Voices. So many voices. Khalida Clayton was at a party. There were about 500 people there. In their castle. Khalida was a princess. Her family owned a huge castle on the western side of the town. The castle was commonly rather empty — excluding the servants and Khalida's family. But not that night.
That night, the whole castle was mingling with the lights of thousand candles. There were red carpets on the floor of every corridor and curtains made of red velvet covering the windows that have been cleaned up especially for the occasion, so they reflected the glimmer of the million stars in the quickly darkening sky. The tables were covered with white tablecloths, while the silver bowls placed on them were rich with all the food you can imagine. And when you looked up to the ceiling, you could see crystal chandeliers dangling from it. The sight was magnificent.
It was 9 pm. By that time, all the guests have come, then chattering excitedly in the halls. I didn't mention, did I? It was the day of Thana's wedding. Thana was Khalida's older sister. Let's see how it all started...
Thana was born two years before Khalida, but that disturbed neither of them. They loved each other since they could remember. They could always tell their secrets or problems to each other and they trusted one another with their own lives. Khalida would do anything for Thana. And Thana would do anything for Khalida.
Their parents loved them, but they were never good at expressing their feelings. Therefore, the sisters mainly had each other's support. Only each other's...
Khalida was just walking through one of the wide corridors towards the main hall. Her dark brown hair was falling neatly in curls over her shoulders. She was wearing a blue dress that fit her perfectly. Her warm brown eyes were glimmering happily from under the flower wreath above her forehead. With a smile painted on her face, she quickened her pace, excited about the upcoming.
Khalida stopped in front of the huge door. She took a deep breath and entered the main hall. Suddnenly, all of the people's gazes were planted on her, admiring her from afar as she walked among the guests, greeting them kindly. Her gaze traveled over the room for a moment — she felt someone watching her intensely. She noticed a young man in his twenties staring at her. Her cheeks flushed a bit and she sent him a small smile before turning away and walking to the front side of the hall.
All the murmurs and chattering stopped as the main door opened again, announcing the arrival of another woman. Thana walked in, dressed gorgeously. Everyone's attention was suddenly on her, gasping at how beautiful she was in her wedding dress, her dark ginger wavy hair flowing behind her, chin high, with a satisfied smile dancing on her lips as she moved through the crowd towards her sister and her future husband. He was watching her too, a pleased smile playing on his face and a look of warm affection in his bright blue eyes. And, as she stood there, in front of him, their eyes locked with one another, he could, too, see the love in her eyes and excitement radiating of her in big waves. This wasn't just Thana's wedding day. It was her coronation day as well...
"Khalida!" she heard a voice calling her. She whipped around and saw Thana hurrying after her. She waited for her to catch up. This wedding has only just ended and the guests were leaving one by one.
"Tomorrow. A meeting," Thana muttered as she reached her sister. Khalida turned to look at her and nodded slightly, unblinking.
YOU ARE READING
The Forest of Lights
FantasyLong, long ago, in a mysterious town lived two princesses. The younger one's name was Khalida, the older one was Thana. They were known to be most respected individuals in the country. Next to the town was a forest, it was called the Forest of Light...
