Dragons of Barakis- The Lost Kingdom

Secret Keepers

Naomi Jackson happily skipped down the steps of her elaborate home, humming to herself and listening as the sound carried throughout the castle. She was in a good mood; then again why wouldn't she be? The air was crisp and warm outside, at least it looked to be. The grass was green and the sound of birds chirping outside could be heard clearly through the open windows.

Naomi was a very wealthy woman, future empress of Kyedor once her parents stepped down. Once her parents stepped down, and she got married. Naomi sighed, the thought of marriage weighing on her. Walking over to the elegant hand-crafted table that sat in the middle of the dining room, she grabbed an apple from the fruit basket. She bit into the apple, the juice trickling down her beautiful face.

She cleaned herself off with a napkin and proceeded to walk over to the large mirror hanging on the far wall. In it, she studied herself. She really was an awfully pretty girl with her long dark hair, hazel eyes and slightly tanned skin. She had a strong jaw line that matched the rest of her face, her body slender and petite. Everything about her was beautiful and she knew it. Confidence radiated from her and the way she carried herself. She was only twenty-one years of age yet carried the responsibility of her place in the empire with ease.

Naomi took a deep breath, she did not truly carry the responsibility with ease. It, like the thought of marriage, was a burden upon her shoulders. She wanted to be free of it. She hadn't asked to have the future of the empire in her hands. Marriage, well, her parents had picked her out someone that they believed to be best suited for her.

Charles was a lovely young man, only three years older than herself. He was a blonde with dark, caring eyes. He was as handsome as anyone had ever seen. He was pretty, really, being as tall and slender as he was, his voice soft. He was incredibly caring, he always promised Naomi that he would make her happy, and protect her. The thing was, Naomi knew that Charles couldn't protect her, he was too… well, almost too scrawny- as if he could be snapped like a twig.

As Naomi had recognized though, he was incredibly caring. He would stop by the castle wanting to go on walks in the moonlight with her. He would bring her freshly picked apples from the orchard like the one Naomi held in her hand. He made her feel special. It was just too bad that truth be told- he was not special to her. He had only a pretty face and a pretty heart to go along with it. There was no depth to him, nothing different. Quite simply, he was boring. Rich, yes, but boring and she had no desire to marry him.

There was a knock at the door and Naomi quickly tossed the core of her apple into the trash bin on her way to greet her visitor. Upon opening the door, she was greeted by the sweet, smiling face of her fiancée. Naomi forced a smile, it not quite reaching her eyes. "Charles, what brings you here so early?"      

    Charles shrugged and picked at the sleeve of his shirt as he looked at her sheepishly, "I wanted to know if you'd like to go for a dip in the pond? I have a picnic made for us there already."

    Naomi did her best not to make a face as the idea. Charles did love her. Either he loved her or was deeply infatuated by her. Naomi neither knew or really cared. "I'm not sure if I feel up to it today."

He insisted, "At least our picnic then, love."

Naomi nodded, "I suppose that would be fine." Slipping on her footwear, Naomi left the castle with Charles and they made their way down to the pond, hand-in-hand.

Sitting on the opposite side of the red and white checkered blanket, Naomi felt herself begin to lose interest in what was going on around her. She could hear Charles talking but did not care to listen to whatever it was he was saying. His voice had almost become a background to her thoughts as she stared blankly at what was left of their picnic.