The Legend Of The Five Queens : Arabella's tale

Chapter 14

Arabella leaves the kingdom with her guards around her. Severus pulls out a map of the world and points to where they are on the map.
"So, there are three kingdoms around us. So the question is, where do we go first?" Severus holds out the map to his Princess. Arabella takes a close look at the map and studies it.
"I think we should go to Dragons castle. It's the nearest kingdom from here. Even if my father is not here at least we can rule out Dracon's territory,"
"Okay. We can take this route to get to his castle quicker. It should keep us hidden until we arrive there," Severus highlights the route with his finger. Arabella hops onto Equidors' back and gets him moving.
   They ride through the forest that connects the two kingdoms. The crew keeps an eye out for any signs of danger that could affect the princess in any way. Deep inside her soul-Arabella feels high anxiety. What if her encounter with her father does not go well? What if he does not remember her? Perhaps he has already forgotten about her existence. There are so many questions that give Arabella such fear at this very moment. Of course, there is a possibility that she could meet him and everything goes well.
She shakes off the fantasies about how the encounter with her father could go and tries to focus on the mission. The crew continues to ride through the forest at a pace that does not exhaust the horses right away. The sun slowly drops lower throughout the sky as time passes.
   Nightfall falls on the world below. Arabella's men set up a small fire going deep within the woods at their camping spot. The horses lay near the fire as look as though they are exhausted from their journey. Severus cook pieces of finely persevered meat over the fire in a thin metal pot. For a single moment, Arabella told herself that she could of very easily lit the fire with her power. Of course, doing so would give away her secret to the others aside from Severus.
   Arabella wraps herself up in a thick wool blanket despite her not needing one to keep her warm.
"We are all clear of any dangers. I did not see any animals nor people that could be of harm to us tonight," Severus states as he walks up to the campfire across from Arabella.
   "Very good. Then we will stay here until sunrise tomorrow," Arabella as she sits against the tree with a pillow to comfort her. The sounds of crickets can be heard loudly beyond the crackling of the fire. The other knights have set up different small campsites away from Arabella to look for any oncoming danger.
Severus sits across from Arabella and rests his back against the tree letting out a large sigh.
"What bothers you, Severus? Is this adventure already wearing you down?" Arabella asks as she shifts her body to see him better. Severus shifts his body in a rather uncomfortable manner. His eyes have trouble making eye contact with her.
   "I...have my doubts about this adventure. I just do not know how meeting your father will go. I mean he has been gone for so long that it is hard to say that he is the same man as before. It has been so long since he left our kingdom that I wonder if he is even alive," He leans forward and turns the meat over.
   "I understand your concern Severus, but we must be hopeful about this. If there is anyone my father would have wanted to see I would hope it would be me. We must behave faith that all will go well," she wraps a blanket around herself more.
    Severus turns the meet over with his knife inspecting every part of it. He takes a piece of the meat and lays it on a plate for Arabella.
   "It meat is done, Princess. I think you will enjoy it," He says as he hands her the plate smiling at her.
   "Thank you, dear Severus, my mother chose well when picking you like my bodyguard," she slowly eats away at the meat enjoying every bite.
The two of them ate in silence until their share of the meat is gone.
Arabella wraps herself up within the blanket and closes her eyes. Darkness devours her mind as she leaves the physical realm and travels to the dimension of dreams.
The next morning the sun slowly climbs its way up in the sky spreading its light upon the whole forest. Arabella dresses in more casual clothes to help blend in. Severus relights the campfire and rubs his hands near it. Arabella steps towards the fire and puts her hands on it.
   "Did you sleep well, Arabella?" Severus asks as he sharpens his sword.
   "I slept well enough. Typically I would have preferred to have a tent to sleep in but given the situation of our journey that would have only slowed us down," she flips her hair back straightening it so that it flows past her shoulders.
The other knights' charge through the forest on top of their horses. They come to a dead stop in front of Arabella and Severus.
"What is our move fair Princess?" One of the knights asks.
   Arabella climbs on top of Equidor and gets him ready.
   "Now we ride off. We have much to do," she kicks her Equidor and begins to move again. They move quickly and stealthily following the map as best as they can while avoiding any potential danger. So far their journey is well as they had hoped. After a few hours, they finally reach the end of the forest. They stop at the end of the path and look outward at the castle that stands in front of them. After a day and a half, they finally reached their destination-Dracon's castles. 
   The huge castle looks enormous with large towers that sit high above the kingdom. His castle covers 596,000 square feet with a 45ft tall brick wall. This castle is one of the biggest castles in the world, it matches Dracons' ego. 
   Severus lets out a long sigh before saying "Are you sure that you want to do this? This is King Dracon we are talking about. The man's ego is so big that I cannot even fathom how his castle keeps it contained," Arabella keeps her gaze strictly on the castle.
   "I am aware of the tales of how big his ego is since he took over asking. I am not worried about him attempting to touch me in any way. I am here for my father. I do not wish to negotiate with him at this time. In a later time I will negotiate with him at a later time," she says as she looks at the castle windows. She then takes a look at Severus noticing that he is still in his armor.
   "Dear Severus, shouldn't you be in more casual clothing? If you are dressed like this they will notice your authority. Did you forget to bring a different outfit?" He laughs a bit and looks back at her meeting her eyes with his.
