GLIMMER AND DECAY [COMPLETED]

CHAPTER 14

THEY HURRIED TO THE royal chambers and with luck, only a few of their royal subjects were present and even the queen had fallen asleep after giving birth to their beloved babies.

"Did the queen know of this?" King Frederic asked Abby, the midwife, as soon as they entered the room. She shook her head, her hands shaking in fear of what might happen. "Don't let anyone know that the queen had given birth to twins," the king warned for the nth time.

The midwife, Lord Allison, and the other servants bowed as the king approached the cradle where the twins rested. The first thing that King Frederic checked was the twins' physical appearances.

One had dark hair, while the other infant had golden locks. And he knew at that very moment which one of the twins he needed to hide.

Night came and the king did what the witch had asked. He brought the infant with the golden locks to the throne room. She was wrapped in white silk and her green eyes looked up to him as if she could already see her father's face.

The father who would soon abandon her.

"Well, well. If it ain't the king himself," Gothel greeted. She sat on the edge of the opened window. She appeared to be waiting for him.

King Frederic bit his teeth as he hugged the child closer. He was somehow reluctant to hand over his precious little child to the witch he only knew existed a few weeks ago.

Nevertheless, he didn't have much of a choice. It was either the end of the kingdom or their family's safety. It was a hard choice and a burden he had to bear.

"Please take care of her," he muttered softly as he went closer to the witch. And as soon as he handed over his little offspring, Gothel vanished.

The king's heart cried that night and he could never forgive himself for giving his child away to a total stranger and a witch.

Everyone in the kingdom lived on with their lives, believing that the queen only bore one child that night. And those who knew the truth remained silent as a fulfillment of their promise to their king.

"Isn't she beautiful, Frederic?" Queen Arianna smiled at the infant she held so dearly in her arms.

The king watched in silence as the queen adored their little princess. Princess Cassandra stretched her little arms towards her father as if asking him to carry her.

King Frederic, too, reached his hand towards his little daughter. There was this smile of admiration directed towards the infant and the queen had imprinted that in her mind.

Her dark green eyes resembled her mother, and she got her dark hair from him. She resembled them so much that she almost looked nothing like. . . like her.

"Please take care of her."

The words he uttered as he let go of his dear child, and that burden he had carried since that night weighed him down again. His hand paused mid-air and the queen noticed the odd look of regret that flashed across his eyes.

"I forgot. . ." the king trailed off as he retracted his hand. Then he cleared his throat before looking at his wife. "I need to check if the lanterns were properly arranged before the ceremony," he continued as he stood from his seat. "I'll be back," he added, then gave his dear wife a chaste kiss on her forehead.

King Frederic took one last glance at their daughter before he left their room, the taste of guilt and sorrow filling his dry mouth.

The queen couldn't understand what was happening to her husband. Ever since the day she gave birth to their child, Frederic started acting weirdly. It's like he's avoiding their child, and it also seems like he's not. It was confusing to the point that it was stressing her out.

And to the king who had given up one of his sweet blessings, every day was like torture for him. There was not a day in his life that he did not regret doing what he did.

'If only I could turn back time,' he thought one day. But that obnoxious thought gave his heart a painful flare.

He would have lost all three of his family if he didn't get the cure right on time. And those reasons gave a distasteful justification of his sacrifice. And he hated himself for that.

The night had fallen and the ceremony had started. It was to honor Queen Arianna's recovery and the birth of the kingdom's lovely princess, Princess Cassandra.

Queen Arianna smiled at her husband and the king hugged his wife. They were both holding one lantern each, as well as the people of Corona.

The royal couple started the ceremony by launching their lantern to the sky, then their people soon followed, filling the night sky with the beautiful glow of Corona's special lanterns.

It was the sign of a new start for everyone, but for the king, it was his way of remembering the daughter he had sacrificed.

"LOOK. IT'S THE STARS," she whispered to her little friend.

Her big, green eyes illuminated the golden lights dancing in the sky. She placed and folded her little arms on the window sill and rested her cheek on top of them. There was this dreamy smile painted on her lips as she listed a few wishes in her head.

"How does the sky know my birthday, Pascal?" She whispered to her little, green friend. "I hope the sky also grants my wishes," she added and her little friend, Pascal, agreed with her by nodding his little head.

It was on her fifth birthday when she first saw the floating lights gracing the sky, and until now, she regarded them as stars. The little girl had now turned eight, and she was still wondering how the sky knew of her birthday.

"Mother doesn't even know that it's my birthday today," she mumbled to herself, her wide smile slowly dripping down into sadness.

The stars she was watching slowly passed by the tower, and it saddened her to see them go.

"Rapunzel?" A voice of an old woman called onto her.

The little girl called Rapunzel quickly and steadily climbed down from the window side. She pulled the curtains down, hiding Pascal away from her mother's sight then she took the glass of water she left on the table beside her.

"Mother? I was thirsty, so I got myself a glass of water," she answered as she went closer to where the woman was standing.

"I told you not to get up at night without my permission," the old woman scolded her, the wrinkles on her face deepening as she frowned down at her.

Rapunzel pouted sadly and she looked down on the floor, still holding the glass of water.

"Now, now. Don't give me that look," she warned her. "Go back to your room, child."

"Yes, mother." Rapunzel held her glass of water tightly as she went back to her room. She stood behind the door, and waited for her mother to close the door of her room.

Soft sniffles escaped her tightly sealed lips. Rapunzel placed down the glass of water on her side table then she climbed up to her bed. She wiped off the tears cascading down her chubby cheeks then she took in slow, deep breaths in silence.

"Mother just wants us to get enough sleep," she whispered to herself. "I bet she would remember it's our birthday once the sun has risen," she added as she slipped herself between the sheets and the blanket.

Rapunzel hugged her pillow tightly and buried her face against it. She tried to convince herself not to feel sad about it, but her heart was too fragile to be convinced. The little child bit her teeth as she sobbed.

She didn't want to wake her mother again just because of the sadness she was feeling. Moreover, she didn't want to get scolded for crying. She knew what her mother would do if she heard her cry like this.

Rapunzel soon drifted to sleep as she silently cried her heart out, her child-like mind still hoping for a surprise from her dear mother.