Tyronica-A Fantasy Novel

“Bring out the girl,” A hoarse voice scratched into the silent night. People couldn’t stop shifting from one leg to the other, nor stop chattering their teeth or gnawing on what was left of their nails.
An execution of a young, dangerously magical girl was going to take place, in front of their very eyes.
Within moments, a girl stumbled out into the crowd with two heavy men guarding her, (more like trapping her from escaping) she was hideously dressed in itchy-looking brown fur. The two guards walked her over to a wooden platter that stood upon a platform. The girl’s head bowed, molding into the shape of the platter flawlessly.
The moment was unbearably tense. Muffled whispers of pity and mercy traveled around the crowds quickly.
“Mercy, the poor child,” One women whispered to her husband, while a few young men mouthed to each other, “What a waste of such beauty,”. And on it went, soon the crowds were buzzing with mournful talk. The man with the hoarse voice was sharpening his ax and getting prepared.
Finally, the rigid, freshly sharpened ax rose into the sky gracefully. Just a little above the girl’s head. She closed her eyes shut and tried to steady herself, as the ax came rushing down and…

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“NO!” She shot up. Her hair was wet with sweat and her back was damp. Everything felt cold and feverish.
“Calm yourself, Sephora, it was just a bad dream, a nightmare,” She murmured to herself, her breathing so heavy, she leaned over her bed to the metal pitcher. She poured herself a glass of water and sipped all of it down in three noisy gulps, to calm her hammering heart.
She laid her head back into the lumpy pillow, and slowly, reality returned to her. She was sitting in a barred cell. Locked up so she couldn’t escape from her forthcoming execution. She looked around with her deep azure colored eyes, literally the size of marbles.
A long passageway was ahead of her cell, it was dark besides the little light the torches shed. The other prisoners were in deep slumber. Almost all had committed horrific crimes against the kingdom, but Sephora had to be the only innocent, the only one that was rotting away day-by-day. She did not know if she wanted to get over with her execution and rest her soul in peace, or hold onto everyday as her last.
“Is everything alright, Lady Sephora?” The guard, Billy, was worried and tense across the metal bars, he seemed to come out of nowhere with a torch in his trembling hand.
“Yes, everything is fine, just…go away Billy,” Sephora waved him away with one hand and cupped her head in her hands.
“But M’lady, someone has come to meet you.” A smile slowly crept over Billy’s lips.
“Who’d want to meet a helpless girl? Particularly me?” Sephora sat up straighter and pushed her curly auburn hair behind her ears as she spoke.
“Me,” A distant voice responded. Sephora was surprised to hear a feminine voice. A young woman. Maybe a few years older than her, walked into her cell as Billy clasped the lock back into place.
“I’ll give you an hour, madam, and not a millisecond more,”
“I understand that was the deal,” The young woman replied stiffly, and then finally turned to Sephora when Billy had walked away down the dark tunnel.
“Hello, you must be Sephora. My name is Ophelia, do you know what it means?”, there was an awkward pause for a moment or two.
“No offense or anything, but I honestly don’t care what your name means. I’m sure you know I’m going to be executed. I have too many other things on my mind.”
Ophelia chuckled gently, only so Sephora could hear.
“I thought so. I’ll just tell you myself. My name means ‘Helper’. I’m sure you can use a bit of me.” She joked bizarrely.
“Anyhow, let me tell you little about myself,” She hastily continued, when realizing that Sephora had not laughed, nor smiled or done any sort of reaction to her joke.
“I am a jurist, specializing in Magical Creature Rights, MCR for short. I found your case filed randomly in one of my drawers. I thought your case was quite interesting. I think I can help you. I’ve fought many cases. Elves, goblins, trolls, giants, witches, pixies, you name it,”
“How much do you know about me?”


“Well, I know that you’re being executed, due to the king of Olivia’s command. He declares he needs your blood? What’s that all about?” She recalled, suddenly looking confused.
“He wants my blood because I am a nazeth---
“What’s that?”
“I’ll tell you, just wait---He believes that my blood is more powerful than any other magical creature’s blood. He believes in this ancient statue called the Sun God. And anyone that worships the Sun God needs to constantly feed it blood for fortune and good luck. He’s been feeding the Sun God unicorn blood, but after he found out that there was a nazeth right under his nose, which was I. He’s going to execute me and use my blood to feed the Sun God, for the most fortune and good luck one can have.”
“Woah, you’re rushing things way too fast. First of all, what in the magical world is a nazeth? And second of all, how can you feed a statue? And third of all---
“Madam, your time is up,” Billy showed up out of nowhere across the bars of Sephora’s cell.
“You’ve got to be kidding, wow, the time past by so fast. Don’t worry, Sephora. I’m coming back tomorrow, and I’m coming everyday.” Ophelia’s eyes twinkled with excitement; she leaned in close to Sephora’s ears and whispered,
“And I’m going to get you out of here,”

Ophelia walked out of the tunnel as Billy stood by, clasping the lock back into place.


