Cost of the Crown (UNREVISED VERSION)

Jade

Maria sat on the swing as she adores the flowers that were sparkling under the sunset. The night was fast approaching and she didn't mind.

"The wind seems to be on a happy mood." She closed her eyes as she felt the breeze carry the swing back and forth.

"I don't know... But I agree..." Elise was still trapped in her cage, but she felt a bit of freedom. "You know why I am trapped here?"

"Why? How?" Maria whispered.

"Your mother... She locked me in here..." Elise replied.

"My mother?"

"Yes... When she learned of your abilities from your brother, she was afraid..."

"So Cedric knew about this?" Maria asked.

"I definitely did not know about this." Cedric told Clara inside the throne room.

"Why did my brother not inherit this?" Maria asked as she swung.

"Simply because the moon didn't shine on him when he was born. He was born under the light of the sun." Elise answered.

"What does that have anything to do with it?" Maria was confused as ever.

"The inheritance of powers skip a millennium and your time was the perfect one... If you weren't born on the full moon, maybe your nieces and nephews would had had me." Elise pointed out.

"So you have been alive ever since the Great War of Palentine?" Maria asked. She remembered the story because it was her bedtime story ever since she was born. Her father usually told her the story while he acted it out with his wife.

"Exactly."

"So... The Great War of Palentine was a real thing..."

"Uhuh..."

"Shocking... I thought it was a legend."

"But every legend bears truth."

"How old are you?"

"I have been existing for more than 600 millennia... But I think I'm older than that cause I lost count at my 500th millennia."

"Well, can I call you granny?"

"I maybe old but I don't look like it so shut it!"

Maria giggled and the servants around the secret garden were feeling uneasy again. This was not the first time they noticed that the princess was acting quite strange.

Many mysteries were hidden behind the feud of Madara and the Orient... Secrets that lie beneath the surface of every war.

Only half of the secrets are answered inside the walls of the Orient, the other half lies in the west.

"But why did King Eduard leave the light bearing artifacts here in the Orient?" Cedric asked.

"No one knows, but those who are gifted the wisdom in Madara." Clara replied.

"In Madara?! You mean the west? No person from the Orient ever survived after setting foot into that wretched land." Cedric cursed.

"As if every Madaran who was reported here survived." Clara rolled her eyes.

"Hey! There are some exemptions... Like Madame Cherie for example!" Cedric mentioned. "She's been loyal ever since her kingdom turned against her and her niece, Cassandra."

"Speaking of Cassandra, I have not seen her even before the coronation." Clara raised a brow.

"I saw her only once in the coronation... I wonder where she went." Cedric recalled.

As they spoke, Henry was with Sandra devising a second plan since the first was obviously turned into dust just by the death of Howard. Livette however was going around gathering information about what the king's next move is on Madara.

Livette went from pub to pub looking for clues but what she gained was nonsense bantering about her beauty that she enjoyed hearing but didn't need. She was using her loquaciousness to her advantage.

Henry was with a heavy heart as he thought of a plan. He knew of a way to get the throne easily, but it was against his moral code.

"What do you have in mind Henry?" Sandra asked.

Henry glanced at Sandra as he was filled with mixed emotions. He was conflicted yet his intentions are in the grey area.

"Well?" Sandra asked as she waited for an answer by the window sill.

Henry remained silently seated as he hesitated to tell Sandra what he was thinking of. He didn't want to harm his family... But he wanted the throne. He wanted to find out the truth about the light bearer's artifact. He was aware of the story from his kingdom's perspective, all he wanted was to learn about the other perspective.

Sandra put on a disguise then went to the door, she knew of a plan to manipulate the king. It was a cowardly tactic, but it was the safest.

"Where are you going?" Henry asked the princess.

"To my aunt's house... I'll have the crown in some days." Sandra smirked before leaving.

She walked the streets of the Orient to a boutique that was familiar to all, the Hopkins Boutique.

"I'm home!" She announced as she opened the door for the boutique.

"Oh, Cassandra!" Madame Cherie dropped everything she was doing to meet her niece by the door. "Where have you been?!"

"Um... The king asked me to stay in the castle for a while." Cassandra smiled. She was obviously lying, but since her aunt trusted her enough, she was off the hook.

"Oh... Aunt Cherie, I want to pay my parents a visit..." Cassandra asked. "If that's okay with you..."

Cherie was about to leave Cassandra by the door when she heard her words. She was devastated...

"Why would you want to do that?" Cherie asked as she twitched.

"I want to see my parents... It's been ten years..." Cassandra argued.

"Fine." Cherie lifted her head then glanced at Cassandra. She walked into a room behind the counter, leaving Cassandra.

Cassandra sighed as she concealed her plan. She felt bad for her aunt, but she wanted to prove once more that she is the most eligible for her crown.

Meanwhile, in the castle, a messenger was rushing in with an envelope in hand. It looks important.

"Sire, a letter from the kingdom of Madara."
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Author's note:

This chapter is quite short, with only 985 words... But here's the thing about it. School. That's it.

I have not been able to think about the story because of school. I can't just take out my phone all willy milly so I could write what in my mind was.

So, yeah... This is the shortest but you can look forward to longer chapters in the future.

See yah in the next.

Ps. Thank you readers for putting up with my slow updates.