Caelestis

Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Parties and Preparations

* * *﴾The Queen embraced me in a warm hug and held me there. I was so overcome by pretty much every emotion known to man that I just let her hold me as tears poured from my eyes.

"Adeline! It's really you! Oh, Adeline!" I could tell from her voice that my mother had resigned to the fact that I was never coming home. Me being here was a real surprise. The gasps of the guards around us made a lump of laughter rise in my throat. I heard their armor clatter as they quickly bowed to me. It was a strange being bowed to, but I was used to it. It was like remembering how to ice skate after a long hiatus. I just had to remember how to move my feet. "Adeline, oh how you have grown."

"And so have you. I mean, you don't look old—you look wise- and capable?" Crap! This is a prime example of me falling on my butt while ice skating.

"Ha ha ha. Oh my beautiful girl." my mother cooed. She gently stroked my head as we both cried together. I felt as though my whole world suddenly brightened just knowing that she was with me again and forever. Guard!" the Queen said trying not to cry anymore as she let me go. I wiped tears from my weary eyes and looked at my mother. This was the first time I had cried in a long time. It felt nice to be able to share my emotion.

"Yes, Your Majesty?" the guard replied with a gulp as he rose back up from a bow.

"Go and fetch my daughter's maidservant. Open all the windows in the castle and let some light in this place. Get my scribe so we can make arrangements for a feast! Tonight, we celebrate!" The guard scrambled around trying to bow as he did so, and left the room. "And who is this, my beautiful, sweet, Adeline?"

"Oh...uh, Mother, you remember Ben, don't you? He is the son of your bodyguard...um...what was his name again?" The guard who sent me to earth on Zanzibar the night the Gramores attacked the castle was Ben's father and my mother's most trusted bodyguard.

"Yes, dear, I remember. You and Ben were good friends, right?" my mother asked as she looked around at the soldiers in the room. I nodded and she continued. "My bodyguard's name is Brock and he is still working for me." Just then, a girl with long, black hair and a simple, brown dress came in the room escorted by a guard. She was quite a bit shorter than I was and gasped when she saw me. She was about Zach's age, definitely older than me by a few years. Her stunning green eyes made me smile. Her hair was pulled up into a large mass of braids on top of her head. An older looking man with large, round glasses that magnified his eyes and a piece of paper and quill came in behind her. He was considerably shorter than the girl and shuffled his feet when he walked. A silly looking hat that reminded me of a graduation cap teetered on his head as he walked.

They both bowed and my mother gave instructions to the scribe on all the preparations for the party. A soldier opened the window in the room with a little help from a servant. The light washed into the room. It made bright things jump at me and shiny things shimmer.

"...and Catharine," the queen looked at the maid after taking a breath of air, "get my daughter to her room and out of those...uh...clothes." She said the last part quite slowly. I looked down at myself and frowned. I was still in my ripped-up jeans and worn out T-shirt. Well this went from awesome to really embarrassing really fast...

"Please, Your Highness," Catherine said in a soft voice. She touched my arm and beckoned me to the door, "this way to your quarters."

"Wait, Mother, what about Zanzibar? He'll be tended to, won't he?"

"Of course, Adeline, he will be tended to. I will have both Pegasus' put into the finest stalls and put my own stable boy in charge of them. I'll have the doctor look at the wounds on his leg, too." She looked at Ben and then told him that he had to come to the ball but needed to wear something else. I smiled. Wait! my thoughts screamed at me. I had totally forgotten why we had come here in the first place! Tara!

"Mother! I almost forgot! Zanzibar's sister was hurt by a Gramore and she's not doing too well and we couldn't do anything and we thought you could help." I gasped for a breath of air and looked at Ben. He was shaking his head like he was more upset about forgetting Tara than I was.

"Yes," said the Queen, gravely, "I will tend to it personally." She paused, looked around, and then said, "Ah! Here she comes!" An exquisite Pegasus soared through the now open window. She was all white and a beautiful golden horn spiraled out of her forehead, just like a Unicorn. Her mane and tail were so silky that it must have taken hours to brush it. A wonderfully carved, brown saddle sat simply on her slim back. I knew that she inspired the painting on the ceiling and the picture in the stained-glass window.

My mother climbed up on the back of the saddled Pegasus and flew off into the bright morning light. I saw a horse bolt out of the gates after her and knew that it was Brock. Catherine cleared her throat and nodded to me.

"Well, I guess that means, 'It's time to get ready', so I'd better go," I said to Ben.

"All right then, I guess I will see you tonight," he said and nodded to Catherine. Catherine started to leave the room, pulling me behind her. I hesitated. What if the Gramores are still near the herd, waiting for another chance to attack? I thought. Would they kill my mother? The thought faded away as I remembered that Brock went with her and I knew that nothing would get to my mother as long as he was with her. I hoped.