The sun was setting and beautiful colours were in the sky. The hours they spent traveling were quiet and not much happened. Travellers and merchants were along the road as they paid no mind besides a formal bow to the princes as they passed. People here seemed really nice compared to the people "outside" as they said. They were always too busy on their phones and had no trust to look at anyone. The day before while shopping, they were all warmly greeted, though Raine suspected it was because the princes were present. They didn't get anything knowing that the boys would end up buying it for them. Raine and Zander picked out a wonderful italian styled restaurant they had supper at last night too. They all slept well and went to the same cafe for breakfast and they had three carateens prepared, one for the boys, one for the girls but one was just for her, she almost cried she was so happy. Nothing was going to ruin her day with that much coffee in her system. Though they had stopped a few times to have a break and water the horses, the boys said they were almost at the capital. With so much farm land surrounding them now she suspected as much. Also the wall they pasted about an hour ago was another marker for her. "So is there a way we should act in front of the king?" Arianna broke the silence. "It's not like we are around royalty at home, so we don't have the experience. Unless you want me to give the girls a run down of what I read in books which I bet, would be highly exaggerated."
"You all can act as you are. My father already knows that you won't have much royal experience. He is not such a harsh monarch that he will ask you to be perfect." Xavier raised his voice from the front. "Plus it will all make sense in due time, he will more likely just introduce himself and our mother, answer some questions and then show you to your rooms. He won't want to assault you with a lot of information tonight."
Arianna nodded. Raine was kind of nervous to meet an actual King and Queen. "None of you have to be too nervous. The people will make a fuss when we make the announcement, but until then, you are honored guests to the royal family." Landon spoke out. "Though we should warn the guard, when they see us they will be announcing our presence to the people...Zander?"
"You're right, they don't know we left and it will be about time that everyone is out on the streets. I'll send word to the guard, we will have to hide undercover unless you are alright with all the attention. " Zander said to Arianna. It was funny how all the boys already knew to see if it was okay with Arianna before they did something. Though they all would say the same thing, this morning all eyes were on them again and it was so weird. They were used to people avoiding them, not being the centre of attention.
"Can we pull something like that off?" Arianna looked at Xavier. But he looked as though he was pushing himself, or in deep thought. "Xav..."
Damian stopped her. "He is concentrating, let's not bother him." Raine looked at Xavier by turning her head slightly. His eyes were straight on the road but he looked so far off. "We will stop by the guard to borrow some cloaks, they won't know who you all are so if we disguise ourselves we should be good."
"He looks like he is almost in pain, can we help him in any way?" Nevaeh asked concerned.
"I'll do what I can as well, but what he is doing will be tough on him, so either way he will look off." Landon said as he zoned out as well.
"What could he be doing that is causing him to be this way?" Yazmin asked.
"He is trying to suppress your powers as much as he can, then slowly let it out throughout the city so that we don't startle the citizens." Zander explained quietly. Raine looked back to see Damian glaring at him. "What? There is no other way to explain it, we can't hide it from them,we want to gain their trust so we have to be up front." Zander explained defensively. Yet, Raine looked at Arianna whose eyes widened, looking almost impressed.
"To true Zander." Arianna said.
"Oooo, you got some points Zander, we should give you a cookie." Yazmin spouted. The girls all laughed.
"Truly a great feat to make." Nevaeh said sarcastically.
"A cookie seems too good for such a small feat maybe a small pat." Raine joined in. Damian was shaking as he held in laughter.
"Oi! shut it!" Zander raised his voice but it was too high, with a slight blush of embarrassment. Raine could tell he was slightly proud.
"Okay, so what do you mean to suppress our power?" Arianna looked towards Zander. She would ask the man who just said they shouldn't hide anything. Arianna can be blunt and scary sometimes.
"Well remember when we said that the reason you all got so sick was because you had power?" He looked at all of them and they nodded. "Well..." Zander looked to Damian who must have said something in his mind. "Our people won't know your power so to prevent a panic, Xavier is going to try and hide your power and slowly let it out so that everyone will feel as if your power is normal to them." Raine glanced at Damian who was looking straight ahead. It wasn't a full explanation but it was good enough to let us know what we needed to know. Raine loved her ability to read the room sometimes. She did a quick flick of her wrist palm up and an okay signal. Letting the others know that it was true but the wrist up meant not all of it was told. Raine looked around to see if the boys caught on but the girls all slightly nodded and looked back to the road while the boys did the same, The coast was clear. Raine sighed closing her eyes looking forward.
"Either way it's working I don't sense much of your power." Damian said. "Perfect timing too."
