There Is No Happily Ever Afters - A collection of short stories

The Prophecy

The woman walks through the corridor that is laced with banners that have lines of purple and red with a golden hawk embroidered on them. The moonlight that shone through the window reflected off the gold detailings of the banners and painting that hung along the wall. She reached the long door that she needed to enter but dreaded. Not because of what lies behind it, because in reality this room was her safe place, but she knew the immaturity that would get her in trouble with the higher ups was coming. The white door with purple flowers coating it, stood tall , it was unavoidable, so the woman reached for the golden handle and opened the door.
"Lady Ariella, your presence has been requested to go visit the council after dinner." She said bowing as she entered the room.
The princess was nose deep into a book when she had said this and replied back with, "Well tell them Lady Ariella isn't feeling well, maybe it's the plague and they all need to leave, immediately."
"My princess, you can't keep denying to visit them. They aren't requesting anymore, they are demanding they see you. You better pay your respects to them before they get outraged. I'm not suffering through tyrant rulers because of your stubbornness" She said, voice lined with annoyance.
"You don't know how boorish those meetings are Camilla, they are dreadful. The men go on and on, and then their sons arrive trying to impress my father so they can marry me. Can you believe that, I'll be married to some brainless twit!" She placed her book down and stood up pacing around the room.
"Well you are the princess, Lady Ariella, it's your duty to find a husband who will rule this kingdom with an iron fist and clever thinking, and make us good allies." She was even more irritated as she threw her hands in the air.
"That's all I hear about is my 'royal duty;' I just want to leave this horrid stone dungeous they call a palace." Ariella said with an unlady-like groan that she knew she can only do around Camilla. She slumped onto her bedding that fitted the room's obvious theme of white and floral. Just like the door, tiny sewn purple flowers were sprinkled all over the blankets and sheets.
"You wouldn't survive a day out of this palace where you are pampered. Ya know what happens to the people outside? They are in poverty, starving, dying of disease they can't afford to treat, and you, well you nobles sit up here with your feast and party, and are spoiled children!" Camilla started to shout, running her hands through his dark curly brown hair.
"Huh? Spoiled! I may be a princess but I'm surely not spoiled. No one understands how hard it is to be the next lady in line. I'm now eighteen, not some child anymore!"
"Well you are acting like one." Camilla's voice was cold when she said this.
Her face hinted with regret before the dead and mean look immediately returned to her face. She let out a sigh while Ariella was turned the other way. Her lips were turned into a frown, and her icy blue eyes started at the floor, while her long almost platinum blonde hair covered her face, in an attempt to cover up the tears that were welling in her eyes. Her fists that were growing paler as she gripped were full of crumpled dress, the white and blue lace peeking through the spaces between her fingers. Camilla noticed the change in Ariella's usually playful and bubbly attitude, and her guilt crept up all the way into her throat.
"Ari, I apologize for what I said, it came off in a way I didn't intend-" She was cut off by the princess's voice.
"Just leave Camilla." Ariella didn't move to look at Camilla, she kept her glace on the floor as the angry words were.
"Yes Lady Ariella." She bowed and left the room. Once she was back into the corridor she started her long journey to the council room. Giving herself time to think about the misfortunate situation with the princess. Anxiety overtook the personal guard's mind.
"What's going to become of me now?" she thought.
"Will they terminate my position? I need to be here. What if they find execution is a fit punishment? Or even being exiled. I disrespected the princess, soon to be lady, a behavior that undoubtedly can't be excused, if the council finds out about it, my entire life would be over. Who would take care of my mother? I'm the only child she has left and the only way of support she has, without me she almost certainly would die. I'm the one who affords her food and medication, and the one who cooks and makes sure she doesn't hurt herself. Would Lady Ariella do that to me, gossip and tattle to get me fired?" The more she let herself indulge in her thoughts the more tense she became.
Her body was shaking and she grinded down on her teeth as the door to the council room veered into sight. It was the exact opposite of Ariella's. Her door was welcoming and gave Camilla a sense of peace and comfort; however this door was dark, almost an ebony wood black. Even being near the door gave her a rise in anxiety.
Camilla gently knocked and a deep voice from inside answered with, "You may enter."
