His Dark Queen - Sondam

Chapter 47: A Runaway Princess and her Knight

Five days. It had been five days since Peko's letter and nothing back. Not a word, signal, nor letter. Sonia sat by the half-opened window, mindlessly staring into the horizon. Waiting for her savior's hawk to dive from the sky with a letter of hope attached to its leg. Rushing to the window to stick her head out at the chirp of any bird, be it mighty or faint. Her throat and eyes grew drier from the windy dry air, until the air fell still with the ascending moon. Its reflected rays flowing with the shining reflection of the ocean's steady waves.

She turned her head away from the window, shutting her eyes as she winced. An old symbol of hope to her eventually degrading to a painful reminder. The moon. It was supposed to be theirs. But how could it be theirs when he's not? She stood herself up from the chair, pulling it back to her white desk. Her eyes hovered over her room as she stood by her desk. Noticing the little changes of the many locks on her door, lack of light, organization, and order. She kicked around an empty food tray, it tossed into the air and into a small pile that had been collected up over the previous days. A pile filled with other trays, food wrappers, disposable cups, and other miscellaneous items. Mostly trash. It wouldn't take much energy to remove, yet she couldn't. What if she were and the hawk came by? What if it left before she could come back? What if he came back and she wasn't there? What if? What if? They held her back, held her back from leaving her cottage, from her chair. At times even from her own bed, some days spending the entire day inside wrapped in her blankets. Watching the window. It was mind-numbing, torturous, boring, yet she couldn't stop. Her conscious ignoring the rationality of it being impulsive and mundane, all to the hypothetical situation of her 'what if's becoming true.

Her eyes focused on the dim lights, shuffling her feet to the side of her bed. The last minutes of her day was the longest. Longest because of sleep, the most vulnerable time one can be at. She knelt down, her knees softly falling onto the floor. Glaring at the cage under her.

She snickered, "At least you all are with me," Sonia whispered to herself, placing a hand on top of the cage. Tracing her fingers against the tiny wires encasing the Devas. She bit her lip and gulping down any sadness attempting to break free from her eyes, "Not today, not tonight." Sonia kept telling herself, swiping her hand away from the cage and stepping into the bed. Tonight, she would sleep on the right side, his side. The bed felt as if it grew larger. Perhaps, she had started to curl up tighter each night, clinging to a pillow on the other side. Pulling the blanket over her shoulders, she dragged the pillow to her chest. Burying her nose into its cushioning. Overlapping her hands with each other, the rough edge of her nails brushing against each other. Remembering one night she had chewed them off. The taste of black nail polish still stuck in her mouth, its bitter taste fading each morning. Closing her eyes, she waited until she fell asleep. Tossing and turning before her body eventually gave in.

-

A runaway princess and her faceless knight ventured through the abandoned castle halls. Thick vines and moss-covered the stone brick walls. The air was dense and moist, danger filled the air. Yet the two continued their unknown journey. They were searching for something. Something that couldn't be named, described nor pictured, but they both so desperately needed it. The princess stood behind the knight. His dark cape swayed with his steps as he raised his hand into the air which held a torch. Illuminating the mossy walls from pure darkness, allowing them to step without caution of any hazards. The two were a mysterious match.

"You are sure that it is here?" He asked, she lightly bumped into his back as he stopped at his pace and turned to face her. She stepped away, staring into his dark eyes. One half of his face almost consumed by shadows, the other was ghostly pale.

"It has to be! This place seems so," She paused, looking around the abandoned halls, "familiar."

"Is that so?" He asked, turning away from her and began to step further toward a room. The princess following shortly after. The two entered into what appeared to be the castles' main hall. The knight cursed under his breath, pulling a paper from his cloak, the touch's flame cackled as it continued to burn. "Damn. Had we gone in a circle?" He pondered at the thought, "Here, hold this," he handed the torch to her. Using his free hand to trail at the crudely drawn map and marking it with a string-wrapped graphite stick. He squinted his eyes from the map to her and back again, "May I ask if this castle seems familiar, why not you lead the way?"