Planet Eden: The Garden

Chapter 19. The Lost Princess

Chapter 19.

Two weeks. That was how long the ride took. The Exterminator, Wolfgang, didn't allow us to leave the cage. He offered food and water, which Camille took gratefully. I only glared at the man, refusing to utter a word as he placed a small cup of water and a piece of bread at my feet. I didn't remove my eyes from his dog-like ones, not until he looked away first.

We rode on in silence, none of us speaking. I was sitting uncomfortably in my own filth, knowing I smelt like the worst kind of animal imaginable. It didn't matter though. The second someone opened the cage I was in I would escape, running in a direction that wasn't towards the castle. There was no plan anymore, just run. Plans were for the dead anyway.

I thought life would go a lot different for me, but I guess I was wrong. I figured I would die in some freak accident such as Camille somehow exploding our ranch home that was now long left behind. The thought came across me once or twice as I went out hunting, wondering what life would be like if I was the hunted rather than the hunted. Now I know what it truly feels like.

It still baffled my mind how much of the world I had missed. Bane had a built castle for goodness sake, and I had no idea. It never occurred to me how there were reporters or how there was electricity. There just was. Phantom had this society that I didn't realize I was a part of. Perhaps I was too afraid of the light, afraid to see what it would be. I was afraid that something out there was always trying to kill me, so I stayed away.

I guess I was right. Something is out there trying to kill me, and while I'm solidly convinced it wasn't where I was now, here I was. Bound in a cage with nowhere to go, thinking about all the ways I could escape. None ever led me to believe I would survive, so I didn't try anything.

"Look at that," I heard Camille gasp and I turned to her to notice her eyes were focused on something else.

I turned my eyes in the direction she was looking at, only to gasp at the sight. There were ribbons connecting to trees that we road underneath. The mud that the horses were riding on our entire journey had turned to stone, the hooves clicking. The ribbons were the color of growing season grass, light in color and radiantly green. The ribbons had flags tied in perfectly spaced sections, each with a symbol I struggled to see. It looked like a tree, but I couldn't be certain.

There were different buildings coming into sight, all in different colors. Many were stone, but others were painted with pale pastel colors. There wasn't a single dark spot anywhere. People began poking their heads out of their doors, their appearance beautiful. I had never seen so many beautiful people in my entire life in one place.

Children chased the horses in front of us, cheering and calling with glee. They were giggling, tossing small pebbles on the side where the Exterminators were. When Camille and I came into their view, the mood changed significantly. Words were hushed and women grabbed the children to be dragged into their homes. The look of curiosity and fear on their faces. I smirked at their fear.

Camille and I jumped at the sound as trumpets tuned, a fanfare so vibrant there was no way it was for us. We looked at each other for a moment, and my thoughts instantly gravitated towards Doze. Who the hell was she? To be welcomed in such a way by villagers and people passing by meant only one thing. She was important.

"Is that..." Camille started but I finished for her as the figure came into view.

"a palace?" I responded, absolutely astounded.

The towers of the palace nearly reached the clouds in the sky. The entire structure was white, with lines of gold separating the blocks of whatever white stone was used to create it. At the top of the tower was a flat surface, guards walking back and forth on top of it. Long battlements lined the castle in what I assumed to be one large hexagon. A gate where a drawbridge was lowered was placed in the middle like the mouth on a face.