Inside the Castle Walls

Chapter Four

Melody went home feeling confused. The further she got from The Sage, the more it all seemed like it had just been a dream. It felt far away and distant. By the time she had reached home, Melody wondered if she had imagined the entire encounter. She remembered taking the basket of bread inside, and she remembered being upset when she left the hut. Everything else was murky and unclear.

Two days later, there was a proclamation announced through the entire village, saying that the King was looking for a new Queen. His second wife had died almost two years prior, during childbirth. She and the baby had both passed. The King had a daughter from his first wife. That Queen had been sentenced to death for treason, as it was told she had tried to allow an assassin from the West into the castle to kill the King.

The King had no sons, and he wanted a male heir. He would be visiting each quadrant of the villages that filled his kingdom in search of a new bride. Each quadrant was required to present all the unmarried young women to be viewed by the King's representatives. Two women from each quadrant would be taken to the castle as part of the King's selection process.

The proclamation required every unmarried woman over the age of twenty and under the age of thirty to convene in the gathering hall the following day. Non-compliance would result in the King's men taking half of everything a family-owned. As added motivation, the family whose daughter was chosen to be Queen would receive three cows from the royal herd.

When Melody read the notice posted throughout the village, she froze where she stood. Her already pale cheeks turned white, as the color fully drained from her face. The King was coming for her she suddenly remembered. The Sage had said it would only be a few days, and the King would come. Everything she had forgotten about the incident in the hut, came flooding back into her memory.

Melody wanted to run and hide. She wanted to flee the village, maybe hide in the woods. Perhaps she would join the Wild Men of the West, or seek asylum in the City of the Beasts in the valley beyond the forest. She trembled at the thought of being taken by the King. She feared what would happen if she were taken to the palace and they found out she was Enchanted. She feared she would be put to death, or imprisoned like those she had seen in the vision The Sage had shown her.

"This could be wonderful!" the words came from Melody's mother, who stood behind her, reading the proclamation over Melody's shoulder.

"How could it be wonderful?" Melody asked. She wished she could be honest with her mother, and tell her that she was Enchanted. But she feared her mother's condemnation. Melody's mother was kind and thoughtful, but like so many other villagers, her actions were often motivated out of need. Everyone needed food to survive. They needed to believe their needs would be met. They needed to believe they would be kept safe if they obeyed the King. They needed to believe that the King would have their best interests at heart.

"Just think," Melody's mother replied. "If you were chosen to be Queen, we could sell one of the cows to get the roof repaired. We would have milk and cream, which we could sell."

"But if I were chosen," Melody replied. "You would be alone."

"Yes, I suppose that's so," her mother agreed. "But I'm sure you could visit, or I could maybe come see you in the palace?"

"How old is the King?" Melody asked, thinking it strange that she didn't know, and had never wondered.

"Oh, he can't be more than thirty-five or so," her mother replied dismissively. "Certainly not too old to make a fine husband and father, if you were to bear him a son."

"But how can that be?" Melody asked. Realizing that the King had been in power for as long as she could remember, and seemed the same age the entire time. "How old was he when he became King?"

"He was a young man, I believe," her mother replied. "That was long before my time though."

"Mother," Melody stopped to look her in the eyes, trying to rationalize the nonsense her mother was speaking. Melody placed her hands on her mother's shoulders, forcing them to look directly at each other. "How could the King be only thirty-five or forty, if he has been ruling since before your time? You are forty-five yourself."

"I'm sure it doesn't matter," her other replied. "If he's over forty I would be very surprised indeed. He seems so much younger than that."

Melody couldn't believe the words her mother was saying. How could it not matter? How could it not bother her mother, to realize that the King had been in power for decades, and nobody seemed to question that he had not aged? Even Melody was astounded that it had never once crossed her mind before today.

"Come," her mother directed, turning toward home. "We need to find your best dress and get you ready for tomorrow. The King's selection process begins in the morning, and we need to get you ready."

Melody shuddered at the thought, as she followed her mother home. She wondered what she should do. The Sage had told her that every decision she made would impact the fate of the Enchanted. She didn't want that responsibility and considered that it may all be false. Who was she to have such a role in the lives of so many? She thought back through all the visions The Sage had shown her, wondering if any of it was real.

Melody feared what was to come. If The Sage was correct, and his vision true, then she would be chosen at least to visit the castle. She saw herself inside the castle walls, and she had seen herself accompany the King to visit the City of Beasts. She wondered if that was supposed to happen, or if that was what she was supposed to stop from happening.

"I need to go see the old man," Melody told her mother, as they approached home.

"I thought he scared you?" her mother teased.

"He does, but I need to speak with him, before the King's selection process tomorrow."

"Very well," her mother replied. "Go quickly and come back as soon as you can. We have a lot to do to get you ready for tomorrow."

Melody ran the entire way to The Sage's hut. The door was closed, and there was no smoke coming out of the chimney. Melody knocked on the door and could hear the echo inside. There was no answer. She knocked again, and still, The Sage did not come to the door. Melody tried the latch, and the door opened. It was dark and cold inside. Everything was gone, the hut was completely empty. There was no indication that anyone had lived there for some time. It was deserted, and there was no sign of The Sage.

Melody walked home slowly, trying to understand what was happening. A few days ago, everything seemed to make sense. Life had been predictable, every day passing much like the one before. But now, everything felt wrong and confused. Melody had so many questions, and nobody she could ask for insight or clarity on what confounded her.

If The Sage's visions were really, and indicated what may be to come, then the Enchanted were in danger. Not only those who were being held captive within the dungeons but all those who lived in fear and those who would come to start a war. If a war was coming, many Enchanted would likely die, as would those who unwittingly fought for the King.

Melody didn't understand what her role was to be, but she felt that if the King chose her to be the Queen, then The Sage's visions must be correct. And if that were the case, she might be the only one who could save the Enchanted. Melody decided she would participate in the selection, and if the King chose her, she would know. If he didn't choose her, then she could rest in the knowledge that The Sage's visions were not real, and there was no danger to fear.