Unveiled

~ Chapter 1 ~

With her head down, Naya starts walking to the dining hall, for breakfast, letting the smell of scrambled eggs and pancakes guide her through the castle.

As she arrives, the guards immediately open the doors for her that lead to the dining hall. She scans the hall looking for her siblings. She spots Arthur waving her over to the grandly set table in the far left corner.

Arthur is Naya's other brother. Unlike Jake he has the golden, blonde hair, like Naya and her mother and green eyes, like her father and Naya. No, not at all like Jake, especially since he is the more responsible one between the three of them.

The table is set with fancy plates, and silverware and as she expected, there is a serving tray filled with scrambled eggs, toast and pancakes with blueberries and syrup. Naya smoothes out the folds in her lilac dress and sits down next to Arthur.

No one else is at the table, just the two of them. She looks down at her lap and plays with the white, lace band around her waist.

"What is the matter?" asks Arthur while he dishes a pancake onto her plate. Sometimes Naya forgets how observant he is. She look up at him, his face stern, curious. He has outgrown the childish face she once knew. He looks older, wiser, stronger, though he is only seventeen.

"Nothing, I am just tired," she reply's. Naya knows she can't lie to Arthur, but she still tries it any way. He opens his mouth to speak, but then Jake walks into the hall. His shoulders are back, but his face says everything. He looks the way she feels, tired and nervous.

"What happened?" Naya whisper to Arthur, trying to change the subject before he can pressure her further. He scowls at her. "When you and Jake returned to your rooms after the little stunt you two pulled with the merchants last night, mother and father was waiting for him. I do not entirely know what happened, but I am sure you can fill in the blanks."

Naya turns in her chair, facing Jake again. He would pretty much look like a kicked puppy. If it wasn't for his posture.

"You look like crap." Arthur remarks as Jake sits down. Naya takes a bite of her pancake and looks at Jake with sympathy in her eyes, he smiles a little, barely noticeable. "You know I would really like to know how the two of you" pointing his fork at them, "manage to escape the castle with the guards patrolling twenty-four-seven? I am sure mother and father would love to know that too." Arthur continues, occasionally taking a bite of his scrambled eggs.

By the expression on Jake's face, Naya can see that their parents did ask him that exact question. For some remarkable reason Arthur can hear even the finest sounds. Sometimes she even believes that he might be Fae. Only the Fae have that strong hearing, but he couldn't possibly be. He would be executed if he was, even if he is a prince of Tendora.

"Shut up." Jake snarls quietly and glares at Arthur for a few moments. Naya looks at Jake, if he gave that look for any reasonable person they would be running the other way, but Arthur never turns down from a challenge, not even if Jake is taller, stronger and two years older than him.

Jake breaks his stare and starts eating his breakfast. Naya looks past Jake. Through the window behind him, the sun is shining like the rain from yesterday was just a memory. She just hopes that the entire day would be like this, but that might not be possible.