Crowns And Shadows (MXM) (Book 1)

V: Ravens

Rowan

As much as I appreciated the warm drawn baths in the castle, every once in a while I would take a dip in the nearby lake. It always felt so refreshing on a warm sunny day. Lake Emerald was secluded and was a privilege only to the royal family since it was right next to the castle. Every once in a while my mom would hold small gatherings with other prominent women. Sometimes it would be a picnic or just a leisurely rides in canoes. The lake water was clear and clean and the Crown river emerged from it. The river flowed right in between a small forest by the castle hence the name Crown river and had equally clean clear water. The streams that in turn emerged from the river were where I particularly enjoyed having my dips. It was nicely secluded and I was granted my own privacy. The small fish would play around my feet in the water and the small forest creatures were a delightful sight.

I left my clothes on the dry banks of the stream and stepped into the water only in my linen hose. The water felt cold on my skin at first but soon my body adapted to the temperature. The cool waters gently embraced me as I glided along.

But then I heard a rustle of leaves and small light steps which for a moment captured my attention. I thought perhaps someone was wandering along the forest. I heard the movement at the edge of the trees. I paused, my heartbeat quickening, ready to grab my garments. But soon spotted the slender figure of a deer, its ears twitching as it grazed peacefully. I let out a quiet sigh, relief washing over me, and returned to the soothing rhythm of the river.

I was in no hurry to attend to anything. I was prepared to spend a good while of my day in the waters till my skin pruned. However, I felt an eerie shift in the air. It felt that I was being watched which would be odd since I knew I was alone. I scanned my surroundings until a bird caught my eye. It was much too big to be a crow so I concluded that it had to be a raven. It was perched on a low branch with glossy black feathers shimmering from the reflected light from the waters. It tilted its head at me curiously. I felt a glint of uneasiness at its stare which remained unbroken.

But then with a loud caw, it flapped it's wings and took flight vanishing through the trees.

I found the sight quite odd since I had never once seen a raven around this area. In fact, I had never actually seen ravens anywhere. Just crows and mostly at the farm. So where did it come from? I didn't bother myself with anymore questions. After all, it was just a bird.

As I stepped out of the waters and onto the grassy banks, the cool air hit my skin causing me to shiver slightly. The hairs on my arm stood erect as a struggled to quicky dry myself. I slipped into my clothing and was soon on my way back to the castle. I walked through the halls and somehow found myself in the direction towards the kitchen. Who knew baths could make a lad so hungry? But there, on the sil of one of the large hallway windows, was another raven. I could not tell whether it was the same one because all ravens looked the same to me. The same eerie breeze from earlier seemed to hit me again before the dark bird flew off.

In the kitchen, I of course found our beloved cooks whose food I swore by. There was no better cooking in all the lands. The kitchen was also where other castle servants would take a break and engage in a bit of gossip. Amongst these servants, were the guards who guarded the doors during the masquerade ball and introduced guests. I found this a perfect time to question them about the hooded stranger from that night. As I stepped near them, they stood upright and bowed to me. "Your Highness!" They both said in unison.

"It's alright boys. You need not be so formal on your break. I just have a question about the ball we had a few nights ago. You guarded the great doors right?" I asked

"Indeed we had sir. What would you like to know?" Said one of the guards whom I'm embarrassed to say I did not know the name of. They all looked quite similar to me with all the same builds and same voices. Not to mention, there were a lot of them. But to differentiate, this one had black hair while his buddy had brown hair.