Prolouge
The forest was dark and gloomy as Anaïs stalked her prey. Her shining long black hair swished as she walked, her piercing green eyes scanned the forest for any signs of disruption. Her face was set hard, broad shoulders held high, she was a tall girl much taller than any her age, taller than her whole village even. Her body was one of a warrior, not a whisker of cowardliness in her colossal beast of a body.
A whole universe away was a second warrior on an almost identical mission. Claude Aqua swung his gigantic broadsword as he galloped through the black night on his dappled stallion. He was tall and heavily built like the true swords master he had become, his sapphire blue eyes shone demonstrating his extreme intelligence, his muscular body fought for freedom against his tight cloak and all the time Claude did not stop watching, he saw everything missing not even a slight sway of branches in the thick canopy above him.
Chapter 1
The heavy castle doors slammed shut with a ‘crash’ that made the whole castle shudder. In slipped the crown princesses private assassin. “Where have you been” says the Princess with a know it all attitude, “Out hunting, is there something wrong your Majesty” speaks Anaïs with her sarcastic ‘What am I needed for this time’ speech, “Ha ha, don’t use that attitude, did you remember what we spoke about this morning? I wish to look the finest in the kingdom and no one will out shine me, not even you” declares the Princess while calming herself down. “Why, why, why am I the Crowned Princesses personal assassin, when there are so many others, is it just because I am the deadliest or is it because I am a woman?” whispers Anaïs with anger raging through her body. “It is because of both that you are my assassin. I would not have the most deadly male assassin in my chambers, you’re lucky you are allowed in yourself. It is a great honour to serve royal bloods, so don’t get a temper with me” says the Princess with pride, while Anaïs storms out.
§§§§
When Anaïs awakes form her light sleep she continues her daily routines, like braiding her hair and going for a run around the castle to ensure that the walls are unharmed and everything is in place. After her run she will bathe, dress into her normal assassin’s cloak, boots and pants, re-braid her black hair, make her bed and eat breakfast. After completing her chores around her room she heads to the stables to muck out her black mares stable, feed her new hay and retrieve her fresh water. She will brush the mare down clean her hooves and inspect her to confirm that there is nothing wrong.
Anaïs continues her day by visiting the Princess to retrieve any new missions and if not heading down to the kitchens to ensure they have enough meat for the day and he next morning. Anaïs goes hunting for wild deer, bores, duck and other well eaten meat animals using her favourite weapon, her bow. In one swift move she is able to strike a deer dead with one shot, before the deer even notices what is happening. Anaïs will always return to her castle with a least three to four kills hung over her horse’s rump for the servants to collect and carry away to the kitchen. Every Tuesday and Friday the King and Queen call on the assassin Anaïs for her weekly report and like normal they are always the same. Taxes accounted for, servants paid, food supplier’s ready, mission completed and guards at the right posts but this morning the King and Queen didn’t call for Anaïs and neither did the Princess. Anaïs began to worry until she found a letter in her chamber stating that the royal family are away on a picnic with their finest guards watching and will return home soon to here the reports.
Once the note has been examined by her eyes a few times and all words written have been taken in Anaïs decides that she will go to the training room to exercise and be certain that her body will be ready for the next mission the King, Queen or Princess throws at her and to unsure her enemies will run away with fear when they see her. But she highly believes any of the assassins or Princes will back down when they face her because she is only a girls and they are men who will always win, but then again she has her ways.
§§§§
Anaïs slammed her chamber door so hard that the windows nearly shattered into nothing. With her attitude in such a way the servants that were in her room, went running with fear through the back exit. “Sooks” screams Anaïs after the servants left. Anaïs stops dead in the middle of the floor when she sees a little box with a rose and card. With joy and excitement she jumps to the read the card. “Dear Anaïs tomorrow is your day off and I decided to swap days with another guard so we can spend the day together. Please meet me at the palace gates around eight o’clock. We can agree about what to do after we are together – lots of love Stephan” declares Anaïs
§§§§
“Morning your Majesty. Is there anything you would wish for before I leave for my day off” says Anaïs with bliss and delight, “No Anaïs there is nothing I need completed? Make sure your day with Stephan goes well, because if I were you I would treasure him. If he wasn’t a guard but a Prince I would choose him for myself” wishes the Princess as she speaks. Before the Princess says another word Anaïs is jumping with joy down the hall, ready to burst through the doors and cuddle into Stephan’s arms. “Hello Anaïs how are you today” Stephan pronounces as Anaïs is already rapping her arms around him and taking in his scent. “Good now let’s get the hell out of this place before I scream my head off” Anaïs speaks with pleasure.
