It was the beginning of spring. The air was sweetly perfumed with the scents of newly blossomed flowers. The dense trees filtered the sun’s rays. The light danced on the ground as the soft breezes tickled the trees’ leaves. The birds chirped melodically to add to the effect set up by this change in seasons. However, there was something that offset this pleasant atmosphere.
Amelia sat on a secluded bench deep within the palace’s garden maze. Her usually sunny face was displaced by a furrowed brow and slight frown. Confusion was all too apparent on her face. Her upsetting thoughts were slowly erasing her old self, the happy child she had once been.
This year was different than all the other years. No. This year was similar to the years before her travels with Lina and the gang. Her life had reverted back to the life of royalty when she returned from the last adventure.
She loved her father but he was the only person here with her. He was the only person that cared for her. He was her only friend. Normally, it wouldn’t have bothered her. However, he had been unusually busy with royal duties. The scary thing was that this year she had reached the age that made her love life an affair of the state. Even scarier was that it would get worse over the years.
She didn’t want her private love life to be a part of the government’s business. Her father acted as if he she would have no problem with this. How could he be so insensitive towards her feelings? She always felt that they had a bond so strong that they could sense each other’s emotions.
When she had arrived home for the first time since following Lina to the New World, her father hugged her even though she knew that he must have been mad about them destroying the ceremony. He worked hard on the preparations for the diplomatic journey outside of the magical barrier. However, he was still proud of his girl and she was proud of him. This all seemed to change slightly over the following months.
His contentment with her lifestyle was slowly ebbing away each week. She hated the fact that he wanted her to change and give herself up to a strange man, who owned land far away. She could probably grow to like the man, but she knew she would never love him.
“It’s funny,” she thought. “I would have found it romantic and exciting to be forced into a marriage and giving myself up for my people. It would be like a novel with me as the heroine.” She sighed. “I can’t see that anymore. I would feel dirty.”
That statement stopped her thoughts dead in their tracks. Why would she feel dirty? What could cause her to feel tainted? It wasn’t like she was taken. She had never be been courted in all of her life. Heck, she was always too naïve to think about boys.
She looked over towards the fountain in the center of the clearing and walked towards it. The tiles on the ledge caught her eyes. She was enthralled by them, even more so than her thoughts. She noticed that they strangely hypnotized her.
“Why was she drawn to them?” She asked herself. “Was it their bright, enticing gleam? Was it the richness of the color? Co…color?” It was the color.
“It’s blue…just like him.” She softly muttered while lowering her face and sitting down on the ledge. She was wrong. She wasn’t too naïve to think about boys. She knew she had feelings for him. What made her like him?
Maybe…it was his calm demeanor that never faltered, not even in a stormy situation. He seemed like the eye of a hurricane. Or perhaps, it was because he was gifted. He was always rational and intelligent, and his being had so much creativity that it practically dripped off of him. Or maybe…it was that he was a good guy who would occasionally perform a heroic act for her. He saved her life before. It was like he was the hero that had come to save his princess like so many books that she had read when she was younger. She was lost in this thought for a few minutes when a more concrete reason edged its way to the surface of her mind.
“It’s because he was different yet similar.” This epiphany shocked her for it brought back horrible memories that had been repressed. Her family being ripped apart one by one due to the fact that she was of royal lineage. The only survivors were her uncle, father, and herself. Her past had been dragged through the blood and gore of almost all of the people that she held dear. Her past was somewhat comparable to his. However, he reacted in a way that she wouldn’t, ever. He was able to face the destruction and still go on. She couldn’t face what had happened. She always buried the past with a smile.
She had to laugh at that. He was the strength she had longed for. She wanted to be strong, just like he had in his youth. He had gained it. Yet, she hadn’t and that made her want him even more. Maybe she could soak up the strength that he generates. She submerged herself in the past, recalling the time that she so desperately wanted to learn the Dragon Slave. Her smile slowly faded, and the edges of her mouth hung in a slight frown.
She knew that he couldn’t hold her the way that she so desperately longed for. How could he ever hold a girl that had been forced into a social class that could make snubbing into an artform? She was an ordinary girl stuck in an extravagant lifestyle. She had nothing that could catch his attention. Sure, she had plenty to snatch a prince, plenty of money that is. Was love really so taboo in royalty? She clenched her fists and she could feel her anger flicker to life. She looked at her hands in exasperation.
“What has happened to me? Am I so lonely that I would surround myself with pain as my only companion? I was always happy.” She couldn't help but dwell on that last idea for a few seconds before continuing with her train of thought. “What’s wrong with me?” She sighed and looked at the setting sun. She rose from the fountain’s ledge and strode towards the exit.
“Zelgadiss…I wish you were here to rescue me. It may not be a death trap, but I feel as if my life is being snuffed out.” The orange hue washed over her form and as she turned around the corner, the green engulfed her.