The Graveyard Kingdom [*ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE*]

Chapter 1: Good Morning, My Kingdom.

"Hmmm hmmm...~"

Ah. There it was again. That dreadful sound. Every morning.

"Hmm hmmm...~"

God. Why did morning people exsist? Why couldn't she enjoy a moments peace? Especially now. It was still so early!

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud gonging coming from upstairs. She groaned. Ah. So not that early then. But that dreadful hum always woke her up. Damn it. She was hoping for more shut eye.

There it was again. That gonging.

Ashlyn groaned. Sitting up in her bed in the barracks she stretched, not minding the popping joints. She had wanted to be a dancer before a knight—so it was normal.

Tying up her loving red hair in a tight constrictive bun, Ashlyn put on her armor and headed to the mess hall for breakfast as the morning bell tonged again. She trudged her feet, where no doubt,

He would be.

Ashlyn braced herself, but was met with silence. Huh. That was new. Ashlyn glanced around, looking for him anywhere. Where was he? Did he oversleep? Or, did he finally get the hint?

Ashlyn hoped it was the latter, going to the table and getting her breakfast. She sighed. She would definitely need to stop by town this morning. It had been a while since she had seen them.

Speaking of which...

Ashlyn looked up as one of the princes walked in. A rare sight indeed. What was his name again? Prince Benjamin? Or was it just Ben? She never bothered to remember.

And it wasn't like Ben had been here long anyways, only a year at most. And besides, from what she had heard, he was bad news. Well, according to rumors around the castle anyways. Seriously, this kingdom loved their gossip.

She hadn't heard more than the whispers of others, about the scars on his calloused hands, supposedly from years of fighting. Right, a fighter. That's what they called him.

A rebel.

A pathetic prince.

Ashlyn didn't know the story well, but apparently Ben had been so destructive in his own kingdom that his parents whisked him away here, to avoid any further drama with their people.

She held nothing against him though. Apart from the occasional nod or grunt, the two never really interacted. Not like she could, considering....

Well, him.

Ashlyn sighed. Seriously, how could one person manage to get themselves in so much trouble? They called this place a graveyard kingdom for a reason—nothing ever happened here. Like ever. Most people didn't even know the real name of it anymore.

Oh well. At least it was peaceful.
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DING—A—LING—DING!!

Logan looked up from what he was doing as the bell of the flower shop rolled. He sighed.
"Your late Taylor." He scolded lightly.

Taylor smiled at him, putting on her best innocent act. "Morning to you as well Logan. Mary and James are well I assume?" She asked, rolling up the sleeves of her dress, smiling as she went to put her apron on.
Logan sighed. "There as well as they can be, I suppose."
"Nonsense I've seen those two! Hard as nails they are!"

Logan chuckled. "Of course you would think that, you're not living with them. But anyways, how's your mother?"
Taylor sighed, her mood dampening a little. "As well as she can be. I guess."
"Ah...she's still sick?"
"Mhm..."
"And the memories...?"
"...Still fading. Or rather, all mixed up? It's hard for me to explain. One minute...she's there. I see my mom. But the next...."
Logan nodded, understanding. He put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't need to explain any more..."

Taylor smiled. She really owed it to the Fields's family for everything they had done for the Hernandez family. Back when they were children and their father had passed, their mother was too consumed by grief to even leave the house, and Tyler was struggling to bring food home, only a few table scraps at most.

Then Logan came into the picture. Hired her and her brother when no one else would, his grandparents needing the help for their local flower shop. And suddenly, they were back on their feet. Taylor being able to finally explore her love for the machinery around her. And despite being a woman, she was determined to one day open her own shop. Deal in machines herself.

And Tyler was supportive of that. Very, very supportive. But she worried over him. Instead of pursing what he love, his passion for hair and piercings, he chose to go to the palace to be a knight. Knights got paid better than anyone in the kingdom, and Tyler wanted to stop relying on the Fields and be able to stand on his two feet. Provide for his family himself.

It was silly, and Taylor wanted to smack him for it sometimes, but she understood.

And besides. She and Logan had fun together. He was her best friend. The Fields were like a second family at this point.

"Sooo..." Taylor grinned cheekily. "Any lucky guys lately?"
Logan sputtered, a bright red hue covering his cheeks. "T-Taylor!"
"What? Can't a gal be curious?"
"Not of that!"
"Why? It's not like there's anything wrong with it!"

Logan sighed. "Unfortunately, not everyone thinks that! So please, I'm begging, keep it quiet!"
"You're just letting your anxiety get to you, most folk around here don't mind!" Taylor chastised. "There was that one couple a few years back! William and Emmet, right?"
Logan rolled his eyes. "Right, and how did that marriage end? The two can't stand to look at each other in the streets now."
"That's not necessarily because of public opinion though," Taylor pointed out.

Logan chuckled. "You're stubborn."
"So are you!" Taylor gave a playful shove to Logan's shoulder. Logan smiled, smacking Taylor lightly with his shovel. "Get to work, slacker!"
"Yes sir!" She teased, giggling.
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Tyler walked the halls of the palace, doing his daily rounds. Halls were clear, rooms too. Not like he expected there to be much other than an extremely stupid thief, but it was good to be on guard. Always.
You always needed to be on guard.

Tyler grunted a quick hello to the other guards around, not really liking them much. They weren't 'knights'. They were just lazy bums who chose this job because they thought it would be the easiest. Because after all, this kingdom was peaceful.

Tyler bumped into Ben. He grunted, annoyed and muttering a quick apology to the young prince. Ben nodded and waved his hand, signaling that it was fine, and he wasn't hurt. Not that Tyler expected him to be, the prince was huge for his age. Tyler looked around, expecting him to be in sight somewhere. But to Tyler's surprise, he wasn't. He looked to Ben, curiosity peaked.

"Where's the dumbass?" He asked, looking around for that familiar mop of hair.

Ben gulped. He shook his head. Tyler knew that look. He groaned. Great.

"What's he doing this time?" Tyler asked, irritated. Before Ben could respond, they heard a familiar whoop from one of the tower windows.

Oh.

So it was going to be one of those kind of mornings.
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Ashlyn sighed. She had her hands on her hips, looking down at the rose bushes. They were all smushed now, because a certain someone had decided to leap into the bushes from a thirteen foot tower. Thank god it wasn't on of the taller ones.
"Prince Aiden, it's not even eight yet." She scowled, crossing her arms.
Aiden, with his bleach my blonde hair and red, crazy eyes, smiled at her, cackling. "Nothing like a good adrenaline rush to start the day!"

Ashlyn groaned.

Yup.

Worst. Prince. Ever.

(A/N: HELLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! EVERYBODY! IM BACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK! With the new SBG royal au! I missed you all from wrong number! Still mourning that by the way, but I'm SO EXCITED to share this new book with you all! And yes, daily uploads should continue! At least, we'll see what happens. It might change, but as of right now, chapter two will be out tomorrow or later today! Anyways HI AGAIN AND THANKS FOR READING!)