Shivering and lonely, I stare up at the window above my bed. I let my mind drift to the dinner I forgot to consume, the growl in my stomach loudly persisting to acknowledge my grand mistake. It was a common occurrence, specifically on nights I had plans, I had struggled to eat when combating my excitement.
Today had been tremendously long, as it was the fifth day of the week, the busiest day in this damn castle as it was the end of the work week for some and for some others the beginning of a very long three days. I usually dreaded this day, but knew that my night plans would always make the hard work worth it. I put a shaking hand on my chest, heart thundering beneath my sweaty palm. Tonight I would not be Cora, bastard child of the beautiful Saisha Van Dalen. Saisha was the wife of Alaric Van Dalen, who worked as one of the King’s men, which to serve the King so closely would make my family something of royalty. This isn’t something I proudly announced.
This situation would make me a ‘castle kid’, some of the most ignored people in our kingdom. The separation had always been so obvious between castle kids and the kingdom’s children, as we were mostly heirs and the children of the King’s men. While we were in etiquette classes and learning tasks to better serve the King, the kingdom’s children would learn useful skills that would make them well rounded citizens of the kingdom. The castle kids had mostly…specializations. Most of them anyways.
However, tonight I would just be me. The work week was over and I had fulfilled my duties to Alaric to earn my three days of freedom. Well my three evenings of freedom because as the stepdaughter of Alaric, my duties didn’t receive days off. I always thought how strange the days breaking off in such a way had been, but the King would disappear for three days and everyone would feel the tension leave the kingdom along with him.
CLINK. CLINK. CLINK. I jump at the sound I usually patiently wait around for and giggle as my pulse races. Sitting up quickly, my dark hair surrounds me in waves, matching my dark eyes that dart to my room door, ensuring the lock was in place. Rushing to the window that I had been staring longingly at for the last hour, I remind myself that I had heard Saisha and Alaric leave minutes prior, noting that they would be out drinking for the night, so I finally unlatched the window and opened it. The cool night air hits my face like an ice cold shower usually does and I can’t help the chill that I feel in my body, but I peer down at the source of the sound that alerts me.
Three rocks, three clinks, like clockwork.
“Put on your coat and get down here C.” Wesley’s voice brings a smile to my lips, as well as the nickname he had assigned me long ago when we were just children running around the castle after everyone had gone to bed. Even now, at the end of my adolescence at 20, I couldn’t help the giddiness.
Though I had been the weakest of my siblings, I made for an excellent climber, using my nimbleness to hoist myself outside the tall window using only the dresser for some support. Once I’ve plopped to the ground with a very silent scuff, I toss Wesley a flirtatious grin and a wink for good measure. As we walk, I quickly braid my hair back.
“What’s with the attitude Wes? The King’s outside the wall tonight.” I look towards the stoned path leading away from my quarters, knowing that the other two of our group, Torie and Zech would be waiting for us. We all wore hoods, a way to keep others minding their own business as we maneuvered through the night.
“We have to get going if we want to have time for everything. Zech is pretty adamant that tonight is the night.” Wesley had always been the more serious of our group, but he wasn’t the ringleader due to my own existence. I prided myself on forcing Wesley into being my friend when we were children, conning him into my rendezvous. Whenever we met Zech and Torie, I knew we would all be the perfect group, all cast out by our peers because well, nobody liked a castle kid. Especially a castle kid who would be an heir to their parent’s committee.
Once we unite for the evening, the tavern that’s a short walk from us comes into view. The streets are crowded tonight, as usual for the first night of the king’s absence for the week and a sure sign that we wouldn’t even be noticed leaving the grounds that we had practically been glued to. I walk the familiar path, my rugged and dirty outside boots occasionally catching on a piece of the rocked path, and I watch as Torie giggles with Wesley before me. Zech brings up the rear on my side, always the watchful one especially with the drunks that would be out.
The kingdom was full of taverns, shops, and many other residences to make it all up. Once away from the castle, it was a slightly congested area, but the fields just outside of it would make up for that. That was also a large way we would get our goods, and outside of those fields would be the woods that kept the wall hidden. The wall, as far as history lessons went, kept Denexas safe from looters and criminals. Beyond that, was a world we had decidedly locked ourselves from. An ugly world.
The Melting Bat was unarguably one of the best taverns in our city. Letting children of the castle in was one of their specialities however they also allowed adolescents of all residences in. That is how our friend group would get our socialization, but a lot of important workers of the King often spent their evenings there with a never ending mug, which made eavesdropping and knowing whereabouts the guards would be going very easy to come by for our group. This has given our friend group some pretty interesting ideas. The idea for tonight had been growing for only a couple of years, but I think we could all feel the potential of tonight if Zech and Torie’s mischievous grins since we’d walked into the Melting Bat were anything to go by.
“Cora, drink.” Wesley’s attitude however, hadn’t changed and seemed pointed at me, a fact that had started to put a damper on the thrill of our night.