Sephora slumped back down onto her mattress hopelessly. She was thinking hard weather she should just tell Ophelia about herself, or to keep quiet and soon she will give up and leave her alone.
‘But then that way, I’ll be the one asking for loss,’ Thoughts swam in her mind. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her wrist and let out a deep, heaving sigh. ‘I can try; maybe I’m underestimating this woman. She seems to be young, like me. Maybe she’ll find a way through King Jerald’s ways. Maybe I won’t be executed after all,’. Suddenly, happy feelings filled her mind at the thought of Ophelia, and Sephora made up her mind what she would do. She realized the old woman that was locked up in a cell across from her was mouthing a few words, then finally spoke them out aloud, “Honestly, do these locks help at all? That girl is a magical creature! She can break the bars and run away with one flick of a finger.” She shook a scrawny, crooked finger towards Billy. Then she turned her attention to Sephora, “Dear, I don’t understand why you worry! You are magical, you shouldn’t worry about a silly execution!”
“Lady, calm yourself. Sephora would not run away, she is pure. She’s clever to know if she runs away, then surely I will get in trouble. Sephora is a very good friend, she would not do such a thing.” Billy spat back reassuringly.
“Then why the silly locks, boy? Do you not trust Lady Sephora?” The old woman responded to Billy, quite testily.
“I, of course do.” Billy grinded each word and spoke boldly and continued, “But gravely, King Jerald does not. Due to the king’s orders, I have to lock all the cells, even Sephora’s. It’s a shame, really is.” Billy shook his head in the manner an animal would shake to get rid of ticks.
The old woman nodded, and then a few moments later, Sephora could hear snoring in the dark from the old woman’s cell.
“Sephora, please stop your magic.”
“What? I didn’t use magic!” Sephora yelped untruthfully.
“Do not lie to me. I was off-duty the hour Ophelia came to meet you,”
“And?”
“You used a spell to make the time go by faster so you can get rid of Ophelia. But your magic also affected the entire kingdom. No wonder my off-duty felt like five minutes.”

Sephora sighed. She smoothed the end of her pillowcase and stared out the bars thoughtfully.
“I’m so sorry Billy, but I really did want to get rid of Ophelia, so I used a spell to make the time go by faster. I’m really sorry your break felt like 5 minutes.”
“M’lady, why would you want to get rid of Ophelia? She came to help you.”
“Billy, I know she’s going to make me tell her my story, about my life, about how I ended up here. I don’t want to tell her my story. I’ll have to tell her about Lady Scarlet, about Sandro, Caitlin, about my father! Why should I when there is no hope?” Billy could hear Sephora softly weep. He stood there for a few moments, thinking thoughtfully to say something to soothe her. But she was right. There was no hope.

*******************************************************************

Sephora woke up the next day from the loud squawks of the crows, which enjoyed feasting upon previous executions’ remains and wastes. Only a little blob of sunshine squeezed into her dark cell creating a little warm corner by her bed.
“It’s one hour-a-day madam. I unfortunately cannot give you more time,” Sephora heard Billy speak annoyingly. Sephora’s vision cleared from blurriness that often occurs after deep sleep, she rubbed her eyes to see the slim, slender figure of Ophelia standing in front of the bars.
“Oh, but please! One hour just goes by so fast. I must have more time!” Ophelia begged.
“Ophelia, I have already started your time. It’s best you not waste it by begging for more.”
“One hour is not plenty! But anyhow,” She huffed, dragging herself into the cell, as Billy clasped the lock and walked away. Sephora sat up straighter, she managed a small smile.
“Listen Ophelia, why don’t you just get to the point, why are you so interested in me?”
“Sephora, I want to learn about you as much as possible. The more I know, the more I can help, isn’t’ that right? I’m not going to interview you. I’m going to be your friend and we’ll try to solve this together. So please trust me. This is what I do best.”
“Well, alright. My name is Sephora Leonard. I’m 16---
“No Sephora, tell it to me like a story.” Ophelia’s eyes twinkled with sudden thrill, she bounced lightly over Sephora’s mattress, and Sephora knew, she can trust this young woman.

For months, Ophelia came everyday in the morning for one hour, occasionally with breakfast, and she had to admit herself, Sephora’s story was not like any she had ever heard in her life…

END PROLOGUE



The sun was just glimmering its glorious rays of early dawn over the castle, as Sephora Leonard hurried down a long corridor and finally, flew open a heavy wooden door.
“Caitlin! You must wake up. I just got the most brilliant news,”
“What is it this time, Seph?” The girl slowly raised her head from the pillows, revealing a bundle of tangled blonde curls. Her eyelids, still heavy with sleep slowly opened, revealing extraordinary stale blue eyes.
“Father is returning home, from war!” As Sephora spoke these very words, Caitlin nearly fell off the mattress. She fortunately controlled her excitement by staying put.
“That is truly brilliant news, when?”
“Today evening. We just got the message that he’s headed for Olivia,” Sephora tugged the blanket out of Caitlin’s grip and pulled her sister up to her feet.
“Come. We must decide what to wear.” Sephora dragged them both to a large cherry polished wooden wardrobe the size of a troll.
“Sephora, its just father. Not some kind of prince Charming,” Caitlin snorted as Sephora literally swam through all their gowns and taking out only their finest ones.
“There’s more, due to the celebration of father’s homecoming, there’s a ceremony taking place, right here in the castle,”
“Oh, take out the violet one, it’s the best I’ve got,”

