In a time of myth and magic, Prince Valor was born cursed. Possessed by an evil whisper, he longs for a moment of silence. A moment fulfilled by a street singer. Amidst the chaos, she can be his saviour. However, unbeknownst to Valor. This girl, a f...
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The sight of the city is striking. You can see so much of it from the top of the chilly stone wall, that separate the city streets and the castle yard. The monastery is towering over the many wooden buildings there make up the city. It's rare I experience this view, given that I spend the majority of my time on the east side of the castle, which faces the sea. The wall is made with uneven stone, making it easy to climb, but those stones are rough, they have left scratches all over my hands.
Despite it being late in the evening, the sky is only slightly darker than it was at midday. It's the light times, which means the sun virtually never leaves the sky. At least not before any honest person has gone to rest. A couple of guards are walking along the wall, I need to get down before they notice me. After taking one last look at the city, I turn back towards the castle and jump.
A burning sensation spreads in my legs as I land on the ground. Standing just a bit from where I landed is Zora with her arms crossed, annoyed I took so long. "I am going out again tomorrow," I tell her. "We already spend the entire day looking for that girl," She snorts. We had spent hours walking the city streets looking for the singer but to no avail. But I don't care if I have to spend the rest of my life looking for her. The voices are still yet to return, her ability is my saving. No matter how long it takes, I must find her.
"Who are you looking for, if I may ask?" Startled I turn around. We are caught, but thank heavens it is just our big sister. Malika is sitting on a garden bench, her black curly hair tied up on the back side of her head, her dark skin giving off an orange glow in the sunset light. Just beside her is a pale man with black hair. "Shall we pretend we didn't just see you climb over the wall your Highnesses?" He says while trying to keep his laughter under control. Clearly, he is amused by the situation.
"Are you going to tell our father, Teival?" Zora ask. We know Malika won't, after all. She is the one who taught us to sneak out. "I doubt tattling on my new sister and brother-in-law will be in my best favour." He replies. Even though Duke Teival is betrothed to my older sister, they should not be out here alone, it's unseemly. "If you don't tell about us, then we will pretend we didn't see you out here alone without an attendant," I say.
Malika huffily replied, "We are getting married in a couple of days we do not need an escort to sit in the garden." Even if she was with her ladies-in-waiting, she should not be outside without a guard watching her. I know it's hypocritical of me to think this. But still, I can not help it, I do not like Teival. When he arrived, he refused to do the proper greeting to kiss the hand of my sister. Apparently, it's against his religion to touch females who aren't family. But seems it doesn't stop him from being alone with her.
"Father was displeased about your lagging presence at dinner." Malika relayed to us. "Oh no, we missed our father's precious dinner, how will we manage." Zora's voice was dripping with sarcasm. An unfitting way for a princess to behave. But I don't blame her, I could not care less about our daily dinner with Father. "Why were you sneaking out? and to this late in the evening?" Teival asks us. "Boredom, mostly on Zora's part," I tell him. "There are safer ways to cure boredom, your Highness." True, but there ain't safer ways to cure my curse.
