Darien
Chapter 15- Another Visitor
Serena left. I tried
to finish reading the book to myself, but I could not stop thinking about
her touch. The sweet, gentle caress of a beautiful princess.
It was more than any man could bear, let alone a man who had had no contact
with humans until then. I felt like my emotions were taking over
my mind and my body. It was new to me considering I had never been
partial to whims and fancies before.
For the first time, I realized
how strong my emotions really were for her. I never thought that
I could be won over so easily. I thought it would be near impossible
to fall in love. But Serena had managed to get me to fall in love
and not even realize it. She had gotten to me through my backdoor
after all. Just certainly not in the way I had originally thought.
Oh, she ambushed me all right. But it was not to kill me or make
me move out. She had made it quite impossible to keep living the
way I was living, though. I needed her. Not once a day.
All day. I wanted to marry her.
Then just as fast as I had
fallen in love, I was hit and knocked right down. My loving her was
treason. I could never have her as my own. The Court would
sooner kill me than to have me, a poor boy, marry the Princess of the Moon.
How could I have let myself believe that we could have actually one day
lived together? What I had been worried about happening my whole
life had now happened. I finally met someone whom I wanted to spend
my whole life with and now, in the same moment I fell in love with her,
she was ripped from my grasp.
We had to just stay friends,
which might have been the way it was anyway. After all, I still did
not know how she felt. Did she love me as much as I did her?
Yeah right. The Princess of the Moon... love me. I really didn't
have the option of spending my life with her anyway. But just in
case, the next time I see her, I'll tell her what I have come to realize
I tried to read the rest
of my book, but found it impossible. It wasn't that it was boring,
it was just that I kept thinking about Serena and that beautiful smile.
It wasn't even that I was in love with her anymore. Now the problem
was... well, I guess it's like the old saying, "You don't miss what you
never had." I never had human interaction as part of my life before
now. Therefore, I did not want it or think it essential. But
now that Serena was in my life, I needed someone with me. I found
myself feeling an overwhelming emotion that I had never experienced before.
I think it was...loneliness?
I wonder if Serena would
mind if I came over. After all, she did barge in on me the first
time. But the more important question is how do I get to her?
The palace is large, unfamiliar, and guarded. I knew that's when
a trip to the library was in order. I had read a book awhile back
that contained a palace blueprint. It was the handwritten diary of
Serena's great grandfather. It had not been published for reasons
that someone might try to plan an invasion or an assassination attempt.
It was kept in a hidden safety box behind the librarian's desk.
When I reached the library,
I found the safe. It looked like four bricks. The key, as I
remembered it, was taped under the top desk drawer. I opened the
drawer and sure enough, I found the key when I felt underneath it.
I unlocked the safe and turned the light on the desk on. I flipped
through the pages until I found what I was looking for. It had maps
of the grounds and whom all the chambers were for. I doubted they
were still accurate but I committed the information to memory and set off
for the palace.
I went outside the boundaries
of the center for the first time since the crash. It was a strange
feeling. I was excited, overwhelmed, nervous, and scared all at once.
The path that I had walked on that night had been paved since I last used
it. It was now quite a pleasant walk. However, it was night
and therefore it was rather dark. Luckily, I saw firecrackers up
in the air and knew they were above the palace. I had never seen
fireworks in person that I could remember. It made my walk all the
more enjoyable.
I relished all the natural
beauty of the palace gardens once I reached the open gates. I knew
these gates were more for show because Serena had confessed that they never
closed them. Serena had said there was a huge banquet happening tonight
so I figured I, in my tuxedo, would fit right in. I merely walked
inside. I looked around me. Never in my whole life had I seen
such a gorgeous place. It was both huge and extravagant. I
could hardly believe my eyes. I was certain my jaw hit the floor
at this point. It took me several minutes just to take it all in.
Then I got my wits together and walked on. I passed the room where
the banquet was commencing. I peeked in and saw Queen Serenity.
She looked so much like her daughter. Rather Serena looked like her
mother, but they were both so elegant and refined. I saw Serenity
call one of her servants. She said something to the girl and then
the girl hurried out. She came out the door down from mine and began
ordering another girl.
"The Queen wishes you to
check on Serena. She is ill. Her mother wants to know how she
is."
The second girl started
off down the corridor. Serena's ill? The poor girl! I
then realized that if I followed the servant, I would know where Serena's
quarters were. I followed the girl inconspicuously behind.
I passed many rooms, all big and luxurious. For visiting royalty,
no doubt. I passed two studies, a library, infinitely bigger than
the center's, and the armaments. The armaments?
The servant turned a corner
or two more before ascending a large flight of stairs. Serena's room
was on the second floor of course. Her room would definitely have
a balcony. I did not follow up the stairs until the servant was halfway
down the hall. I was one fourth of the way up when she entered the
room seven doors down to the right. I descended the steps and went
back to the armaments. I decided to give the servant time to get
out.
The armor room was monstrous.
I was flabbergasted. I walked over to a wall with plaques and memorials
of great warriors who had died in wars past. One of them was Serena's
father, Delian, the keeper of Truth and Light. I looked around.
Then I saw something that caught my eye. A sword. There was
a wall full of swords but one in particular had caught my eye. This
would certainly be a more effective weapon than the knife I had.
And I have already committed treason. Why not add thievery to the
list?
I took the sword and the
case and headed down the hall. I saw the servant that had been in
Serena's room coming toward me, so I ducked behind a column. She
walked past me and I ascended the stairs. I went to Serena's room
and opened it. It was beautifully white. Amazing. I crossed
the room to the window. It had the most gorgeous view overlooking
the palace gardens. I walked back into the room just in time to see
Serena come out of her bathroom.
Back
to Chapter 14
Go
to Chapter 16
Mail Cyperian of Cyprus
Back
to Cyperian of Cyprus's Fanfics
Back to
the Moon Palace