Age Of Darkness.

Chapter One.

May 30th, 1552

Many years had passed since I last set foot on Scottish soil. Eight years, to be precise. It felt unreal to be back and see the beautiful scenery of the land that I had missed so much. The beautiful scenery of Scotland, my Scotland, my home.

As I said, the scenery looked absolutely marvellous, especially in springtime. The trees and flowers were in full bloom, even the tiniest flowers hidden in the grass. Seeing all this made the dreadful carriage ride all the way from France to Scotland worth its time. I popped my head out of the window to see if we were nearing the forest close to the castle. The forest that I had already decided I wanted to walk home through, mostly to clear my head from all the memories of French court. The past is in the past and will remain in the past from now on.

"Is everything alright, Your Highness?" I snapped out of my thoughts and pulled my head out of the window. "I beg your pardon?" I asked quietly, my voice just above a whisper. "Is everything alright? You seem very absent today, Your Highness," a maid asked. "Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for asking, Amée. That's very kind of you," I answered, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. She nodded and went back to signalling something to our carriage rider to stop. "I asked the carriage rider to stop at the forest close to the castle. The one you always speak so fondly about," she said. "We will bring all your belongings to the castle, Your Highness." I sighed contently. "Thank you, Amée. I really appreciate all the things you've done for me," I said whilst getting off the carriage with a little help from the rider. "I wish you both save travels back to French court."

After they left and were out of sight, I began making my way through the forest filled with pine trees. It looked more beautiful and serene than I remembered it, much more peaceful. As I concentrated on the sounds I heard, I noticed the running water of the small stream deeper in the forest, the one that was surrounded by the most beautiful poppies. As one may know, poppies are quite common in this area of Scotland but these poppies are the most beautiful ones mankind will ever see. My brother Joshua and I discovered them by accident and promised never to pick one for they are too beautiful to be taken out of their environment. He had always been passionate about all things nature-related, big or small. After all those years of not seeing him I could not wait to hear him talk passionately about nature again, even though it bored me most of the time. I continued my trip down memory lane, thinking about all the great memories I experienced in the forest with Joshua, and before I even noticed I reached the end of the forest.

There it was, Eilean Donan Castle, the castle where I felt most at home. The castle was located on a small tidal island where three sea lochs met. The island, that was surrounded by green fields full of poppies, was connected to the mainland by a footbridge. I had not walked the bridge for years, and yet again it felt unreal, almost like a dream. As I said, the castle was located on a small tidal island, but the castle itself was located on a tiny hill. Eilean Donan was relatively small compared to our main residence Linlithgow Palace in Edinburgh. It did not have countless hallways, enormous towers and a bunch of unnecessary rooms and that is exactly what I loved about it. It made me feel normal for once, a feeling that I had not experienced much in my life. I made my way further down to the castle and noticed a woman with dark wavy brown hair taking a stroll on the castle grounds. She was wearing a dark blue dress made out of rich materials such as silk and velvet. The dress was decorated with embroidery made out of lace and topped off with some decorative gems. I started walking towards her and she did the same but definitely more rushed. She looked pleased to see me but I could tell she was grieving over the loss of my father. Her appearance had changed a lot since the last time I saw her and I could barely recognise the woman she once used to be. She looked paler, almost ill-looking, and she lost a big amount of weight, causing her to have a sunken face. As soon as I reached her, I embraced her into a warm hug. "I'm so sorry about father passing away, mother. I wish I could've been here sooner," I whispered.