GLIMMER AND DECAY [COMPLETED]

CHAPTER 8

ARIANNA HELD THE SKIRT of her dress as she made her way out of the cottage. Because of her rashness, the sharp parts of the black rocks dug against her skin, leaving countless wounds on her arms and legs, not knowing how much the rocks will affect her body.

The princess was already barefooted when she reached the forest. She couldn't remember how she lost her slippers because of the fear of the old hag catching up to her.

Arianna kept on running and running and running as she searched for the exit. She wanted to reach the palace ground as soon as she could so they could come back for Graciella. And as she reached the entrance of the forest, Arianna collapsed on the ground.

"The wounds are deep and the princess' small body couldn't take it. We might need to look for a different medicine for her."

"Oh, no. . . My daughter. . ."

"Do everything to save her."

Arianna could not hear them clearly, but she knew who the owners of the voices were. It made her feel safe, hearing her mother and father's comforting voice. And then it hit her. The sudden thought of Graciella made her body jolt.

"Arianna, please lay down," Her mother said as she gently helped her daughter back on the bed.

"Mother," Arianna whispered. Her voice was still shaky as she grabbed onto her mother's arm. "Graciella," Arianna started sobbing. "She's still in the forest."

The princess soon fell asleep while crying. The King asked assistance to the ruler of Ingvarr in search of their youngest daughter.

The palace guards of Corona and Ingvarr searched and searched and searched the forest. They looked into every possible place that they could reach, but they found nothing. The cottage beside the cliff that Arianna described was nowhere to be seen. Only a couple of black rocks were found scattered on the cliff.

"We were strolling around when an old hag dragged us out of the palace. I managed to escape by biting her hand that's dragging me. I thought of getting help first to arrest her and save my sister when I got lost on the way back."

It was the third time they have heard the story on how Arianna and Graciella got abducted, yet they still couldn't believe it. As the royal couple sees it, something was missing with her story.

How did they manage to be out of sight if the old hag indeed dragged them out of the palace? Surely. A palace guard would be able to spot them together, especially since they are with a stranger.

The King, Queen, and Princess Arianna soon return to their kingdom and the news of the youngest princess' disappearance spreads throughout the citizens of Corona. A ceremony was held in honor of her.

With the royal couple's lead, everyone sent out lighted candles sitting on top of a round wooden plank and they all released it in the sea. It was like a silent wish that the lost Princess Graciella would soon find her way back to them.

Arianna, on the other hand, did not release a candle for her sister. She felt so responsible for her disappearance that she couldn't bring herself to participate in the ceremony of honoring Graciella.

Instead, Arianna would visit the church near the castle and she would pray for her sister's return, although deep inside her, she was happier without Graciella.

Months passed and the affection her parents and the whole kingdom that showered her before had melted into nothingness. Arianna was more alone than ever with only herself, her nightmares, and her wounds to spend time with.

Half of her was happy about it because no one would push her to tell the truth, while the latter part of her was still wounded. Wounded not only to her soul, but with her physical body.

It appeared that the wounds she incurred from the black rocks had not been healed. Arianna tried to drink medicines offered to her by the royal physician, but none of them worked on her. She wanted to demand to find a cure for her, however, her father and mother would ignore her requests.

Arianna resorted to wrapping them with thick bandages and hiding it underneath her long-sleeved dresses. Instead of crying over the fact that her parents are slowly forsaking her, the princess focused more on her royal studies.

Whatever may happen, because of their strict monarch rules, she would still be Queen. And she could do anything she wanted once she's Queen, and that includes searching for Graciella.

YEARS PASSED AND THE mortal wounds she got from the rocks soon healed on itself, however, the pain from Arianna's soul was still engraved with her regret.

Arianna would often have nightmares every night and in her nightmares were always the scene where she left her sister in the forest, but some other times, she would only dream of Graciella.

The young princess' dress was covered with her own blood and mud. Her eyes were a pair of black ones that seemed to look through her soul and the voice of the old hag would fill her head.

She still kept the truth to herself. She did not tell the real story to anyone, and so she drowned in deep regret alone, blaming herself for their family's loss.

If it wasn't for her greed, her sister would still be alive. Their family would still be happy. And her mother would not detest her presence everyday.

Arianna was fifteen when her mother gave birth to another child. It was a girl that looked almost like Graciella. Out of fear of doing the same mistake she did back then, Arianna alienated herself from her family. She did her very best to avoid her new younger sister, Princess Wilhelmina.

Arianna focused on her royal studies and immersed herself with her books. The Queen was soon preoccupied with Princess Wilhelmina that she, too, had forgotten her eldest daughter.

Only the King would visit Arianna in her library and during her studies. Aside from that, Arianna was mostly alone. It was her own way of punishing herself for everything she had done.

As Wilhelmina grew up, Arianna's nightmares worsened. It was already that time when she couldn't avoid Wilhelmina and her mother. So, Arianna decided to leave. It was a temporary vacation she had requested from her king father with the reason of finding herself.

She traveled through lands and the seas in hopes that she could encounter the old hag or find a glimpse of Graciella. But her efforts were futile. But gratefully, Arianna found her new reason to live.