The Last Daughter (on hold)

Zeroth Power - Part I

PART I

Father hadn't looked pleased when I came into his study. His head was in his hands as he sighed anxiously.

"Cenia?" he finally said. I flinched. His tone was kind which made me even guiltier. He still hadn't looked at me.

"Yes, Papa?" I replied. My voice was shaky. I was scared. I had never been punished before. I looked outside the window to stop my anxiety and saw that it was getting late at night.

"You know very well that you are not supposed to wander near the Palace gates," he said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"But Papa, I was still inside," I argued. I never really liked staying inside.

"Yes, but what if someone spotted you from outside, what then?" Father was willing to make a statement. "You know the dangers, Cenia."

"Papa, I'm big already." I twirled around."See? I'm going to be eight tomorrow, Papa!" I wouldn't back down without a fight.

Ever since I could remember, Papa had told me of the dangers that were outside Palace walls. He said that because the people were sick, they didn't like girls. I didn't mind. I was getting tired of it. So, I snuck out of the big wall that seperated the castle from the Palace gates. There were two, no, three layers of walls before you could actually reach the outer Palace walls where the Palace gates were. It was a pretty long journey.

Father sighed. I knew he'd given up on arguing with me. It was a long silence before he spoke again.

"Promise me this, Cenia." He took something out from his pocket. It was a hair pin. "Promise me that you will keep this with you," he said as he placed it on my hair. "And remember that you will forever be my daughter, princess of Kesana." He pulled me into a tight embrace. It was not like the hugs I was used to, it was more urgent, more meaningful. I didn't understand.

He soon let me go and called for Mannie to escort me to bed. Since I had never been outside, Mannie, my loyal servant, had been my only friend.

I played with my hair pin as Mannie combed my hair. The pin was golden and had a circle in the middle. Half of it was surrounded by loops. I was absolutely fascinated with it. I started to wonder where this came from. Did it come from outside?

"Mannie, have you ever been outside?" I asked. 

She paused for a moment then sighed.

"Yes, I have," she replied firmly. I asked her when.

"Back when Queen Amaranth was here."

I missed my mother. They said that I looked a lot like her. Apparently, I inherited her blonde locks. My hair would shine in the sunlight, it would look white. They said, "She is with the sky." I wouldn't believe them though. I knew that she was gone. I never believed in fairytales. Even at the age of eight.

"She was fair, elegant. She could make your father run to the moon and back from what I saw." Mannie looked like she was daydreaming. "But then the kingdom became sick and so did she." Her voice was grave. Like a secret that wasn't supposed to be revealed. But before I could ask, she tucked me into bed.

"Good night, Cenia." She took the pin away from me and placed it on top of my bed side table. It was getting late and I was getting drowsy. Mannie turned off the lights as I fell deep asleep.

It was shaking. I felt like a pair of strong arms were carrying me, but all I could see was darkness. I opened my eyes to see Father. He was running towards a car where Mannie was throwing luggage into the trunk. She was moving quickly, like she was being chased. I looked at my watch and saw that it was around twelve o'clock midnight. What could they be running from at this time? Papa gently placed me in the car.

"Papa, what's going on?" He didn't reply, but instead helped place luggage. "Where are we going?" He finally finished with the bags and held my hand, still not getting inside the car. 

"You're going somewhere safe," he replied. "Me?" I asked. "Yes."

"But Papa, aren't you coming?" I asked. He paused before answering. 

"No."

Panic started to settle in. My chest suddenly became heavy, breathing becoming difficult. I had never been without Papa, not ever. 

"But you're going to follow me, right? I'm just going ahead, right?" My voice was shaky, my grip on my father's hand tightening.

"Cenia, listen to me." He held my hands firmly. "Your pin," he touched the pin on my hair. I never noticed it. "Keep your promise, alright?" he requested. If this was the last thing Papa would ask from me, then I'd agree. He embraced me once more before closing the car door and ordering it to start moving. 

I started kicking and thrashing and screaming as Mannie put the seatbelt on me. The car just moved a few meters before I took of the seatbelt and opened the car door. I ran for my father, calling for him. He turned around, but didn't move. Mannie caught me and I started thrashing again. I bawled as she firmly put on the seatbelt this time and ordered the driver to lock the doors this time. She hugged me as the tears poured out like waterfalls. 

I looked at my father once more as he mouthed, "Happy Birthday."

That was the last I saw of King Rudios, ruler of Kesana.

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Author's Note:

Hi! Leave a comment, please? I'd be super-duper happy. Dedicated to iAMbchan for teh support.

Picture to your right is Cenia! I found it ON GOOGLE. It isn't mine.

Yay!

( '_________' )

WHALE!