The Broken Princess

An old friend

"Caelum?" He turned around to see a familiar face. Golden blonde hair and amber coloured eyes he knew well faced him. Sabrina. "It really is you!" She ran into him and wrapped her arms around his torso. At her height, the top of her head rested just below his pecks.

"Long time no see, Sabrina." His hands remained awkwardly by his sides until Sabrina eventually pulled away.

He was glad to see a friend after so many years but anger still boiled in him from getting forced out of Eliora's quarters.

"It has. I heard you returned from the war but I didn't think I'd get to see you so soon." The woman said. Just like himself, Sabrina had changed drastically in the years he hadn't seen her. Her body was grown and more feminine and she seemed a bit taller than he remembered. Not that she'd really grown much taller.

Sabrina was the only person of Caelum's age during the time he worked as the princess' guard. She was a lower ranking maid at the time and because of their similar ages, the two grew close. Eliora was the only other person of similar age but she was still quite younger than them. Plus she was the princess.

Caelum couldn't openly hang out with Eliora without getting scolded but there was no boundary with Sabrina. He'd first met Sabrina when he came to the palace for the very first time. He'd taken a wrong turn and found himself lost within the maze like castle. Sabrina who had been passing by at the time, helped him find his way. After that, the two met occasionally as Sabrina was one of the princess' maids.

The servants' still continued to gossip about Caelum.

"Let's go somewhere else." Sabrina suggested and Caelum nodded. They left the castle and headed to the Main garden.

"I saw you got dragged out by the princess' guards." Sabrina said at they walked.

Anger welled up in Caelum all over again.

"They wouldn't let me see the princess." He grit out in annoyance. "They didn't even inform the princess of my presence. Those darn whores."

"I see you got a sharp tongue over the years. That's so unlike you." Sabrina laughed. "Well it's to be expected that they wouldn't let you see the princess, no man except the king is allowed to go near her quarters."

"Isn't that going too far? I know he doesn't want anyone taking his daughter from him but that's just too much!"

"It's not what you think. The king has always indeed been a bit over protective but this has nothing to do with that." Caelum looked at her in confusion when she spoke.

"What do you mean?"

"I guess you never heard of it when you were at the front lines but during the time you were gone, an incident happened where the princess was kidnapped."

"What!?" Caelum asked perplexed.

"She was gone for a really long time and folks in the castle even began to assume that she died. Eventually the king located her in the Kale kingdom and brought her back but by then the princess was..... different."

"Different how?"

"She'd go into panic the moment a man got close to her. It didn't matter who the person was. At some point she'd even been scared of the king himself." Sabrina said. "It was hard for everyone to see the little ball of sunshine that was the princess become a sad broken child. To prevent any incidents, all men where banned from going anywhere near the princess' quarters."

Caelum stood in shock as he heard the news from Sabrina.

"So you should understand the king's reason for implenting that rule."

Eliora had been kidnapped while he was gone and something terrible happened that messed up her mind.

"Do you know what happened to her during the time she was gone?"

"None of us were told." They weren't told but Sabrina had seen the marks that marred the princess' skin when she helped her bath. Deep scars that would've been extremely painful.

Each time Sabrina saw them, she tried to imagine what could cause those kind of marks but always came up empty. All she knew was the princess endured great pain.

Caelum's hands clenched into fists.

"Do you know who was responsible for the kidnapping?"

"It was the first Kale prince."

The heir to the Kale kingdom throne, prince Dimitri. Caelum had heard tales of the two princes of the Kale kingdom during the war. The second prince, Hugo was known throughout their plane for his brilliant war strategies and unrivaled strength. The first prince on the other hand, though the heir, was known for his despicable habits of enslaving females he thought beautiful. It was said the man had an obsession for beautiful things and would use his power to acquire anything he thought beautiful. Be it an object or person.

Because he was the only legitimate child of the Kale king, he was deemed the heir despite the second prince being a better fit.

So it was true the man would acquire anything beautiful. There was hardly anyone who could rival the princess in beauty and Dimitri must've thought so as well.

'I'll kill him.' the demonic voice in Caelums head roared. 'He dared to hurt what is mine, I'll kill him!'

It was a vow.

After a long silence, Caelum asked,

"How is the princess doing?"

"She's doing a lot better than when she first returned but I can't really say she's doing good." Sabrina answered honestly and Caelum's fists clenched even tighter, his hands now looking white.

Sabrina observed the man's expressions in silence. She didn't remember Caelum to be one to express so much of how he was feeling on the outside. She remembered him as someone who didn't care much for a lot of things but after hearing of the princess' incident, the man showed rage like she'd never seen before. It couldn't just be because he was friends with the princess. His reactions told something more.

Something she didn't want to believe.

Something she really hoped wasn't true.

"D-Did she ever speak of me?" Unlike the hard look he had when he heard of the incident, his face now looked vulnerable as he asked the question.

'He likes the princess.' Sabrina's subconscious told her.

No matter how hard she wanted to deny it, it was nothing but a fact. Caelum had feelings for the princess, he's always had feelings for the princess. Not once has he ever thought of Sabrina in that way. She knew this all along but it was hard to come to terms with. No matter what she did, Caelum would always only see her as a friend. It was a frustrating truth.

"No, she hasn't." Sabrina said. She didn't miss how Caelum's expression dropped at her words. It was a lie but she felt like she'd be loosing if she told him the truth.

He didn't need to know the princess talked about him endlessly. After all he couldn't even see her even if he knew.

That's right! He could never see Eliora because of the king's rule. The only person he could meet while in the palace was Sabrina. For once she had an advantage over the princess.

Maybe this was fate telling her she had a chance. Hell, even if it wasn't fate, she'd latch onto this opportunity like a leech. This was her one chance to steer Caelum's feelings in her favor. Years of liking this man and she finally had an opportunity to make him hers. Nothing was going to stop her.

"Honestly it's been years since you left, the princess might not even remember you anymore." Sabrina fanned the flames of the fire she started. Crush any hope he has of getting with the princess.

He might just fall to her when the heartbreak sets in.

"Well that's not very surprising, it has been a really long time since we last saw each other." The tone in his voice didn't match the words he spoke. "It was nice seeing you again, Sabrina but I should be on my way now."

Six years of being apart and he was just going to end their meeting like that. Well that was basic Caelum.

"Alright, I also have to get going. Will I see you around?" Sabrina asked.

"Likely yet unlikely."

"Well then, I'll see you if I do." Sabrina once again hugged the man but just like before, his hands remained stationed by his side.

Sabrina hid her ire with a friendly smile and walked away from him. Well it wasn't like she could get him to fall for her immediately. It would take time.

"Sabrina!!" a voice suddenly shouted from a distance startling Sabrina. "This is where you were, you're supposed to take the princess' lunch to her."

Had she been expecting Caelum to call her back? As if that would happen.

"My apologies, Head maid. I got a it carried away. I'll be on my way now." Sabrina said with her head bowed before she turned in the kitchen's direction.