That evening, anticipating Olivians crowded around the castle steps. Sephora watched out of her bedroom window, the sun was slowly sinking below, into the depths of the water, its magnificent rays rippling with the surface of the unsteady waves of the lake.
Then very suddenly, the crowds by the castle steps were silent, as if the air around them had muted them.
Sephora craned, stretching out her neck to see what was so awe inspiring. Then she saw her mother, standing in the midst.
The back of her crushed crimson silk gown was sprawled over the dirt ground. Yards of fabric rippled and tossed in the gust. Her small face pale, the apples of her cheeks touched softly with blush.
“She’s beautiful,” Sephora breathed huskily, no wonder the Olivians were so dazed at her arrival.
“She is, isn’t she? Sometimes I simply cannot believe how neither of us got any of her features!”
“Oh Caitlin, we are beautiful in our ways,” Sephora soothed gently.
“Okay, did my bun come out alright?” She questioned nervously. She had been working on her hair for nearly hours. Sephora turned to inspect Caitlin’s hairdo, every strand of hair done in flourish, elegance, it was flawless.
“It’s gorgeous Caitlin, now come on! Let’s go down to the gates, father should be arriving soon,”
“Aren’t you going to do anything with that jumble of hair of yours?” Caitlin asked surprisingly. Sephora gave a quick comb through her hair in response, and hastily topped her head with a requisite tiara.

Down below at the castle steps, Sephora and Caitlin tried to reveal themselves in the manner their mother had. Gentle, elegance and flourish was what they were constantly told.
But Caitlin nearly tripped by the tail of her gown, and Sephora did no better than her younger sister. And of course, none of the Olivians had their mouths open ajar. Gaping at their beauty. That sort of attention was only promised to the Queen.
“Good evening my dears,” Queen Lorianne made her way fancily towards Sephora and Caitlin as the two of them gave a quick curtsy.
“Good evening to you too, beautiful Queen,” They both responded in unison. Queen Lorianne was just opening her mouth to speak. But a loud, extremely deafening horn echoed through out the sea salty air. The Olivians bursted with cheers and applaud. And the three, mother and daughters knew something had happened that they had missed.
Sephora, nearly as tall as her mother, finally yelped out “It’s father!”.

A man with broad shoulders, sandy brown hair and a thin pointy beard rode his black stallion into the castle gates. An army of men followed, swelling with pride and honor. The leading man was no other than the widely known King Julio, ruler of Olivia
After much celebration and harmonious chat, the humble residents of Olivia returned to their rightful villages. The surroundings of the castle were once more buried in silence, rather than the rhythmic chirps of the crickets.

Finally, after Queen Lorianne had left into her chamber for a short nap before the ball, King Julio hurried down the many endless corridors of the castle.
He walked into the Throne’s Room. A spare room that yet held much importance. As ancient coronations and even his own had happened in this very room.
He slowed his pace after realizing the castle servants were present, lazily dusting the paintings and portraits of previous kings.
“Hamilton, may I ask you for your service?”
“Anything my lord,” The old, shaggy, noble servant bowed low.
“I need you to order my two dearest daughters to report to the Throne’s Room, inform them that their father is awaiting their presence,”
The old servant scurried down the long red carpet, looking as small as an ant compared to the size of the massive Throne’s Room.
King Julio sat comfortably upon the Throne’s Chair, a single chair large enough to sit three people. Finest rubies and jewels were encrusted deep within the chairs arms and legs, which were heavily trimmed in gold.
“Oh, and Hamilton,” King Julio suddenly spoke, his voice echoing several times before dying out.
“Do remember to say ‘father’, not ‘king’,”
“Right M’lord,” He vanished out of sight as the brass door the height of a mountain shut closed.

Two girls looking fairly tiny compared to the brass door they entered through, made their way across the Throne’s Room.
King Julio’s heart leapt with joy, seeing the very two people he most cared for, curtsying innocently before him.
“Enough with the royalties, my children. Come,” King Julio assured. He opened his arms wide, his tired brown eyes glinted with tears. Sephora and Caitlin skipped up the platform and each snuggled close to each arm.
“Now, tell my little darlings, what has happened, not during my presence,”
“Nothing really, to be honest,” Sephora spoke in a bored tone.
“Same as usual…” Caitlin mouthed from the other side.
King Julio was not interested, he waited patiently to question his children what he was truly, and most worried about.
“Has your mother been treating you well?”
“Why wouldn’t she?” The two sisters were in the same state of confusion. They both noted that their father had just asked them a very awkward question.