Once Stephan and Anaïs are far way form the castle they tell each other about what has happened in the castle lately, like who is new to the household, who has left the palace, what the King and Queen have demanded and what happened last night. After they finished explaining their side of the story they begin to hunt. In one swift move Anaïs draws out her bow and lets it loses on a poor deer that has been caught in a net further down the river. She cuts the rope from around the deer’s foot and swings the deer over her broad shoulders. Unlike Anaïs, Stephan is a clumsy guard; he moves with no care and is as loud as an elephant. Blood is slowly trickling down from the deer’s head and onto Anaïs’s favourite dark blue cloak she wears a few days before a secret mission to indicate to Stephan without a word that she will be leaving for a while and might never come back alive. Shortly after the deer was killed Anaïs and Stephan headed back to the castle knowing this would be their final goodbye.
“Well I guess this is it” Stephan whispers with sadness clouding his eyes, “Yes Stephan. Look don’t worry I have completed every mission asked and always come back. Ok” Anaïs is nearly crying now. They kiss passionately until they can’t breathe and before they depart they quickly hug and kiss only softly this time as if not to be seen. “Goodbye” they say to each other as they slowly, mostly definitely walk away believing this will be the last time they ever depart each other alive and the last time they may ever see each other again, Stephan is stopped dead in his tracks. “Your Majesty” Stephan speaks with horror now, “Anaïs, will you come with me. I have very important matters that need to be discussed, where no other will over hear us. Good day Stephan I hope all is well” the queen speaks with love and passion, “Yes. Your Majesty” Stephan replies without adding ‘What is so important’ that Anaïs and you need to talk without anyone overhearing, it can’t be that important can it’. But before he has a chance to say another word the Queen and her daughter’s assassin are at the edge of the forest, about to walk straight in.
“You understand the consequence of this mission I am sending you on, right” the queens speaks softly as if she cared for the assassin, “Yes your majesty I understand, but may I ask something” the assassin doesn’t sound threatening to the queen, just afraid for the queen in ways you can’t explain. “Yes, you may ask me as many question as you want. I may very well be the death of you so go ahead ask” the queen speaks slowly as if she should be guilty for something. “Ok, I have wanted to know a few things for a while now so here is goes. Firstly why does this mission mean so much and how could it be the death of me? secondly why was this mission appointed to me? And lastly what are you so afraid of?” Anaïs speaks with pride as if she were the queen not the other way around. “You will find out those answers when you reach your destination but I’m afraid of losing those who I am close to and who loyal, people who believe in what is right and still choose to fight for it no matter what will happen to them. And I mean you as well” the queen I’m afraid is about to cry.
While Anaïs prepares herself to leave the (insert earth kingdom name) kingdom, she must arrange someone who will be loyal and trustworthy towards the princess to serve as her assassin while she herself is on a deadly mission for the queen in which she believe she may not live for to see the end. Unlike most royal families in the other kingdom the King and Queen have decided that they will, publicly send Anaïs on the mission but only her and the Queen know what truly awaits her once she leaves the Earth Kingdom.
§§§§
As the assassin Anaïs gallops along the dirt road riding her black as night mare she looks over her shoulder to find the Queen following on a white stallion along with a crumbled paper in her hand. “Stop” cries the Queen, “please stop” she repeats and the assassin slides her mare to a wonderful stop without effort. “You forgot to collect this from me. You will need this, oh and Stephan gave this to me to give to you” the queen says catching her breadth, “Thank you very much Your Majesty, I will continue on the road now. I wish you all the luck at the castle” Anaïs states with-out hesitation and picks up the papers form the queen’s hand to continue down the road she must head.
