Chapter One
"I actually cannot believe this!" Juniper squealed, jumping up and down. "We are actually going to be able to meet him!"
I laughed. Every single day, it seemed like Juniper was falling for someone new. You glance away for one moment, and she might already be over ten guys and be fawning over new ones.
"What's so good about this guy, anyway?" I asked, running my fingers through my tangly dark brown hair. "He's just some Prince."
Juniper sat down her hairbrush and stared at me, bewildered. "'Just some Prince?' He is the prince of our kingdom, Elizabeth! Have some respect!"
"I have full respect for PrinceTimber, it's just that I don't see what the big deal is."
Juniper didn't reply, and I got lost in my thoughts. Where was he all his life? Why wasn't he here, protecting the kingdom? Is he just here to replace the king?
Nobody in my knowledge has seen the king in several months. Before he vanished, he was still pretty antisocial, but he would come out of the palace a lot and go to social gatherings. In the last few months, he just... vanished.
I shifted around uncomfortably. I needed to go outside, to get some fresh air. Needed to stretch my "gift"
Sorry, did I say gift? I meant my curse.
I was born with wings, and they sure aren't all 'sunshine and rainbows' like you might think. I'm able to show my wings on command, but it's irritating when I have the urge to show them and I can't.
It's extremely rare to be born with wings. I only know this because Auntie Ann told me this. A researcher in mythical creatures, she knows all about beings that have wings. She was like a mother to me.
At 7 years old, she taught me how to show my wings on command. It was that same year, she disappeared. Nobody knows where she went. I-
Juniper cut off my train of thoughts with a sheer shriek. "We are going to be late to the festival!"
I jumped up and put the first thing in my closet on. It was a dark purple dress that went down to my ankles, with a white flower crown complimenting the dress.
Juniper was wearing a golden yellow dress with a silver necklace that seemed to radiate off of her cocoa brown skin. She quickly attempted to brush through her hair once more. "Let's go!" She yelled, swinging open the door, running down the sidewalk.
I slipped on my shoes and noticed Juniper dashing back to the house, tripping over the hem of her dress. She started to slow down and struggled to say something, she was out of breath.
"My- My shoes." She panted, bending down to put on her shoes.
"You forgot your shoes!" I laughed, walking out the door. "Race you there!"
"Hey!" She yelped, running after me. "Not if I can help it!"
~~~~~
A crowd had gathered around the front of the palace, where the prince was going to be introduced. An excited murmuring was emerging from the crowd as the sun started to fade over the horizon, sending the sky into beautiful shades of scarlet, signaling that it was time for Prince Timber to come with Queen and King Timber. The murmurs turned into yells as the tall, slender doors of the palace opened, with two figures stepping out of it.
Juniper gasped and her eyes went wide. The two figures grew into humans, one being Timber and one being the Prince. Timber looked as beautiful as ever, her emerald green eyes shining upon her kingdom. The prince had curly, black hair. One side was shaved and the hair fell over his eye. his eyes were emerald green, like Queen Timbers, and seemed to look cold. He was very pale and didn't look healthy.
"People of Ariggion!" Timber shouted, applause and cheering arising from the crowd again. "We have gathered here today to celebrate the arrival of my son, Dante Timber!"
The cheers erupted again, this time louder than before. Juniper screamed into the crowd, yelling the prince's name.
"He has arrived here today to help serve our kingdom and benefit to our society. Now, a few words from Dante." Timber said, backing away from the podium. Dante stepped onto the podium turning his head right and left slowly to look at the majority of the kingdom. He cleared his throat and started to speak and a low voice.
"I, Prince Dante Timber swear to protect my kingdom and bring a prosperous future to the Kingdom Arrigion, that I will someday be entitled to rule. In the intervening time, I will do whatever it takes to help benefit Arrigion."
He stepped down from the podium, his hands noticeably shaking.
The crowd erupted into cheers as they both stepped back into the castle, the palace guards shutting the door behind them.
One by one, the people started to drift out of the kingdom center.
----
"Did you see his eyes?" Juniper flushed, falling back onto her bed, staring at the ceiling dreamily.
"You could barely see his eyes," I started. "And, besides. Didn't he seem... off to you?"
Juniper snapped her head up. "What?"
"It's just that he seemed like he was going to pass out up there." I narrowed my eyes. "Is he sick or something?"
"I didn't notice anything" Juniper admitted, shrugging it off. "Even if he was, it was probably stage fright or something."
"Yeah, okay." I murmured, walking off.
I stepped outside through the back door, sitting on the step. The sun was almost completely set, the last golden-red rays fading into a dark sky scattered with settling stars. My wings were itching to get out, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized I needed to wash them.
I ducked behind a shed in our yard holding gardening tools near a small stream leading through the kingdom, and let my wings free.
The way I did this was to concentrate on the image of me with my wings and tense up the muscles around it. It takes some work but eventually I get used to it.
My wings feathered out, begging to be stretched. I kept them hunched inward, though, to prevent any wandering eyes. At their full length they were about 10 feet long,and were feathery white, able to hold me up and keep me flying. Whenever I feel frightedned, they hide themself. It's hard to control, even though it may look easy.
Flying
Just even thinking about flying free away from this let my heart soar. Knowing I couldn't literally deflated it.
There was an abrupt knock at the front door and my eyes darted to the window. There were murmured voices, and the door suddenly shut.
Without noticing it, my wings had hidden again. I slowly crept back into the house, alarmed. Is someone in here? My mind filled with horrible images of monsters in our house.
I crept around the shed and peered near the door. Abruptly, I opened it the second a knock arrived at the door.
I rushed to go answer it, swinging open the door.
"H-Hello ma'am. Are you M-Ms Elizabeth Woods? A palace guard stuttered.
I stared at him. He looked around 18 or 19. You had to be at least 17 to become a palace guard. "Yes I am..."
"There has been a request from Queen Timber for you to come have a meeting at the palace immediately." He said quietly.
I stared at him in disbelief. "The palace? For what?"
"I-I am afraid I'm not allowed to answer that question, Ms. Woods. Now if you can follow me, I'll be escorting you to the palace." He said.
I shut the door hesitantly behind me, thinking about what the queen possibly needed me for. Walking down the path, the realization hit me.
Did Timber find out about my wings?
