Dream Wanderers Chapter 9
Chapter 9: Queen Annabelle
He came to our hut again. This time, instead of trying to slit the throat of anyone, he came to just watch me do my daily chores. There was a gentle smile on my face that I never saw before and it made me laugh. Laughter… something I hadn’t heard from my mouth in an eternity. I was a nineteen young maiden now and the last time I laughed was probably back when I was five and played games with the other children. I gained my strength back after finding my paper. Keeper was happy with my new found strength and allowed me to help around the hut more. She was very old now and her body was frail. The older ones and I took over most of the maintenance in the hut.
Half way through the afternoon, he had a pensive look on his face.
“Is there something bothering you?” I asked curiously. He scared me with the huge smile that decorated his face. His smile was dazzling, as expected of a prince. Happiness was such a new thing to both him and I.
“What if I asked you to marry me?” he asked and the iron pot I was washing clattered to the floor.
“Pardon?” Had my poor ears decided to fail me?
“I asked you to marry me,” he said again as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
“Will you?”
“You’re being rash Prince Ryosuke. If I were to become your bride, Queen Annabelle would wish for my head.” Recently, every person he had been ordered to kill was warned and went into hiding. He couldn’t let Queen Annabelle know that he had been ignoring his duty. “If we were to wed, Queen Annabelle would lose her gift. You would lose yours, and I would lose mine. We would never be able to see into the subconscious ever again. Queen Annabelle would also never approve of our marriage,” I reasoned with him.
“I will not ask her then,” he stated proudly.
“Have you lost your sanity? She will kill us both,” I turned around to scold him once again for such a thought, but before I knew it, he was gone.
I worried about him that night and so I wandered into his subconscious. It was the first time I ever saw his dreams for it was always in mine that we met. His special place was a large meadow covered with various flowers. I had never seen more than half of the flowers that were there. I remembered that he had visited so many places. I assumed that the flowers there were the ones he had seen and recreated. Then in the midst of the field, I saw him sitting on a log with his face in his hands.
“Did your plan to wed upset the Queen?” I asked quietly. Without looking up at me, he spoke in a sullen tone.
“She forbids me from wedding. Forever.”
“I told you she would not allow it. She wishes to keep her gift of eternal life. If I were to marry you, I would steal that. There’s nothing we can do. We need her blessings to wed.”
“What if she met you? Maybe she would change her mind,” he suggested hopefully. I would have already given up. I did not understand why he was so determined to have us marry.
“I think she would much rather kill me instead. I am the one who she ordered you to murder years ago. What will she say once she discovers that I still live? If she is not angered by that, she will definitely have me beheaded for stealing the heart of her precious son.”
“I will take you to meet her tomorrow. We will convince her to give her blessings.”
He came to get me the following morning. We rode into through town on his white steed. Many gazes followed us. None of them were filled with jealousy or anger. I knew that the village folk were all overjoyed that the heartless Prince Ryosuke had changed. We arrived at the castle within the hour and I nervously followed behind the Prince as he gallantly walked through the palace.
We entered the throne room where Queen Annabelle sat upon her high golden chair.
“Mother, this is the woman I spoke to you about. This is the woman I wish to marry,” he said while kneeling on one knee with a hand over his heart. Keeper always taught me about manners and so I politely curtseyed to the authority before me.
“It is nice to meet you Your Highness. My name is Doretta Patel.” Oh how much I despise this woman. Oh how I wish to jump forward and wring her neck. The only problem is that I need to give a proper first impression. It is why I bit the inside of my mouth, swallowed my pride and bowed my head. Plus, one mistake of mine could be followed by a single command and I could be beheaded.
“Doretta Patel you say. Ryosuke, did I not tell you to kill a girl named Doretta Patel?” Queen Annabelle said in a snobby tone.
“Yes Mother, but I decided to spare her life because she has the same gift as I. She has taught me many things Mother and I wish to marry her. Please, I ask that you give your blessings,” Prince Ryosuke said humbly.
Before I knew it, I could see the anger cross the Queen’s face. Suddenly I was picked off my feet, restrained by a heavily built knight. I was dragged away and something was put over my face. The last thing I saw before my eyes were bombarded with darkness was Ryosuke swarmed by many knights, all trying to restrain them from running after me. I could hear him shouting my name. I called back, but eventually he no longer responded. I feared the worst.
I felt my wrists and ankles being bound together, the rope used digging into my skin. I screamed in pain as the ropes began to tighten. A cloth was stuffed into my mouth so that my cries just became muffled protests. The blindfold was removed and my eyes watered in pain as they were flooded by the light.
There was a tiny window in the room where the light came in. The walls and floor was grey. I could barely tell the difference between the two. I lay on the hard floor curled in a ball. What else could I do?
A/N- dun dun dun~ hehehe sore dake iitai :P Commento to hiban ga daisuki desu kara...ronpyou shite kudasai? (コメントと批判が大好きですから。。。論評して下さい～) Translation: Because i like comments and critisism, please comment~