Hue - The Kingdom of Dahlia

Eight - When in Quince

Quince has not changed one bit. The last time I've been here was when I was around eleven years old and King Ethan had just gotten married to his third Queen. Seeing him made me realize how lucky I was to have both my Father and Mother as constants in my life. King Ethan seemed like a womanizer but the real story was much more tragic than it seemed.

His first Queen was Queen Geraldine, a Blue from Quince. She was the Mother of Damian. She was the one he truly loved. However, when Damian was only eight, Blacks attacked the palace since they wanted Quince to stop the redevelopment of an area downtown which caused people to lose their squatter homes. The rebels took the life of Queen Geraldine at that time.

His second wife was a handful. All she did was spend the fortune of Quince for her own interests. He married her for political purposes and did not love her at all. They did not even bear any children. She was Queen Beatrice who was once a princess of the dying Kingdom of Calla which was currently non-existent. They announced their royal divorce after less than two years of marriage.

Luckily, the King had another shot at love and found the beautiful and kind Sarah Williams. She was a Red and worked as Damian's personal teacher.Damian was really fond of her as well. She became the third Queen of Quince and is a very active one concerning charity and education for the less fortunate. I heard she also had something to do with the interior of the beautiful castle we were in.

"Wow! Ms. Swan! There are princesses in the castle!" Little Prince Benjamin cheered as he ran towards us while we stood by the entrance of the palace.

He was Queen Sarah's six year old son and Damian's half-brother. It was my first time meeting him since he wasn't allowed outside of the palace yet.

"You must be Prince Ben." Piper bent to greet the brown haired stud. I just stood and stroked his head.

"He looks so much like your beloved Prince." Levi whispered to my ear.

"I know right?" I whispered back as I turned to face him.

"Your Highness!" A young maid around nineteen came walking fast towards Prince Ben.

She was an average looking girl with her brunette hair tied to a bun. One can tell that she was a really skinny girl beneath her uniform. Once she arrived, she stood behind Prince Ben and curtsied to us with a smile.

"Did the little prince welcome the pretty princesses like we practiced?" She said to him in a soft voice but enough for us to hear. His little eyes brightened up as he greeted us.

"Welcome to the Kingdom of Quince, Princesses Audrey and Piper of Dahlia! I hope you enjoy your stay." He recited with a bow to which Ms. Swan gave him a little clap.

The picture of him being a cute little gentleman really brought wide grins on mine and Piper's faces. We never really meet children around the castle. When Prince Ben left to his room, the lady we assumed was Ms. Swan then turned to greet us as well.

"Their Majesties have been so busy lately and they deeply apologize that they couldn't come welcome you personally." Ms. Swan said with her eyes lowered to show respect.

"If I may, I would like to show your highnesses to your rooms. We were assigned to attend to your needs so please do ask if you ever need anything." She continued referring to the rest of the staff who escorted us as Piper, Gordon, Levi and I were walking towards the palace lobby.

We finally reached our rooms after given a little tour around the hallway we passed. I saw that there was a guard right outside my room. Levi had to protect me from the same place like always but he never had anyone with him before. It's good that he wasn't alone for a change. Piper's room was right beside mine and she had a guard on top of Gordon, too. She went in ahead with
another maid.