As the night begins to fall black she unsaddles her mare and strips down into clothing that she is able to swim in. Anaïs and her mare move smoothly as if not to disturb the water as they stride into the warmth of the water and mud combined. As the sensation runs through her blood Anaïs and her mare truly become one as they whirl from side to side of the clear as glass water with many little creatures of all shapes and sizes, colours and tones part for the horse and rider who will continue through. By the means of mankind both horse and rider emerge from the water’s edge like they did not even enter the water itself. Anaïs and her mare appear to be untouched by the water, with only tiny droplets of the shimmering crystal like water speckles skid down their bodies.
As the glistening flames of the open camp fire were lively and extravagant the black mare with the most beautiful markings ever seen and well-presented body slept closely to the open flames not even filching at the heat of the fire. Anaïs would have trouble sleeping that night wondering about what would occur in the castle and how Stephan and her Majesty would be holding up but most importantly the direct orders of the mission waiting ahead. Would these next few months become longer or will they fly by like all the other missions and orders have to be adjusted, will she change them. “I will read the letter tomorrow” Anaïs whispers to her mare.
Chapter 2
Twang…
An arrow embedded itself in a tall oak tree. “Damn that was so close” came the mutter of the crown prince Claude as the speckled deer he had been hunting made it’s get-away. Why could he never get his archery skills as refined as his swordsman-ship. Using a sword would have been so much easier had the deer not been so far away, and well apart from the fact that he would never be able to come close enough to use his sword.
“Sigh” So much was expected of him, it just wasn’t fair. “Oh Claude don’t get so worked up about it, you only started learning last month. No-one can be expected to hit the target every time after only one month of training. Don’t forget I started learning when I was 6 and I’m still not perfect!” came the tender voice of Claude’s eldest cousin Arobyn. Claude just turned to his cousin looked at him and said “dearest Arobyn, your advice is so correct for a normal man but I am the crown prince, son of the king of Aqua, it’s not the same” and his handsome face echoed the sadness he felt held tight in his massive heart.
“We should head back soon so we can prepare for the royal banquet tonight, you know what your father will say if we’re late” it was Arobyn again, he was always correct, always one step ahead of Claude and this annoyed him. Once when Claude was young he had tried to outsmart his cousin and Arobyn had figured out what he was doing after only one word and had fought back. In the end he had definitely both outsmarted and confused his 6 year old cousin so much that he had tears in his eyes. Everyone but Claude had thought this had been the most hilarious thing and had laughed so hard they were holding their stomachs as they rolled around giggling, chuckling or full on laughing their heads right off!
All this had gone through Claude’s head in under a second and Arobyn had noticed nothing so pretending that nothing had ever taken place in his head Claude replied “as usual dearest cousin you are of course most definitely correct, we must leave at once” and Arobyn signalled for the guards to bring forward the two stallions for the cousins to mount. In seconds the nifty Arobyn was atop his mini white stallion which Claude had personally nicknamed Minnie! It took Claude longer to heft his muscular body atop his towering dappled stallion. “Last one to the castle is a rotten egg” called Arobyn as he galloped off on Minnie. Claude smiled; this was more his style and his stallion Speckie took off catching and taking over Arobyn and Minnie in less than a second.
Now it was Arobyn’s turn to feel annoyed and insignificant. By the time Arobyn reached the castle stables Speckie was already unsaddled and away and Claude no-where to be seen. “Where is that devil” he shook his head and frowned. He started off toward his chambers to begin preparing for the royal banquet which was to take place that night. He was partway to his rooms when out of a cupboard popped his youngest cousin Belle, “If you’re looking for Claudie he went that way” she giggled using the pet name she often called her oldest brother, “he was laughing, and I thought it was hilarious” she giggled. Arobyn smiled and shook his head and headed in the direction of which Belle had indicated her brother had gone.
§§§§§
Claude was rushing; the banquet began in half an hour and he hadn’t decided what to wear yet. “Servant” he called. “I need assistance” and immediately a team of servants rushed in. “Your majesty?” questioned a young female. “I need an outfit for the banquet quick-smart” he said feeling bad for the girl who had to rush around after him, “well your majesty you have your royal crowning outfit, your birthday outfit or your royal finery, it is up to you to choose” spoke the servant as she pulled out the garments that she had spoken of. Claude smiled as he saw his three best garments laid out before him. His eyes scanned past the first two and stopped at the last one, his royal finery including his spectacular red cloak, his long silver suit and crimson tie, it also included his stunning silver crown embedded with sapphires as a representation of his kingdom.
