Chapter 1
2127 Words
― somewhere else they don’t belong
There are only three weeks left before the coronation of the crowned prince ― and the official meeting of the Edinburgh family and the Aethelberts to seal the wedding plan of Princess Liliana. Princess Loaisa is happy for her siblings as long as they’re happy with it. But being happy for everyone around you doesn’t guarantee your own happiness. She wants something for herself. She knows she longs for it.
Something about the mystery of outside Northumbria is pulling her; waking her in the middle of her sleep every night. She couldn’t tell if an animal's howl was coming from the clouds of mountains and the dark sky, which was being brought to her by the cool wind. Or if it's just part of her dream. She honestly has no idea what is part of her dream and what is not. But the sound of it ripped through her heart.
She only knows the physical appearance of the supernaturals in the books, and the murals in the hall, and by how it was described to her of those who may go at the central. But she never really saw them in person with her very eyes. She doesn’t know how they sound. So she can’t explain why the sound felt real. The pain felt so strong that she cried in the middle of the night. It confused her without knowing the real reason such emotion is ripping through her.
She’s been refusing to entertain those blurry images from her dreams, but one night, the same image that appears in front of her utterly startled her. She woke up from a dream she instantly forgot, but the moment she opened her eyes that image was hovering on top of her.
A gasp strangled her throat, and she choked. It was the wolf from the murals. Blue eyes, strong fangs, and silk white furs. In a blink, the image vanished. She stood from her. Barefeet, she headed outside her room. Her long nightgown trailing behind her. The floor was cold beneath her feet, but there were too many carpets around the palace to warm her.
She ran to the hall to look for the wolf among the murals, but she had reached the end wall and she hadn’t seen the wolf. Instead, the space, where she knew it should be, is empty, leaving it blank in the shape of a wolf. Enthralled, she touches the icy wall with her fingers. The chandelier lights are dead, but the wall lights are enough to see what there is to see. And the wolf is really gone. Princess Loaisa gasped in horror.
The moment she flattened her palm against the wall, a deafening howl rang around her. It was uncertain if it's coming from somewhere around the palace or just in her head, but it was raucous, intense, and violently emotional. Instantly, receding from the murals.
Her hands rose to her face to cover her from the suddenly blinding lights. She groaned at the disturbance. A heartfelt sob echoed around the room as she felt a gentle nudge on her shoulder.
“Princess Loaisa?”
Startled, she abruptly sat on the bed and gaped at the head of the maid assigned for her. She almost hit the lady’s head if she didn’t step away. The sobs were coming out from her own trembling lips.
“W-What…?” She wiped the warm tears off her face and blinked at the maid.
“Are you okay, Princess Loaisa? The Queen ordered us to wake you. It’s already ten.”
Princess Loaisa followed the lady’s gaze and to the parted curtains which reveal the radiant sunlight directed to her bed.
“Oh!” she muttered to herself.
She’s an early person and hated to stay in bed late because she wanted the tranquil and fresh breeze. early in the morning. That must be the reason the Queen instructed the chambermaids to her room.
Absent-mindedly, she nodded at the lady and assured them she’s going out once she finished preparing herself. She hurried, not because she didn't want to keep the family waiting, but because she wanted to check the murals. Her hair was damp, her dress incompletely secured. She reached the hallway. The chambermaid followed her to secure her dress while the princess was busy checking the murals.
A gasp escaped her lips when her eyes met the blue eyes of the wolf. It’s... here. Reluctantly, she touched the wall with her fingers and didn’t hear the broken howl.
She was only dreaming. It was just a dream. And she’s certain by now that was the same dream occurring to her a few months before her birthday. But now it was all clear and vivid to her. Like a fragment of her reality and not her dream.
“I don’t believe witches are beautiful, Miguel. They may be an enchantress, but I’m confident they used powers to make themselves look marvelous.”
Prince Jefron came walking in the hall with his friend, Miguel Lopez. The smile on his brother’s lips faded when he saw her state. The lady bowed her head with an apologetic look on her face.
“What’s wrong, Loaisa?” He didn’t address her as the princess, so it’s easy to assume he’s concerned with his younger sibling. Princess Loaisa turned her body from the murals to them and brushed her hair with her fingers, curtsying to Miguel Lopez who bowed to her.
“N-Nothing.”
“We’re waiting for you for breakfast. Miguel will join us. We have to discuss something important after.”
She nodded and let them walk past her. Giving a last glance at the wolf who doesn’t change one bit, she turns to leave and follows the two. Her hands fidgeted to tie the front of her dress. The men continued to talk. They sound busy despite every joke being thrown in the middle of their serious discussion. She didn’t call them and was satisfied to just trail behind them.
“The King needs a beautiful queen,” Miguel responded jokingly over something her brother said.
