Kingdom's Facade: Book 1

Chapter One: Auradella

Della woke up bright and early, the sun peaking through her window as she sat up and stretched her arms out wide with a groan. She was growing antsy as usual in her room. When she was inside for too long, she needed to get out, and on her own terms.

 It was the middle of the day but she was confident she could make it out and be back unnoticed like always. She'd always had pretty good luck especially when it came to her rebellious actions. Either her parents were completely clueless or they simple turned a blind eye, Della honestly didn't care as long as she'd still be able to get out of the house and away from a few of the insanely snobby brunches.

Auradella stood up from her bed and checked her appearance. She wore a simple light lilac dress, nothing special but still nice enough that she'd be chewed out if she came home with it being a mess. Her hair wasn't styled and simply fell to her sides with all its volume as it usually did. Her mother would always scold her for saying things around the lines of, "Such a beautiful girl should really take care of her appearance better." Yet, Della couldn't be bothered to do more than brush it out most days.

 She grabbed one of her long purple capes, this one deep purple with a hood big enough to hide her features and tied the delicate ribbon in a neat bow. She was like a shadow on the wall as she crept out of her room, hoping and praying her dear sister wouldn't catch her. Her feet snaked around the floor as she carefully avoided the specific creaky floor boards she'd memorized.

Her sister, Nancy would always lecture Della on the risks she'd taken and that "Some day they'd catch up to her."  However, for now, she threw caution to the wind as she successfully slipped out of the small side and some-what-secret entrance to her house soundlessly. So she was off, off to the town to see real people, people who worked hard and truly lived in ways she couldn't really imagine. Maybe she'd find something new, or meet someone. A suitor just waiting for her arrival. Della giggled to herself, giddy with excitement. Who knew what trouble she could get in?

She wondered if she would run into her friend, Velox. The pair of them were about as close as she was with Nancy, however, Velox encouraged her rebellious behavior. When his  parents were killed Della took special care of him, always visiting, reading to him, playing the piano, going on walks together, whatever it may be. Velox rather fancied going for a good walk, they'd catch up with other or meet someone knew. He always seemed to meet new people...much like Della. Partially thanks to Della, he slowly got to where he is now and Della is truly grateful to have a friend she can be herself with. She assumed it was the same for him, even though he  was now a duke it wouldn't fully change the person Velox used to be, not fully at least.

Della hadn't spotted anyone familiar yet and she wasn't quite sure if that was a good or bad thing. The street market was her favorite place to sneak away to, mainly since her parents deemed it "too dangerous" for someone like her. Della never quite understood that notion, how could such a unique and exciting place ever be as dangerous as they made it out to be.

She stopped at a few booths but didn't buy anything. Nothing  caught her eye more than the people. Some looked tired and worn out, others grinning ear to ear, and the kids laughing and smiling freely. Free... they were all so free to live and act as they wished, not forced to be a "Perfect Lycanth" or the "Golden Child."

She bumped into a bigger man with stubby legs and a big round belly and was thrown harshly to the side. Della frantically apologized and only earned a grunt back in response as he continued walking.

She went along with a small scowl on her face and her hands clasped together in front of her heart. Her frown quickly washed away as she passed by a group of commoner children dancing around together and playing games they'd come up with to pass the time, big lovely smiles on their faces. She smiled softly, longingly... that was nowhere near the childhood she'd had.

Many of those kids might not have had the luxuries she had grown up around but she didn't think them to be as wonderful as most thought. Queen sized beds, cushy couches, gorgeous dresses... but at what cost? Those were all simply materialistic things, they could never keep someone truly satisfied. At least not someone like Della, with the urge, the need for adventure and change and, well, genuine experiences.

Her whole life had been filled with etiquette lessons, balls she was forced to attend to that lasted forever. The magic of them fleeted at about the age of thirteen, when she'd lost count of all the extravagant parties she'd been dragged along to. Her mother's strict standard she was expected to uphold, and suddenly, every single thing she did began to feel superficial.

Della snapped out of her flashback of memories at the smell of freshly baked bread. Her stomach growled and she realized that she had forgotten to eat breakfast.

She strolled up to the vendor to her right, and noticed that the line was starting to pile up. Since Della didn't have very many plans at the moment, she jumped into line quick enough to be close to the front.

Once there, she took a deep breath, taking in the sweet honey smell which was mixed with the fresh rich bread. She pointed to a small loaf cut in half, and the old man behind the table smiled and nodded, his wrinkles outlining his eyes and mouth.

Della paid and thanked him, and then walked off simultaneously, tearing pieces off and eating them until it was all gone. She brushed her hands together, getting rid of the crumbs, and sighed contently as she stopped walking for a moment to take the bustling street in once more.