Witch

Ch. 1: Arrival to the palace

Three princesses are brought into the throne hall, as candidates, so one of them would be chosen by the royal council members or the king himself to become queen of Tanghour.

They are only three, perhaps because the others were not willing to be faced with unwelcoming gestures on their arrival to the palace. However, these three must have been forced against their wish.

The princesses now stand before King Reonor IV – the tyrant of Tanghour on his throne as they all raises the skirt of this gowns and bow before him, acknowledging his presence.

One of them lifted up her eyes, only to meet a pair of hazel eyes as she glanced at his black hair fitted into a golden crown decorated with the most precious gems in all of the kingdom. She is probably astonished by his green attires with gold lining on them; for they must be of pure silk.

“Long live, His Royal Majesty!!!” they chorused.

The response they receive is a raised eyebrow and chuckles after, as he rises from his chair walking down the stairs built before it; for he came down the stairs only to leave the throne hall.

“Be it known to you princesses that you waste your time,” he said while walking out on them.

Asthon, the advisor to the throne, who was newly appointed by the king. His hair was brown like the tree with no leaves, and his eyes were blue like that of the night sky, he wears a brown robe with gold lining as decorations.

He approached the maidens in distress as he first laid his eyes on one of them – Princess Irus from Jenoria, sister of Princess Deleron as I have heard. She had a striking beauty and her face screams innocence.

He finally takes his ogling eyes off her, clearing his throat before he speaks, “please, come this way, so the maidservants can take you all to your chambers.”

They all nodded at once as he led them to the corridor where three maidservants wearing white attires waited for them and each maidservant takes a princess to her chamber.

•••

Reonor grabs a jug filled with red wine made from grape fruits as he pours it into his golden cup and lifts it to his lips, taking a sip of his wine before sitting on his chaise lounge and stretching his legs.

He appeared to be lost in thoughts when he looks at a particular spot, probably thinking about how he must have treated the princesses with such unwelcoming gesture.

Indeed, that was an unwelcoming gesture he portrayed at the throne hall. I wonder what he shall do if, or when, they leave. What shall happen to the throne when his reign is over? With no heir, future generations shall be left with little legacy.

Or perhaps, none of the candidates has picked his interest, and it feels as if he is being forced to just choose one out of the three or the royal council members shall do the choosing for him.

“Your Majesty, you have summoned me.” Asthon said when he approached the door to Reonor's chambers.

“You may enter,” he approved when he recognized Asthon's voice.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Asthon said.

The guardsman opens the leaves of the doors as he finally walks into the chambers of his king. He gave a straight bow to acknowledge him before lifting his head and standing erect to hear what his king has to say.

Reonor sighs before speaking, “they shall be gone by dawn.”

“Your Majesty–”

“Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. However, I must advise that this decision shall do you no good.”

“All my decision had always never done me good. So far, however, I still manage to handle the situation. I shall not need... princesses to ease my... independence, if that is the right word to use at the moment.”

“Your Majesty, I believe the right word to use at this moment is... loneliness. Anyway, that is definitely not what we are discussing, are we? However, if I may ask, what shall you do to keep the kingship for at least two generations before it shall be taken to another family?

Your Majesty, even if you are not in need of a maiden to ease loneliness, she would at least be a birth giver. And these princesses are ready to give you an heir. The one that shall be your queen may definitely be of help to you later on because these princesses are gifted with immense intelligence and talents.”

“What talents do maidens have other than embroidery and singing?”

“Princess Irus of Jenoria – she not only does embroidery, she also plays other kind of musical instruments; Princess Deleron, who is Irus' sister has trained animals other than birds to be able to deliver letters; and Princess Genomar of Levadi, who is great at archery, she might even be able to go for war with you.”

“That is very impressive.”

“Your Majesty, if you just let them stay until I choose who is most suitable for you, it shall be the best decision you have ever taken.”

Reonor sighs once again, this time hopelessly; for he must had not been thinking through that direction before Asthon opened his eyes to it.

“Have it your way,” he said.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

•••

All princesses depart to their chambers except Princess Irus. She stopped on the way as well as the maidservant leading her eventually stops immediately she notices that she is no more following her.

The maidservant turned to her with a sense of concern on her face, “Milady, we have not reached your chambers.”

Irus turns around and stares at something for a moment; for her mind must have wandered away, before turning to the maidservant.

“May I have knowledge of where the royal library could possibly be?” Irus inquired.

“It is on the left, Milady,” she answered.

“Thank you.” Irus answered.

She turned around, departing from the maidservant as she began heading to the royal library.

“Milady...” The maidservant called upon her and Irus never responded.