Camilla entered the room. It was dimly lit, the only light being the few white candle lanterns on the wooden table which was covered in laid out maps, orders, scrolls, and such. There were five thrones each holding a man, they all sat tall, with faces Camilla could barely make out in the dark room, but when light would hit a face, everyone once in a while, all she saw was gray skin, with wrinkles, and an expression as mean as their tones.
"Where is Princess Ariella?" The man in the middle spoke; he sat in the middle of the five men, and he towered over them. He was the obvious leader of the council; he oversaw every decision that was made in Prisluake.
"She is refusing to come out of her room sir, she mentioned something of being severely ridden with disease." Camilla was biting the inside of her cheeks after she spoke.
"Did she say the plague again? That was the same reason for her not appearing two nights ago." A man on the far left said.
"I know, but she's very stubborn sir, I've tried everything to convince her presence is of utmost importance."
"Well, find some way to get her here!" Another man spoke up.
Then so did another, "Why was this kingdom cursed with such a snobbish princess?"
And another, "She can't even follow simple orders."
That led to all of the council members talking and talking over one another, rumbling about the princess.
"Be silent!" The leader shouted. His booming voice shook through the entire room, causing silence to follow immediately.
Then the leader spoke up again, "Camilla, you know what you are supposed to do, it's a prophecy in the scrolls that you dispose of..." he trailed off, but Camilla understood and she's been waiting for this moment for months, training and practicing as soon as the council appointed her for this duty.
"I know sir, I will guarantee princess Ariella will pay a visit." Camilla's eye contact hindered, each day she spent with Ariella the more the duty was harder and harder to fulfill , but she needed the riches promised.
"I know you won't disappoint us. You are dismissed." And with those words Camilla had almost sprinted out of the room.
Her breathing was fast and her breaths were shortened. As she stood in the hallway, her chest felt tight, and her muscles tensed. She knew she couldn't be seen like this, this isn't how guards are supposed to act, especially since she is the person assigned to be there for the princess. She raced down the hall, hoping not to run into anyone, and then looked through doors that are empty and unlocked. Finally she found one. As she turned the door handle, it clicked, and the door unlatched. Camilla peeked her head into the room, and saw it looked to be a storage room, it held all the unused chairs and furniture, lanterns, and stools. The only furniture that looked put together was a desk by a wall, and a small window, so that's where she decided to sit and put her head in her hands. She started to massage her face from her eyebrows all the way down the bridge of her nose, just like her mother had done to her as a kid to get her to fall asleep or comfort Camilla while she was sick. Her mother was the reason she even got this job to begin with, and the only one who knew all the secrets of her past was Lady Ariella..
Camilla grew up with two older brothers, so she spent all day running around the town with them, creating new games that would get them covered in filth and grime, and the game wouldn't stop until someone got hurt. Then the children would rush back home and the mother would scold them, but they knew she'd never punish them. She'd clean them up with a smile, and give the bread and a glass of warm milk before bed. After that she'd sing them a lullaby and rub their faces. This was before she became sick. One day her body was as hot as the flame of the candle, she complained of body pains, she didn't want to eat and could keep anything down, and then eventually she wasn't able to move. She was ridden to her bed as they didn't know if she'd get better or not. Camilla's oldest brother was already taking care of his own family and children, while her second one had left to go help in battles, so Camilla was left, only fifteen at the time. Doctors came and left their house, and told the same exact thing. There was nothing they could do, and the best suggestion they had was a medication, that the apothecary sold for far more than Camilla could ever afford, and with Camilla's mom not being able to work, Camilla got a job herself. She was strong, swift, courageous, and a bit stubborn, most due to being raised with two rambunctious brothers, so she easily passed the training course to become a guard. She had outrun, and overthrown, all the other men around her, and while a woman becoming a guard had happened before, it was still uncommon to see. Camilla was the first to be working at the royal palace, and she was assigned to be with the princess because they thought it's give the princess a companion, and not so much because of Camilla's skill set, but it did work. The princess and her become close, almost inseparable. Camilla used to love her job; that was before the council told her about a prophecy she was meant to fulfill. She's never seen the prophecy herself, but the council told her all the information she needs to know about. She wasn't allowed to ask questions either, these people were the nobility and ranked higher in society than her, so she must obey them. Camilla remembered the day she got told like it was yesterday.
