The secrete of the shadows

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Grant woke up to the sun shining through his windows. He missed the coronation because he wanted to sleep longer. It was sometime in the afternoon. He rolled over and stared out his window. His room had the best view. Through his window Grant could see the mountains and the beautiful lake that glimmered in the sunlight. Grant remembered what his mother said "Bella non semper, sed cum ultima refovere." It means "Beautiful things don't last forever, so cherish them while they last" in Latin. From that moment on he always took time out of his day admiring the beautiful view. Today it didn't seem right. His mother was gone. Grant didn't dwell of it though because that isn't what his mother would've wanted. Grant was closer to mother than father. Father was always teaching Anderson things about being a king and never really spent time with Grant. Father still loved Grant very much and Grant knew this. A knock at the door broke Grant's thoughts. "Come in" Grant said. Maria a house maid, she was around Anderson's age, walked in. Vivian has always been Grant's favorite staff in the castle. "Good morning master Grant" Vivian said as she set a tray down on the nightstand. The smell of bacon and eggs filled the room. Grant took the tray and greedily started eating. Between bites he managed to say" Vivian what has been happening around the castle?" Well Master Grant, your brother has fired the captain of the guard due to your parents death and had hired a new one his name is Oliver Alfia. He has just stared a few hours ago. "Wow I didn't think that Anderson could fire Captain Davidson."" Well I must be going enjoy your breakfast" Vivian said as she quickly left. Grant got up and got ready for the day. He walked down the stairs to the library. It was his favorite place to go. He walked over to the fiction section looking for a good book to keep his mind off of things. He was wondering around when he bumped into a girl. She dropped her books. "Oh I am so sorry" Grant said as he was picking up her books. Their eyes met for a brief second. Her face was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Her eyes were sparkling blue with a hint of green. Her eyes contrasted her long flowing black hair. "Hi" The mystery girl said. "My name is Grant" he said in a soft voice. As he helped her up and gestured her to walk with her. "What is you name my beautiful lady" Grant says as he kisses her hand. " My name is Cora" she said as she curtsied. "What book are you reading" Grant inquired. " I just love reading" Cora looked at Grant and smiled. " I love reading history about the different kingdoms. I just think that they are so interesting!" Grant looked at Cora and thought. Why hadn't he seen her before. "Are you new here" Grant asked in a polite voice. "Yes, my brother is the new captain of the guard" she said. "Well I must be going " Cora said as she walked off to who knows where. Grant stared at her and then remembered why he even came to the library in the first place to distract himself. Mom is dead. Dad is dead. Anderson is busy. I have no one. Grant thought while slowly walking back to his room. Cora. Cora took his mind off of everything for a brief moment. Grant knew that Cora could be there for him. He just knew that they would be best friends. He smiled a little bit as went back to his room where he would contemplate every memory of his parents.
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Anderson

Anderson paced the council room. Three people sat around the table. There lady to the right was a duchess. Her name was Raelienne. She was the aunt of the the now dead king. Lady Raelienne has pure white hair with dark blue eyes that always look like her cold heart. Raelienne never really liked her Nephew's kids so she ignored them most of the time. Next to lady Raelieen sat a man. This man was the royal advisor. He was always pristine and proper. His name was Edward William the third. Edward was very old and has grey hair and brown eyes. His double chin takes away from his seriousness. He has been the royal adviser for about 40 years. He will only respond to his full title. Next to sir Edward William the third sat a young man. The caption of the guard, Oliver Alfia. Oliver had black hair like Cora his sister. His eyes were a warm brown color that made you instantly trust him. Oliver was one year older than King Anderson the fifth. All of the members of the royal council sat there in silence as the king paced the floor. Anderson was thinking about what to do. His first task as king was to help the citizens. In a lower sector of the city, a deadly virus broke out. All doctors of that area died from exposure. Anderson had issued an order to quarantine the sector. But what now, Anderson thought he couldn't just leave them to die. His people would hate him if he did that. Anderson brushed his hair back and sighed. "Magic, how much?" He said while looking out the window. Edward decided to answer the king. "Your majesty we can't afford to pay sorcerers to help us With the outbreak. How about we-" "No" Anderson said in a firm voice. " I asked how much" he stated while looking Edward straight in the eye. Edward gulped and said " 30,000 coin and that's just for 300 people. We would have to quadruple that to cure the infected." That leads to a grand total of 120,000 coin Anderson thought. Wow that's a lot of money almost too much to spend on one sector. That amount of money could feed and supply a whole army. "What do you think Oliver?" Anderson said as he looked at him. Oliver looked as if he didn't expect to be asked anything, but stuff related to War. "Well your majesty I think that we could pay the sorcerers and then after the whole sector is cured, we could raise taxes by another thousand dollars for a little wthile." Each citizen the the Arvendon kingdom payed approximately payed 5,000 coin each year. Most of the coin is then used to fund wars, jobs, and other public places. Anderson knew citizens struggled even to pay 5,000 coin, how could he raise the tax knowing they would suffer? "Ok listen up" Anderson said directing his attention back to the council. " We are going to pay the sorcerers. Edward and Oliver I want you to take some men and try to negotiate with them to see if they can lower the price for their services. If they don't budge we will pay the regular price after they heal everyone. Also see if they can come in three days. I don't care if we have to pay more, we need them in three days. Raelienne I need you to make sure the quarantine stays. Hopefully the sorcerers would lower the price and be able to come in three days. Council dismissed. Go to your duties." Anderson said as he gathered his papers and put them away. Anderson quickly headed to dinner. Hopefully Grant would be better. Grant usually never cried so last night was a surprise for Anderson. Anderson darted down the hall to look for his brother.