Wattpad Block Party - Winter Edition III

MarionAvalon Presents: Voice of the Sea

Everyone (or mostly) dreams or has wished to be able to wake up with a bright sunlight overlooking a sparkling ocean, close their eyes and smell the salty air. Whether it's because of the clean, crisp wind, the beauty of the glistening water, or even the faint cries of the seagulls floating around. It might be the simple peace of it all. Either way, few will disagree with the ocean's allure. There's nothing quite like it, no matter how much you try to argue.

A seagull's cry woke Ceanna, who opened her eyes to the familiar, bright walls, the pristine white balcony and warm brown floarboards. The sun was already filling the room with its warm light. Not wanting to waste a moment, Ceanna got to her feet and went to the window. Pushing aside the curtains, she opened it wide, letting the fresh morning air fill her lungs as she stepped onto the balcony, the stone cool under her bare feet.

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. It was her ritual. Doing this always filled her with energy to take on the day. Of course, it was more difficult in the winter, since it was too cold to do it.

A quiet knock made her turn around.

"Come in," she called.

The door opened on a slender, dark haired girl with a pristine white apron over her dress, carrying a tray.

"Morning, Claire," Ceanna smiled.

"Good morning, your Majesty," Claire replied, curtseying as she entered. "I hope you had a pleasant night."

"I did, thank you," Ceanna said. "What about yours?"

"Pleasant as well, Miss, thank you." Claire replied.

Claire was Ceanna's appointed lady in waiting. She was five years older than soon-to-be-eighteen Ceanna, and had been tending to her for the past eight. Soon enough, they'd grown to like one another, and while Claire always refused to address her in any other terms than "Majesty", "Miss", or "Highness", she'd become rather more outspoken than when they'd first met, not hesitating to tell Ceanna if she disagreed with her or was not being reasonable (though this seldom happened).

"What do we have today, Claire?" Ceanna enquired as she dressed.

"Let's see, first is0 the final choices on decorating the ballroom for your birthday," Claire replied. "Then Lord Hunton-Blather and his son are coming to visit."

Ceanna groaned very inelegantly.

"Again? That's the third time this month."

"His Lordship and his Majesty have many affairs to discuss, you know that."

Ceanna couldn't quite decide if her attendant was reprimanding or sympathetic.

"Yes, and his son always claims to want to learn more about the relationships between our lands and ends up doing none of that, only clinging to me..." Ceanna sighed.

It was no secret that the neighbouring country, ruled by Lord Robert Hunton-Blather, was trying to get in Kretia's good graces.

"I suppose there's no way around it... What next?"

"This afternoon, you have your usual dance and music lessons," Claire replied.

"All right, then. Maybe it'll scare Edmund off. He hates dancing, from what I've seen."

Claire didn't laugh, but raised her fingers to her mouth with a rather large smile. Clearing her throat, she said:

"Shall we, Miss?"

"I suppose," Ceanna said.

Her parents had insisted on making her eighteenth birthday a spectacle. Grand ball, fireworks, the most reputed orchestra in the land, the finest food... they were sparing no expense. She, on the other hand, would have been perfectly content with something smaller. But her parents hadn't budged, and had only been rather evasive when asked why. For some reason, Ceanna wasn't sure that was a good sign.