The Hands of Fate

Chapter 5

It took two weeks to reach the kingdom. On the ride there, Caspian pondered what life might be like in Elios, a place that he didn't even know.

Caspian boarded a large amount of ships and royal carriages in order to reach the Kingdom of Elios, and when he arrived he was utterly astonished. The town danced with life as people bustled around, some buying and selling goods, while others were just wandering and talking to friends. The people of Elios all appeared to be well-fed and laid back. Just by looking at them, he could tell they were all fairly kind, and taken care of by their rulers.

Caspian smiled to some and waved as they all pointed and chatted among their friends about the arrival of their soon to be King. It seemed they all recognized him as the King of Allenia. Caspian found it strange at first as they'd never seen him before, but then realized it was obvious, as he was travelling in a royal carriage.

His gaze wandered to the palace as the carriage continued on, and his jaw almost dropped to the floor. For there stood a large cream colored palace with six different towers. As the carriage neared it, he noticed that there were intricate designs along the large walls of crowns and scriptures in addition to names of rulers. The carriage came to an abrupt stop at the edge of the steps, and there stood the King, Queen, and Princess of Elios.

The Coachman hopped off of the drivers seat, and towards the carriage doors. As he opened them, Caspian emerged, a smile on his young face. He held his bags of clothing and other necessities, marveling at the palace. It appeared to be very grand, yet not exactly home-like; especially compared to Allenia.

Caspian looked at the royals of Elios, and began to walk towards them kindly. They all seemed to be standing in some sort of formation, letting him look to one at a time. He looked to his left first, greeting his host, the King. He bowed to him and the King bowed back. When Caspian rose, he was able to clearly see the King's features.

The King was a plump man with a black beard and weary brown eyes. He had a hearty smile on his face, showing off his fairly white teeth. His skin was a paled color, and his cheeks a rosy pink. The man had little to no hair, but Caspian made sure not to say anything about it.

The Queen, on the other hand, was extremely thin. She wore a long cascading dress that flowed to the ground, along with puffed up sleeves. Necklaces and jewels rested on her chest, fitting the dress' light green color. Her hair was in a long braid which fell down her spiny back. The Queen's face was a shade darker than the King's, still light, but not porcelain. Her eyes were a round shape, and held dark brown irises. Her hair was that of a light brown color, and wrinkles lined her petite face.

The Princess was a thin like figure, also. She was around Caspian's height, meaning that he didn't have to partially look up to see her. The Princess had rosy cheeks that only grew in color as she noticed that the Prince was looking at her. Her light brown eyes gleamed as she watched him, her long lashes shading the sunlight from her gaze. Her fawn colored hair was twisted neatly into a low bun that held various gems that shimmered in the light.  She gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, and he gave her a smile back.

This was going to be interesting.

...

Caspian remembered the first day at the palace of Elios. It was such a large and grand place, with spiraling staircases and portraits. He remembered how the Queen and King had smiled to him saying, 'make yourself comfortable, this is your home for now.'

The King and Queen were nice people, but they didn't quite understand that this place could never be his home. He thought of Allenia a lot, though Princess Amara would always find ways to draw his mind from it. On the first day of his arrival, the King and Queen had insisted that Amara showed him around, since she was his "bride to be."