A Twist of Tales (On Hold)

1. Rowan

ROWAN

"Aren't you excited?" My mother looked at me. We were on our way to the castle of Adens. There, I would meet my future spouse. We had already crossed the border and were now passing the forest. My mother, Queen Hedwig of Marella, and I were traveling in our own carriage. Father wanted to talk to an important man from Adens and had therefore taken another carriage. Over thirty guards accompanied us in case we were attacked.

I looked up to my mother who was staring back at me with her beautiful blue eyes. She was a very beautiful queen. I often wished to have her golden hair and blue eyes, but unfortunately for me, I inherited Father's brown hair and green eyes. I was often told that I looked just like my father, which wasn't a bad thing considering that he was a very handsome king.

"About what, Mother?"

"Meeting your fiancé of course, silly," she patted my head and sighed. "I still remember the day I was to be engaged to your father. I was a bit older than you, though, eleven to be exact. Your father was fourteen, if I recall correctly. The first thing he said to me was that my eyes reminded him of the sea. Oh, how I hope you will find a loving husband in Prince James," Mother sighed and looked out of the small window. I stared at her for a moment, something seemed strange. She seemed more worried than usually.

Suddenly the carriage jolted to a stop. I looked at my mother with fearful eyes. Expecting the worst I grabbed the small knife Father had given to me. The door flung open, but to my relief it was only one of the guards. He told us that a tree had fallen and blocked the path.

"It doesn't look like it was put there. It probably didn't withstand the storm a few days ago. It's safe to go outside if you would like, Your Majesty, Princess Celeste."

Mother nodded, relieved and thanked the guard for informing her. She dismissed him and looked at me with scolding gaze. "Celeste, what did I tell you about weapons? Give it to me; you are too young to carry such a weapon."

"But Father said that I could have it to protect myself. Please, I promise you that I won't use it," I begged her.

She looked at me with a stern gaze. Letting out a sigh, she slid towards the door of the carriage. "Only until we reach the castle, then you will give it to me, understood?" I nodded eagerly, my head bouncing up and down.

Mother let out a tired sigh. I could see that something was bothering her, but I didn't know what it could be. "I will have to talk to your governess later about not letting you have such weapons."

"But Rowan didn't know that I had it," I quickly started to defend my beloved governess. "Please, Mother, you can't dismiss her!"

"Don't worry, Celeste. I won't dismiss her," my mother reassured me with a tired smile. "Celeste," she suddenly said, her voice soudding strangly sad.

I looked at her with curious eyes. "What is it, Mother?"

She wanted to say something but stopped and instead put on a painfilled smile. "Let us go outside to stretch our legs and get a breath of fresh air. I'm sure it will take a while to remove the tree from the path." She got out of the carriage and offered me her hand.

When we were both outside I looked around and realized that there were trees everywhere. I hid behind my mother's dress, fearing the quivering shadows on the ground. The forest was dark; no light came through the trees. "It's alright, dear, the forest can't hurt you," Mother said while rubbing my back soothingly. " You will see, it's here to protect you. Let's go see your father."

We headed to Father's carriage and Mother told me to wait outside. She entered the carriage and instantly let out a very loud scream before rushing out of it.