The Queen's Rise

On The Road Again

That morning we left extremely early, so early that the king and queen were fast asleep. I left a note in my room apologizing for our sudden disappearance. It was still dark and the road was hard to see, we decided to stir a little off the road so we don't go to another village. The route we are currently taking takes us through many casltes' realms and we are allied with most but we want to stir away from the ones we're not. For the next few days we rode, not stopping unless for a bathroom break or to sleep. We didn't stop and stay at any more kingdoms, I was set on getting to this kingdom immediately. It was so many hours but finally, we make it to the dark kingdom. The forest around it was blackend and dark. The trees shook out like sharp sticks with barely any trees on some. The soil was dark, no bright colors were seen. No flowers grew, along with no bright green grass. There was no noise but our carriages. You couldn't hear happy villages, you saw absolutely no life. The only movement you could see that wasn't us were the crows flying above and cawing their wicked words. "Are you sure this is the place? " I nod at Morris's worried question. "Yes, this is it. " As we rode further and further into the deep, endless void we finally find a castle. It was huge, horrid and evil. You could see the lifestyle they lived when you finally saw the towns people. Everyone looked gloomy, even though they had their freedom and independence from the empire. The faces of each and every person, even the small children were pale and saddened. The clothes were bored and they looked forced onto each individual. The stone road into the town was made of a dark and awful looking stone, it showed signs of worn usage. The castle looked and fit the setting, it was much more scarier once closer. It was a very Gothic looking castle, the woodwork and stonework on every individual layer looked pained and scared. Is this really the home of my new found alliance? We rode in, the sounds coming from us seemed to be the only noise the people had heard. They all looked over, crowding a bit as I climb out of the carriage. My clothes seemed to shine in the crowds of nothing, I looked so out of place it was making me nervous. "These people look so sad. " Modesty climbed down from her all white Horse and stood beside me. Compared to me, she looked more in place with her dark clothing. We looked around, looking for any signs of the king or queen. I pulled out a piece of paper and write down a note, telling the king and queen we were here. As quick as I write, I sent the message away and there we sat waiting away. An hour had passed and finally the king and queen rode down from the castle, their clothes were dark and depressed much like the people around them.

Queen Ekua and king Nikolaj jump down from their horses. Ekua looked like her normal clown self while Nikolaj looked like himself. "Hello queen Nettie, welcome to our wonderful kingdom! " Nikolaj's once boomed over the people's chatter. The crowd fell silent. I look around the town, trying not to seem a little concerned. "It's definitely wonderful and I'm happy to finally be here. " He smiles, which seemed so unnatural in the frowning crowd. At least his face didn't seem overly artificial like his beloved wife's. "So when do you plan on heading out to the empire? " I sigh and force a smile upon my face. "As soon as possible, but for now how about you show me around. " He nods. "You mentioning it makes it a good point! Let us show you and your friends around! " He seemed rather excited while his wife stood silently. My men ride everything up to the castle, following the kings men. Everyone was walking, following the king and queen, their height was tremendously different. I walked with the two, the king pointed and explained what everything was and finally it was over in an hour. "Ready to look inside the castle? " I nodded politely. "Let's go then! " The queen screamed out, she seemed rather mad and looked as if she wanted to just be away from everything. She stomps off towards the castle and when she was out of earshot Nikolaj looks at us. "Sorry about her, she's just annoyed with everyone. She blames it on her feminine issues but I think it might be more. " I clear my throat. "She might still be stressed about finally getting the freedom from the empire. No one remembers your kingdom and it hurts a queen to be on the throne of a kingdom who was controlled and forgotten. " He nods. "You might be right, but I'm not too sure anymore. " We all walk up the stairs of the castle, they were small but felt huge as you took step hy step. It was creepy but decent I guess, I wouldn't like living here. Inside the big wooden doors was a sight I wasn't definitely not expecting. If you've ever seen a vampire movie with a lavished castle the main vampire lived in, that's what the castle inside looked like. It's either that or a Gothic person's dream home. There were stuffed crows and preserved snakes in jars. There were Taxidermied bats along the walls. Creepy paintings of past kings and queens were along the walls. Velvet rugs in blood red, the walls were a dark color that I'm not sure if it was black or not. The woodwork inside was absolutely gorgeous.

It worked, the castle was pretty inside and intimidating on the out. It was a tactic used by lots of older realms. They make the outside of the castle rather frightening and then the inside is nice and cozy. We go from room to room and it's rather nice, just a little weird since there was dead animals, skulls and all that sorts all over. Not gonna lie, they look cool I just wouldn't want so much. "Oh, Nettie I completely forgot. We have a thank you gift for coming all this way out here and helping our little kingdom. " Nikolaj grabs a wrapped item and when he hands it to me, it's a little heavy. I open it carefully, not wanting to drop anything inside. When I opened it was a wet specimen of a two headed black rat snake. My eyes widen at it, I wasn't freaked out, I was actually rather interested in it, see two headed snakes are rare. "I can see you like it. " I smile and nod. "Yes, thank you so much. " He smiles a content smile, while his wife stood there with no sign of any emotion on her face.