Rise Up, Stand Together (KingdomCraft Story)

Chapter One- Allies?

(Everything from now on is set 2 years after the events of most of the characters becoming King or Queen, unless I put any flashbacks)

---- Desert Kingdom ----

Shelby's bright yellow eyes closed against the warm surroundings, facing to the sky. The Desert Queen was relaxed in the castle gardens, sitting on one of the two benches, her posture steady and calm. The shadow of the Castle behind her keeping her in the shade to stop her from getting sunburnt, not like she wasn't used to that happening by now. It's very rare for it to rain in the Desert Kingdom, and when it does, a lot of the people see it as a miracle, even Queen Shelby does at times.

Opening one eye, she looked at her surroundings. Lines of bushes, cacti, shrubs, and the ancient Willow tree. There were very few flowers in the castle garden, but Shelby loved every single one of them. She had never seen any more than 4 different flowers in her life since she had never seen anything outside of the kingdom borders. She had to enjoy the little things, and sometimes, the little things could be the best thing you ever see.

Shelby learned this from her mother.

Everything was well for now, just how Shelby liked it. Looking onward to the south, she could faintly see the sand dunes. Nobody had ever let her go out that far on her own, and Shelby was too scared to venture that far from the castle without compony. She had heard about the quicksand. It wasn't uncommon for people to accidently step in it and wait for almost 20 minutes, slowly sinking, before somebody could save them. Shelby never wanted to risk going out there, never alone. Sand dunes were no problem for the Desert Queen though. She had lived here for her entire life so far, of course she had climbed a bunch of sand dunes.

A smile etches as the Queen's lips as she leans back against the white wooden bench, swiping her forehead from some sweat. Of course, she always wore a lot of sun cream, but of course she would still sweat, it was just natural.

The shadow of the Sandstone Castle, gracefully named as Castle Sandshire, stood quiet for a few more moments, before Shelby could hear the echoed sound of footsteps going down the hallway. She didn't open her eyes though, as she wasn't sure if they were coming her, or somewhere else in the castle, that was until the footsteps stopped echoing and began treading through the sand path, allowing Shelby to finally sit up straight and open her eyes.

Turning to her left, she looked at the messenger who had walked into the garden to meet her. She smiles, "Hello there Ferron, what can I help you with?" she asks politely, patting the bench for the messenger to sit down beside her.

He politely nods and sits down next to his Queen. "We received a letter from the Mesa King, your majesty" he says, taking a scroll from his bag and handing it to the Queen.

She nods and takes it from his hands. Untying the light blue ribbon, the kept the scroll rolled up, she flicked her dark red hair behind her and began to unroll the paper, reading it quietly to herself.

Ruler of the Desert,

It is in my best interest, as we are neighbouring kingdoms, for us to meet and talk about a possible ally to each other. I have also sent a letter to the Ruler of the Volcano Kingdom to see if they would be interested in this alliance. As you may know, the Desert and Mesa kingdoms had a tense relationship between us many years ago, and I would like to change that. I would be honoured to meet you at Castle Firestone to speak on these matters. If you would like to speak with me, please send me a letter to let me know that you agree, and we will meet tomorrow. I will make sure that my guards treat you fairly while you are visiting my kingdom. Speak soon.

Sincerely, King Scott of the Mesa Kingdom.

Shelby's body relaxes. She had always been nervous about reading letters that are coming from other kingdoms. She already was Enemies with the Alpine Kingdom, and she couldn't imagine having to battle another kingdom.