The young servant girl saw him smiling at his royal finery and spoke. “It seems you choose the royal finery your majesty, am I correct?” she asked. “Oh yes thank you, your help is much appreciated, you are dismissed” he smiled as she walked away, oh how he loved that servant. It seemed nothing in his life could ever go correct Rosemary- the servant girl –was the love of his life but was so far out of reach, his father would kill him before he gave permission for his son the crown prince to marry a lowly servant such as Rosemary. It was not fair at all; Claude would rather be a peasant because peasants didn’t have such high expectations as he did and they could love and marry who-ever they wished to. Many people wished to be royal but Claude wished the exact opposite, being royalty was no-where near as fun as everyone thought it to be.
§§§§§
The banquet was loud and boisterous like the usual Aqua feast but at the same time had a very different feel to it. Claude had a slight suspicion that it might have been because of the extra royalty present. Suddenly the great hall came to an astonishing silence as in walked the King and Queen of Aqua with the King and Queen of Naturae just behind them. Claude’s father the King then spoke, his booming voice echoing around the great hall like a bush fire on a hot and windy day. “Let the dance begin!”
As Crown Prince it was Claude’s job to welcome all the guests but not in the usual way, his father had told Claude to dance with all the females and introduce himself to all the men. So his quest began and off whirled Claude to dance with the first lady he saw. This lucky lady happened to be the youngest Princess of Naturae Poltura. As he danced with this young and free-willed princess he supposed that she would grow up to be one of Elementa’s finest women. Even now she was beautiful in her own special way. As the night went on he often looked over seeing her long billowing black hair and sparkling green eyes and couldn’t stop staring.
After spinning around the dance floor with what felt like hundreds of women four hours had passed and the Queen of Naturae was finally out of people to dance with so Claude struck this as an opportunity. All night he had wanted to find more out about this mysterious Queen and now was his first opportunity, he just couldn’t miss this. He spun towards the beautiful queen whose black hair was piled high on top of her tan face. Her eyes were so similar to her daughters but in a way they were more intense, wiser and stronger than Polura’s eyes.
His dance with the Queen of Naturae was the best dance he had had all night. Her whole body glowed with wisdom and strength but at the same time with freedom, her ruling wasn’t at all like his parents. For his father being the king had made him lose his freedom while it seemed that she had gained more. The Naturae kingdom was one surrounded by a veil of mystery and was hidden from all the rest of Elementa; this gave it a separate feel like it was a whole different continent.
Then suddenly the dance was over and she disappeared, all he had felt went away with her. The king of Aqua got up from his seat on the sapphire blue throne, and pronounced that “food will be served shortly” and as he was saying that hundreds of servants rushed from the back of the great hall carrying with them a gigantic wooden table impacted with images of great oceans and lakes. Once the table was perfectly positioned in the centre of the great wall the servants rushed out again. They were soon back carrying crystal trays piled high with food of all shapes, sizes and colours. The servants brought out more food until the table had absolutely no room left for more food. The King declared the start of the meal and everyone rushed to get a taste of Aqua’s famous feast food, the legends held up. The food was spectacular!
Chapter 3
“Yawn” Anaïs awoke to the sound of chirping birds and to the sight of the rising sun. It was so peaceful, not at all like the bustling castle that she was so used to. It hit her right there and then that she hadn’t spent a night away from the castle since her last extreme mission over a year ago, it was a troubling thought as she probably wouldn’t get back to the castle for at least 4 months. She stretched then dressed before remembering about the mission info from the queen and her letter from dearest Stephan.
It was a tough choice really for which to read first but finally Anaïs decided it best to read her mission debriefing before her letter so she unfolded the paper and read to herself, “Dearest Anaïs this mission is dangerous in many ways but not only physically this mission will test your inner strength, many challenges will be faced some physical some mental. This mission is not suited for anyone but you, no-one but you could pass the first stage let alone complete the many stages that make up this mission. This mission is crucial to the whole of Elementa, if you fail Elementa falls into the hands of an unknown and so far unconquerable force. Not a single citizen will live through the invasion of this force so it is in your best interest to complete this quest. To begin you will only know of what is expected of you in the first stage. For the first stage to be completed you must hunt down the oldest riddle known to Elementa, the riddle that was created by the first inhabitant of our land the magical Prim Genitus. It was she who gave birth to the 5 magical founders- Aqua Genitus, Naturae Genitus, Terra Genitus, Ignis Genitus and Aeris Genitus they then founded the 5 kingdoms, which were later named after them. They also passed on the powers that their creator had given them, Aqua passed on the elemental powers of water, Naturae the elemental powers of nature, Terra the elemental powers of earth, Ignis the elemental powers of fire and Aeris the elemental powers of air.”
