King of the Beasts and Queen of the Clouds

Chapter 1: The Dawning of Dusk

Chapter 1: The Dawning of Dusk

Through dappled light and shrouded fields,

In wooded green without freezing chill,

A palace of the earth the forest yields,

Glorifying but peace and endless goodwill.

:o:-:o:-:o:-:o:-:o:

There was a time when the Unknown was a beautiful place. The sun's rays beamed down upon a lively landscape, filled with lush woodlands dotted with populated cities that provided nearly everything for their residents. Clear water ran through streams, filing canals and rivers that carried trade between towns. Villages were almost always open to anyone, considering that they were friendly, which consequently led to a happy diversity of people and a bonded society that held no wrong. Not in the Queen's eyes, at least.

The female ruler held firmly to the policy of helping others, the sweetest and best show of generosity she could offer. Coexisting in a world where everyone had a say took away a huge portion of monarchical power, though there was still enough influence to contain unruliness. Her movements were forever in favor of peace and harmony and their subjects admired her judgement because of it. Their. The Queen and King's.

He hoped that she would never forget that.

o-o-o-o-o

Hooves trotting against the ground pulled the King out of his reflection, the light-brown hair from uptop his crowned head swaying with every lurch of the royal carriage. His elegantly-clothed shoulders sagged when he released a long breath. Although only in his middle ages, the man felt old beyond belief, his face starting to wrinkle with senescence and the toll of stressing over a kingdom. Even so, his heart burned with a fiery passion for the Unknown, one that could never be suppressed. He just had a different way of showing it.

"Are you feeling alright?"

The King's gaze swung over to the seat opposite from him, where a pretty woman in a commoner's dress was sitting. Her rosey hair was pulled into a bun and a gleaming crown perched superior to it all, the only obvious indication that she was of noble position. Her pink lips pursed in loving concern.

"Yes," the male responded softly, turning his head to look out the carriage's window once more. The earthen palace that he and his wife lived in could be seen fading in the distance, a wooden and stone structure decorated ornately with flowering vegetation. All year long, the plants were at their peak, meaning that there was hardly a worry of crop failure or that flowers would wilt. Comfortable sprinkles came often enough to keep the land moist. Due to the atmosphere, having the Palace of the Unknown built like it naturally rose out of the ground wasn't a hard decision to make. Visitors usually commented their pleasure of the architecture, even when they were there on bad terms to ask the Queen for advice on personal matters. She always answered them with a "thank you" and a compromise. The King only watched.

"You know, Pottsfield has been preparing for their first harvest festival ever since Enoch arrived," the Queen pointed out in attempt to fill the silence. "We haven't visited in such a while, and now that the preparations are finished, we'll be sharing the start of a new tradition."

"I'm sure it will be an experience." The King left his comment at that, not taking his eyes off of the passing villages and forest.

Every person they went by was visibly content, living and playing around their dwellings. There were few beggars or homeless within their boundaries, for all that had misfortune and the courage to come seeking the Queen's attention received aid. Those in need were granted a generous sum of the royal treasury and sent away from the Palace of the Unknown with advice and an escort to the nearest town. This had been the royal practice for as long as the Queen's reign began; for who needed riches if they were not to use them? It was a sensible arrangement, although the King noticed that the help they gave only fed the greed of others. He could tell by the way they dramatized their distress and held disappointment in their eyes whenever they received as much as the previous.