Empire of Kingdoms Awakening

Chapter 28

Fox fur grazed her skin. The lining was soft and light, yet warm and comforting.  She brushed her finger across the cotton sheets. She remembered when the queen had it made for her.

The dragons found a skulk of the foxes. Celeste tried her best to help the injured, but none made it more than a week in her care. 

Pained by their loss, Breannelyse turned them into her bedding. At first, Celeste was taken back. She wanted no part of animal harm, but the queen explained that it was a way to remember. To carry them with her forever. 

Shooting upright, Celeste threw her legs over the bed’s edge. Everything around her was still in its rightful place, untouched. The unfinished book rested on the night table beside the chair across from the fireplace. Above a painting that called her forward.

Toes aching from the cold floor, it hurt to walk. Breannelyse and Celeste, so happy in the portrait about the mantle. She hugged herself in the missed comfort of companionship.

She couldn’t stop herself from wondering how Breannelyse had been since Celeste left. Never had she wanted the queen to be alone. Even in disagreements, Celeste made her presence to the queen known. It was hard being isolated.

To the left, her oak bow and arrows leaned against the wall. Sunlight radiated through the balcony entrance beside it. Light as a feather in her hand. “I’ve missed you, old friend.” Not once had she missed a shot. Michael always said it was her best weapon. Always on target.

She placed it back before she stepped into the fresh, hot air. The Courtyard below was empty. She grazed her finger across the smile forming. The blossom tree in the center continued to stand tall after all those years. Bricks outlined it with mulch in the space in between. 

Great memories held dear. Memories are what gave a purpose. A meaning to carry on. If you don’t, then the memories seize to exist.

Laughter. Coming from the thin lips of a brown-haired girl, no more than her sixteenth year of aging. Her chestnut eyes basked in the sunrays, like pools of honey. 

Not very agile, she is struggling to reach another inside of the tree branches. The crunching of branches rang in Celeste’s head as if she were down there herself.

Out of the pink blossoms, the face appeared. Charcoaled hair covered her face, making her emerald eyes glow beneath. If Celeste had a guess, she would say around her eleventh year of aging.

What a time to be young. No rules could stop your mind. As carefree as the wind itself. 

The younger one jumped to the dirt with a thud. She gave the brown-eyed girl a daring smile before she took off running in the opposite direction. The other closely chased her into the castle and disappeared beyond the doorway.

Celeste turned to follow where they went, but was met with a pair of old eyes. “Hukkan.”

The commander smiled, as he hadn’t heard his name in some time. Celeste was the only one who spoke his name. She felt it was a piece of humanity she could give back to him.

“Welcome home, my dear.” His empty tone settled her excitement. Nothing could prepare her for what was to come.

The commander gestured his arm into the hallway. All but eager, she obeyed. 

To her shock, the halls were well lit. She remembered the last time she walked those halls. Dark and gloomy. It made her feel homesick, even though it was her home. It made her long for something more.

The servants were hiding away. They must have known that Celeste had returned and not wanted to be confronted by her. They supported their queen, as they should.