   "Oh, Arabella you think too little of me. I planned on stealing one of the natives' clothing to blend in," he says with a devilish smirk.
"What shall you have us do Princess Arabella? " one of the knights asks from behind them. Arabella turns around to face the others.
"You four will stay hidden here while Severus and I look for my father," she puts her hood up armchair tucks her hair behind his long hair. The knights pull out a map and discuss where they will set up their camping spots.
Severus and Arabella sneak their way to the castle grounds. They see a civilian sitting on a bench with a large black bush behind him. Severus sneaks up and pulls the guy behind the bush and knocks him out instantly. He quickly puts the man's outfit on and hides his body in the woods behind the castle.
   The two of them walk to the front of the castle where they enter the grounds dressed as regular citizens. A wave of paranoia flows through Arabella's body as she fears being pointed out. They stick to each other and attempt to blend in with a crowd of people. The crowd of people leads them to a small market with several outdoor shops set up. Surely her father would be here talking to the people to earn their respect. They look around the various shops being cautious to not miss anyone.
   "I am starting to get the feeling that your father is not here. We probably would have seen him by now," Severus quietly says to his Princess.
   "Even if he is not here it is still worth looking around just to be sure," She continues to look at every single person she can without trying to look suspicious.
   They reach the end of the shops with no sight of her father all at. Disappointment fills Arabella as she had hoped that she would have seen her father.
   "Perhaps he is elsewhere in this Kingdom. We should keep looking for him. I am not ready to give up just yet," she says as they turn around walking towards the entrance gate. Suddenly the crowd stops moving and creates a pathway in front of the castle gate. Two knights pull the gates open allowing a ground of knights on horses through. The horses stop in front of the castle door allowing the knights to step onto the ground and greet their people. In the middle of the ground sits their king on top of his horse. King Dracon steps off of his horse and takes off his helmet. He holds it by his side and greets his citizens.
Yet there is something is off about him in this instance. His smile does not seem genuine for it seems to be fake. His thick black beard covers his big mouth with only his white shiny teeth peaking their way through the hairs. Dracons' hair curls his way down to his shoulders covering his shoulder pads. His statue towers above the other knights as if to add to his level of authority.
Arabella keeps herself hidden among the crowd not wanting to risk being seen by King Dracon. Severus and Arabella keep their heads low and stand behind the fabric wall of one of the shops. Severus leans in slowly as if he does not want to make any noise despite most of the crowd cheering for him.
"Well, that could be a problem. Let us hope he does not plan on staying out here for too long," Severus whispers to the princess.
   "Do not worry dear Severus. He cannot touch me despite how bad he may want to. I would not worry too much about him. Fear will only slow us down," she does not even look at him while saying this.
Dracon makes his way into the castle itself as the knights close the doors behind him. The crowd goes back to their normal behavior as if the King had not come through. Arabella and Severus relax as they carry on their search. Severus stops and turns to Arabella.
   "I think we should leave. I do not feel comfortable with you being here. I am worried you will be noticed. We should leave now," he holds her shoulders gently and looks her in the eyes.
   "Severus, even if he finds out I am here he can only converse with me. It is not like he can lock me up. Now I wish to speak no further about this for we will gain distance from the castle," She tells him as she shakes his hands off of her and walks towards the gate. Suddenly two guards come from behind the gate wall with their swords ready to attack. Arabella and Severus quickly turn around to try to escape but they are quickly blocked by three more guards. One of the knights gets off of his horse and unrolls a scroll from his belt.
   "Princess Arabella, By the decree of King Dracon himself,  you are hereby commanded to speak with him immediately. We will escort you to him!" The knight speaks with a loud booming voice as if he is trying to be intimidating. His act brings amusement to Arabella making her smirk.
"Fine, I will meet with your King but he will do nothing else with me other than converse," she keeps her head held high stance strong. Severus slowly moves a dagger from his belt to the inside of his sleeve ready to strike.
"King Dracon only wishes to talk. You and your bodyguard will not be harmed unless the king feels threatened enough by your presence. Now then, we will escort you to him!" He motions for the guards to move. They point their swords at Arabella and Severus forcing them to move towards the castle door. Severus keeps quiet as there is nothing he can say to fix this situation for they are not even supposed to be at this kingdom unannounced.
Two knights guarding the door grab the handles and pull the doors open outwards. As the group enters the castle Arabella turns her head to notice the knights closing up the castle doors behind them. They walk down a hill with a row of knight statues on both sides of the hall. Lanterns are stations on both sides of the statues illuminating the stone hallway. As they travel through the castle Arabella takes note of the high-end golden statues and exotic chandeliers spread through the different rooms. Several portraits of King Dracon can be seen on various parts of the walls.
After what felt like an eternity they reach the door that leads to the King's throne room. Arabella takes a deep breath and straightens out with her hands. She notices that that Severus is looking nervous himself. While they have never met King Dracon, the two of them have heard stories about the evil he can be. The knights push them into the room where King Dracon sits on his throne.
King Dracon sits on his throne with an evil loom on his face with his arms on his armrests. It is as though he is not pleased with this meeting with the princess. Despite this meeting, Arabella is hoping that King Dracon has an idea of where her father is. That is the only thing that she wants to concern herself with. Her plan of world domination can wait till she has found her father.
   Arabella and Severus find themselves standing in front of the King. He looks down upon them from his chair and gives a devilish grin on his face. He is going to enjoy this meeting.