The carriage bounces down the rocky road, every stone seeming to send me a foot in the air and landing hard on my rear. It is a relief when we finally pull over onto the side of the wretched thing to take a break. I open the carriage door myself and hop out, my knees almost giving out from under me. My pristine baby pink dress sways from side to side, masking over some of my clumsiness with grace.
"This road is terrible," Josephine states with a grimace. "Are you sure there isn't another way?"
"I have told you a thousand times and then some that there is no other way," Rafael groans. "If there was, we would have taken it."
"Beautiful," I grumble as I rub my rear.
"It's just another mile," he reassures us. "I'm sure you can make it that far."
"My pelvis is one with my damn spine, boy," Josephine snaps grumpily.
"Yeah, and my crotch feels like it has been punched many times, but here I am," he counters. "Will we walk weird for a few days? Yes. Will we deny and sexual advancements because of it? Sadly. But you know, it builds character."
"If building character means feeling violated by nature, then I don't want to build character anymore," I say.
"No sense of adventure," he snorts.
"My sense of adventure died when I had you," Josephine mutters.
"Why?"
"I found out that adventure leads to places and scenes that result in children," she vaguely explains. "Needless to say, I don't like adventures. I wanted to stay in Sanfellios, retire, and die, but look who came crawling back."
"You are in a very bitter mood, Mom," he states.
"No shit."
"Hey!" Someone calls out from further up the road. We turn our attention to the man. To my surprise, he is a soldier wearing Klestian armor. What is he doing out this way? Rafael tenses and reaches for his sword as he grows closer. "Wait, wait! I have come as requested by the Prince of Forarte." The soldier reaches into his pocket and pulls out a note with a blue wax seal with the Forarte crest on it. Looking at it for a second, he then hands it over to Rafael. "My proof, sir."
Rafael stares intimidatingly down at the man before snatching the note from his hand. With a flick of his wrist, he tosses the note through the open window into the carriage and onto my lap. Ever so carefully, I pull the envelope open and reveal the letter. My fingertips glide over the expensive parchment before reading the words.
Dear Princess Penelope,
Things have taken a turn for the worst in Sanfellios. Your father, regrettably, died protecting me. For that, I am truly sorry. However, this note is not meant as a letter of condolences, but a warning. The mage is coming for you. I do not know what he wants. He kept saying that he was going to take back "what was once his." This man is dangerous, milady. If your father had not saved me, I would be watching helplessly from the skies.
From what I was told, you are headed to Klestia. I will soon meet you there after everything is back in order in Sanfellios. For now, as extra protection, please accept the aid of a dear friend of mine, General Jacobson Faust. Also, do not be afraid of his pet owl. Its name is Reggie. Jacob just likes to pretend it does not exist. I honestly don't know why.
Love,
Prince Delsair Forarte of Klestia
Delsair....
"Yo, genius, what does it say?" Rafael rudely asks.
"Prince Forarte is alive and still in Sanfellios. He said he will be back once everything is back in order," I tell him. I roll down the carriage window all the way by cranking the handle. Then, I lean out the window to get a better look at the soldier. "You're General Faust?"
YOU ARE READING
Break
FantasyWhat would it feel like to have your reality shattered in an instant? Imagine it just for a moment. Now, say that new reality was something greater than what you once thought possible, like a whole new world has been brought into your eyes like a li...