“Okay, what’s wrong?” I ask, eyeing where our other two friends had chanced a seat closer to some guards who at this point, had some very loose tongues based on their expressions. I notice as Welsey relaxes, and I know he must’ve been hoping I’d ask him. He sighs and bright green eyes meet mine. Wes was growing into an extremely attractive man, something that didn’t even go unnoticed by our peers who avoided much talk with us usually Two very strong arms from training with his father and pale skin to match very light brown hair, almost a sandy blonde in the summer light, his eyes would always stick out in the crowd. I couldn’t help but notice as more and more girls from around our kingdom would linger, or make conversation, or even find ways to touch him. But Wesley belonged to us, in the way that the castle kids would all belong to each other. Our bond was too profound.
“My father asked me to go on a trip. Or told me, I guess since asking isn’t something he does.” I can’t fight the sharp intake of breath, and wince as Wesley tenses. Wesley’s father was one of the King’s men. There were different types of them, and they all resided in the main castle with their families, all handling different parts of things the King would need help managing. Wes’s family came from a long line of very gifted trackers, therefore hunting was quite literally in their blood. And though Wes hated it, his father would often take him out to try and get him used to tracking, training those green eyes to see things that others wouldn’t notice, and attention to detail that others overlooked often.
Torie’s family were great craft makers, and worked vigilantly to make clothes, shoes, and anything with the sigil on them for the King and his men. Zech’s family were the crop keepers and knew things about different plants and berries. They would also be the food makers for the royal family and all of us who resided in the castle. My step father however, was in charge of prisoners. In the history of Denexas, there hadn’t been prisoners to tend to, so we usually busied ourselves with other things to do around the kingdom, more of a security detail. And by we, I meant my step father and my younger brothers.
“Cora.” Wes’s hand comes to rest on my knee and I snap back into the moment. I can read the apprehension in his face and instantly feel terrible for my lack of response. Usually, I was much better with that, but the admission surprised me. But I was always great at responding and picking my friends up, so I replaced my blank stare with an easygoing grin.
“It’s going to be okay Wesley. We’ve talked about this. Busy yourself with other aspects of the job and eventually you’ll be in charge and can change the way they…handle things.” Wes was a very gifted tracker, something I knew from being stuck beside him at every event we endured as children. When we’d venture off, as I convinced Wes to do with me, he would always know our way back no matter how far I’d lead him from our city. But hunting, well that was something I wasn’t sure Wesley would ever get the hang of.
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Wesley takes a long gulp of the mug next to him and I let us sit in silence, as I know usually what he needs. But my eyes catch a curly mane of black hair across the tavern. A familiar but strong smell of pine seats next to me, one I recognize from Torie, who also stares at the same woman sitting, while the barkeep ogles the beauty of the face across from him.
“Saisha’s beauty never fails to surprise me.” Torie had an obsession with beauty, and all things such as clothes, jewelry which made since considering her family’s job in the castle, but it was a disconnect with me. And that was disappointing as she was the only woman in my life that I could connect with on any level, but I still tried. However when it came to my mother’s unreserved style, I decidedly kept my thoughts to myself.
Across the way, I see my mother’s hair move flawlessly over her shoulder. Shoulders that shake from laughter, and even from the distance we are from the bar, I can see the light in mother’s eyes as she speaks with another woman from the castle, light in those dark brown eyes that match my own. I wasn’t afraid of being noticed by my mother here because I could always go undetected, but I don’t think she’d notice even if I was dancing on the very bar her drink sat on. Saisha was a walking sunshine, with a smile and cackle that kept people enthralled by her. Where my mother was soft and smiley, I was hard and broody. To them at least, but my friends actually saw me. Maybe they even saw me as some variation of her.
I down my drink and leave the table to get a refill.
While I wait to make eye contact with the barkeep, I think back to what Wesley had revealed to me. He was to become part of the hunting party soon, a sure sign that our childhood and freedom was coming to an end. He’d be off, probably nights at a time, and I knew he was scared, nervous to become the same as his father, a wicked man who enjoyed the act of torturing the animals before he killed them. Once, I had gone training with them, as a child when my stepfather needed me out of his hair. I remember the game with the animal, the small doe he had captured after many moments of making it think it had gotten away. He stroked its small head, feeding it berries he had picked yards prior, and then he daggered it. It was a wicked game to play.
That evening Wesley snuck into my room and released his stomach contents on my floor while he sobbed. Wesley was soft and sensitive, a caring person who tried to prevent pain affecting others instead of being the root cause.
After my mug is delivered to me, I settle at the bar and drink, suddenly feeling less social than before. As I sit watching the crowds move, I feel a prickly feeling on my skin, one I did know. I was observed often, looking slightly different than what most of the castle kids looked like. My dark hair, dark eyes, and tan skin that didn’t relent even in the winter was a target and a sure sign of my body saying that Alaric wasn’t my father with his bright blue eyes and light brown hair. There weren’t step children here.
