The Seven Deadly Kingdoms

Chapter 1

"So, what do you want to do for your 19th birthday? It's coming up soon, you know" Henry, Adelaides older brother, asked. Him and Adelaide were reclined on a rather plush patch of grass in their meadow, enjoying the golden orange sunset.

Tilting her head, Adelaide quirked a brow. "I'm not sure, there's not really that much to celebrate. I supposed that Mother would bake a cake and we'd go to the village, just as we do every year." She replied. Going into the village was celebration enough; they rarely went but to buy fabric or visit their cousins. Henry rolled his eyes as if Adelaide had said something silly. "Well we have to do something special this year, it's your last year as a kid! You'll be an adult next year!"

"You always come up with some reason to celebrate my birthday more than the last year, Henry. Is my way of celebrating boring to you?"

Henry drew his brows together and smiled. "Of course not, Adelaide. I just enjoy us all celebrating your existence for twenty four hours, is all. It just seems like you deserve something more extravagant than a cake and a souvenir from town. You deserve for King Diederik to throw you one of his royal balls, and to be placed on his throne. Gosh, what I would give to see you on a throne. Now that would be a worthy celebration." He said, looking into the woods. He had clearly ventured off into some daydream.

Henry was tall and muscular, heavily tanned from his time spent working outdoors. He had dark, curly and fluffy hair and the darkest, deepest shade of green eyes. Basically, he was the male version of Adelaide. (Much tanner, though. Adelaide had envied him for that.) Henry had also always been a dreamer. He hoped and wished the very best lives for those of his family, and if he had it his way, they would be the rulers of all the land. But, when it came to himself, he thought that having Adelaide and his parents was everything he could ever want. That's one of the things that Adelaide loved about Henry, among hundreds of other things.

Adelaide and Henry were as close as two people could be. Being five years apart, Adelaide had always looked up to Henry, but Henry had always seen them as equals. (Although he did treat her like a child on occasion). The two were incredibly protective of each other. More so Henry of Adelaide, though. Adelaide had gotten herself in quite a few situations where she needed Henry's saving, but Henry never minded helping his little sister.

Adelaide had been trying lately to get Henry to go into town and meet a girl. He was twenty three, turning twenty four soon. And although their bond meant more than the world to Adelaide, she knew that she wouldn't be around forever. Eventually, she wanted to travel the world. And knowing that Henry would never leave his home of seven generations, he needed to find someone besides their parents to keep him company in the meantime.

"Adelaide? Are you Alright?" Henry asked, snapping Adelaide out of her thoughts. She looked at him, his brows raised, and shook her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just got lost in thought." She replied. Henry looked confused, but let it be.

"Oh, alright. You looked sad, is all."

Adelaide opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by her mother calling for her and her brother. "I suppose dinner's ready," Henry said before getting up. He brushed himself off and extended a hand for Adelaide to take. She took his hand and pushed herself off the ground, brushing the loose dirt and grass off of her as well. Henry wrapped his arm around her shoulder and they walked back to the cottage.

Adelaide and Henry weaved through their garden and to the small front door to their home. It smelled of fresh baked bread, wet grass and blueberry pie. One of Adelaides favourite parts of living away from civilisation was the fresh smell of earth and her mother's cooking that always filled the air.