It was a few months ago when the council had firsted called her into their chambers. Fear was coursing through her body with the anticipation that she was getting resigned from her position as Ariella's personal guard because previously before getting called down, Camilla and Ariella had caused disorder and chaos to the kitchen and its workers when starting a sneaky game to hide from one another. When she entered the dark stone wall chambers, she crept to the middle of the room and stood in front of the five men.
"Do you know why we called you down here?" The leader spoke up, questioning Camilla.
"No sir, I do not." She answered back, which wasn't technically lying. She didn't know the exact reason she was called down, she just had suspicion it was the kitchen incident.
"Well the council has been studying you, and we've come to realize something. You were sent here by the holiness to work on a mission." He said monatonely.
Camilla looked at him and her mouth was ajar, "What do you mean? What is this mission?"
"You are the courageous warrior we've been waiting for. The prophecy says you will bring peace and riches to our kingdom, but it must come from a great sacrifice."
"What kind of sacrifice?"
"One of high stature and class, royalty, but not just any. This sacrifice must be the princess!"
"I can't kill the princess! I was hired to be her personal guard. I do apologize but I'm not the warrior you are looking for."
"Oh but you are. The prophecy says you are, and you must help you. You want what's best for the people right? Not having to live half starved and diseased like filthy animals. No one here would ever starve or die from the hardships of poverty ever again."
Camilla nodded somewhat unwillingly. However that day the council had convinced her to go through with the plan. The council said it would take time to finish out, but she didn't know how much. They had strict no question rules. She has never even been allowed to see the scroll which pertains to the prophecy about herself.
As the thoughts had whisked Camilla away into another world, in the real world, the door had turned. There was a knock but the girl sitting at the desk in her own thoughts didn't answer. The door creaked open and Ariella stepped inside.
"Camilla..." She called out, but the guard didn't answer.
Ariella traipsed to the other side of the room, upon approaching the desk, she reached out and grabbed the dazed girl's shoulder, and asked "Camilla are you ok?"
She jumped up from her seat, "Lord, Ariella you scared me, but to answer you, yes. I'm completely fine."
Ariella scrunched her eyebrows and frowned. "You don't seem to be ok." She interrogated.
"I promise my lady, I am content. I just wanted to be alone for a bit, and I guess I started to daydream while I was in here." She had a slight smile.
"If you say so."
"Did you need me for any particular reason princess?"
"Yes I did. I need you to meet me at the flower garden on the east side, by the marble water fountain after you've finished all of your nightly rounds."
"That is an odd request. What do you need me in the garden for?"
"I'll tell you when I see you there." Ariella said with her usual mischievous smirk.
Then Ariella left the room with no other words. Camilla couldn't stop wondering what the princess could possibly want her for in the garden, especially that late into the evening. However the guard did as she was told, and went through her nightly routine. After finishing up her shift and locking the door to the weaponry room, she hurried to the east garden. Once she arrived, she stood by the marble water fountain just as Ariella had instructed. The garden on the east side was the biggest garden out of the three strategically placed around the castle. It had a stone pathway to follow around all the bushes. The garden was littered with bushes of forsythias hydrangeas, and roses. Her favorite was that wisteria tree that resided in the corner of the garden, near it was a pond full of lillies and tiny fish that swam around. It was also the first place she had ever met Areilla. Camilla waited patiently for another five minutes for Ariella to arrive. She then caught a glimpse of Ariella walking towards her. Her long blonde hair that reached the end of her back laid straight down, while the breeze pushed it back. Her flowy light blue dress swayed with the motion of her hips, and her walk turned into a run when she noticed Camilla sitting exactly where she told her to sit. The white dress with its azure blue lacing danced around and between Ariella's legs in the wind created by her sprint. Her eyes matched perfectly to the lacing on the dress, and it made them sparkle even more. The white of the dress didn't wash out her already porcelain skin and platinum blonde hair, but made her angelic. The rouge pink of her lips and blush of her cheeks is what ties everything together. Camilla had always thought she looked as beautiful as an angel though. Even when the princess had just risen from her slumber, was sick with the small colds that come every winter, or even when she was put in obnoxiously loud dresses to meet the princes of other kingdoms. Ariella now stood in front of Camilla and she looked up as she stood a few inches below her.
