Chapter 2
The Chosen of a King
Once she crossed over the heavy pine draw bridge Rose shivered, fear and uncertainty coursing through her blood. The stone towering up around her figure was indeed made of black stone, a dull light stealing material that caused her heart to pound all that much faster. Rose drew in a deep, much needed bracing breath. :.Stay calm...this is all just a dream, a horrible horrible nightmare....that’s all this is..:
Rose wished she could believe herself, believe the words she kept thinking over and over to keep herself from panic. But the rough feel of the course rope binding her hands, the sweet scent of the rose in her hair and the noise of the creatures around them made it all to clear that this was no figment of her imagination and all to real, no matter how much she wished it not to be. The foreign tongue the demons spoke so fluently escaped her numb mind at the moment, although she had understood it clearly back in the clearing when they had taken her.
After drawing another deep, calming breath the scent of the rose from the mysterious knight heavy around her, and the understanding was back.
"Make way...make way you slobs this girl is for the King" the odious creatures dragging her along toward what appeared to be the great hall yelled out into the swarming mass surrounding them. The fear came back then :.Meant for the Demon King...? Oh dear...I just wanted a normal birthday is that so much to ask...: a glint of something caught her in her eye and she looked down. There was Zach's ring on her finger, the sight of it, and the memory of the way she had been given the beautiful thing calmed her down enough to understand again. Rose suddenly wanted the lumbering creatures around them to take all the day for certainly spending it out here in the open air was better then ending her journey by entering the formidable, dark keep, even when bound and led.
However, as it often is with such wishes, her wish was in vain for in less than five minutes and all to soon for her, the steps were before her fear made clumsy feet and at the top awaited a sight she could have gone her whole life without seeing again or even once. But she knew with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that this man-creature held sway in her fate, and may even be the King she was being taken to.
As ugly as the other creatures around her were this one was even more so, its face a ooze of pus, green black stuff, its body deformed and warped, its eyes a glinting evil red black. She held back a shiver, refusing to be cowed by such a thing, meeting its shifty gaze head on. A glint of dark, rusted gold upon the things head marked him of importance not only to her but to the things surrounding her stiff body as well. She took in a breath, subtly, inhaling the scent of the rose in her hair and being comforted again, managed to keep meeting the things eyes straight on. :.I hope I come out of this whole.....and I hope I make it back home....: she thought even as the man-creature strode over toward her, its gleaming eyes making her stomach turn.
As Rose stood her ground, her brow breaking out in a cold sweat that slowly crept down her cheek the creature drew nearer, its wide, deformed mouth opening in what Rose could only think of as a smirk. The thing's hand reached out and traced her jaw, her body went taunt and it was all she could do not to flinch. But she held still, her deep emerald eyes steady and showing no flicker of the fear coursing through her veins now.
"Good...the King will be most happy, a perfect girl for the Prince" Rose drew in a sharp breath at his words but acted like she did not understand the words spoken by those around her. The thing took her bonds from the guardsmen holding her and dragged her stumbling feet up the rest of the steps. She regained her balance and somehow, she would never understand later on although she was eternally grateful she had, she entered the hall with all the grace of one of royal blood.
She made a sight for this demon court, her long dark hair hanging in still drying waves down her back, her pale skin, touched with color from the cold and her long walk, her wide emerald eyes regally casting over this crowd, a child of light to be sure, so different from the dark mass surrounding her. The sunlight seemed to follow her in, warming her back and draping over her shoulders like a old friend. She faced the throne, her steps steady as were her eyes until the figure there straightened and then looked straight at her. The things eyes seemed to bore into her and strip her of her bravo but she held her place and refused to back down. An evil smile spread across his, at least she thought it was a his, face. A hand movement brought forth a young man, his hair pure black same as his eyes only laced with silver, who gaze, while it did unsettle her, did not match the cruelty and evil presented in the other one.
He loped down the steps and sized her up with cold eyes, she returned his stare equally, determined not to so much as a hint of fear. He smiled again, this one predatory, a giant cat circling his prey.
"She'll do Father, my thanks"
"She is right here I demand to know what I am to do for..." came her voice, sounding clearly in the dark hall, the sun wrapping around her shoulders again as if her voice had cut a path for it.
"For my bride of course" came the man's smudge reply
"Sorry Prince, but I would rather marry a pig....at least then I would live longer" she replied sweetly, her eyes flashing dangerously with heat and anger. Her words earned her a harsh slap across the face, the mark burning on her fair skin, an ugly bright red against the pale white surrounding it. She almost lost her footing but saved herself and her dignity, and glared at the Prince.