Back at their bedroom in the third tower of the highest floor, both sisters were silent, secretly pondering over the awkward question they were recently asked.
Golden light bathed the room, creating a warm, cozy, and a homely feeling.
“Sephora, why would father ask such a weird question? Does he believe we are foolish girls? We wouldn’t think nor ponder about it?”
“To be honest Caitlin, sometimes I ponder how father fell in love with mother! She’s so hard and stiff. It feels like her heart is made out of stone, she doesn’t even care what happens to us. Like we don’t matter nor make a big difference in her world.”
“But things aren’t half as bad,” Caitlin quickly spoke as Sephora was looking hurt and continued, “We’ve never felt the lack of a mother, the lack of love all thanks to Lady Scarlet,”
That very moment, the door whined open. And a young women tip-toed in, balancing a huge box on one of her hips, her blazing scarlet hair nearly touching her waist, her emerald eyes scanning the room.
“…told the maids so many times to come check if the rooms are tidy, every hour….” She muttered to herself, setting the huge box on the top of the mattress.
“What’s in the box?” the two sisters asked curiously.
“These,” She hastily ripped the wrapping paper off and undid the ribbons, “are gowns sent from the Queen of Caer Zintagel.”
Lady Scarlet finally opened the creases of two gowns, one was the color of midnight, while the second was in lighter shades of peach.
“She’s the wife of King Zarek, who happens to be not only a childhood, but a good friend of your father’s. She also has two young boys. Sandro is the older one, Benjamin Is younger buy not far. The Queen pf Caer Zintagel has sent these gowns in apology that she couldn’t make it to the ceremony tonight. Do get dressed, some guests have already arrived,” She hurriedly walked out of the bedroom, just the way she had walked in.

Sephora and Caitlin dressed into their gowns and Sephora quickly combed through her hair. The two of them made their way down the many corridors, passageways, hallways and staircases until they found themselves at the top of the staircase to the Grand Hall.
Crystal chandeliers lined the high ceilings. Glossy, golden light showered the room. Most of the guests were rulers of other kingdoms that had brought their families along.
“And now, presenting to you, princes of Caer Zintagel. Sons of Queen Caroline and sons of King Zarek. Prince Sandro and Prince Benjamin.” The conductor shrilled excitedly as the sounds of bursting trumpets filled the hall, with many touches of heroic rhythms.
“And now,” The conductor paused as the music died out. Sephora and Caitlin haled in a deep breath and held onto it.
“Presenting to you, princesses of Caer Olivia. Daughters of Queen Lorianne and daughters of King Julio, princess Sephora and Princess Caitlin,” The guests applauded gently. The two sisters were looking marvelously stunning in their gowns imported from Caer Zintagel, one of the finest kingdoms ever discovered.
Sephora and Caitlin let out their breaths, which sounded more like gasps.
“Ready?”
“Whenever you are,” Caitlin replied. And the two of them held their backs stiff and straight, their faces pointing above, they walked down the staircase.
“May I?” Sephora finally glanced up to see a young man bow before her. She held out her and moments later, she realized she was sweeping across the dance floor.
Caitlin was twirling nearby, with a younger version of Prince Sandro so it seemed.
Only you could tell Benjamin looked much younger, due to his innocent, small heart shaped face. He had thick golden blonde hair tangled in curls. His cheeks were flushed as he kept his deep hazelnut eyes on his feet.

Nearly exhausted from dancing and sick to the stomach by twirling, the four of them made their way to a table of six chairs.
Sephora and Caitlin tried to converse and chat forcefully to make the uncomfortable silence vanish.
Sephora had only resulted in many ‘Ahems,’ and ‘Umms,’. She turned to her father and mother’s table that was nearby.
She didn’t notice at first a knight whispering urgently in her father’s ears, as the look on his face turned tense from calm. He impulsively shot up, catching the attention of many eyes.

In moments, Sephora felt a sharp surge of pain rushing down from her scalp to her very last toes. Her heart’s pulse quickened abundantly and she whimpered in pain. Her veins felt tightly knotted. Her forehead in so much pain, the splitting of her head could’ve felt better.
But something she did not know of, told her to follow her father out of the castle.
“Stay right here, I’ll be right back,” She demanded weakly. She stumbled over a chair as she limped out and click-clocked with her heels out the castle gates, her heels now softly padding the freshly sprouted grass. Sephora could make out the outline of her father, now hurrying into the Stallion Stables.
She waited out, when finally he walked out, clinging onto the reigns of his brawn, glorious black stallion called Schunaylaa.
He was surprised to see her,
“What are you doing here? Get back to the ceremony!” He ordered sternly.
“The ceremony was for you,” Sephora paused and hotly continued, “what’s the point if the person the ceremony was held for is not present? Similarly, that’s like a wedding without a bride.” King Julio waited.
“But that’s not the point. I truthfully have no clue where you are settingout for, but there’s this strange sort of feeling that I cannot explain, that your going out tonight will bring us grave news tomorrow.”
“My child, a dear friend of mine is in grave danger at the moment. The only grave news that is possible to get if I don’t leave now, will be the news that he will be dead. That’s the only grave news that can happen if you won’t let me go,” King Julio’s voice was noticeably wavy, and quite unsteady.
“Why won’t you listen to me? I meant grave news of you, about you! Not from you!”
“Sephora, I’ll be back,” He deeply sighed and continued, “take care of yourself, your sister and your mother,” He held her chin up, planting a kiss warmly over her pain searing forehead.
Schunaylaa kicked her forelegs in the air, literally sliding King Julio off her back, and then she mounted down the dirt road across the bridge over the river, a few knights that Sephora realized were not Olivians followed. The front of their armors were printed with a ferocious lion. Dust rose into the air creating a hurl of thick air that blocked Sephora’s views.
She was standing by the stable door where she had moments before waited for her father, looking helpless with her shoulders shrugged low.
Her father was gone and her strange feelings assured her that he would never return.

