Villain

11.Coming Home

The carriage ride back was filled with awkward tension. The Prince of Darkness shot me suspicious looks every now and then. I think back to the last time I was in this carriage. I was just married to a man I feared, ecstatic my best friend was coming with, eager to question her and find out more about her life after finding out she is my sister. I remember my plan was to be extra nice to the Prince long enough to convince Cel not to kill him. How quickly all my plans fell to dust. I could not help but feel stupid, used and most of all , betrayed. I was used in some sick game of my mothers, and she put a spell on me just to make Cel's life difficult.

I found the reasons for my outbursts insane. The Prince was handsome, yes, but he was not the man for me. His obvious attraction for Cel from day one made it clear. How much about our Kingdoms history don't I know? Did my mother leave it out on purpose, did she allow me to be this ignorant so that I would bee just another one of her puppets? When I learnt of Cel's life, my guilt increased. She was never treated well and the one time she had a chance of something good, I was such a monster about it. I didn't even know how to begin making it up to her.

She never gave up on me, not even when I was horrid to her. She forgave me soo easily. Cel sees herself as a monster, underserving of love, but I see the real her. She is a good person, with not a selfish bone in her body. When she told me her thoughts on the war, I couldn't help but agree. I vowed to help her. I will not sit by idle like a pretty innocent little princess anymore. My mother ruined that for me. My stomach churns at the thought. Despite it all, I still love her. She is my mother. How could she do this to me?

I stare at the carriage as we enter the Kingdom of Light. It was once my home, but I no longer feel the same comfort in the place. I look at the unrealistically pastel colored plants. At the people with big smiles, all dressed in their best, each trying to out do the other. How could I have bee so blind for years? Even the children are dressed perfectly, behave perfectly ; nothing like the children in the Kingdom of Darkness. 18 years I lived in the kingdom of light, and yet it feels as if I am seeing it for the first time. I glance at Cel, noticing her mild discomfort.

She is wearing black trousers and a navy blue long sleeve shirt. She is so simple yet beautiful in the colors of the Kingdom of darkness. The Prince, noticing her unease , grabs her hand in his, smiling at her gently. I cant help but smile at his care and affection towards her, even if a strange feeling accompanies it. Cel deserves to be loved. I look down at my light pink dress. Its almost a ballgown and I always feel rather confident when I wear it, and I need all the confidence I can get for what I am about to do.

I find myself guilty for accusing her of not understanding how i felt, unable to control my own actions. Especially when I learnt that she suffered that exact torture her entire life. Selfishly, I find myself glad, because it kept her close to me and I always admired her fierce character. More guilt fills my body at my thoughts. How can I be happy for someone else's suffering? I am just as vile as my mother. I have to right all I have done wrong. Calling of this marriage is only a small step. the other is fulfilling the promises I made to Cel. I owe her that much.

Making my parents proud always brought me joy. But having someone as strong, as fierce as Cel motivate me is just...different. For the first time, I wasn't just a naive little princess doing her duties and being kept in the dark. I was part of something bigger and more meaningful. It made me feel good about myself , and I really liked that feeling. Soon, the castle looms ahead. I remember how much I loved it as a child, but now I find the shiny gold walls to excessive. Was it necessary to make it shine and make it gold? Or was it all for show? Knowing my mother, it was the later.

Soon guards rush to our carriage. "Inform the King and Queen we request an audience with them as soon as possible," I state as I exit the carriage. "Right away Princess Dawn," The Knight runs of. Cel and The Prince are behind me and I smile lightly at Cel. I remember my last trip here very vaguely. i had been awful and spoke so terribly about Cel. I remember the hate coating my mothers voice as she spoke to me about how Cel was trying to steal what was rightfully mine.

In my head I was screaming at her. Yelling how she ordered her to get close to the Prince. Yelling about how I did not want his attention at all. But the words went unspoken. I was just left with the promise of her rune box, a rune box I now know controls Cel's actions, the thought making me sick. The other guards take me to my old room, gifting the Prince a guest room on my floor. Cel is given her old room . "You can come in mine Cel. They will see us soon," I tell her. I now knows she has no room.

She was either kept in the dungeons, starved and tortured by my mother or killing assassins. I also know she didn't want to be alone with the Prince. Not here. Not when she was probably reliving her worst nightmares. I sit down on my bed, unsure what to say. Cel was always there to talk to me, to comfort me over trivial matters and tantrums. How selfish have I been ? "I never thought Id be back here," she tells me, looking around my room, a ghost of a smile on her face. I sigh deeply. "I don't think it will take to long," I tell her.

Its a lie and we both know it. These procedures can take months, weeks or years. It could be solved within a day if all parties co operated and came to a mutual understanding, but I doubt my mother was going to make this easier for us. She had always been a very stubborn woman, always having her way. It was something I admired a long time ago. I feel like a completely different person. Like I didn't grow up here and I don't know all the things I do.

In a way, I don't. My whole life has been filled with lies and mind games I was unaware of. My parents far from the hero's I envisioned them to be. Dark and Light. Black and White. Right and Wrong. That's how I viewed the world for years. And now for the first time I am able to see the mix of both. There is no Good or Evil. Just people making decisions that lead to something either good or bad. The world was far more complex than I thought it to be, and a part of me felt so stupid for not having seen it earlier.

"Its not your fault Dawn," Cel breaks my train of thought. Somehow she always knows what I'm thinking and feeling and always says the right thing. "How could I have been such a fool," I ask her, shaking my head. "You weren't foolish. You're innocent. Good. Kind. Your mother took advantage of it," she says. I sigh. "I should have at least had a feeling something was of. I'm the Princess of Light. This is to be my Kingdom. My people. And there is so much I do not know. So much she kept hidden from me," the depts of my mothers betrayal makes my heart ache.

"Those things can be learnt dawn. Its never to late. And I know you will be 100 times the woman your mother is," she assures me, pulling me into a side hug.

I hug her back , tightly in a full hug. She always soothes my insecurities. My personal hero. My door opens and my fathers guards stand at the doorway. "The King will see you now," he tells me. "What of my mother," I ask. I nod before glancing at Cel and nodding. "Please call the Prince of darkness as well," I instruct. The guards obey. Soon, the three of us walk down to the official meeting room. I walk ahead of Cel and the Prince. I see my parents atop their thrones, wearing their finest clothes.

"Dawn , you're home," my father exclaims. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit this time," my mother smiles, and for once I see the wicked glint in her eyes. Cel and Lucien step forward, her smile faltering before she forces it back.

"Dawn," her voice has an odd edge as she sees the rings in their eyes. "We are here to call of this sham of a marriage mother," I answer, glaring at her. Her frown is a sign she knows her spell has been broken, and she is not happy about it at all.