Shattered: The Gregorian Chronicles Book Two

17: Home Sweet Home

It was amazing how different a place could look in the dark.

            During the daytime, the royal family's castle was a symbol of trust and safety, for there was little else that the family condoned; they were the epitome of kindness towards their subjects, and many attributed this characteristic to Queen Lisabeth's humble upbringing. The gray walls, while slightly overbearing, were seen as always open to the public for their problems; after all, before the twins turned sixteen and everything seemed to spiral out of control, the king and queen held weekly meetings with any villagers who wished to speak about issues in the kingdom. The family was known for their kindness, and the castle was the symbol of this generosity, a symbol that could be seen from anywhere in the kingdom at any time of the day.

            Yet at night something changed. At night the castle seemed to decline in its beauty and grace, and changed into an image of darkness, something that you wouldn't dare walk into if you valued your life. Without the daylight, there seemed to be nothing of good fortune in the place. There were simply shadows and nightmares, with the unknown lurking in the bushes and the wild prepared to attack at any given moment.

            She had never admired the castle in the dark, but at the moment it seemed to be the only thing that Dawn could clearly focus on.

            Since her switch to the Darkness, Dawn hadn't truly felt fear. She knew that she was powerful, and she knew that she was important. She knew that no one could actually defeat her or overpower her, not even her Light sister. There was nothing to be afraid of, and nothing for her to worry about in the slightest.

            Yet standing here outside of her former home, preparing herself to enter without being seen, Dawn felt the smallest prick of fright in her chest.

            If anyone gets in your way, you can always dispose of them. She thought comfortingly. Shrugging off the impulse to turn around and run as fast as she could in the opposite direction, Dawn stepped out from behind the tree she had been leaning on for the past hour and walked briskly towards her family's home.

            She reflected on the fact that she hadn't been inside the castle since she had destroyed her room in a vicious anger and fled out of the broken window. She had grown since that night, had become a more mature version of the raw Darkness that had exploded in her in that moment. Yet the desire for revenge still burned strong, a fire that would not soon go out.

            As she remembered her escape from her bedroom, she wondered what the room looked like now. They surely hadn't kept it in the tatters that Dawn had left it in; they had to have fixed it up in some way. Perhaps they had made it into Rissa's bedroom; the sorceress didn't seem intent on leaving anytime in the near future.

            The castle gate was coming into view now, and along with it came two guards. Dawn prepared herself to simply walk past them, feeling immensely conscious of her deep purple gown that trailed along the floor a solid three feet behind her, and her dark hair pulled into a long braid down her back. She had opted for soft black slippers instead of her preferred high heels, knowing she would be walking through woods and attempting to sneak around the castle.

            "Excuse me miss, but you aren't allowed to be here." One of the guards said nervously as Dawn approached. "No one is allowed to enter unless specified by the Light Princess—"

            "Cease your talking already." Dawn rolled her eyes and flicked her wrist, causing both the guards to crumple to the ground in a deep sleep.

            The gate swung open as Dawn walked towards it, not hesitating in her steps. The guards would let her sister know about her visit, but not until they woke up in a few days.