Raine raised a brow with her eyes closed still. Until she heard a gasp from the other girls. She opened her eyes to see another climbing wall in front of them. She gasped at the sight as well, Damian and Zander headed up front to grab Landon and Xavier's horse's reins to guide them through the gate since they still seemed a bit out of it. The gate was a monstrous door, how were they going to sneak in through that thing? The boys trotted over to a much smaller door only to see a guard nod his head. He opened the door which was big enough for horses to pass through.
Only important guests and royalty go through the bigger one so this will hide us even more. People won't be interested in this door opening. Zander said in our minds. The door opened to a sort of waiting area, maybe it was a check area of sorts to see if there was something that shouldn't be going in. It was empty but looked like they could fit a few people and horses in the wall. I guess it also meant extra protection for the citizens inside. One guard handed Damian the cloaks. He then covered Xavier and Landon with them, they were still in a trance. Before they opened the second door Damian and Zander covered themselves up as well. The door opened and lanterns were aglow in the bustling city. People were crowded and roaming the streets, talking and shopping amongst themselves. No one looked their way, so what Zander said was true, which was a relief. Unfortunately they couldn't enjoy too much of the scene yet because they were at a faster pace now. From what Raine saw though, there were beautiful cobblestone roads, glorious buildings and homes, children laughing happily on the street. It seemed so peaceful. Nothing like the roads in any city she has ever been too. They made their way through the city with ease with no one trying to stop them. They started to climb up towards a huge mansion.
She felt Xavier relax behind her taking a deep breath and sighing. "Are you okay?" Raine asked at the same time Arianna did when Landon did the same thing.
"It was more difficult than I thought it would be, but I think we did it." Xavier looked to Landon who nodded taking one last deep breath to calm himself.
"You did good, brother, Though it took more time than I hoped." Damian pulled the reins to match their pace and patted his back.
"There was more than I realized to take and bring out." Xavier sighed.
"Also, I took the liberty of trying to calm an area as if we were nothing but travellers." Landon added.
"Thank you." Arianna said gratefully. They all reached the bottom of a stairway and looked around at a beautiful home in front of them. It didn't look like a castle which slightly disappointed Raine. Though there were ivory pillars along the house and balconies all over the place. The house was bigger than Arianna's and they all thought that place was too big. Lights were on and it gave off a warm welcome. A small boy came up to them and bowed quickly before taking the horses away. The girls all paused at the bottom of the stairs Arianna who was on her left grabbed her hand and Nevaeh did the same to Arianna on the other side. Yazmin grabbed Raine's free hand and they stood there for a second.
"Are you all okay?" Damian asked worried.
"Yeah, just taking it all in." Yazmin assured him. Arianna squeezed her hand took a deep breath and started to walk behind the boys. The climb was putting a strain on her, and it wasn't because she was out of shape, it was nerves slowly clasping around her heart. As they approached the top of the grand doors, they started to open slowly.
"Welcome back my lords!" A tall skinny man said with too much energy. He looked to be older maybe in his eighties, he had neatly slicked back white hair, a moustache that reached the corner of his mouth, and the biggest grin she had ever seen.
"Good evening old man!" Zander raised a hand to high five him.
The man happily obliged "Lord Zander, snarky as ever." He laughed.
"Thank you for greeting us Samson." Xavier went up to him.
"Of course my lord, this place has been quiet since you all left. Nothing has been needed to get fixed." Samson responded. The girls almost slipped up and laughed out loud. "Welcome lord Landon, lord Damian, are these our special guests?" Samson looked at them, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Landon pointed to each of them and introduced them. "Nevaeh, Arianna, Raine, and Yazmin."
Samson bowed "Pleasure to meet you my ladies."
"Where are our parents?" Xavier asked.
"They are in your father's study my lord, they have been trying to keep themselves busy all day. Basically crawling on the walls, it's been a task to keep up with all their requests." Samson said in a sigh.
"Thank you! Come girls, they will be waiting." Xavier hurried them.
"At least let us check the place out!.. damn!" Yazmin said to him as she quickly looked around, he was basically pushing them.
"Sorry, but my father may be a patient man but not THAT patient, couldn't you take it in later?" Xavier asked politely. From what Raine could take in the floors were marble with carpets, elegant furnishings were along the halls. Before they were stopped at a door. Xavier took a sharp breath before knocking on the door.
"Damn give us a minute to prepare man!" Yazmin said as she and the other girls started to pat down, brush their clothes and comb out their hair with their fingers.
A voice filled with power and authority rung in their ears. "Enter!"
The girls all held their breath as Xavier pushed open the large double doors "Girls, may I present to you the royal highness' King Charles and Queen Marie of Adonis."