Anaïs stopped to catch her breath, it seemed her mission was a little more than the average assassination that she was normally handed, this mission sounded like it actually mattered. She took a deep breath and kept reading. “Prim created the land upon which we now live, she created the magic that many of us have in our blood, she created our founders, she created everything we need to survive and she also created two riddles. One riddle was the riddle of creation and was passed down the lines of the Naturae heirs, the other was a riddle that no-one ever saw, instead she passed information about the riddle down the lines of the Terra heirs. I currently have ownership of this information and it insists that the riddle will one day save Elementa from invasion, it also says that the earth heir with this information would be sent a sign when the riddle had to be found and that then it was their choice for whom to send to uncover the riddle. Less than 2 weeks ago I had a dream in which an angel came to me saying that it is time for the riddle to be uncovered or else Elementa will be no more. Then the dream was over. I gave myself a week to mull over the dream before deciding to send you. As soon as I as made up my mind I knew I had made the right choice, immediately I had you informed that you had a mission to complete.”
Anaïs was shocked; all this information to take in about the riddles plus the fact that when faced with a crucial choice the queen had chosen her to complete a quest had her completely overwhelmed. Anaïs’ life had never been simple and as an orphan she was often neglected and mistreated. That was of course until the Queen had chosen her to serve as her daughter’s private assassin, this had been until yesterday the uncontested best day of her life. She had felt so important when the Queen of Terra herself had walked into the orphanage asking to see her and she was feeling that same importance now, but this time on an even higher scale. With thoughts of gratitude Anaïs kept reading.
“Now to the bad part, I am sorry to inform you but the information passed to me from my father did not include a location for the riddle so I have no definite idea as to where it is at this current point in time. However I do have a few ideas that may help you find it. First of all there is the possibility of using spiritual guidance like the guidance that told me that it was time for the riddle to be found however to get that kind of spiritual guidance you will need the help of an Aeris citizen. The catch with this is that as you most likely know the Aeris kingdom have cut themselves off from the other 4 kingdoms and have declared war on the Naturae kingdom. I know that you are coming from the Terra kingdom but you have Naturae blood in you, I have never told you this because I wanted to keep you safe, as you can see getting help from Aeris may be difficult. Another option is to visit the oldest surviving descendant of Prim- Minimus Sole. Minimus Sole is Prim’s youngest grandchild, the great great great great great great great great… aunt of King Bruler. Minimus is over 10,350 years old, she has managed to stay alive by using an elixir that she and her husband created to prolong life. Against many people’s beliefs the couple succeeded however unlike they had hoped it didn’t make them stay alive it just made them different in the way that if they died two months later they would be born once again. They were not born as babies though; they were born exactly as they were when they died, just without whatever had killed them.”
This part made Anaïs freeze in astonishment, she had never heard of this elixir before, but she knew she couldn’t stop to wonder. This mission was sounding more and more impossible with each word that she read! So with a both wondrous and worried expression on her beautiful face Anaïs kept on reading. “your third and final option is to try and use the creation riddle to find where this riddle is hidden to do that you will have to convince the Queen of Naturae to show you the riddle. My personal opinion is that this option will be the most difficult as the Naturae Queens have never shown the riddle to anyone not even the king ruling alongside them. If I was embarking on this quest I would choose the first option but you have Naturae blood in you so it will be equally as difficult as the second option. It is your choice entirely. I trust you to make the correct decision Anaïs and to find the riddle before it is too late. You have 1 week to prepare before you must embark, you are welcome in the castle until then. Best of luck - Queen Madchen of Terra“
And that was the end. All three of the options that the Queen had left her with seemed nasty but there were no other options that didn’t end with Elementa being invaded and overtaken so Anaïs decided that she had to succeed, she was determined to save Elementa, maybe then someone would finally tell her who she was and who her parents were if they were still alive because since before she can remember this had been her biggest and most important goal. This was a chance for her to become a hero and heroes often get what they want, so for Anaïs this was a way to achieve her biggest goal!
