⟪My eyes were blinking, I was sleepy, and I didn't know how long I would be there. The only thing I knew, was that things got out of hand. I didn't know what I'd done to deserve all this. Was it possible that this was my punishment because I tried to ignore Uncle Jones? The irony of fate!⟫
"Is she here?", the voice echoed
"Yes, Your Holiness... In cell number four.",
"What's this?! People's voices are coming towards me. My legs were numb, and I stayed in one position while sitting. I can't stand to see what's going on", Annie wondered in fear
The high priest stood in front of Annie's cell as two guards entered, each grabbing her arms and lifting her off the ground, and then they moved her outside.
***************♡*************
Uncle Jones said in a voice closer to a whisper, "Wake up, Edward, my friend."
The other opened his eyes in a daze and tried to get out of bed, but Jones pressed his shoulders, brought him back, and kept him lying down. His leg was wrapped in bandages, and a bowl was placed near him as a substance to relieve his fever.
Edward muttered, "Where is Annie? ... Tell me where Annie is, Jones!"
Jones felt displeased and shouted at his friend: "Come on! You've come back from death, and now the first thing you are thinking about is her, the cause of your bad condition."
After he had absorbed his shout at a sick person, he began to stutter, trying to apologise.
Jones: "Listen... I~~"
Edward interrupted his words: "Get out of my sight!"
In a fit of rage, Jones took out all the words he wanted to say a long time ago at once.
Jones _angrily_: "Do you know if I was a little late you would die... Why did you involve yourself in taking care of that child, knowing that she is not an ordinary girl? Since that noble woman who gave you Annie and communicated with you by letters suddenly disappeared, there is no doubt that she has a lot behind her, and she will not calm down until she puts you in trouble... So leave things as they are and let them take Annie if they want. She doesn't belong here. Her family will find her anyway. Also, whatever happens to her, it's none of our business, especially you!"
Edward got up from his bed and walked a few lame steps leaning on the wall, then stopped. He was as calm as the calm before the storm. And here Jones stayed, watching his friend and what he intended to do.
Edward spoke without looking at his friend's face in a calm, threatening tone: "I'm going out... But if you follow me... Forget that you have a friend named Edward."
He continued his walking, until he left the house, while Jones remained remorseful for his harsh words and, at the same time, angry at Annie, whom he held responsible for Edward's suffering and their deteriorated friendship.
***************♡*************
Meanwhile, the carriage that was supposed to take Annie to the royal palace arrived. A large gate with the symbol of the royal family on it, even the guards found it difficult to open it.
Annie woke up to the noise of the gate opening and put her head out of the carriage window to see where she was.
A straight path passes through the front garden of the palace, where neatly trimmed trees line the sides in parallel. Brightly coloured flowers that she had never seen in her life were planted there, and right in front of them was a large fountain that spewed water like a waterfall without stopping. But what caught her attention the most was the palace, the sight of which inspires greatness and awe at first sight.
After Lionel, the head of the royal guards had opened the carriage door, he offered his hand like any gentleman to help her down. She continued to look at the palace with fascination, ignoring what was around her.
" What hands made this palace? It's indeed a masterpiece! It's like he came out of a fairy tale; how could a common girl like me get into this place?"
She kept staring until Lionel interrupted her.
Lionel: "Ahem, miss, this way."
I nodded and followed him. In front of us, a pair of stairs joined a large square doorstep, leading to the entrance. Inside the palace, the corridors were furnished with a dark red carpet; all the corridors were similar, even the doors to the rooms, so anyone out of the palace could easily get lost. I couldn't lower my gaze; I kept looking at the walls painted blue, which seemed like an indigo flower.
The hanging oil paintings captivated me irresistibly, depicting significant battles, notable personalities, and perhaps even a member of the previous royal lineage. Even the ceiling is decorated with beautiful frescoes. In every corner I looked, I found something new that I admired.
" I've been following this man for minutes; I haven't asked him anything, He told me when I got on the carriage earlier that" the king wants to see you." No more, no less. Even Felix doesn't know where he disappeared. I want to know how I ended up in the royal palace. The temple looks at me as a criminal, but the treatment I received from the king is not the same as the treatment of the accused. He sent a comfortable carriage with several guards. I don't understand anything", she nagged inside herself
Annie impulsively asked, "Sir guard...!"
She did not finish her speech until he turned around with sharp black eyes similar to the colour of his dark skin that suited his white uniform of the Royal Guards. She lost her words. He had an oval face, a chiselled jaw, broad shoulders, and a powerfully built body. To think about it, this was the first time she had seen a person with dark skin.
He raised an eyebrow and kept looking at Annie questioningly, waiting for the conversation to continue.
Annie: "Hmm. Sir, do you know why the king summoned me?"
Lionel responded with an automatic answer: "No."
Annie: "Well! .... What kind of King is he?"
Lionel: "Good ".
Annie: "Okay. There are a lot of rooms in the palace. The King uses them all."
Lionel:" No"
Annie sensed a provocation in Lionel's short responses, which failed to satiate her curiosity. It seemed he intentionally aimed to disregard her, prompting her to withhold any further inquiries and instead fix her gaze straight ahead. They entered the main corridor, which overlooked the palace's inner garden, with large windows the size of the wall to let the light in.
At the end of the wide hallway, there was a series of doors made of pine trees, painted white, with a large one in the centre that was exceptionally decorated and had a beautiful golden frame carved with intricate carvings and decorative figures on top of the doorframe.
Lionel stopped at the two guards by the door and talked to them for a moment, then turned to Annie and told her that she had to wait at her place for a while until he would come to call for her. The two guards opened the door for him to enter.
Annie peeked at that cracked door.
to satisfy her curiosity, although it was only for a moment before it closed.
Carried away by admiration for the palace, I completely forgot that I would meet the king within seconds. My stomach began to ache, and my heart was pounding hard from hypertonicity. Something unknown awaited me inside.
It was only moments before Lionel came out and asked Annie to come in.
Lionel: "The King requests your presence imminently."
Lionel led her inside after she had taken a deep breath to help her relax, and then she followed him.
As soon as she walked in, her eyes were fixed on the floor in awe, the lighting dimming from the chandelier candles adorning the rectangular ceiling, but the vision was kind of clear. The room was four times more spacious than Annie's cottage, or maybe even more, with a royal blue carpet decorated with gold stripes on the sides above the marble floor, which divided the throne hall; additionally, it fitted perfectly with the chairs lined against the wall, which was covered with luxurious wallpaper with motives that suggest extravagance.
On their right, there were wide windows surrounded by curtains coloured the same colour as the carpet; they were decorated with golden trimmings and tassels. The nice thing was that the throne hall had balconies overlooking the garden. Right in front of them were several steps up to a platform with a throne on it, which itself was a masterpiece.
The atmosphere was filled with silence, with only the sounds of their feet ringing in the hall like the sound of a clock. When they got close to the throne, Leon stopped, and Annie followed after him.
Lionel bowed and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, this is the girl you asked to see in front of you." He stepped aside so that the King could see her, and then he whispered to Annie, "Bow to the King!"
She tried to bend in courtesy, but she made it awkward because of her ignorance of etiquette.
The King said in a cold voice, "You can go, head of royal guards."
Annie looked at his back as he was walking away and said to herself, " Is he going to go and leave me with the King? I wish this was a nightmare that I would wake up from later."