The Rise of Erigor

Chapter Four

"Dum spiro Spero"

"While I breathe, I hope"

The suns of Selnoria pooled into the palace, which coated the blue-coloured stairs with warmth. The glass railings seemed to refract the light, bouncing rainbows over the walls and floors. The light didn't seem to bother the princess until the curtains that concealed her balcony were pulled back, revealing the bright light. A groan left her while she squeezed her eyes shut, rolling over to hide from the sun. Why was a servant waking her? It didn't make much sense to her due to how early it was.
"It's too early, please let me sleep," she grumbled, furrowing her eyebrows.
Her request only earned a stifled laugh from the person who was pulling the curtains back, his lips tugging into a faint smile. Slowly, he walked over to her, gently leaning down to hug her, "Princess, it is time for me to leave- what if a guard or servant sees me here? You can easily go back to sleep once I depart," he hummed, tucking her hair out of her face.
As he spoke, she only seemed to huff, rolling her eyes, "But you only just got here! Surely you can stay a little longer?" she requested, sighing. However, she went to continue her protesting, that was, until she heard a knock on the door.
Hastily, she threw a robe over her, tying it around her waist as she reached to open the cold knob of the door, slowly opening it. "Brethil?" a servant called out, before realising that Ellaine had opened the door. "Oh! Apologies, Brethil, but the Duchesses are requesting an audience; they say it is urgent."
In response, Ellaine only sighed, allowing the servant in, to help clothe her. Delicately, she slipped on an underdress, a simple slip. The skirt was sleek, fitting her stout frame rather well with the waist being adorned with golden lace, which connected to decorative patterning embroidered into the sides. The golden embroidery lined an opening between the blue, velvet fabric, where it instead held a sleek, white, satin.
It took her a second to get the corset situated enough for the velvety bodice to be put on over top of the corset; it was a sweetheart neckline, with short sleeves that seemed to hug her arms, with chiffon-like material being attached to the sleeves to drape along her arms.
As the servant pulled on the strings to tighten the corset to the bodice, Ellaine's eyes wandered in search of Asani, who had seemed to disappear as if he was never there in the first place. The thought saddened her since she had barely seen him; she missed him, and not a day went by where she didn't think of him. If he had never become obsessed with her safety, to which the extent he was going to was unneeded, what would've happened? Would they have been married already?
Suddenly, she was pulled out of her thoughts by the servant, who was leading Ellaine to her vanity to do her hair. "Just- a simple hairstyle will do. I don't have work today and I'm just meeting my mothers."
The servant only nodded in response, gently brushing the Avian hybrid's hair before delicately braiding two braids on each side, which framed the hair that was left down. It was almost like a half-up half-down hairstyle, with only a few parts of it braided into the sides. Ellaine stood, a sigh escaping her lips as she looked into the vanity mirror, seemingly admiring the work. Her mother, Taurean, would always braid the girl's hair when she was younger, so it became an anxious habit.

The heels of her shoes clicked against the smooth floor in a uniform pattern, her strides even. It hadn't taken her too long to enter the main hall, her eyes wandering over the many stained glass windows that adorned the wall. Great battles of the past were depicted, including the war against Azazel, where Koku was aided by Adastria and Taurean to destroy the corrupted man.
She didn't know much about the wars since it had taken place so long ago, and there were constant reminders to those who had been afflicted by it. Giants that were turned to stone scattered the coastal villages, where they would protect the more vulnerable ones against Azazel. Ellaine's eyes quickly darted away from them as a cold chill danced up her spine, causing her to shiver; her arms instinctively wrapped around herself.
A sigh left her lips as she pushed open the doors that entered the throne room, the smooth floor becoming a cushioned, blue, carpet, that led to two thrones sitting above a flight of stairs. Now, her eyes flipped to her mothers, a soft smile dancing across her features, but it left just as quickly as it arrived when she noticed that Acantha's expression wasn't her usual cheery one.
"Ma, Mom, what's the matter? Has something happened?" she desperately inquired, her hands clasping small pieces of the velvety material from her dress while her pace quickened until she was a few steps below her mothers.
Acantha only averted her gaze, her lip being caught in between her teeth. "Empress Adasteria has notified us about Asani's disappearance," she began to explain, her green eyes darkening at the thought of the Crown Prince's vanishing.
Elliane's eyes only seemed to widen, shaking, almost, as she heard her mother speak the words. How could she hide him now? If they know, who else does- what could she do? However, she was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Taurean clear her throat as if to continue off of Acantha.
"She wants you to aid in finding him- actually, she wants you to lead it since you know him better than anyone else on Selnoria," the Avian spoke, her voice as gentle as her expression was, which had softened upon speaking to her daughter. "We informed her we wanted to know your decision; do you think you can do this?"