Anna And The Invisible Castle

Episode 7. SECRETS HE CARRIED

Prince Eric lay on his bed facing the ceiling, his hands cushioning his head as the adventure of the day replayed in his heart. He regretted why the idea of sneaking out of the palace dressed as a servant hadn’t occurred earlier in his mind like it had premiered today. He was indeed grateful he had sneaked into the servants’ quarter and slipped into their trashy clothes, a perfect disguise for sneaking out of the palace on his own, after eighteen good years!

Exploiting his kingdom was a dream comes true, but meeting this exceptionally beautiful but brave lady Anna was totally out of his league. He smiled, and swirled out of bed. He strode over to the window and gazed into the cloudy sky. Lightning streaked past the sky, followed by a loud thunder.

A knock sounded on his door.

“Yes, come in!” Eric urged on, turning to face the door. He watched Mr. Baldwin walk into the room.

Mr. Baldwin, the royal steward in his early sixties, was in charge of all the royal servants. He’s been serving the royal family since the birth of King Richard Nixon, popularly called King Nixon, Eric’s father, but now due to his age, he was not allowed to do any menial jobs. He was earlier offered retirement, but the old man had refused to retire from his noble duties to the Royal family. He’s now considered part of the Royal family, and Prince Eric’s best friend.

“Here you are, Mr. Baldwin!” Eric said, walking across the room to meet the said person.

“My prince, you sent for me,” he said.

“I wanted to ask you, Mr. Baldwin, where’s Nezmae located?” Eric asked and immediately saw dread creep into the old man’s countenance. “I overheard the servants talk about a place called Nezmae and I thought I could confide in you, my best friend, to tell me more about the place.”

Perspiration prickled Mr. Baldwin’s skin. He wasn’t supposed to engage in such a discussion or anything similar with Prince Eric knowing very well the rule on ground. “Nezmae is just a small village far away.”

Eric sensed Mr. Baldwin’s hesitation and faked a frown. “Oh come on Mr. Baldwin, do you think by telling me about Nezmae, I’d sneak out of the palace? Tell me, how am I even supposed to bye-pass the standard of security here in the palace, and then the knights at the city gates?”

“My prince, promise you won’t do anything stupid?”

Eric tried to conceal a sarcastic smile from lighting his face. Trust, Mr. Baldwin has no glimpse on what it feels like to be caged within the palace for eighteen good years. Even though the king and queen had tried to bring the world and all its entertainment to him in the palace, none of those felt as exciting as meeting the real world outside, just like he had done this afternoon. He remembered Lady Anna and couldn’t help smiling sheepishly. “I promise not to do anything stupid,” he lied.

Mr. Baldwin looked into Prince Eric’s eyes in search of assurance, but the Prince’s gaze was unrevealing. “I don’t know why I am having a bad feeling about this,” he murmured.

“Come here old friend,” Eric led Mr. Baldwin to a single settee. He poured some tea from the silver jug on the table to the two mugs on the tray. He gave one to Mr. Baldwin, having one to himself. They both sipped each his drink. “You don’t trust me,” Eric accused.

“I do, my prince.” Mr. Baldwin heaved a deep sigh. “But this is different; you’re not planning to leave the palace, are you?”

His steps lithe, Eric gracefully strode back to the window. “Even if I wanted to leave, you know my father forbids me from doing so, don’t you?” he questioned gazing up to the now rainy sky. He paused and turned, once again facing Mr. Baldwin, locking down gazes with him. “I’m also aware of the grave consequence that follows me disobeying my father the King, and I have respected that all my life.”

Mr. Baldwin thought about it, even though he suspected something fishy, he went on and gave in to his young friend. He took a sip of his coffee and cleared his throat. “Nezmae is one of the three villages of Ascencia. It’s the last settlement you come in contact after crossing the bridge of Ascencia. It is said to be bordered by an enchanting forest named after the village by the East, a mountain by the West and a sea far off the South.”

“How many hours journey is it from Ascencia?”

“On a fast horse it’s roughly three hours, sire.”

Eric smiled, “Thank you Mr. Baldwin.”

Mr. Baldwin returned the smile and stood. “You’re always welcome sire. Is there anything else?”

“No, no,” Eric replied.

Turning to exit the room, Mr. Baldwin remembered something and stopped in his track. “Sire, err dinner is served!”

