarus gave her a tired smile and leaned over to kiss her head. “And that is why you are so much like your mother. Wherever my Daunna may be.”
Leoaureli stood up and sat near her father, her brother across from her, so that they could eat as a family. As usual, the meal was quiet, but today, Leoaureli was testing something, “Father… you have yet to tell me the plans for my future. I am an adult now, two hundred and fifty years, I should say I well am. I almost hate to ask, but I am starting to wonder. What are your plans for me?”
Before King Leonaurus could speak, Leoaurin did. “My dearest, why are you so worried? You will be taken care of, I promised that.” He sipped from his cup and then shoveled in a mouthful of potato soup.
Leoaureli’s face proved she was not satisfied with this answer. “I can only assume I am getting married soon. But to who? And when? That is what a princess does, is it not?”
Leoaurin chewed his bottom lip and clicked his tongue. “Let me just say this. It is something I am working to arrange. But please, my sweet star, don’t think too much on it.”
Pursing her lips, Leoaureli looked down to her plate, realizing it would be her last good, home cooked meal. So she dug in and let the ominous information her brother had spilled settle within her mind. Her eyes found his and she studied him for a moment.
A handsome, charming, and truly manipulative prince, Leoaurin harbored evil. He grew up learning both Celestial and Dark magic, making him a formidable foe. He scared Leoaureli and what he planned for the near future of the kingdom gave her a sick feeling in her stomach. While she did not know the details, she knew there was something brewing.
***
The night was cool, the light of the moon reflecting off of the golden leaves of Lorien, mimicking a restless tide. Standing on the overpass connecting the West wing with the East wing of the castle, Leoaureli and Leoaurin looked out over the town below.
“Why did you ask about your future at dinner?” Leoaurin asked, his gaze falling onto the silver visage of his younger sister. “I told you before it wasn’t anything you needed to be concerned about.”
Leoaureli grunted. “I would think that my own future is something I should be concerned about. You told me time and time again that the “plans” would be detailed to me upon adulthood. It has been two-hundred and thirty-two nights since my birth cycle. I have yet to know. Considering I don’t get to choose, I would at least like to be prepared for the first one.”
Leoaurin was taken aback. He had never heard his submissive sister speak so boldly. Was she thinking of stepping out of her shell finally? Was she thinking of her circumstances? Little did he know, Leoaureli had been thinking of this for a century and a half.
“What are you saying, Leoaureli? You don’t need to choose. I know what is best for you, I always have.”
“I am not some precious object, Leoaurin. I am real. A living, breathing elf like you. Why is it that you can make choices but I cannot? What you forget, dear brother, is that I am not stupid. What you are doing-”
“By Faenor’s name! You are not a prisoner! You are simply protected.” Leoaruin growled back, looming over her. “You could never survive out there, Leoaureli. The world is evil. I must protect you. You are the last good of this realm.” He softened, slowly, and took her hands in his, kissing her fingers. “Please, understand that I would be devastated if you were to vanish, too.”
Leoaureli pulled her hands away from him with a bit of a yank and grabbed at her dress, “Perhaps if I were to vanish, you would understand why. And you would come to see the torture you have made me endure.” Turning on her heel, she marched away. Leoaurin let her go this time, having come to learn that his sister needed time to cool down after a tantrum.
“Torture? Have I tortured you?” Leoaurin muttered with concern on his face. “Then I will make it up! If I have tortured you, my Starlight, then let me right it!” He called after her, watching her disappear into the moonlit hall. “Tomorrow!”