Chapter Three:
Sebastian's POV
What I found in Palin was awful. It was like a growing blackness spreading though the beautiful field of flowers. Diane, the spirit of Palin, was crying in the middle of the black. I dropped off my horse and walked over to her, trying not to step on any flowers, which was difficult. Once I approached her, the blackness faded to a grey and she looked up, her eyes black and red streaming down her face, a frightening look but she stretched out her arms and I knelt beside her and hugged her. Just like that, the grey disappeared and everything was back to its beauty.
"What's wrong?" I asked, my voice muffled by her hair, which was floating around like it was in water. She pulled away, eyes a normal green, but her face still stained red. "I'm dying," she said, eyes watering. "How?" I wiped the red from her face with my sleeve, my other arm still around her. "Someone picked my flower, and now I'm dying." She started crying again. "I saw him, he picked it and then gave it to his lover, smiling, like 'here, have a soul' and the, and then..." she mumbled on about killing him and watching his lover die of heart break and talking about how it's been a hard month with the roses wilting early, all the while I looked for her flower. Once I found it, I walked back over to her and placed it at her feet. "My father wants me to step down and let my brother take my place," I said as she replanted herself. She shook her head. "I recommend doing what he says Sebastian." "But why? He gets everything out of it and I give up everything." She sat back, looking at her fine work. "He's going to use something against you if you don't. That's all I can see. You should give it up and come live here with me." I sat back down in front of her, watching as she pulled flowers out of thin air and made a flower crown. "You know I can't do that," I say. "Even if I could, I need adventure." She placed the flower crown on my head. "Oh trust me, you'll get your adventure." She mumbled. And with that, she disappeared from sight.
I sighed, getting up, and walking over to my horse, who was in an argument with one of the pixies. I climbed onto him and he huffed at the blue one. And with that, I rode back to Desfronmenare.
*****
It was dark when I got back. A lot of the lights were off in the castle and judging by the position of the moon, it was midnight and everyone is usually asleep. I put away my horse and climbed up the steps into the castle. I was humming a made up tune while I walked to my bedroom, stopping at the kitchen to grab a loaf of bread to snack on while I read. Once I got to the staircase, I heard moaning and shuffling from the bottom of the stairs, where the door to the dungeons are located. We've never used those before so I was curious.
I walked down the steps, loaf of bread in one hand and a candle in the other, until I got to the door. It wasn't locked, like usual, and swung open without creaking. I slowly walked in, following the shuffling and soft groaning. It was dark and damp in there, with rats running to and fro. I slowly walked to a prison cell, down at the end of row of cells. There was the sound of chains moving and skin on stone. I knelt down on the wet floor and set my candle down. I saw a small, faint figure in the corner of the cell.
"Hello?" I called out quietly. The chains rattled loudly, and the figure shuffled forward a little bit. "Hi, I'm Sebastian," I said softly. "Could you come closer? I won't hurt you." It went silent. And then I heard soft breathing. It was shaken breathes. "I have bread, are you hungry?" I set the bread down in the cell, and pushed it towards the person and moved back. The figure was hesitant at first but then moved forward to reach it. I saw a small hand come out of the darkness. It was covered in black lines that swirled around it. "Are you a child?" I said quietly, leaning forward as the hand stretched out to grab the bread but couldn't quite reach. I moved forward to push it more towards the stranger and they scuttled back to the corner, quickly. "It's okay," I said, moving back again. "I'm just trying to help." I was shocked when it spoke. It's voice was a higher pitch than a man's and beautiful like a song. "Are you trying to help like the other men said they would try to help? Because that's how my clothes were taken from me." I was so surprised. "What men? The men here in Desfronmenare are only kind." It laughed a cruel laugh. "Then why was I kidnapped, stripped, and left here to die?" I shrugged. "I don't know but we aren't evil. And what are you?" "Hungry." It said. "I'm starving and cold." I shook my head. "Then come take the bread." It's voice was turning bitter. "I can't, you fool. I cannot reach the bread because you've placed it out of my reach." I moved it forward a little, also moving the candle forward to see the creature. It slowly moved forward to grab the bread, and as it did so, it came out of the dark. "You're a woman." I said. She was covering herself the best she could, with her legs and arms. She was small and thin, with black lines all over her body except around her eyes and on her lips. She had long, wavy, pitch black hair that kind of cocooned her. She moved her body so that her hair covered her but she sat on her knees and feet, eating the bread like she'd never eaten before. "You're beautiful." I said, gaping at her beauty. She blushed deeply, it clearly showing through her really pale skin. She had the black lines everywhere, and one piercing in her belly button. It was a single, red stone in metal.