“I’m right behind you Mr. Baldwin,” Eric said sharply with an air of liveliness, sending an instant message to the old man; there are definitely skeletons in the prince’s cupboard. For the past few days, Prince Eric had refused to dine with his parents whom he was so mad at for denying him freedom, and most of these times he had generally rejected his meals even those brought to him in his chamber. Seeing him suddenly exhilarated and eagerly looking forward to dinning with his parents was sending dusts to the air.

“Is there something you’re not telling me, Prince Eric?” Mr. Baldwin demanded.

Eric snickered nervously, even though Mr. Baldwin was his pal, he couldn’t afford to tell him this little new secret of his. “Come on Mr. Baldwin, what are you even talking about? You of all people should know very well there’s nothing to be told.. right?”

Mr. Baldwin forced himself to believe the prince’s words. “I will take my leave now sire,” he announced. Eric smiled again a thank-you and waited until he had exited the room before celebrating the revelation.

Minutes later nothing prepared the king and queen, his parents when they saw Prince Eric waltzed into the dining hall. They watched, stunned as he walked down to his favorite chair being pulled out by a servant.

“Father, Mother,” he bowed to them and then settled down in his chair.

Queen Neticia looked at her husband, and then their son, she couldn’t hide her excitement. She smiled at Eric and without wasting time, she passed down the bowl of salad in her hand to a maid. The maid instead of serving Prince Eric, she handed it over to him, as he liked dishing his meal by himself. He collected it from her and served himself, and then he made few more choices from the dishes spread out on the table. He settled down and began to diffuse his meal with such energy that left King Nixon II half surprised, half suspicious.

King Nixon commended, “I must say I’m impressed with this new change, son.”

Eric looked at his father, he smiled, but the smile shriveled when he remembered he wasn’t still free to leave the palace whenever he wished. “I’m happy you are impressed, father,” he said with a slight bowing of head.

They ate for a while…

Queen Neticia glanced at her husband and he winked at her a go-ahead. “Eric, there’s something we want to tell you,” she started.

Prince Eric beamed, his gaze travelling from his mother to his father, and then back to his mother. “Finally, you’re going to tell me ‘the’ secret.”

She shook her head, “No, not that,” she said and his countenance was gloomy again. She continued, “On your forthcoming grand ball, you shall be choosing amongst the visiting princesses, you shall choose one for marriage…”

“What?” Eric’s gaze narrowed, he frowned. “This is impromptu!”

“Yes Eric,” that was King Nixon, “that’s why we are telling you now so that you can get your mind and body prepared for it.”

“Must it be a princess?” Eric queried and his parents exchanged glances. “Must I marry a Princess?”

“The fact is only princesses and daughters of nobles will be invited, so yes it must be a princess or perhaps a daughter of a noble,” Queen Neticia explained. But he didn’t seem satisfied. “Or is there someone else?”

He was silent. His mind drifted to Anna, if only he could open up to his parents right now about her. If only he could tell them now that his heart is with a commoner, a beautiful girl from the village, Nezmae. If only he could tell them he wanted no princess, no daughter of a noble but one ordinary girl, a brave archer, Anna. Would they accept this love, would his parents give the union their blessings in due time?

“Eric,” called Queen Neticia. “Hello, are you there?”

He jolted. “Yes, mother.”

“I was asking, is there someone else?”

“Father,” he looked at his father. “Mother,” he looked at his mother. “What happens if she’s just a regular girl?”

“Is it a maid?” Queen Neticia probed. “Are you in love with a maid?” she sounded excited.

“No, I’m not,” he replied. “Why do you think it’s a maid?” he asked.

“That’s because all your life, the only ‘ordinary’ girls you have ever met are the royal maids.” Neticia chuckled, “It’s not like you’ve left the palace before to have come across with an ‘ordinary’ girl from the streets.” She exchanged glances with her husband, when her gaze was back to Eric and she saw the look on his face, like she had just hit around the truth. Then hers was now filled with curiosity, fear and all atom of seriousness. “Have you?” she asked.

“Have I what?”

“Have you ever left the palace?” she repeated.

Eric’s heart skipped a beat, he quickly recollected himself. He took a sharp breath, “I haven’t,” he faked an angry expression. “I have not! How can I when you would not permit me to, when the palace is heavily guarded? The worst is me not knowing what exactly you are protecting me from.”

“Now let’s not go down that road son,” King Nixon declared and the room went silent. Eric angrily gulped down his glass of freshly made orange juice. He reached for a table napkin and wiped his mouth, and then he stood and made a slight bow to his parents. He turned and left for his chambers, slamming the door after him!

