Light Shadows

Chapter 12~A Fool's Heart

Soon, the Prince and i are out in the halls. We do not speak but i am fine with that. I prefer silence because it leaves room to think. Conversation does not leave any room for thinking about anything else since i have to be careful. Now that i know what the Forelands are planning to do... I can not let the queen of the Forelands know about me knowing the information. I had to keep it locked up until Father came. I glance sideways at the Prince. I wonder what he knows about this invasion of the Backlands. I would imagine that he would know something but i did not want to break this sort of friendship between us. No, it was not a friendship between us, there was nothing. I was just playing at nice until Father gets here and we burn the Forelands to the ground when they try to invade the Backlands.

The Prince leads me towards the ballroom where servants are hanging up decorations and polishing the stone floor. The room is huge and has chandeliers hanging every so often to provide just enough light. There are grand windows on both sides of the room, providing a view of both sides of the castle and what lies beyond. Heavy curtains stand on both sides of all of the windows to block out the outside light from reaching the room. This is so that the chandeliers would sparkle when they were the only light sources in the entire room without intrusion from the brightness of the Foreland realm.

"So what did you drag me out of bed for now?", i inquire at the Prince a few steps ahead of me; he turns to face me.

"Well...I lied. I do not have anything to show you, i just wanted to get you out of bed."

The Prince smiles while i am shocked speechless. I want to smack him but i probably should not in front of all of these servants. You never know when one of the servants would be reporting back to the Queen of the Forelands about me and my whereabouts..

"Are you serious?"

"Yes", he admits.

I sigh, then turn around, away from the Prince.

"Where are you going?", he calls out to me as i start walking in the opposite direction.

"Back to bed."

"Wait. Scarlet..."

"No", i whirl on him, "i will not wait. So bye. I will see you tomorrow, at the annual Forelander ball."

I left him standing in the ballroom where he had looked confused. Good. He should. I had been wanting to distance myself from him for some time now but i could not summon the courage. I needed to focus and the Prince would never understand. He would never understand my life or even just me. He does not understand anything. I had also used the word Forelander. The Forelanders prefered the term Highlander but i messed up. I feel the sudden need to hit something.

Still wandering the halls ten minutes later, a servant comes up to me.

"Your majesty, the Devil", he slightly cringes on the word, "i mean, your father, has just arrived for the annual Highlander Ball."

I dismiss him with a nod and he bows to me and then rushes off. He was afraid. But then again, it was a good thing for people to be afraid of you. If people were afraid, then that means that they would be obedient. I smile darkly as i watch the servant retreat back to where he came from. Then i think about the news that he brought me.

Father had arrived. I wonder if he has time for me to tell him about what i learned. Possibly. I mentally hit myself. I should have asked the servant where he was. He could be anywhere in the Castle of Skye by now.

I found a servant in the hall and asked her if she knew of where Father was at the moment. She dipped down into a low bow, shaking all the way and pointed down a hall branching off from the one we were in. I did not thank the servant, i merely went down the hall where she had pointed.

The hall was lined with doors that had name plaques on them. I found the one that said Devil and knocked softly on it. Hopefully Father was here...the door opened. Father's face came around the door and i realized how much i had missed Father. I had been on my own since i arrived in the Forelands but i was not alone anymore. I had Father. He opens the door wider to let me in.

"Scarlet", Father says my name like a prayer, "how is my favorite daughter?"

"I am well, Father."

Father leads me to a small sitting area on one side of the room. The chairs were a light gray color and Father looked strange. Father has always prefered the color black, feeling the need to blend in. I took after Father in that regard, liking blackness to any other color. I guess a dark red was okay also, a red so dark that it could be mistaken for black.

"Is the room secure?", i ask, needing to know even though i was not supposed to ask first.

"Yes. However, we can discuss your mission after the ball."

"Yes, Father."

Father then ushers me out of the room. I had only just sat down but Father probably had things to do. Before the door closes, i catch one last glimpse of Father's face. Then the door closes and i am left staring at a wooden door. It takes me a few minutes but i finally gather the strength to walk away.