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Caitlin couldn’t stand it any longer, why had Sephora not returned? Where had father gone, turning his whole ceremony to waste? Many of the guests had left home, the Grand Hall was emptying rapidly, and symbolizing the ceremony was long over.
Now I can go look for Sephora Caitlin thought to herself in relief.
“It was a pleasure meeting you,” Caitlin lied.
“A pleasure meeting you in return,” Prince Benjamin lied back, and that was the end of it.

Caitlin was rushing down a corridor, frantic with the fact she could not find her sister anywhere. Her once tight, elegant bun now hanging loosely down her shoulder, resembling a very messily made ponytail.
Just before giving up, Caitlin could make out the figure of her sister, her body sprawled on the floor, by their bedroom’s door.
“Oh God! What in the world?” She skidded to the floor next to Sephora.
“Please wake up! You must! Sephora!” Caitlin shook her unconscious sister frantically but her sister stayed still, there was no response.
“Oh lord, HELP!” Caitlin did not understand what to do, where to go. Butterflies jumbled in her stomach. Her knees and legs were as weak as jelly that she had recently gobbled up for dessert.
“What’s going on?” Benjamin’s older brother neared and knelt down beside Sephora’s unconscious body.
“What happened to her?” He took her hand and checked her pulse.
“I---I don’t know! I was looking for her---then I sort of gave up and decided to head back to our bedroom. Then by the doorway she was just lying here. Like she was about to go into the bedroom but instead collapsed.”
“Let’s take her in onto the bed, she can’t lie here like this,” He pulled her arms and Caitlin quickly opened the door. Sephora was finally onto a soft mattress with feathery pillows and cotton stuffed cushions. A blanket clung to her body and her face looked much more calm and comfortable.
“Lady Scarlet, I must go get Lady Scarlet,” Caitlin went out the bedroom and moments later returned with Lady scarlet at her tow. Lady Scarlet gave a quick horrific gasp.
“Oh goodness, how did this happen?” And Caitlin repeated her story the second time that night.
“…and then we took her into the room onto the bed. I think it did some good to her,”
“Maybe she was just tired, maybe she’s just in deep sleep. Her pulse seems to be normal,”
“Why is she sweating so much?” Caitlin noted. And Sephora indeed was going through a series of cold, feverish sweats. Lady Scarlet placed her hands on one of her shaking wrists, a blob of glowing green light gushed out of her palm.
“What was that?” Caitlin looked flabbergasted, what was that light that came out of Lady Scarlet’s palm?
“Hush, it doesn’t matter, look,” Lady Scarlet indicated Sephora’s eyes that were slowly opening and she was panting heavily.
“NO! Don’t kill him, please don’t kill him!” She so suddenly bursted up that Caitlin, Lady Scarlet and Sandro were frightfully startled.

Queen Lorianne walked into the room, the castle servants scurrying in at her tow. Soon, there was a huge, murmuring crowd gathered around the bed.
“Someone’s going to kill him! We have to go stop him! He’s in trouble, we must go now!” Sephora panted through a river of tears.
“Sephora, control yourself, darling! Who are you talking about? What is the matter?” Lady Scarlet questioned considerably.
“About father!” Sephora shouted, and then as everyone looked confused, she continued, “About King Julio for god’s sake. I saw him die with my own eyes!”
“Don’t talk rubbish,” Queen Lorianne looked horrified, her eyes turned so wide that her eyeballs could’ve popped out of her sockets.
“Caitlin, you believe me, don’t you? Let’s leave right now, we don’t have much time…” Sephora hastily pushed off the blankets on top of her and got to her feet.
“But Sephora…” Caitlin stammered.
“Come on. We must hurry,”
“But Sephora, it was just a bad dream, a bad nightmare,” She gave Sephora one look that made Sephora feel completely insane.
“It was more than a DREAM!” She fought back.
“And how to prove that, foolish girl?” Queen Lorianne’s face had turned as pale as fallen untouched snow. Her pupils had turned seemingly large as she tapped her gaunt fingers upon the bed’s footboard.
“Because---Because it wasn’t a dream---I--- it was,” Sephora sputtered as Queen Lorianne eyed her into a stern contact.
“Go to sleep Sephora, we shall see if your state of mind improves at any rate in the morning,” She walked over to the door and turned, “Let us all go, all of us. Come, we shall let her rest,” The castle servants followed, muttering angrily, “She’s gone stupid,” or, “Nice way to grab some attention, eh?” and Sephora couldn’t help but to get up and punch all those mouths that spoke of words they did not fully understand.
“Insane child,” She heard Queen Lorianne mutter to one of her maids and all of them heard and endlessly giggled down the corridor.

Sephora did not follow her mother’s orders of going to sleep, of course. She at least had to try alone and she very well knew she couldn’t just give up.
She attempted to sneak out of the castle and planned to take one of the stallions from the stables, and her strange feelings assured her that they knew they way to her father.
But unfortunately, one of the knighting guards caught sight of her by the door,
“Please, you must let me!” She begged and pleaded and he only shook his head continuously, Sephora was sure he didn’t even listen to half of what she had pleaded for.
He forced her to return to her bedroom.

During the night, the owls were hooting mournfully as if they had seen the same vision as Sephora had.
The trees that were thick in emerald leaves swayed, their leaves rustling so fiercely, it sounded like tons of fine parchment being crumpled up into tight little balls.