§§§§§
Anaïs was smiling she had just read Stephan’s letter which proclaimed his immense love to her and she couldn’t stop thinking about his handsome face smiling down at her as she kissed him not wanting to stop. After putting out the fire, brushing down her mare and packing up the few supplies she had with her that night Anaïs pulled her slim body atop her beautiful silky black mare whose coat shone in the morning sun and galloped off to inform her beloved Stephan that she still had a week until she must leave. Anaïs rode for an hour through the shining summer sun her face reflecting the powerful love and happiness that shone in her beating heart. The whole time all she thought about was her love Stephan and how when she returned from her quest they could make love once more, one day they would marry and maybe even share a tiny baby. Anaïs could not tear the picture of them kissing her in a white dress and him in a shining suit from her mind, not that she wanted to!
When Anaïs reached the castle she quickly unsaddled and brushed down Beauty (her mare) before rushing to Stephan’s chambers trying to act casually. This was impossible so in the end she gave up and full on sprinted towards him, not able to wait a moment longer before flinging herself into his arms and kissing him contentedly. At last she was there swinging open his door and barging in then suddenly she stopped. Anaïs stood dead still stunned into silence at the sight of two unexpected people! The people were… Princess Tiea and one of the castle healers. “Wha… Wha… What” She stuttered “what’s happening? Is something wrong?” She looked at Stephan both hurt and puzzled “why are they here?” She gestured towards the Princess and the healer. The healer looked at Anaïs as if she was insane. “I can explain this” put in a frightened and stunned looking Stephan, “but first why are you here; I thought you left for a mission?” His voice sounded different to normal, what was going on? “I just got informed that I had a week before I had to leave I came to see you before I left again” she paused “I thought you’d be happy to know that I had a little longer before I had to go” She was close to tears now, why was he acting like this.
“Anaïs…” It was the Princess but before she could say any more Stephan cut her off. “If you wish I will explain what is happening here. You see I was on guard duty when I saw that her majesty was very pale and looked as though she may be sick, I brought her up here so she would be safe then fetched the healer” As he said this he looked at the healer as if to say, don’t you dare. “Isn’t that right your majesty” The Princess looked at Stephan before replying “you are perfectly correct as usual Stephan” then she said to the healer, “thankyou I must be on my way now” and she exited the room. The healer, her patient gone left too, leaving Anaïs alone with Stephan. For a long time Anaïs just looked at him in disgust, but then she thought about what he had said and came to an agreement in her mind, what he had said made relative sense so she would let him get away with it. She told herself it was just a coincidence that he had found her instead of some other guard; it was all just a coincidence.
After calming herself down she said “let’s pretend that never happened.” At this Stephan smiled and she smiled back then at the same time they both came closer to the other and suddenly the kiss Anaïs had been long awaiting was happening and all other thoughts disappeared. They kissed and kissed and kissed until he pulled away stating that “I had better get back to watch” and left. Then there was one. Anaïs laughed aloud at that thought. As she walked back to her chambers Anaïs smiled but this smile was not as vibrant as the one that had spread across her face as she rode towards her beloved Stephan, this time there was a different picture in her mind, one of Stephan smiling with absolute love on his face but this time at the Princess not her. This picture worried her but she wouldn’t let it ruin her day, not when it wasn’t real instead just part of her imagination.
§§§§§
The next three days passed and she saw Stephan many times and not a single time did he act like he did on that puzzling morning, he was completely normal and she often talked to him, once they even spent all afternoon together in his chambers. That afternoon they talked but only for a fraction of the time, they were too busy kissing for much time to talk. Stephan was so romantic when he was off duty and Anaïs well she was always romantic, she never tired of flirting with the many handsome men around the castle, of course that was all behind her now, she had a boyfriend and a wonderful one at that.