“But not a witch. My mother is beautiful, so are my sisters, but none of them is a witch. I think the merchant is playing tricks on us since she recognizes I’m the crowned prince,” her brother answered, and just as always, Prince Loaisa doesn’t understand what they’re talking about.
Except that she knows witches live in East Anglia, behind the Merchant Royal House, as written in the books.
In the afternoon, with a crimson blood cloak drape over her frame, Princess Loaisa brought Magellan to the farm again to meet the old man. But he was not there. One man working on the farm informed her that the old man didn’t visit the place that day. The news disheartened her. She was planning to share with the old man about her dreams. She has a little hope that he could explain the meaning behind her; to enlighten her. But frustration took over her when she didn’t find him.
She watched the mountains alone. She knew wolves lived in the mountains and wondered if they could see the palace from there. If they are, do they ever feel like visiting Northumbria? Do they like where they live? Do they ever assume to be somewhere else they don’t belong to? Or how does someone know which place they don't belong to and not when they haven't visited that place? When they never get to go anywhere but their home?
Princess Loaisa felt miserable with her own lonely thoughts.
Do the supernaturals also dream of being in the North as much as she wants to be in the South? She wanted to know if it’s normal to ask for more when being a princess already gives her more?
She stayed in the field until the sunset and wouldn’t have gone home if the thunderstorm didn’t frighten Magellan. They galloped back to the palace; already expecting the maids to be looking for her but not the royal army.
She pulled on the rope to slow down Magellan and stopped beside one group of the royal guards on the side. “What’s happening?” she asked after they greeted her. One of them informed her the Queen is looking for her. And true enough, the other group of the royal army approached them and told her the Queen sent them. It puzzled her.
An army?
She’s still inside the palace! At least inside the borders of Northumbria.
“Prince Jefron met a vagabond near the forest. The arrow was poisoned. The doctors are sent to his room now.”
“Poison? A-Arrow?” Her eyes widened.
The soldiers only nodded. They didn’t answer her shock, so she had no choice but to follow the army who was sent for her. Only two of them were in the horses, and the five were walking ahead of them.
“But what happened?” she asked the leader who is mounted on one horse next to her. Before he could answer her, they heard a commotion from a distance. They lined the army, ready for a battle. There are two types of royal soldiers. The royal guards are like, let's say, the locals, who the palace orders to run errands from here to there. Mostly, they are the ones responsible for the safety of the palace, and also the trades in Mercia. While the royal army is for battle. And it is such a rare sight to see them line up outside the palace walls as if readying for war.
No, they look like they are going to war.
Princess Loaisa quickened the horse to hear the conversation.
“...to the south until the border between Wales and Northumbria,” the commander then waved his hand to the right group, “Around Mercia but not to the Merchant Royal House, and until you reached the border between the Mercia and Saxon. Be certain not to disturb any houses in search of the Prince’s friend, Miguel Lopez.”
“What?” She galloped Magellan to them. “Miguel is missing? Why?”
The commander bowed to her and was followed by his army. “Young Majesty.”
“Where’s Miguel? Was he with my brother? What happened? Who’s the vagabond?”
“Princess Loaisa, the Queen is waiting for you in the palace,” the head of her guards said.
They disregard of her questioning offended her young heart. She's annoyed that they’re not giving her the information. But she understood that it’s part of their job. She nodded and followed her guards. They headed past the soldiers preparing for the search.
They could already see the stone bridge leading to the entrance of the palace. From there stood Ferdinand, a black stallion, and mounted on him was King Alvaro.
She bit her lower lip, feeling the disappointment for herself to be outside the palace in this hour and while her brother is facing danger. If only she's not young. If only she knew how to help...
Next to her father is a table full of armors, swords, arrows in a quiver, bows, and modern guns. Magellan is the fastest stallion in his breed, and everyone knows it. If only the King will allow her to…
She lost time to debate with herself. Before she knew it, her hands were already reaching for the quiver containing the arrow and the bowstring. The head of her royal guards exclaimed her name and instead of the warning stopping her, it only boosts her intention.
Magellan galloped in the middle of two groups of the royal army, surprising the horses that they completely parted to give ways to Princess Loaisa.
She only wanted to help them find Miguel, and she believed the army was already wasting time.
“Princess Loaisa!” the King called behind her, and the moment his voice reverberated in the silent night, she regretted her decision.
But she couldn’t stop Magellan, especially after the thought of finding Miguel, arresting the vagabond who dared hurt her brother, and being in Mercia, thrilled her all at once. The power of adrenaline gets the best of her decision.
But she had already reached the boundary of Northumbria when she remembered she had less information. She doesn’t know what the vagabond looks like and how many there are.
Contemplating whether to go back and stop the horses of the army following her, another streak of lightning flashed at the sky. The thunder scared Magellan. Princess Loaisa screamed at him, trying to stop the fearful stallion but it headed straight to the forest in the southeast of Northumbria in fright of the thunderbolts and lightning.
- Writer
