I woke up cold.The sheets that were folded against my cheek were soft, forgiving to my aching bones, caressing my shivery skin. My awareness came to me in a seesaw-like fashion, here for a moment and then gone the next. In the moments of mindfulness, something felt wrong.
When I found myself more conscious, I realized what was wrong was that I was cold. And as I stretched further out onto the blankets, there was no warmth to the sheets alongside me, no body heat. No Kaius.
I blinked my eyes open as the thought entered my mind, a feat in itself. The weight of my eyelids was heavy, as if my lashes had been coated in stones and glued shut. My bedroom was dim, all of the lights turned off, no shadows of the moon allowing light in, the window covered.
Wait...where was the window? To the left, where the window usually was, was a painting. In the dark the picture was a mixture of colors and shapes, too blurry and shadowy to make out what was on its surface. I closed my eyes, feeling my brain shift, rocking as if I were on a boat. When I looked again, the window was still gone.
Using the strength that was still trying to wake up, I pushed myself onto my forearms, feeling a chilly air brush against my exposed skin. But there wasn't much of it. Exposed skin. I was now dressed in a long, dark nightgown, one that I'd never seen before.
I frowned at the fabric, trying to think back. The last I remembered, I wasn't wearing this. I wasn't wearing anything. I'd fallen asleep on Kaius chest, wearing nothing but the bedsheet around my body. How did I get in this nightgown? Had Kaius dressed me? Had I awoken at some point to change, and just didn't remember it?
Momentarily forgetting my strange nightgown, I sat up, rubbing at my eyes with my aching fingers. It felt like I had slept for years, a princess cursed into her slumber, waiting to be woken with a kiss. It was most likely my body's way of recovering from the sleep deprivation I'd put it through previously, and then the exertion of making love with Kaius. My brain felt like it was in a fog, and no sunlight could break through it.
I swung my legs from the side of my bed, and my mind immediately snapped awake, the fog clearing at once. Instead of the firm, cool floorboards that I'd grown used to, my toes were met with something soft and plush, snaking over my skin like an embrace. It was a sensation I had gotten used to over years and years of waking up, and immediate spark of recognition in my brain.
It was only a rug. But it was the rug I had in my bedroom at the palace.
I stood immediately, my brain rushing at how fast my movements were. Even though it was still dark, I immediately knew this was no longer Gossington. This room was far, far larger, with a lush ottoman in the middle and a giant closet off to the left, as well as an adjoining bathroom.
I knew this room like the back of my hand, down to the smell of roses and lilacs from washing of my bedsheets, though now it was faint.
I wasn't here right now. I couldn't be. Dreaming. I must've been dreaming. Running my hands down my cheeks, I was almost sure of it. "Wake up," I told myself, pinching the skin of my face tightly. "Wake up, wake up."
My mind didn't listen to me, and I was still standing in the middle of my bedroom at the palace.
The grand door that led out into the hallway swung open a moment later, opening a rectangle of light into my dark room. I winced at the sudden illumination, holding a hand up to my eyes.
"Princess Amora?" the intruder asked, her voice a high pitched whisper. When she found a shadow standing in the middle of the room, she brought her lamplight into the room, squinting. She about yelped when she saw that it was me, jumping back a step. "Princess Amora! You're awake!"
Princess Amora. The words rocked in my head, ricocheting on the sides of my skull. Wake up, wake up, wake up.
"We've been waiting for you to awake, Princess," she said, moving further into the room. She brushed past me to go to my nightstand. With the candle she held, she lit the lantern that rested on the table's surface, and the room was brighter at once. "King Faber will be pleased."
Stars. There were stars dotting the sides of my vision, accompanied by a tight cramp in my stomach at the mention of my father's name. The rug was still plush underneath my toes, the scent of lilacs still permeating my nose. Wake up. "How long...have I been asleep?" I asked the girl, realizing I didn't know her name. It wasn't Anna, that was all I knew. I'd never seen her before.
The girl didn't look me in the eye, but rather gazed at my toes, doing exactly what the maids in the palace had been taught to do. It made me feel sicker. "Two days, Princess. Your body was very weak. King Faber was afraid you weren't going to wake up."
I stared at her, her words not making sense. Two days? Two days. My head began to shake back and forth. "I—I don't understand. Weak?"
"When the warlock brought you to the border, you were unconscious, body weak from being in the Wildwood for so long. That was two days ago."
All of the air vanished from my lungs at once, as if I had been punched in the stomach. It left me gasping for a breath that wasn't there, choking on the nothingness in my throat. She didn't see the myriad of emotions cross over my features before settling on one—horror. Stark, absolute horror. "Warlock."
The girl nodded her head once, swift. "The one who captured you, Princess. Or at least, that's what Prince Grimond said—he identified the warlock when they brought him back to the palace."
"Brought him—" My world didn't feel so steady anymore, lilting on its side. "He's here?"
Another nod. "But don't worry, Princess, they've got him under lock and key. He can't harm you anymore."
I was drowning. Standing there in the middle of the room and drowning on dry land, gaping like a fish. The maid was staring at my feet and I was standing there, listening to the words she was saying but they weren't making sense. Kaius. She'd been talking about Kaius. But—but—
Kaius. They had Kaius.
"Can you get me something else to wear," I asked her, trying to muster up my most proper voice, dusting it off from the drawer I'd tucked it into. "This nightgown doesn't fit me very well."
The girl curtsied at once, moving toward where my close lay. "Any specific color, Princess Amora?"
"Blue," I responded, staring at the open doorway. "I have a blue one with white beading. I'd like that please."
The girl leaned into my closet, her little figure disappearing. "I'll find it, Princess," she said, completely obscured from view.
I took that as my chance.
Without wasting a second, I sprinted from my bedroom, running into the hallway. I was immediately blinded with how much gold was filling my vision, the floors and walls all shining in the expensive metal. The sconces were lit, alive with light, and I followed them the way I knew.
I took a right when the hallway ended, my bare feet slapping over the smooth flooring. Not a figure in sight, I tried to keep my breathing as quiet as possible, my breaths even. The grand staircase came into view, and I knew once I reached the ground floor, all I would have to do is get down to the lower levels. I'd never been beyond the ground level before, but I knew where the doors were positioned, though they were meant to be hidden. The one I needed was in the grand meeting room, and it would lead to the prison holds. It would lead to Kaius.
I took the stairs two at a time, my heart pumping wildly with fear and determination, my brain struggling to keep up, only focusing on the task.
My foot had just hit the last stair when I heard his voice, deadly quiet but holding an anger that was white hot. A lion preparing to strike and I, simple gazelle, was helpless to do anything but freeze.
Two words my father spoke, but in them was a promise of my awareness. I was not dreaming, and I never had been. "Hello, Daughter."
YOU ARE READING
The Princess and the Warlock
FantasyPrincess Amora has always felt that the Wildwood, a land full of broken magic and untold creatures, was calling to her, trying to lure her into their depths. Living underneath a father and ruler who has slaughtered all magic users, as well as betrot...