Forged With the Elements

(5) Tell Me More

Chapter 5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Never stop learning,

because life never stops

teaching."

~ unknown/anon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aithne

I pace around my room waiting for someone to come in and tell me what's going on. I frequently glance out the window, trying to spot anything unusual. But the night sky is still, the moon lower than it was before.

I don't know how long I waited, but eventually someone finally knocked on my door. Without thinking, I quickly grab the silver tray on the wooden dresser and cautiously walk to the door, clutching the tray as a shield.

I open the door and the same guard that Kai and I ran into holds his arms in surrender.

"Woah, everything's fine now, you can drop the tray," he says, looking taken aback.

"Oh, sorry," I say, lowering the tray to my side. "I wasn't sure who was going to be at the door."

He lets out a chuckle. "It's nice to know you're able to defend yourself even without guards. But you don't have to worry anymore, we've dealt with the problem."

"What happened?" I ask. The words escaping from my mouth before I can even begin to think about it.

"I'm not at liberty to say, but in the morning Queen Kendra will explain everything. Goodnight." He does a small bow before walking out.

I inhale, catching whatever is left of my breath. Mentally preparing myself for the morning.

*

"Excuse me, Your Majesty."

Someone lightly taps me awake. I jolt up and end up hitting my head against the bedrest. Curling my hands in front of me into fists. A maid stands before me, her gray eyes shaking with fright.

"Um, who are you?" I ask, fully alerted. Massaging the spot where I bumped my head.

"I am so sorry for startling you. My name is Hailey, Your Majesty. I am one of your maids in this palace," she says. Her voice trembles shyly. She places her hands in front of her, her head pointing downwards. She doesn't meet my eyes when I speak.

"Oh, hi. You can drop the formalities, Aithne is just fine." She finally looks up at me, looking puzzled look as if my request was absurd. It feels weird being addressed as 'Your Majesty'. I don't think I'll be getting used to it anytime soon.

"Alright, Your Maj-I mean Aithne," she corrects, this time she curtsies.

"Oh my gosh, please no!" I put my hands out to tell her to stop. But she looks up at me with nervous fear as if she she did something wrong.

"Ah! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Her voice is sweet and melodic. I wouldn't have minded if I fell asleep to the sound of her gentleness.

I laugh, "No need to apologize. I just meant that you can talk to me like a regular person. You don't need to say 'Your Majesty' or curtsy or anything like that."

She stands there, looking perplexed at my want to not be treated like some stuck up royal. Her gmface finally relaxes and she shows me her pearly whites.