Capturing the Crown

Chapter 5- Man and Roses

Astrid
I walk the streets of Ravenbane. Ravenbane is one of the main towns of our kingdom. It's known for it's many beautiful architecture and it's magnificent castles. The town itself is very picturesque. Papa and Mama Freya told me I'm not running any errands today unfortunately. Apparently they gave the errands they did have set aside for me to do to my brother, Cassian. I love Cassian. I really do. But sometimes I wish he wouldn't steal my spotlight all the time. I can do things on my own. So now I walk through the streets of Ravenbane, inattentive to what's surrounding me. I am going to my favorite spot of Ravenbane. The Garden of Freya. When I'm at the door of the garden's gate, I stop at the sound of two male voices. One of them soundly faintly familiar and is saying, "Look- I just want to speak to whoever is in charge. I'm wanting a truce with-" I recognize him as Atlas. The other man interrupts Atlas,"Sorry, sir but I don't think that will be allowed." The man looks as if he is about to drag Atlas away from the garden's entrance. Without thinking, I blurt out, "Don't touch him." The man and Atlas both turn around, equally surprised. The man's brows raise," Who are you?" I say," I am Astrid, Daughter of the High Queen, Freya of Ravenbane." I continue, pointing towards Atlas, "This man I will deal with, got it? You have no right to touch him." The man turns red, stammering," I-I I am so-so- sorry for this, Princess. It won't happen again." He grabs my hand and kisses it," My dearest apologies." I resist the urge to shove my dagger up his kester. When the man leaves, I glare at Atlas, saying,"Why in hell are you here?" He simply says," Calm down, Princess. I'm here to see you." I turn around, making sure no one is behind us. I grab his arm, "You can't see me." He looks at me with eyes of dark blue, saying, "Why not?" I gather all the hatred I can gather and say, "Because I hate you." He looks at me, heartbrokenly. He grabs my arm, "No you don't hate me." I scowl,"And how do you know that?" He says, upset now," Because if you hated me you would've been fine with that man dealing with me himself." I open my mouth and say something but no words come out. He says, "Am I wrong?" I shake my head over and over. He places his palms on both side of my head, against the wall behind me. He leans his face towards mine, our faces so close I can feel his breath in my face. He says," I know you don't hate me." He says, "In fact, I think it's the complete opposite." I swallow. He looks at me, "You're scared that I am right. That I'm not like my father and that I truly do want to make peace with you." I say, "You're wrong." But he knows I know he's right. He leans closer, eyeing my lips, "One day you will realize that I'm right." With that, he takes his hands off the wall and says, "I will see you later, Beautiful." I roll my eyes, "Stop calling me that and what do you mean later?" He winks at me,"That's for me to know and you to find out." Before I can say anything else, he exits out.

Atlas
I'm going to go back to Ravenbane tonight. Right now, however I am in the woods, a white tamed wolf laying beside me on the forest floor. I look at the wolf and smile, "Hey, girl." Raksha curls against my chest. I remember the first time I found the wolves. They became my first real friends. I feel like they understand me. I nudge Raksha, saying, "You think you know where any roses are around here,girl?" She barks back in response. I run behind her, chasing after her until we reach a part of the forest where there's beautiful red roses surrounding one big tree. I smile again, leaning my hand to grab a rose. I frown when I grab it, my hand bleeding in response to its thorns. A bleeding rose. Despite my hands bleeding, I carefully place the rose stem in my mouth, on the very tip of it to make sure my mouth doesn't touch its thorns. Raksha and I head back to my father's castle.

Author's Note 📖
hey everyone thank you for reading today's chapter I hope you all enjoyed it :D and also don't forget to look for updates weekly and check out my spotify playlist for "Capturing the Crown" ⚔️🥀🤍