Camilla gave her a big grin and gave her an over exaggerated bow, "Good evening my Lady Ariella."
Ariella smiled back and giggled, "Why good evening to you too, my most loyal and trustworthy guard."
They then sat down on the edge of the fountain and sat in silence for a minute and the tension was thick enough where even the swordamans couldn't have cut it; Camilla was the one to break the silence.
"So why was the reason that you decided to grace me with your presence tonight?"
"I've been thinking about this a lot, and it's hard to give an explanation, it's just I've had this feeling..." Ariella started playing with the lace of her dress and was looking away from Camilla, so she couldn't see the obvious blush on her face.
"You can tell me anything and you know that Ariella, you're my only true friend." Camilla grabbed Ariella's hand, and her face was rigid with worry and she moved closer.
Ariella turned and met eye to eye with Camilla their faces almost touching.
Camilla started talking again, "Ariella you're starting to worry me, please talk t-" but she was cut off with the feeling of Ariella's lips on her own.
Her eyes widened, and her body stiffened, but she soon relaxed into the kiss, and kissed back the girl she'd spent every day with for the past three years. It felt warm and loving, and it felt as cozy as sitting by a fireplace on a cold winter day. Camilla thought it felt like home.
When Ariella moved away she turned away and immediately started to ramble an apology in scrambled sentences, "I'm so sorry I don't know why I did that. The idea was idotic! Can we please just forget about me even calling here."
She got up to leave the garden, but Camilla quick reflexives grabbed her arm.
"No Ariella, please don't leave. I actually...really enjoyed it. It felt right to me."
Camilla had kissed boys before in her younger years, when she was sneaking out to avoid the chores her mother assigned her and her brothers, but didn't compare to what she had just felt moments before.
Ariella looked up with eyes filled with hope, "Really? Do you feel the same way about me?" She asked.
"Of course princess. I think I've been pining over you since the beginning of me working at this job, but that got me in trouble sometimes. It would explain all the feelings of jealousy and envy that arose when you were made to go meet with a prince who you may one day court, which is why I let you win our battles therefore we wouldn't arrive on time when meeting him or we wouldn't show up at all. I just never thought you'd feel like this, considering I'm just some low guard, and your stubbornness only made it worse." Camilla shooted a teasing smile towards Ariella, and leaned in kissing again. The minutes went on and for both the girls it felt as if time was stopping and the world had slowed.
Until the nighttime guard showed up, and yelled pointing a lantern in their direction, "Who's in here!"
The girl giggled and sprinted from the garden back into the safety of the castle. They walked side by side, hands gently grazing each other as they walked. Camilla looked down with the biggest grin. She couldn't believe this was happening. They walked down the hall until they reached the familiar white and purple trimmed door.
"There you go my lady." Camilla said while opening the door.
"Why thank you." Ariella laughed as she walked in, and the girls stood in silence, until Ariella broke it, "Well goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow?" She said, her usual goodbye turning more into a question than a statement of assurance.
"Yes, I will see you tomorrow. Goodnight Princess Ariella, as always I hope slumber treats you well." Camilla replied, and gave the princess another quick peck before rushing down the hall out of view.
The guard reached her own dwelling and she fist pumped the air, while screaming "Yes! Yes, yes!"
Then the look of doom gleaned over her face. The prophecy. How could she have forgotten all about the prophecy! She was supposed to kill the Princess! The plan was going to take place in a few weeks. Camilla was pacing around her room frantically.
"No, no, no, this can't be happening," She muttered. "I'll wake up and this will all be a dream."
She didn't know what to do. She can't do this now, no amount of money would be worth doing this. She kept thinking about her mother who needed the money to get better, she didn't know about it yet.
"Would she be mad if she knew I wasn't gonna get money to make her better?" Camilla thought. "No she'd probably be more disappointed I'd consider hurting someone. My mother couldn't even hurt a poor wounded rabbit, she took that thing for the whole entire winter until it recovered. She would hate to find out about the prophecy."
Camilla decided she needed a few days to think and then she'd go to the council to talk to them.