I glance up at the second story of the tavern and receive a slight nod from Torie as she gathers her things. We would leave one by one, to ensure nobody got suspicious. But as I rove over Torie’s eyes, another pair of blue eyes met mine and I let the corner of my mouth tilt up in a surprised smirk. Tristan Estes. The King’s son. The Denexas Heir. My first lover. I stare at him while he stares back. How long had it been since I had seen him outside of professional meetings? Months, I guess. It almost shocked me how older he looked, but I guess we were reaching the age where our childish features were turning into adult ones. Is there an age where you begin noticing that? Clumsily, I chug my drink and break eye contact to wipe the back of my mouth with my hand. After returning the mug to its place at the bar, I shrug on my coat and pull the hood over my head and turn to meet Tristan’s eyes once more. Still staring at me, I give him a cheeky wink and head out into the cold night.
The wind outside is relentless and I hate realizing that we still have a little bit of winter left before the great rains come, eventually followed by the sunshine of summer. For now, I hug my coat tighter around me, tying the pieces of my hood together, if only to keep my dark hair hidden while I stalk through the rest of the kingdom’s large city. Eventually I catch up to everyone and watch as Torie and Wes whisper to each other up beyond me. Behind me, Zech brings up the rear as usual but I can’t shake the stare of Tristan even the further we get from the tavern.
He hadn’t seemed surprised to see me there, yet why was I surprised to see him there?
We hadn’t shared such a long glance since I had been sixteen and madly in love with him. He took me into the old prison’s cells, cells that had remained empty for many years as Denexas rarely saw any acts of crime that weren’t solved by other ways. Nobody noticed my absence but the King’s son had been reported missing nearly instantly so it was a hurried affair.
As we trudge on in silence, the snow falling now provides us with even more of a discreet getaway as it covers our footprints quickly. As a group who had been side by side for years, I knew exactly what was worrying Wes and what he was thinking about before he voiced it.
“The snow will make for a hard getaway, so stay vigilant.” I speak, mostly saying it for Wesley who had been thinking it. Wes slowed down by me as I fought with the snow, my shorter legs catching up to me while I used what little muscles I had to trudge. Wesley walks in front of me, stomping his feet to thin it out so I can follow closely. Denexas was like a valley, but it would be more of a climb the closer we got to the wall.
“You’re not going to end up like him, you know.” I put my hand on one of his arms that were folded behind his back as we walked, trying to offer any comfort in the weird way they were walking. Even with the heavy coats, I notice his body relax instantly at the touch and I fight to not pull it away quickly. Our bond was something I couldn’t explain to anybody, as I don’t think people would understand, but it ran deep.
“How do you know?” So many words flashed through my mind about who Wesley was as a human. I took the moment to notice what he was doing now, just to make walking easier for me.
“I know you.” Is all I decide to say, Wesley’s pinky unveiling as it hooks with mine to show his gratitude. Once the snow thins out, I unlatch our hands and look to Torie as she eyes where they connected for a moment with a curious look on her face.
All of the walking caused my unfit body to breathe heavily, I forced myself to swallow those breaths as we passed through Farmer Ronan’s lands, a land that was often guarded by a huge hound that we had to bring treats to in order to pass. This ‘dog’ was powerfully built with drooping eyes and ears and stood proud. We often tried to avoid spending too much time around it, as I had once seen the size of its teeth it bared at us, an experience I’d rather not have again. Making eye contact with Zech, who returns the look with a cocky wink, he fumbles with something in his pocket, a treat with a plant that would cause some sleepiness to the giant.
Once we find the part of the fence that would open once pulled, my heart thumps as I realize that the weeks we had spent slowly making our way to the outskirts of our kingdom had been paying off. Eyeing the back porch of Farmer Ronan’s, I’m pleased to see he isn’t dozing in the rocking chair as he usually was, instead being able to peer into his kitchen to see him slowly dancing with a woman I couldn’t see, but could see her hair was tucked into a cloth over her head.
Something like pride flashes in my chest. Though I wasn’t entirely in step with my family and though I sometimes got a sense of wrongness with our group, my kingdom was the place where these romantic moments were possible. In our history lessons, we’d often hear of the incredibly dark times that had plagued our kingdom, so to know that those times were over made me pleased. This place deserved everything it was getting.
After an impossible mist that we had convinced ourselves as children had held scary squidlike monsters, we passed through the cemetery in silence. Once, Zech had tried to poke fun around the headstones and we swore we saw the part of the ground moving where somebody was buried. Since then, we decided that giving peace and respectful silence to the departed while we crossed was the least we could do.
“This is the fastest we’ve ever cut through.” Zech is giddy and I feel myself feeding off of his high energy too.
We were finally going to see the Wall of Denexas and what lies beyond it.
I hear it before I see it. We all share a look of confusion, and I feel a strange flip in my belly as I realize that I don’t even know what I am expecting beyond it. But noises such as these, weren’t entirely what I expected. It’s lots of grunts, lots of clinks, and it’s very obvious that there are loads of whatever it is making those noises. However, as we approached the final hedge keeping us from seeing what was over it, I felt myself hesitate. We had never even allowed ourselves to consider what we would see here, and so I think we all agree to take the moment before we allow it to be revealed.
Years of being foolish children wanting to explore a great mystery, one we had never gotten to witness due to the protection of the castle, and we were too nervous to even peer over our last boundary.
“We’re so silly.” I laugh at the hilarity of it all, and we all share a similar if slightly annoyed grin at our behavior.
And then, we all take a look over the final barrier to solve our childhood mystery.