Heart of Glass

Chapter 1: The arrival

A few days had passed, Hadley and I had exchanged letters through our familiars, it was a difficult thing to do, but in the end he understood. He told me he would always love me and be there if something were to go wrong. Just reading those words made my heart flutter. However, today was the day I would meet the other 5 princes.

My father had specifically warned me about a few things. The kingdom's of Oceana and Embris don't really have the best relationship so the princes may argue a bit. The last thing he told me was to be very careful around the prince of Darkell. Our magic were total opposites and our kingdoms were also not on the best of terms.

My maids helped me into something nice but casual. I wore a white suit that had gold buttons and a gold tie, the suit had a tail coat that almost reached the floor and I wore black dress shoes. I brushed my thick, long white hair and braided it. I stared at myself in the mirror for a bit before Winnifred, my familiar who was a dove, let out a coo to signal the princes had arrived with their fathers.

I took a deep breath, pushing down any negative emotions I could and stood, making my way down the pearly white, cream, and gold  halls. I could hear voices coming from downstairs in the throne room. I could hear unfamiliar ones and the voices of my siblings and father. Gathering any courage I could I began my descent down the grand stairs. I could now see all the princes, each of them looked unique and different from what I was used to seeing in my own kingdom. However, each of their eyes seemed to be on me. Two of them had unreadable expressions and I assumed they were from the earth kingdom and dark kingdom due to their appearance.

The other three seemed to be astonished by me, once I stepped onto the ballroom floor I bowed to them and their fathers "good afternoon, it's a pleasure to meet all of you" I say sweetly, straightening bmyself as the princes return my bow "it's a pleasure to meet you as well, prince Serell" the prince with blonde hair says, taking my hand and kissing the back of it as he remains bowed, he glances up at me before letting go and straightening up with the other 5. A few seemed annoyed at the other prince's gesture so soon.

I smiled gently as we all turn to look at my father "lunch will be prepared to soon, we shall be dining in the gardens. The maids will show you all to your rooms for the night, the journeys were long and some of you may need to rest. If you need anything just ask" he says, once the formalities were over and done with my little sister Alise smiles at me as everyone left to do their own things.

Oh boy. She walks up to me and I sigh, picking her up. She was quite lite for her age. "What would you like?" I ask with a defeated smile "strawberries!" She exclaimed, a bright innocent smile in her face. My other siblings follow me into the kitchen. We all enjoyed cooking so the chef would always have the kitchen spotless so we could do things easier. I set alise on the side counter, Owin pulls a fresh basket of strawberries that has been picked from the gardens and washed this morning. He takes a kitchen knife and begins chopping off the ends.

"How about we make strawberry cake for desert today as well? I think our guests would enjoy it" Gallieni says, Owen nods in agreement "that's a wonderful idea" he says, giving a few of the strawberries to Alise who munches on them happily. I enjoyed making soups or stews or even pastas sometimes, Gallieni did a lot of baking and making things like cakes and bread, Owin liked working with meat.

I grinned "if we are going to bake let's all change first" I say, washing my hands under the sink. Alise slides off the counter and follows her pale brown haired sister to their rooms, Owin cleaned the knife off before following me up. As we walked through the halls I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched. I had never had this feeling before. It felt strange. Owin didn't seem to notice as he parts from me and disappears into his own room.

I stop at my door, looking down the dark halls before stepping inside, shutting and locking the door before changing into a black button up and black trousers, I didn't wear black often but when I did it made my hair and eyes stick out. I unbraided my hair and instead tied it into a ponytail to keep it out of my face. I
Slid on my gold spectacles, the chains swaying as I adjusted them before turning and making my way back down to the kitchen.

Before I did however, I poked my head into the lounge room where my father sat with the other kings of the realms. I walked over to him, whispering in his ear about our idea. The other rulers stared at me and I could sense the different emotions in the air, there was a bit of tension but other than that they all seemed to be enjoying a nice conversation. My white haired father clasps his hands together when I straighten myself "what a wonderful idea! I'll inform the cook not to worry about bringing any pastries then" he tells me.

I nod and bow to the other kings before leaving the room once more. Once I got down to the kitchen my siblings were already there, getting the tools and ingredients necessary before we got to work, chatting with each other as we worked.

I hear a knock on the threshold and look up from making the frosting. One of the princes, I assumed was from Airis, smiled over at me "what's going on in here if you don't mind me asking?" He questions, running a hand through his long pls blue hair. He seemed familiar, if I recall they all did. I'm more than sure I have met them before, maybe when I was younger.

"We're making cake, Prince Nikolai!" Alise states, taking his hand and dragging him over to me. Of course my younger sister already knew their names. Nikolai looks down at Alise "sounds like fun, mind if I help?" He glandes over at me, I shake my head with a huff and continue stirring "your our guest" I reply. I stop stirring with a sigh when Alise begs me to let him help. I give in and nod my head "fine, if you both insist" I say.

Owin and Galienne were working quietly on their own tasks so I allow the other prince to start cutting the strawberries for the top of the cake. When Alise walks over to watch Owin, Nikolai speaks in a hushed tone "I guess you don't remember me then". He sighs as his gaze remained in his work. I glance over at him, adding a few more things into the frosting before replying "that's not entirely true...Niki" I say, a find smile spreading over my lips.

Nikolai states at me in slight surprise before he smiles warmly "so you do remember, Sew". We chuckle together at the nicknames. As we continue to work I search for the memory of him I kept hidden away inside.

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Word count: 1279