On her last day at the castle Anaïs didn’t see Stephan at all which saddened her but she supposed he must have been on duty with the King or the Queen, when a guard was on royal duty it was non-stop and if they were caught being slack, well let’s just say you’d rather die quickly than go through the captain of the guards cruel punishments. Anaïs was completely packed by 2 in the afternoon so she decided to have a short nap.
When Anaïs awoke there was a note on her desk stating that she should be at Stephan’s chambers by 6:00 dressed appropriately for dinner. This made Anaïs almost jump for joy she called on her maid Camille to get out her best clothing suitable for dinner with her darling Stephan. Out of her ginormous wardrobe Camille found a choice of two garments, one a long flowing emerald dress, a diamond necklace and earing set and striking green high heels. The second garment was short, tight and dark purple it was displayed by Camille with a blue scarf and blue headpiece it was a difficult but she chose the first thinking it was more Stephan’s style.
After almost 2 hours of foundation, mascara, eyeliner, lipstick, eye shadow, blush, hair curling and so much more Anaïs was finally ready to head towards Stephan’s chambers. It was only half past 5 when Anaïs reached his chambers but she was sure he wouldn’t mind, it wasn’t like she was hours early. Better early than late she thought, smiling at the prospect of the upcoming night spent with Stephan. She quietly opened the door hoping to surprise him. Instead it was Anaïs who was surprised; upon opening the door Anaïs saw a smiling princess as well as the same healer as she had seen a week ago. The healer was rubbing an ointment on the princess’ stomach, Anaïs was curious and upset. Why was Tiea once again in Stephan’s rooms? It didn’t make sense. Wanting some answers Anaïs decided to silently listen to what the healer said.
“Your majesty, your baby will be safe as long as you continue to rub this ointment on and take the pills that I prescribed last week.” Said the young healer. This stunned Anaïs, so the Princess was pregnant. She knew something funny was going on with the Princess, she had not been acting as her usual self of late, and this explained it all. Questions answered Anaïs left the room then knocked on the door as though she had only just arrived. Immediately Stephan replied, “Is that you Anaïs? You’re early” and she could hear both the princess and the healer leave through back door. Once they had left Stephan let her in, “ready to go out for an amazing dinner?” He questioned then added “wow! You look spectacular Anaïs” Anaïs smiled and replied “no-where near as stunning as you Stephan” she replied. “Let’s head” he said reaching for her hand.
§§§§§
The night had been spectacular and Anaïs had enjoyed every moment. She was too busy enjoying Stephan’s company to think about the Princess and by the time they got back to the castle she had completely forgotten about her employer’s pregnancy. However once asleep the thoughts of the Princess with children arose in the format of dreams, the dreams then formed into nightmares in which the Princess had hundreds of babies wining and crying and they all looked like… Stephan! This troubled her so much that she woke sweaty and heart beating faster than it had ever beaten before. Anaïs was unable to sleep and in the end she was so puzzled and out of mind that she decided to visit Stephan and ask for the answers she needed to put her mind at piece.
Anaïs opened the door of Stephan’s private chambers not even attempting to muffle the loud, squeak that came as the beautiful wooden door swung open. She was tired and confused so she called out to Stephan. He didn’t answer so she walked into his cozy living room. He was no-where to be seen so she assumed he was asleep, that was to be expected she realised as it was only 2 in the morning and most of the castle was asleep! She walked over to his bed then gasped, freezing in utter despair and torture. Her mouth was wide open but no words came out. Stephan rolled over waking to the sight of the stunned assassin and swore… Anaïs had caught him in bed with Princess Tiea!
Stephan sat up and tears started rolling down the cheeks of Anaïs. She sunk to the floor holding her stomach as thought she might be sick. Stephan bit down hard on his lip, he had really stuffed up now, big time. “I… I… I can explain” he stuttered. Anaïs just looked at him in disgust; she was outraged at the sight before her. Then all of a sudden the wild within her took over and she could no longer contain her rage. Anaïs launched herself at the stuttering guard clawing at him as though she was a tiger devouring her prey. He screamed in absolute horror at the crazed assassin and the Princess awoke, in one look she could see what had happened. Now she too swore… Anaïs had discovered their relationship; the Princess knew that this couldn’t end well.
Impressum
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 21.03.2016
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Thanks to Rhiannon for helping plan the book and to Erin for reading the draft copies.