The Six Keys of Edwadox

Chapter One~

Sitting down on the moist dark green forest floor under a large tree, the young woman scribbled down her thoughts on a page of her velvet leather diary. The wind blows her curly ginger hair to one side elegantly, as she scans through the text. 

"Lilliana! How shocking it is to see you here!" Another young woman with extremely pale skin and long silky black hair and light grey eyes, resembling clouds in the sky, picked up her cotton white and blue dress and ran towards her. Lilliana looked up at her and smiled. "It seems you have decided to sit under this rather large tree than the other shady and small one you would normally prefer," She said, eyeing towards the tree she mentioned. "And hello to you too, Annabelle" Lilliana and Annabelle curtsied in unison. 

"Have you come here to bring me news?" Lilliana asked. "Of course I have! What kind of friend would I be to let you be the outcast and not knowing what is happening in Lethalia!" Lilliana giggled softly and Annabelle sat down next to her old friend, ready to start her daily gossip sharing.

"Well, there has been this shocking rumor that princess Edwina is having a secret love affair with Prince Rupert!" Lilliana laughed. "Love affair? The prince is a heartless monster who hates women!". "I know, I know, but that must explain why he has been inviting her to his bedroom countless times when no one is looking! Well, he thought wrong, because it was Eliza who told me this interesting bit of information and she works and lives in the palace!". 

Eliza is the royal musician who entertains the royal family daily. Her violin and piano skills are superb and she has never had a bad review. "Eliza never really likes gossip, does she? So I guess you have brought news that is worth telling, congratulations" Annabelle squealed with excitement. "Yes! I have beaten the ginger-headed miserable creature!" Annabelle joked. Lilliana rolled her eyes and laughed. "I must leave, my father is expecting me home soon" Lilliana packed her diary into her small leather satchel and stood up. "I will be awaiting your news by tomorrow morning" Annabelle nodded and stood up as well. 

"Goodbye Lilliana". "Goodbye Annabelle" They both curtsied in unison again and walked away in opposite directions. 

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Lilliana walked up to the small cottage. It was white and the paint was peeling off, revealing the old brown wood from underneath. There was a small flower garden in front of the small house. Flowers of all colors lay next to the wide set of stairs. Even though there was nothing special to the cottage, Lilliana's favorite part of it was the flower garden. She loved picking the flowers and smelling them. She loved the smell of nature. The smell of flowers, the smell of rain, the smell of trees and plants, and anything else that had to do with nature she would be interested in it. 

She climbed the small set of stairs up to her house and opened the door, walking inside. The warmth of the cozy cottage greeted her. She would be proud to call this place her home, even though there was nothing special about it. 

Almost everything was made out of wood. Wooden tables, wooden floors, wooden chairs, wooden décor. The house was lit up by hundreds of candles and a fireplace. On top of the fireplace was a picture of Lilliana's mother. Her mother looked exactly like her. She had her long ginger curly hair, pale skin, freckles, medium blue eyes, smile and facial features. She was like the twin sister she never had, but years and years ago when Lilliana was a newborn baby , she disappeared and never returned. 

Her father, being the determined man he is, searched for her for years but never found her. Lilliana doesn't remember her mother very much. She only remembers a few words before she vanished, "I love you so much, my little Lilliana, do not worry, we will see each other again soon". She still to this day, doesn't remember anything else about her mother and what she meant. 

She shook her head, clearing out all of her thoughts and set down her satchel on the table. "Lilliana, where have you been?" A deep but soft voice asked from behind her. She turned around and saw her father. He was an old man with messy and frizzy white hair, dull blue eyes and very short, standing at a 5"5. 

"Father, please forgive me, I was with Annabelle in the forest" Her father nodded and smiled. "Well, I can't be mad at you for having fun with your best friend, can I?" He chuckled and hugged his daughter. She smiled and hugged back. "I brought you your beer and I will be making your favorite,  Lamb with Pottage". "Thank you so much, Lilliana. I don't know what I would do without you" She kissed his cheek and started cooking the food. 

"I have to go back to work, call me when the food is ready" She nodded and the old man walked into the cellar. Her father was the only blacksmith in Lethalia and would work hours and hours making all sorts of weapons. Since he worked for the king, he was quite wealthy. But, he would only spend the money on essential things such as food or clothes. 

Many of the other villagers would be shocked and weirded out that he didn't spoil his daughter or himself, in fact, they were very jealous that he had all this gold but would discipline himself to save it up. 

Soon, Lilliana would turn 18 and her father would find her a husband and she would move out. It was what everyone in the village did. She didn't want to get married but if it made her father happy, she would do it. 

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. She quickly cleaned off all of the butter from her hands and ran to the door and opened it. 

"Hello, Lilliana..."  A tall handsome man with black shiny curly hair, emerald green sparkly eyes, smooth olive skin and a muscular body stood in front of her. This man was... 

"P-prince Rupert?!".