Sephora could not sleep. She shifted from one side to the other and occasionally let out deep sighs. She knew it was too late to escape anyway but knew she would regret this all her life, how can she feel so sure about this strange vision, this so-called dream? But Sephora, through thick and through thin, knew perfectly well this vision was a lot more than a bad nightmare little kids see who love their parents too much.

She finally turned to her left side and watched Caitlin snore peacefully for what seemed hours, and soon, she too cried herself to sleep.

When the sun had risen a few hours later, Sephora could hear two muffled cries. She slowly lifted her eyelids and her vision cleared. Caitlin and Lady Scarlet were huddled close to each other and were mourning softly.

“Oh Sephora!” Caitlin shouted when she looked up, only to find her sister wide-awake, in a sitting position on her mattress. She rushed forward and pulled her sister into a hug.
“You were right all along,” She cried softly on her shoulder, Sephora pulled her apart and tried to find an answer through her tearful eyes.
“What?” She gaped, it couldn’t be possible, it just couldn’t be.

“Sephora, your father has died. King Julio was crucified last night a few hours before dawn. Dream or no dream, your strange vision has been proved to be correct, all this time.” Lady Scarlet handed her a plain cotton black gown.
“Get dressed,” She strictly ordered.
“Were there any survivors?”
“No,” Lady Scarlet sighed heavily, however continued, “except maybe one survivor,” She looked up from her hands to see the two sisters’ faces swell with relief.
“Schunaylaa,” She finished.

Chapter 2 “Farewell Mother”



It was the day of King Julio’s funeral. And what every Olivian noticed was that there was never a grayer day in all history.
The men and women were either dressed in mysterious black, depressing gray, or worse, haunting white.
Even the thickets of emerald leaves that were rooted to the trees, seemed to have lost their fresh color and turned into an unusual shade of brown. The lake that surrounded one angle of the castle had turned from bright, paradisiacal azure blue to complete gray over the night. And all that resulted due to the dreadful, foggy gray sky that hung low over their heads.

Up in the third tower in the girls’ bedroom, there was only the hum of silence until Caitlin finally interrupted, “It’s all my fault, isn’t it?” She folded a lilac gown and carelessly tossed it into the wardrobe. She turned to face Sephora who was busy folding as well.
“What was your fault?” Sephora said. Caitlin thought what to say next, she hesitated but finally bursted, “I didn’t listen to you and thought you had gone insane! Or maybe I should have at least tried to believe you! I can’t believe myself! This IS my fault, all of it,”
“Don’t be stupid, Caitlin, it was after all my fault, I didn’t even listen to myself so how on earth were you going to listen to someone else? I mean, really.”

The door creaked open, and with a drooped expression on her face, Lady Scarlet dragged herself into the room. She handed the two sisters, two cotton black gowns and stiffly mouthed, “Get dressed and come down to the courtyard. Don’t take long,”
They both nodded silently; soon both were dressed in their plain black cotton gowns. They didn’t bother glance into the mirror and finally walked down to the courtyard.
“We should’ve bought something warm,” Sephora regretted, she went forward and saw a shiny, neatly polished coffin. Queen Lorianne was nearer than anyone and was weeping softly. She watched bitterly as the spokesman gave a brief speech and as the coffin was being buried into the soft moist soil. The men padded the soft grass patches on top of the coffin and soon it was hidden, like the way thick sheets of ice hide the lake in winter.
“It is over,” Caitlin noticed out loud. She turned to her sister and the two hugged tightly.
“What’s going to happen now?” Caitlin sniffed in the bitter cold air.
“What do you mean?” Sephora questioned, not quite understanding what Caitlin meant.
“What’s going to happen now? To Olivia, to the villages, the castle, to us? Who’s going to rule?”
“Honestly I have no idea,” Sephora frowned, in deep thought. Someone gently tapped her shoulder, interfering her thoughts. She swiftly turned around to see Prince Sandro curtsy to her.
“Would—would you like to take a walk…?” He nervously stammered. Sephora was in no mood to go anywhere, she just wanted to stay put and make people leave her alone. She wanted to just stand there all evening in the bitter cold, thinking what would happen next, as it was a worthy thing to ponder over. Caitlin was smiling foolishly, Prince Sandro and she waited for Sephora to speak.
“Yes, I’d love to,” She lied, managing a fake smile that twitched her eyes that were burning with the bitterness of the wind.
“Wonderful, let’s head around the lake,” He repeated a curtsy and she returned it. The two started down the gravel path that was going parallel with the lake.
“So I heard you and your sister conversing about what was going to happen next, what’s going to happen now,” Meaning you were eavesdropping Sephora thought to herself.
“Yes, yes we were,” Suddenly, Prince Sandro had stopped when they had walked a pretty far distance from the castle; from here the lake seemed to have a whole new face to it. It was like the wild side of it, mysterious and hidden with deep secrets within the depths of its water. Sephora had never gone this far out to the lake, the castle seemed far, like a boulder.
At first she slowly walked but then noticed he did not follow, she stopped as well. What did he want?
“I know what’s going to happen,” He spoke, as if this was a deep dark secret that was finally out.
“Oh really? Do tell,”
“Well, there—there’s going to be a tournament,” He began excitedly,
“A tournament?”
“Yes, a tournament. A tournament for king. All the men that have a yearn for the crown, a desire, will enter this tournament. There are no rules or regulations. But it is very risky business. The men that will enter will have to sword-fight, or other words duel with their opponents. Men can get killed in this tournament, and no one can do anything about it. The last man standing will be the man that will be crowned king. This is a huge opportunity to so many men. It’s going to be held in the famous Stone Arena. It’s sort of like an atrium with a huge platform in the middle. Great fun to watch, I bet.” Slowly, Prince Sandro had forgotten all about his royalties, and the proper way to talk that he was taught all his life. He was forced to take lessons to talk like a gent, how to talk to women. Yet he was so excited, he had forgotten all.
“When is this going to happen?” Sephora said.
“Within the end of this year. Very soon, in fact the arena is already getting prepared for the big event,”
“And what about the Queen? What about the daughters? What if the queen does not want to marry this newcomer into the castle?”
Sandro sighed deeply; he looked Sephora into the eyes and mumbled, “You’ll see,”
“Tell me,” She said impatiently.
“Didn’t your mother tell you what her plans are?” Sandro was shocked, how could the Queen tell her maids and servants, but not her own daughters?
“No, what plans?”
“I—I heard your mother tell one of the maids that she knew she had a bright future. That she was marrying into a wealthy kingdom, marrying a widowed king in need of a wife, your mother is leaving Olivia.”
“You’re lying! That can’t be possible!”
“I’m just telling you what I heard,” He said.
“When did she say this?” Sephora demanded an answer.
“Before the burial, when you and your sister had not arrived in the courtyard. I was standing behind her and she did not notice, and she babbled on to her maids.”
“I think we should head back to the castle. It’s getting dark,” And no doubt, the sky indeed was getting dark. The lake had calmed and so did the bitter winds, the evening was still chilly but there was not a trace of a single wind.
The sky was a glowing, clear light purple. Like the way the sky looks in winter when it is heavily snowing, always glowing lightly due to the reflection of the white blanket carpeted over the grounds.
In the distance, the castle really did look like a huge boulder; little blobs of bright golden light were shining out the windows that looked tiny from where Sephora and Sandro were.

