A Story: Part 2

This is the 2nd part to the story (which I don’t have a title to yet) I started writing. Click here for part 1 of the story. This is also for the blog post assignment I have for school.

What were the chances that nothing good would come out of this? Evan thought with a sigh as he collapsed into the plush chair.

“That was a bit cruel,” Rina said, standing by the window. He chuckled and said, “How else was I suppose to find out?” She stood there for a moment and then spoke up.

“Are you going to do it?” A hint of worry was in her voice.

“Do I have a choice?” There was an awkward moment of silence. “Listen Rina, I can’t really decide whether I go or not so…” The summon was from the very top, so he either goes, or he goes against his will. “You have to be careful.” She said, commandly.

“Of course I’ll be careful. What will you ever do without me?” Evan has been taking care of Rina for as long as he could remember. They weren’t actually siblings, but they have live together forever, and treated each other like siblings. “Anyway, don’t you thinks it’s strange?” Evan said, thoughtfully.

“What?”

“That the princess is missing.”

“I suppose it is strange, given that she has no reason for her to leave her palace.” Silence followed, clearly something suspicious was going on inside the palace. It seemed that that was the end of their conversation and they went to the small kitchen to have the soup Rina was making before their visitors had arrived. Evan tried to start another conversation with Rina in order to convince her that everything was going to be fine, but there was only one thing on his mind. If the princess has no reason to leave her rich life then why did she go missing?

Evan has been ready since dawn. Despite wanting to look calm, he was pacing back and forth by the window, continuously peeking outside at the road. Rina was sitting in the plush chair, fidgeting nervously. They have been like this for hours.

“Don’t leave the house when I’m gone.” Evan said bluntly.

“I know, and be careful.” Rina said.

“I already told you I will. What, do you think that he’s gonna turn me into a slave or something?”

“Yes… but not like the slaves that work in the farms or mines. What if he takes control of you, and makes you do bad things?” Rina did have a point. Evan knows that he has a somewhat good control over magic, but does he even have a chance against the king and his shadow magic? He knows that the king’s shadow magic has been passed down through the royal family, but the public knows so little about it. Everyone knows that it can control people, but what was the powers limits?

The clopping of hooves had reached their ears and the inevitable meeting came closer. Rina slowly stood and walked to Evan. She hugged him and quietly said, “Please, don’t do anything stupid.”. Evan made their hug tighter. “I promise I won’t do anything stupid.” he vowed. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and they split apart. “Hide.” Evan whispered. Rina didn’t argue, she only said, “Bye,” and went into the kitchen.

Evan went to the door, took a deep breath, and opened the door. Waiting for him was no doubt a slave. He wore dark plain clothes, with a crown printed on it, marking him as property of the Royal Palace. The slave also had dead, black eyes. “Mr. Evan, I have come to escort you to the palace.” he said in an emotionless voice. Evan stepped out of the house, and closed the door behind him. “Yes, thank you for coming to pick me up,” he said in a somewhat nice voice. Evan doesn’t know the extent of the king’s power. Can he hear through his slaves? Evan thought. He’d rather stay on the king’s good side for as long as possible, and since the king’s powers are unknown, he should be diligent about what he says and does.

After a little reluctance, Evan entered the carriage and it moved into the inner kingdom. The kingdom is mainly divided into 4 main parts. The center of it is the Royal Palace, where the royal family and staff live. The area around it is the Royal Court, where the rich nobles live. The area around the Royal Court is the Peasant Land, where Evan and Rina live. There are also many markets there. The area beyond that is the Work Sector, where the slaves controlled by the king work until death. Nobody is allowed to go inside the Work Sector nor can anyone leave. Guard surround the area, so no one can even get near it.  

After about half an hour later, they had reached the Noble Court. They passed through marble gate with guards flanked on either side, and continued towards the palace. The differences between the Peasant Land and the Noble Court were extreme. The roads were made of smooth pavement here, unlike the old, cracked pavement that Evan is used to. There were also gargantuan houses made of marble that the nobles live in. Most nobles are connected to the royal family in some way. Either they are related to someone who had married a member of the royal family, or they are the families of the advisors of the king. People have it easy here. Evan thought venomously.

Not too long after, they had arrived at the Royal Palace. The guards at the large gate allowed them to enter, and the carriage followed the road through a garden filled with rare magical flowers. The road led to the courtyard of the quartz and marble palace, and the carriage finally came to a stop at the front of the palace. Evan exited the carriage with caution, and followed a guard to the throne room.

He was so lost in the pondering thoughts of the king that is didn’t absorb much of the palace’s luxuriousness. After many twists and turns through the palace, he had arrived at the entrance to the throne room. The large doors were encrusted with jewels of all colors and seemed to be made of some dark mineral. As he approached the door, he started to sense the magic radiating from the king. Evan’s heart started beating faster with fear. Never has he ever felt magic this strong. No human could ever hold such power. Evan thought ominously, What kind of monster is this man?