He walked straight to the window and stopped. He thrust a hand into his hair and raked through his wavy hair. And then he brought down the hand and he gazed out to the sky above, to the stars as they twinkled back at him. He suddenly found peace in them. He heaved a sigh and shut his eyes. For a moment, his mind drifted again to Lady Anna, to the moment he first saw her… It was back then; he had watched her from a close distance as she walked into the archery crowd. He had watched her push through the crowd, watched her observe the competition and its rules. When she moved on to register for the competition, it instantly intrigued him as she was the first female to have done that ever since he joined the spectators at the archery competition. So she had caught his attention that instant, her beauty, the way she moved, the way she talked, her smiles, especially her smiles, it melted him from even a distant. He was the first to clap, to applaud her even if she didn’t win, the crowd had followed in, and they all had applauded such an incredible performance coming from a very beautiful girl…

Queen Neticia cleared her throat from behind and Eric flung around, back to the present, to his mother leaning at the doorway, “Mother!” he gasped. “How long have you been standing there, I mean I didn’t even hear you open the door?”

She smiled at him. “Can I come in?” she asked.

“You don’t need to ask, you know that,” he mumbled and returned the smile.

She crossed to the settee and sat. She beckoned on him, “Come here, join me,” she patted on the space next to her. He did. Not only that, he let his head find solace on his mother’s laps. With fingers she began to rearrange his scattered hair, made them fall back into pattern. She felt his stiff body begin to relax under her touch. “Eric my son, you know your father and I love you so much,” she started.

At first he was silent. He brought his hands over his chest and interlocked his fingers. He sighed, “I know,” he mumbled.

“You were ardent about not wanting to choose amongst the princesses nor the daughters of nobles on your grand ball. May I ask why?”

“I am simply tired of following rules, I am tired of living every bit of my life the way you and father want it. I want to do things the way I want, I want to explore, I want to make my own choices as the adult I am today. I want to be responsible for my own self,” he blurted.

“Is that why?” Queen Neticia was calm, “Is that why you were keen about not wanting to choose amongst the princesses nor the daughters of nobles on your fast coming grand ball?”

“No,” he shook his head. “Not really. By the way, why must it be them, what makes them better than the ones out there, the commoners?”

“You are a Prince, future king of Ascencia. There is certain caliber of people you must not take for a partner, for a spouse…that’s the commoners. It has always been this way.”

“Well that has to change, immediately.”

“These are rules, son.”

“Rules are made by man, man too can change the rules and you know that, mother.”

“So, is it one of the maids?” she probed again.

He chuckled. He stretched and reached for a small bunch of grape on the table. He fell back into his mother’s laps and plucked one. “A maid,” he threw it into his mouth, “Is that what it looks like?” he asked and plucked another one. This time he gave it to his mother.

“I can’t give it a pass. Love can happen, even at the least expected places. The heart of man is mysterious you know.”

“Yes, the heart of man is mysterious,” he concurred and divulged another grape. Again, he gave another to his mother.

“Do you wonder why I said I won’t give you a pass if you happen to choose a maid?”

He gave it a thought but couldn’t come up with an answer. “No,” he replied.

She smiled and sighed. “That’s because your father once did,” she revealed.

Eric jerked to a sitting. “Father has another wife?”

“No, no,” she laughed. “I myself was a palace maid.”

He lurched to his feet, incredulity masking his face. “What? I thought you were from a noble family?”

“My family was not noble initially, we were commoners. I was happy when I was selected amongst others to work in the palace. From the first day I reported on duty, your father and I fell profoundly in love.”

He gasped, “No way! How come I never heard?” He gasped again.

“That’s because no one will dare address me as that maid again, that was your father’s decree on the day he proposed to me. I said yes and we were married the next year. My past was forgotten and that ordinary girl was given a whole new life, my family too.” She smiled.

Eric stared aghast. “How many more secrets are there left?” he asked and sat back next to her.

“None,” she replied. “Well, except the one you keep demanding to know.”

“Would you mind telling me that too?” he asked.

“Eric, you know I’m not in the position to tell you.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what everyone keeps saying. Then who is going to tell me?”

“Your father, when the time is right,” Queen Neticia answered. She stood and kissed him on the head, she smiled. “That time is almost nigh my son.”

He looked at her intently. “I love you mother,” he mumbled. “Thank you for always being there for me.”

Her heart constricted with warmth. She reached and kissed him again on the head. “I love you so much, always have and always will.” They exchanged smiles, the warmest ever, and then she was at the door. ”Good night,” she bade.

“Good night mother,” he mumbled and watched her take her leave. And then he went to his bed and was lost to sleep.