The Lost Mirror

Chapter 11

Jade was not enjoying the countless pairs of eyes looking her up and down as she walked the cobbled street of the city. It was beyond busy because of the market and she could see people everywhere looking at her and whispering things to the person next to them. Zachariah was too her left, the old knight to her right and a tense looking Ethan behind her. His hand was on his sword, ready for a fight as always.

"Hold your head up high. You are a Princess remember?" Zachariah whispered to her without so much as looking in her direction. Jade sighed and straighten her back. She put as much confidence into her walk as she could muster though inside she wanted nothing more than to hide behind a closed door. She wondered how the real Princess did it. Being in the public eye 24/7, expected to be the definition of perfect. It must take its toll on someone and it hadn't been till that moment that Jade has really come to understand the great pressure placed on a Princess. It seemed like a lifetime before they reached the wooden bridge leading out of the town and into the castle. They passed through the large stone archway and Jade looked up at the castle. One look and you could tell that it was old, it seeped with elegance that could only be gained with age. There were large stone eagles dotted all around on the rooftops, the stone guardians of the ancient castle. There were knights walking around the ground, each one stopped and bowed their heads as Jade passed. It felt weird, she hated it. She has never been one to be in the spotlight, she had always been your average wallflower and now it seemed like there were a million pairs of eyes burning holes in her skin. There were two large knights stood by the gigantic wooden doors leading into the castle, they bowed for a second and then moved to open the doors. Jade glance towards Zachariah as he waited for the doors to open. He was the picture of calm but nothing new there. He was so confident in everything he did but Jade assumed that that came from the fact he was older than the castle they were to enter. The amount of things he must have seen, experienced and learnt were things that a mortal would never be able to. As the doors opened Jade followed Zachariah into the castle. Jade looked around the room to have entered. It was a very long room, at the end she saw a throne. It was made of thick dark oak and it was covered in plush red cushioned on the seat and the back. 4 thick pillars were even spread out down each side of the room, supporting the abnormally high ceiling. Each pillar had a dark blue flag with the black image of a flying eagle. The Kingdoms flag. Each flag was huge and embroidered with gold at the edges, underneath each flag a knight stood. They were so still that Jade wondered if there were even really but one knight was swaying ever so gently from side to side and she knew they were. Jade and her small company followed the knight to the other end of the room and stopped by the throne. Jade's eye caught a side door to the left of the throne open and out of it came a small boy. He must have been no more that 15 but he was a small 15 year old. He had blonde hair cut in a prefect bob with crystal blue eyes. He was cute, in a little brother sense of the word. He wore a crown on his head, a cape on his back, a plain white shirt with a red velvet jacket over the top, completely covered in gold buttons. He had a small sword strapped to his waist but his frame and age told Jade that he had little knowledge of how to yield it.

"Princess Jade, welcome. I was not expecting you, I have only just been informed of your arrival." His voice, although high in pitch still, was commanding. The voice of a young Prince, a boy who grew up wanting nothing and expected everyone to treat him with the highest respect with no regard to his age.

"Yes I am aware. I do apologise for that, I had no idea I would be coming until yesterday." Jade said in the poshest way she could. She believed for a second that he would not believe it, that it was perhaps too over the top but he smiled and gave her a nod.

"Well as always you are very welcome. You are in rather unusual company though." The young Princes frowned at the single knight standing behind her and Zachariah.