In awkward silence, the two made their way down the path, back to the castle. The endless waves of the lake seemed to be walking with them.
“Alright then, now that we have everything cleared,” Sephora stopped when she realized she was standing in front of the shining copper gates.
“Yes, it was a lovely stroll, friends?” He held out his hand and Sephora did not make up her mind if she wanted to laugh at this childish request.
“Friends,” She gently shook the huge palm, and then hurried into the castle and took the stairs to the third tower.

When she returned to the bedroom, she found Caitlin idle. Sitting on the bed with her head tilted, her eyes looking like balls of wet jelly, which usually looked that way when she was in deep thoughts.
“What are you thinking about?” Sephora hopped onto the bed, comforted by the warm golden light swimming freely in every corner of the room.
“Oh, when did you come?” Her head straightened and her eyes returned to their normal state.
“Just now, it got dark outside, that’s why,” She said.
“Oh. Nothing, just…father. Remember that time when he asked if mother was treating us well? I just wish I had asked him why he was concerned about that, before he departed us. Forever.” Caitlin sighed in a regretting manner.
“Yeah, me too. I just realized something. You don’t care about a person as much until they are dead. When someone dies, you realize most how much that person meant to you. Just sitting on his lap a few days ago seemed no big deal, like we did it everyday or something. But now, oh, how I wish…” Sephora’s voice trailed off into a whole new depth. She turned away, realizing Lady Scarlet was standing by the door.
“Well said, Sephora. Well said,” She walked over and smoothed her hair and kissed the center of Sephora’s scalp fragranced by flowery shampoo.
“Lady Scarlet, what’s going to happen now?” Caitlin said, and just then Sephora remembered she was literally dying to tell Caitlin what Sandro had told her. She started off with the whole tournament business, and then she did not forget to tell Caitlin and Lady Scarlet of the plans Sandro had heard Queen Lorianne speak of.
“Mother can’t do that! I mean, honestly, she is after all our mother! No matter how much she pretends she doesn’t care about us. She will always be ‘mother’, just because we call her Queen Lorianne like everyone else, does not change anything!” Caitlin bursted, she huffed for breath.
“Caitlin, calm yourself. You do realize, a queen’s heart shall never be compared to a mother’s heart? This is a Queen’s life, in the death of the king; she cannot survive her identity, her reputation of being a widow. So she must marry into a new kingdom, a kingdom in need for a Queen.”
“I wonder if the kingdom she is setting out for is any better than Olivia,” Sephora said bitterly. Caitlin was sitting besides her, pondering a question to herself silently, but she finally asked, “But there is one thing not clear to me. If there is supposed to be a king coming into Olivia after the tournament, can’t mother marry that new king and stay?”
“No, it is all up to the Queen on what she needs to do. If it is her choice to stay and marry the new king for Olivia, or marry a king of another kingdom, does not matter. A Queen is free once her husband dies.”
“If it is her choice, then can we not request her to stay? Can we not beg?” Caitlin planned excitedly.
“Honestly Caitlin, why do you care…?”
“Because there is one thing you are forgetting that I remember, Sephora,” Caitlin shot and sternly continued, “she is our mother! Do you know what mother even means?”
“She sure doesn’t act like one, now does she? She barely speaks to us! She even forgets our names, occasionally! Do you call that a mother?”
Caitlin was of course silent after Sephora’s intelligent response, yet she did not listen. She had to least try to make her mother stay, she was not going to make the same mistake of keeping back, that caused her father’s death. She knew there had to be some soft corner in her mother’s heart that she had to hunt for.
“Caitlin—Cait—where are you going?” Sephora marched after her sister who was in seconds out the door and running down the corridor, Sephora tried to catch up, and realized that Caitlin was leading her into their mother’s chamber.
“Caitlin, you know she’s not going to listen---
“We are after all her daughters, if she is stubborn, then so shall I be. We are what is left of father’s family, we have to suffer through this together. She is banishing us, Sephora! She is abandoning us! I don’t care, she cannot get away this easily!” Just before her knuckles landed on the spiked brass door, it shot open, revealing a towering moonlight beauty stand before them.
“Mother, we have come to meet you,” Caitlin spoke and the two quickly curtsied.
“My children,” Queen Lorianne spoke saccharinely and continued, “make it quick. I must have my rest for tomorrow is a big day for me, and for you, for Olivia itself!”
“What is tomorrow?” Caitlin asked innocently, forcing Sephora and herself into the bedroom. She strolled across the room and sat on one of the three armchairs by the huge window that overlooked the lake and the glorious night sky. It had been nearly years since she had stepped foot into this room, as she was never really allowed to come in.
“Tomorrow, is when I shall depart your father’s kingdom for a perfectly fresh start,”
“’Your father’? Wasn’t he your husband as well? Isn’t Olivia your kingdom as well? Do you not care for it as much as we all do?” Sephora talked, and Caitlin pinched her.
“Smart talk, brave little girl aren’t you? My apologies that the magical world does not revolve around nobility, we all strive to survive,”
“You can, and you will survive, someone reported me that you ‘want’ to leave Olivia. You are not being forced to leave,”
“That is because no one can force the Queen to do anything, I am free to do anything that pleases me. Now, this argument will just go round in circles, it is clearly pointless. Do get some sleep and try to get rid of those horrid bags under your eyes, do you girls not care at all?”
She pushed them out the door and shut so loudly, it felt like a slap across their faces.

