Blinding Light: A Sleeping Beauty and Snow Queen Remix

Chapter 4

A/N: Ilsadora's painting^ also, I told myself after book 3 I was done, but I can't resist: "Let's get down to business, to defeat the Huns! Did they send me daughters, when I asked for sons?!" -Li Shang, I'll make a man out of you, Mulan

Surprisingly, finding King Silas was not difficult at all.

But then again, they just followed the sounds of low talking and a single running maid, and they discovered the King easily.

He was standing in the middle of a hallway on the second floor, staring blankly at the wall, or a painting, to be more specific.

The painting he was staring at was of a woman with icy green eyes and white-blonde hair that was pulled away from her face severely. Her face was pale, and it only made the little makeup she wore stand out even more. Dark periwinkle eyeshadow framed the penetrating green eyes and painted red lips frowned at Viviana from the wall. The painting was lifelike, and for some reason, it made Viviana shudder.

Former Queen Ilsadora certainly was terrifying, and this was just an artist's interpretation of her.

"Your highness?" Viviana asked, glancing at the other servants in the hallway.

The servants did nothing to stop her interruption, just as they did not seem disturbed by the King's staring. They just continued with their tasks and watched him out of the corners of their eyes.

That was more unnerving than the portrait of Queen Ilsadora in Viviana's opinion.

King Silas jumped at being addressed and he spun away from the painting. His eyes flickered oddly, and for a second, Viviana swore they were glazed over, but then he was looking at her attentively, so she blamed the flicker on her imagination.

"Yes?"

She used her magic to her advantage, picking up his mannerisms quickly, and studying him as though he were an amoeba under a microscope.

His tone demonstrated exhaustion, his expression demonstrated deep-rooted sadness, and his posture was as straight as ever.

Interesting. Learning etiquette must be murder.

Preisha analyzed the king as well, and Viviana forgot for a moment that she must look rather strange, as a girl with a bag and two friends just standing there and not saying anything.

Thankfully, she had Santiago and Jeanette to rescue her.

"King Silas." Santiago greeted with a formal bow. "We are here as applicants for the journey to Remembauri."

Shock appeared on the King's face. Viviana blinked.

At least he still isn't so defeated his emotions don't work.

"Applicants? For Remembauri? For saving my Isabelle?" He repeated.

Jeanette's eyes darted around. "Er, yeah. That's what he said."

King Silas looked between all of them. "All of you are applying?"

Before Jeanette could do something stupid, like say yes, Viviana interrupted, revealing the application they had and brandishing it at the king. "No. I am, and they are with me."

The king looked confused.

"No one has applied as a group before." He muttered taking the application and looking it over.

"There's only one question: who is going to lead in your group?" The king asked after he finished reading the first page of the packet. And even then, Viviana doubted he read it. It looked more like he was just making his eyes dart in lines across the page without taking in a single word.