Thirsty Royals: Reloaded

Chapter 11: Reunions

At Mmiri, Capital City of the Western Blue Kingdom...

Mmiri was a dream, a picturesque place perfect as the Lost City of Atlantis. The Jeweled crown of a luxurious empire.

The Blue-haired race knew beauty and extravagance. And why not? They were rich.

Their Merchants Guild had long-established trade with kingdoms of every race. They spun wealth with financial expertise, taking advantage of every available resource in the River Lands: precious stones, production of textiles and trinkets, farming, fishing, hunting, everything!

So the Blue bloomed from trade and tourism and built extravagant water-themed cities.

...

The Great Blue Palace was built on the cliff of a hill, around a calm-flowing waterfall. It was enchanting even at night.

Under the cover of darkness, Lolo snuck in through a hidden tunnel behind the Palace waterfall. She was hooded.

In the tunnel, she snapped her finger, lighting a blue flame of spiritual energy; her source of light. It floated above her right palm.

The newborn Oracle navigated the secret passageway with experience until she came into the Palace through a small door hidden in the wall of the Blue Queen's Chambers.

She was finally in her mother's room.
She breathed a sigh of relief.

Queen Lia kept a strict routine. Lolo knew her mother well. She knew her mother's schedule like the back of her palm. She knew the Queen would be peacefully playing her harp at this time, alone in her chambers. She didn't like to be disturbed in her private time.

Most importantly, she knew the power of a mother's love. She knew her mother would be upset that she had run away from her arranged marriage to chase forbidden love, but the Queen would not turn her away. So she chose to cry to her mother. She needed her.

...

"Lolo?...", the Blue Queen called at the hooded figure that just came in through the secret chamber. She could recognise her daughter anywhere, but she needed to be sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.

Lolo took off the hood. She was covered in dirt, visibly pale and weak.

"Lolo!", the Queen called this time with certainty and surprise. Her voice cracked from mixed emotions. Tears slowly welled up in her eyes.

She dropped the harp and rushed towards Lolo with open arms, hugging her with tears of joy and relief, happy to see her prodigal daughter, her only child safe and sound.

Lolo burst into tears. The 23-year-old princess had just weathered through a terrible storm. She broke down in her mother's arms, just letting her tears tell the tale.

Sorrow had eaten deep into the poor girl. She had successfully made her way from the Northern Red Kingdom back to the Western Blue Kingdom by sheer force of will and the incredible powers I had gifted her. Her will to survive kept her alive until she got to the Palace.

Queen Lia consoled her unsuccessfully. All the sorrow and mourning she had postponed whilst running for her life weighed down upon her now with intensity, breaking her bones, burning her heart.
She wept for Marc.

The sound of her painful cries reverberated within her, imploding her insides, but she was mute on the outside. Open-mouthed, but mute. Not breathing. Her voice, stifled by the suffocating baseball in her throat.

She passed out.

...

Finally awake, calm, clean and wrapped in a warm blanket with a soup bowl in her hands, Lolo told her mother the terrible tale: The escapades of the runaway princess.