The two disappointed girls dragged themselves hopelessly back to their bedroom. Just before they went in, Caitlin turned to Sephora angrily, “Did you have to talk that much? Did you have to ask those heated questions? That wasn’t exactly my plan, Sephora. You ruined everything! We were supposed to butter her to make her stay, how can you expect her to when we start questioning her like that?”
“Oh, do stop whining Caitlin! You perfectly knew well enough, that even if we laid ourselves across the floor and kissed her feet, she would not stay. I say, leave her on her own!” Sephora shook uncontrollably.
“Sephora!” Caitlin was horrified.
“Girls! Enough is enough! Nothing you two will say will make a difference, so why bother? Am I not right?” Lady Scarlet appeared out the door, with her hands cupped on her waist.
The two sisters nodded and all they could do is suffer through a night full of tossing and turning…

The next morning when Sephora opened her eyes, and her senses returned to her, she saw Caitlin standing by their window with her head stretched out far.
“Caitlin, what are you doing?” Her voice was hoarse and scratchy, usually the case after deep slumber.
“You won’t believe this, Sephora! Everything Sandro said was true! Look!” She went back and made some room for Sephora to look out as well, and then she saw it all.
A golden carriage the size of a giant pumpkin was parked in the field. The day was exceptionally much more sunny and brighter and less chilly to everyone’s relief. Even the birds were happily chirping and singing their melodious songs back and forth each tree.
She spotted a few servants and maids enjoying the day, and Queen Lorianne stood far with a handsome tall man in mid-age, he looked the finest from the entire gathering, not only in features but in dressing and grooming as well, he wore a ruby velvet cape and a huge crown trimmed with fine, thick velvet.
“It’s the man she’s marrying, the King of the ‘other’ kingdom. His wife recently died and said he had an eye on mother ever since father died, Lady Scarlet just told me this morning.” She said bitterly and continued with much sadness in her voice, “I just feel so sad for father, it’s like he doesn’t even matter anymore.” Sephora continued watching, the king bowed and curtsied numerous times, with a gentle kiss on the top of her mother’s hand.
“She disgusts me,” Sephora practically spat, as Queen Lorianne’s flushing cheeks could be seen even from the third tower’s highest floors’ window.
After a scrumptious breakfast to their delight, they quickly got dressed and headed down to the field right below their bedroom.
“Oh, these are my daughters, Vernon.” King Vernon looked pleased, but Queen Lorianne looked as if she had just spotted a pair of mosquitoes on her shoulder and couldn’t wait to flick them away.
“Lovely, lovely daughters, I do regret giving them up!” He chortled and beamed constantly.
Then why not take us with you, idiot? Sephora thought nastily to herself.
“We can come with you, if you’d like,” Caitlin said in a jokingly manner, but they all knew she was mainly serious.....


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