Yours Truly

Chapter 6 part i

(Edited)

"Two forsaken souls, with doleful pasts
Knew nothing about the future that was approaching fast..."

The Prince of Jevanna entered the grand hall of the Royal Palace of Cyrail. The whole room was illuminated with candles and torches. Their flames dancing in the breeze that silently entered the hall, touching every ornament and furniture that stood in the room, proudly. A majestic chandelier hung in the middle of the room, showing its dominance over other things. The Prince was fascinated by the beauty of the Cyrailic culture that was reflecting in the Palace of Celio.

"Ah! Matthew, glad to see you after a very long time, my boy." The voice was unfamiliar and had a deep yet cheerful tone, laced with thick Italian accent.

Matthew turned around to the direction of the voice and saw a pair of liquid brown eyes, beaming at him. He looked in his early fifties like his father. Even though his hair were greying, he looked handsome nevertheless. Matthew wondered how he knew him.

"Wondering how I know you?" The male asked as if he just read his thoughts. He extended his hand for a shake which Matthew immediately accepted. The presence of the male made him nervous, so he just nodded slightly in response.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Dante Celio." He gave him a two finger salute and flashed a handsome smile at him.

'You are standing in front of the King of Cyrail, you doofus.' His conscience rolled his eyes at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, your highness. I didn't recognise you-" He bowed down in respect. Celio laughed and made him stand straight, giving his back a friendly pat.

"Of course you won't recognise me! You were barely ten when I came to visit Jevanna." He smiled and gave him a side hug. On a closer look, he resembled so much to the girl he met before, but she was a commoner and he was a King. He wondered if they were relatives.

"You've grown into such a fine young man! With such a striking resemblance to you father-"

"Well of course, he is my son after all!" Donovan appeared from another room with a glass of wine held delicately in his hands.

Celio laughed once again which caused Matthew to smile. His cheeriness was contagious.

"I think the father has done his job well." Celio remarked and Donovan gave a short playful bow as a reply before looking at his son with concern immediately flooding his eyes.

"You are late son, where have you been?"

Matthew glanced at Celio before smiling "Cyrail fascinated me so much that I lost track of time."

Celio grinned and Donovan sighed in relief.

"Would you prefer having something before retiring to bed?" Celio asked the young prince.

"I'm not quite hungry actually-"

"You sure?"

"Pretty sure."

Celio nodded slightly before clapping twice, a tall and lean man wearing a white tailcoat appeared. "Antonio will escort you to the guest room."

"Nice meeting you King Celio. Goodnight, sir. Goodnight, father." Matthew bowed in respect before following Antonio to the guest room.

xxxx

The brunette sighed once again and stared at the ceiling which was beautifully decorated with stars that hung above the bed, dressed with violet and white satin sheets and quilts. The moon hung low on the sky, peeking through the window and increasing the brightness of the stars that swayed with the breeze. The night was only the time when she could cast away her mask of happiness away and stare at the void with sullen eyes. She couldn't cry though, no matter how much she tried, perhaps time dried her tears or maybe she strengthen herself so much emotionally that it was actually difficult to go back to her old self

Not that she wanted to.

"What is so good about you huh? No beauty, no appeal, the only thing good about you is that you are a rich spoiled brat belonging to a royal family, but guess what? I never loved you in the first place! All I wanted was a little fame and money and I have it!" He laughed scornfully and looked at her with disgust while tears rolled down her face. "Oh now, the drama. Oh please don't give me that pathetic expression, you disgust me-"

"But, my beloved- All those promises... Those sweet whisperings... Those beautiful moments, really meant nothing to you?"

"Ha! Never! You pathetic lass, don't call me beloved. I don't even know why are you the future heir to the throne, you worthless crea-"

Slap!

A slap that resonated in the whole room and there stood the man with a red mark highlighting his cheek.

"Out. Now!" She said with pure hatred burning in her eyes, even though the tears on her cheeks weren't even dried yet.

Jenavive tossed to the other side, her eyebrows furrowed at the painful memory. She was betrayed. She felt so vulnerable that she felt her old memories strangled her. She wanted to cry and scream but she couldn't. She stared at the moon that was staring back at her. It made her smile.

"And she was a princess of the night,
With the moon by her side
And she danced away with the Stars
While the moon was her knight..."

Her mother's words echoed in her mind and her eyelids slowly began to feel heavy before she was seized by a dreamless slumber.

xxxxxx