"You would do well to rethink your words and to save your fire for the marriage night" Rose bit down on her lip to keep from saying words sure to have her killed, settling for a cold, icy glare and the words spoken from clenched teeth
"And you would do well to think how much you enjoy your manly 'pleasures'......" she trailed off, letting him think what he may. He singled to two guardsmen who appeared out of what seemed to be thin air.
"Well my lady you can spend time in the tower until you are in a more agreeable temper"
"Which is to say never in my tongue" came her quick reply, the Prince smiled thinly, his patience clearly waning as she was taken from the hall and dragged up a long flight of stairs to be pushed roughly into a room. Thankfully it had a window and she hurried over to it, breathing in the sunshine and clear air, the tears and shaking she had held back in the hall now overwhelming her as she stood in the window, alone for a brief moment in the sunlight.
Rose took down the rose in her hair, gazing into the red depths of it, trying to find a glimmer of hope. Her skin still crawled from the encounter in the hall, and she wanted to be free of this place. A voice whispered into her ear
“Don’t be afraid, just say ….A rose for a rose, a Knight for my plight, I summon here the one to save, and into the darkest night brave,”
Rose looked around her, her eyes searching for someone. When she found only air she bit back a sad sigh and then shrugged her shoulders, she had nothing better to do so she murmured the words. The rose seemed to grow in her hands and then a wind erupted from its center, pooling around the chamber with mighty force. By the time it cleared away and she could see again the stranger from the forest was in the chamber with her.
“My thanks my lady Rose, for freeing me and for calling to me” the man bowed, his eyes raking over her body to make sure she was unhurt. “Now what is going on here?”
“Oh….well the Prince down in the hall says I am to marry him, and I just want to go home….what a perfectly horrible birthday….” The man, Lier, Rose remembered, smiled at her.
“There is no need to worry I will get you back home soon enough…..” footsteps sounded on the stair and he frowned “but it appears I must go for now…”
He walked toward her and Rose, wary after the day she had had so far took a step back. He smiled gently, understanding and not insulted. He reached for her and pulled her to him, kissing her softly on her lips. Rose responded kissing him back, her heart in her throat. Then without warning he vanished and the rose in her hands disappeared to be replaced this time by a pink one tied around her neck. She reached up to touch it softly, her eyes soft with surprise and wishes.
The door to her chamber flew open then, admitting the Prince, he smiled, feral, intending to frighten her but she did not shrink from him as before, with the warm memory of Lier’s lips on hers she was able to face the glowering Dark Prince.
“Now what’s your name girl?” he barked at her
“Rose…..” came her soft reply “And what is yours?”
“Prince Kairo to you…”
“Well Kairo you really must improve on that temper of yours, it might get you into trouble some day….” The Prince’s face began an ugly mask, wiping away the appealing features that only masked the ugliness within.
“You will speak when spoken to, now you will let Liski dress you for the banquet and you will attend at my side” with that he whirled on his heel and stalked out of the chamber. Rose held back her urge to laugh, for all her fear early now he seemed like a cowardly bully indeed.
Rose sighed after she stopped laughing, knowing that even if the Prince no longer scared her, his father was sure to still have her shaking with shivers. She looked up when a girl entered the room. The young woman smiled at her, her eyes quiet and weary, and what confused Rose was that she appeared to be human, like herself. The girl came toward her, a length of dark blood red cloth in her arms.
“Greeting’s my lady, I am here to assist you in dressing…” the girl murmured her eyes downcast. Rose nodded and let the girl remove her top and skirt, but refused to accept the thin underdress and corset in place of her own undergarments. The cloth, a beautifully made dress, fit Rose perfectly, showing off her pale skin to an advantage, her waist seeming thinner than usual, and her hair set off to shine in deep hints of chestnut and auburn. Liski place a cornet around her head, one of silver and a white veil was attached to it.
Once dressed and stubbornly keeping her own shoes on, she allowed the girl to lead her down the steps back into the great hall. She paused on the bottom, her eyes sweeping out across the crowded room, searching for anyone, anyway to escaped from this nightmare. Nothing caught her, only the swarms of demons awaited her and so she stepped off the stairs and walked mutely to the dais, and the head table.
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Submission Name: Falling Roses-Chapter 2
