The Cursed Kingdom

THREE

~ THE KING ~

I woke up back in the same bed from before, the covers tucked over my shoulders and reminding me of how I used to fall asleep when my mother was alive. The memory of her sparked my consciousness until I blinked open my eyes and stared up at the painted ceiling, unnerved by the naked nymph staring at me with a sly, secretive smile.

My eyes trailed over the rest of the painting that displayed stunning faeries and other winged creatures alike peeking over and dancing amongst white clouds joyously in a dark blue, star-infested sky. It was a lovely image but it felt out of place in that particular room.

I wiped away the dried tears and drool on my face and sat upright, wincing when the setting sunlight shining through the open window assaulted my eyes. Sitting there for a few more minutes, I finally forced my body to move when my legs started cramping and my spine ached, both consequences of falling asleep on a hard floor. Although my limbs were a bit shaky, it felt relieving to stand again and stretch my joints.

My feet slowly padded against the dark floorboards as I finally took in the large room in all its fine detail.

To match the dark wooden flooring, the walls were covered with patterned wallpaper featuring dark blues and blacks with faint accents of white and gold.

When facing the end of the bed, the double doors to the bathroom were on the left and on the opposite side of the room were the grand floor length windows with elaborate drapes of gold and blue. Along that same wall but much further down was a sitting area with a black marble fireplace in the corner that had two beautiful carvings of myrpeople on each side, one male and the other a female and both clutching tridents to their chests.

I walked towards the carvings and came face to face with the marble myrmaid whose tail I traced with my fingers tips, each pointed scale scratching their delicate skin. Next to catch my eye were the gills right under her ribs that ended right above where the curves of lean and defined abdominal muscles started. Her triangular face was beautiful, angelic almost, and her eyes were wider than that of any species I'd ever seen, an adaptation to allow myrpeople to see even in the darkest of waters.

Every life-like detail fascinated me. The statues were the closest I had ever been to living my dream of seeing a myrperson in real life, every image I'd seen of one during my childhood having been horribly drawn by talentless people who called themselves illustrators.

Eventually my eyes drifted elsewhere and I noticed that the two plush chairs and the one sofa facing the fireplace all looked welcoming, as did the couple small round tables, but I decided relaxation would've been an inappropriate option to invest in at that time. Across from the sitting room in the other corner, which looked unattractively empty, was a large wooden dresser with golden handles and swirling designs. Attached to it was a round mirror with a golden frame and I instantly averted my eyes away so as to not catch my reflection, scared I wouldn't like what I saw.

Three sharp knocks from the door reverberated around the room, making me jump in panic. My head searched everywhere, in every corner and shadow, and confirmed I was the only one inside before I slowly made my advancement towards the daunting entryway, which was so wide that I was surprised there weren't two doors there either.

The gold knob was cold under my palm as I twisted it to pull the door open and reveal my visitor, a male in a long black buttoned coat with matching pants and a white dress shirt underneath.

In his folded arms hung a dress and frilly undergarments no doubt meant to accompany it. My nose instinctively crinkled at the sight.

"Madam," he said with a strange accent, similar to the one the scarred male from earlier had spoken with yet different, his consonants much softer and like that of a Mage or a Human. He was quick to bow his head in what I assumed to be respect and by doing so, he gave me a clear view of the red, thick mane that he called his hair. "His Majesty the King has requested your presence to dine with him at dinner tonight."