My gratitude, My death

THE FEARFUL TRANCE

     The morning sun rays broke through the transparent window. The reflected rays shone on Princess Stephanie’s face and her eyes were still close. She went to bed late because of her father’s thirty-fourth anniversary. It was a six-day celebration and yesterday was the final day. The celebration of the last day dragged till night. Princess Stephanie had just clocked seventeen years. Over the years, she had gained more height, more width, and long dark hair, but she had not stepped her foot away from the castle. This was her home.

There was a soft knock on the door, the Princess rotated on the milky bed-sheet. Her teddy bear was close to her and she held it to her chest. Again, she heard the same knock, and this time; more than once.

     “Marian! Marian!!” The Princess called out, but she got no answer. She stood up and went to the door and as she opened it, it was her mother. She gave her a warm embrace and a kiss on her right cheek.

“Congratulations!” And they pressed their necks against another with an affectionate smile.

“Here is my gift for you.” She opened the small silver bag in her right hand. The Queen brought out a diamond crochet necklace and its earrings. Both of them went in, facing the standing mirror on the left side of her room and she sat on the fancy armchair. The room was painted purple, and stamp of small red flowers on the four walls. The head of her bed was against the single large glass window. Beside her mirror was a big white drawer, on it, three small cups of artificial flowers. At the right side of the room were a three-door wardrobe and a standing lamp.

“I have spoken to your father.” Their eyes were on each other in the mirror. The smile on the Princess’ face brought out her cheeks.

“He said tomorrow, but you need to see him today, to give you the written certificate of authority, the staff, and the name of the army General in charge of your trip.

“I will do that.” She smiled.

“I will miss you.”

“But it’s just a week.”

“Hmm… I know. Please don’t go beyond the borders of Portsmouth. You know the story, they are our enemies.”

“I know, my father always reminds me.”

“Just be careful.”

“I will.”

The Queen raised the Princess’ long hair and wore her the necklace and the earrings. They both smiled again at the giant mirror. Queen Rebecca left the front of the mirror as her daughter admired her gift with her fingers.

Princess Stephanie was fair in complexion. Her height and body width were in perfect proportion. She had small eyes, rounded eyebrows, a small nose, and a full lower lip; all in an oval face. She was a replica of her mum, alluring in appearance. Her smile could mollify any man’s agony. She was the epitome of beauty. Being the treasure of King Eric, none of her needs and wants were ever delayed or questioned. Yet, she was not given the privilege to go outside the castle. Few of her friends were within the castle. Most of her free time was spent in her room with her favorite teddy bear called Floppy. The castle became boring despite its greatness in uniqueness. She knew all quarters and tales around the castle. The finest banquet and entertainment were within her reach. Right from birth, royalty was her footstool. But now, a common lifestyle became her desire, to tour outside the castle and beyond.

“Marian! Marian!!”

She called her maid. The maid took some time to enter her room. On her right hand, a tray of breakfast. The maid thought, as usual, the Princess was demanding her meal.

“My lady, your meal is ready.”

“Keep them aside dear,” she demonstrated with her right hand, “I’m not hungry. Today, we will march out and feel the outer breeze,” and they both smiled.

“Go to the king’s chamber and inquire if my father is awake”.

The maid left at once and went to the king’s chamber. The king’s chamber was on the fourth floor of the castle.

“The Princess has a message for the king.” The two guards looked at themselves, then at the maid and the one at the right replied.

“The king is in an important meeting at his court.”

She nodded without a word, and she brought the news back to the Princess. The Princess went to her bed and clinched herself against the transparent window. She watched the events outside; seeing people and horses going left and right. She bent her head to the left and saw horses eating straw. She saw the big gate from afar and three soldiers holding long spears. The sound of a horse made her turn her head to the right. She saw an old man, dragging a giant male horse with a rope. The horse was so strong that it pulled the man towards itself. The way the man struggled with the horse made the Princess smile. After much intimidation of the horse, the Princess laughed. And she kept watching till a young soldier helped him.

Beside her was her teddy bear while her imagination took her away from the castle. After some hours, she sent her maid again and she came back with the same message.

The afternoon came and her patience was beginning to wear out. She was a little upset and called her maid again. This time, she gave her words to her father but through the castle messenger

Stephanie’s maid, Marian, was a short woman. Fairer in complexion to the princess. She had a wide nose and smile-looking cheeks. When she got to the deliverer’s office, she knocked and a voice from inside invited her in. The messenger was sitting down busying arranging the bulk of letters on his desk. One of the king's servants was standing in front of the deliverer’s table. As he saw Marian, he shifted so the messenger could see her. Both of them looked at each other and smiled. It was obvious that both of them were into something, perhaps a secret relationship.

“Go to my father and tell him, his daughter has been waiting for him.” The messenger was a short, bellied man with an infant bald head. He stood up and ordered the man sitting in front of him to leave and return later.

On arriving at the entrance, he became astonished. The guards at the door asked him to wait until the conclusion of the meeting; this was unusual. He became suspicious that something strange had happened. This man was the head of all the messengers in the castle. He orders the distribution of letters in and out of the king’s palace. He was under King Eric’s order to enter his presence regarding sensitive matters.

“Never, should you visit any city outside this kingdom. Our enemies are many and we must be careful enough to draw a line between pleasure and mistrust.”

These have always been King Eric's words to her daughter, a few months before Princess Stephanie turned seventeen. The King would always sit her down every weekend and educate her on some facts about leadership. These words sometimes woke her up at midnight.

“My daughter, to be a great leader, you will need a crown. The staff of authority, and committed armies. The words of the king are the words of the gods; they are never questioned. You are the most fortunate Princess I have seen and heard of. You must apply wisdom in all your actions. Sentiments don’t build kingdoms, they destroy empires. You must be a good listener and …”

In the middle of her reflection, the sound of her name dragged her to reality. It was her maid.

“My lady, the meeting has ended,” She chanted at the Princess’ door. She hurried up from her bed and came out of her room.

The King came out of his court with one of his most trusted bodyguards. His name was Albert. They had gone through l the sacred scroll. This was the property of the sorcerers' King Oakley had slain. The scrolls were kept in a secret room only the king has access to.

The king stood at the entrance while Albert walked away. He was putting on a weird face and was barefooted. He went into the court again and sat down. He looked up and down, then threw his face to the left window.

Two days before the Princess’ tour, the king fell into a trance. A day to her tour, the king still fell into the same trance.

He saw a black pot and under it was a fire burning out from nowhere. Inside the pot, he saw blood and a crown that looked like king’s Eric own. Red smoke was boiling out. After a while, the crown melted into the blood and he saw five men who looked like kings. In their hands were golden cups. They divided the blood into five cups. Four kings drank theirs, but the fifth one stared at his cup for a while. As he was about to put it into his mouth, his hands started shaking and the cup fell from his hand. The golden cup broke into pieces. Later, King Eric saw a mighty wind. It blew all the statues of the former kings of Portsmouth down and they broke into fragments.