Fort Callibus (IN HEAVY REPAIR)

Chapter 1

Fort Callibus has always been my home. It is my safe haven, my house of treasures. The thick castle walls have always been a fortress to me, a barrier letting me know that when I was in here, I was always going to be safe. Other than the reassurance that it gives me, the Fort is also provides other things. It provides me with a distraction. The beauty of the castle is beyond words. Thick velvet curtains that keep out sickeningly bright sun light, mahogany, maple, and deep cherry woods that glide like silk under your fingers, dark, thick carpets that shoot tingles of heat up your spine…what more can you ask for? Fort Callibus is my stronghold. I have lived here all of my life. I know every hallway, every crack, and every chip in the wall from a lifetime of stories and appearances. This place is my own. It's all I've ever known.

Until now.

Fort Callibus is changing, and not for the better. The thick velvet curtains are being torn down, replaced by thin, and disgustingly smooth crimson red ones. The warm carpet stripped from the floor, icy black tiles in its place. My home is becoming less of a home and more of a dungeon.

But the worst of all assaults to my beautiful Fort is the increase in people. No, I don’t have visitors. No, they are not friends of mine. They are undoubtedly bad people. Though I can never put my finger on it or get it off the tip of my tongue and no matter how polite they are to me, I can always feel their masks. I can always see through the illusion when I try hard enough. These…creatures play with your mind, manipulating it until you can no longer tell what it true or false. They wrap an image around your mind with crooked fingers, the picture they portray lingering until they are gone. And then you feel numb.

Completely and utterly numb.

It’s almost like they stripped you of your morality or you sense of awareness. Things just seem to pass by in a blur, the ground in front of you morphing into a black hole that never swallows you, only licking at your heels with freezing fire. You’ll feel the need to walk faster, to lie down, or maybe to cry out in anger. And then there’s the numbness again. You can’t shake it for a few days. And then you most likely forget.

But I’m smarter than that. I’ve trained my mind to remember; to see past the invisible barrier of their mask. And now I understand everything.

But today my godfather has welcomed in one of the worst offenders. I smelled their scents from upstairs. They were tangy, yet laced with a foul, rotten smell that burned the back of my throat. I followed it, my throat nearly on fire when I finally reached two massive doors. I recognized them as the entrance to my godfather’s conference room.

Securing my hands on both handles, I pushed hard, the door swinging open. The burning sensation died. Inside was a large oval table, almost taking up the width of the room, with sun-crested chairs on all sides. Two men were sitting beside my godfather who stared pointedly at me.

Well then.

"Ah, my good men, this is my god-child, Princess Nami." Titus walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. An uncomfortable weight rested on my heart as I shrugged the scrawny limb off and walked over to the head of the table, taking his place. The chair was warm. They’ve been here for a while.

“Well Titus,” croaked the man on my right, his eyes searching me hungrily. “She sure is a sight.” He grinned in his general direction. “The king’s daughter is more beautiful than the rumors say.”

Titus laughed. “Well, you know what they say, Galen; ‘Only a royal’.” The men laughed, oblivious to my mortified look.

I narrowed my eyes at this so-called ‘Galen’. “What are you doing here?”

The man’s chuckle was slightly defiant. “Well, Princess, I have come to see an old friend.” His gaze shifted to the man across from him, whom I had completely forgotten about. “Me and my companion Coro,” He paused and I turned to look at the other man who nodded slightly at me, a small smile playing on his lips. “are very old friends of your god-father. We knew each other very well in our youth.” Why would he be friends with the likes of these disgusting people? I looked up at Titus who was grinning wildly between the three of us. I rolled my eyes.