Perfect Imposter

It's Almost Time

    Everyone in the kingdom was busy preparing for the most significant birthday celebration in history. Mabiella, the Crown Princess, would be turning 18 in just two more months. The festival would last for two weeks surrounding the momentous occasion, during which she would also have her official coronation, and a large debut ball. The ball was one of the most important things because they would be hosting royal families from four surrounding kingdoms and introducing the Princess to find a suitable husband, hopefully.

    The lands of Kalendra were lush and vibrant and had experienced an unprecedented 16 years of complete peace. Their neighbors also had experienced a great deal of peace. Together they had all grown fat and wealthy off the land and each other. Trade was flowing well, and families from each kingdom married for love as well as for the political bonds. It was indeed a magical time and considered to be the Golden Age of the entire continent. They occasionally heard about wars in faraway lands from the traders who came to them, but they had not seen fighting in their joint lands for so long it seemed like a story when the rumors came around again.

    King Surke was pacing in his study. His hair was black with a dusting of gray, and although he was muscular, it was apparent that he had grown used to a life of ease. He had become softer than he was in his youth, and had a rotund belly to show that he had not been practicing with his blade or even exercising in quite some time. The clothing he wore was rich but light enough to not be over warm in the late spring heat and was reflective of his kingdom's colors: gold and green.

    There were many things for the king to be worried about right now. Foremost in his mind was how close it was getting to the time that he would be meeting once again with the demon Abalyant. The beast had taken his daughter Siphelia from him when she was just a baby, and he could still remember the fearful cries of the child Abalyant had taken her away. He often wondered if Siphelia would look like her twin sister if she were still alive today.

    Mabiella was a beautiful young lady and had taken very much after her mother with her soft brown hair and bright blue eyes. It broke Surke's heart to think of his wife now. She had taken her life a few months after Siphelia had been kidnapped. She had been unable to stand the heartbreak of losing her child, and there were times when Surke was angry at her for her weakness, and other times when he was sure he would do the very same. He held on for Mabiella.

    A soft knock came at the chamber door, and Surke straightened his tunic and quickly got his emotions under control before calling out, "Enter."

    The door opened quietly, and a young girl slipped in, closing the door behind her. Her brown hair fell in ringlets down to the middle of her back, and her angelic face lit up the moment she saw her father. "Oh, father! You won't believe what I've seen today. They have snow-white peacocks and peahens wandering the gardens, a gift from the Elonian royal family for my birthday! I know I wasn't supposed to see them yet, but they were making such a racket! Their song is wonderful, even if it is a little harsh."

    Surke smiled at his daughter and embraced her. "I'm sure they will not mind that you saw the animals early, that is a gift that is hard to hide. I'm sure they would've traveled with the birds if they had wanted them to be that much of a secret?"

    Mabiella nodded and smiled at her father. "You are indeed very wise, my father. I am very excited to thank them for such a delightful gift; I hope they will be well acclimated to the weather here. I'm sure the staff would lose their minds if I kept them inside in the winter!" She laughed at this, and Surke joined her in laughing over the idea of keeping the birds indoors.

    They spoke for a few moments longer about various preparations for the party and other festival activities. Mabiella was the most excited about going out into the city among the people. Even if she had to have a constant escort, it would be fun to see her subjects having fun on her behalf. She wanted to share her joy with the people. She begged her father to let her go out into the streets this year, and not just as part of a parade. She wanted to experience the lives of her people up close, and she had argued that since the crime rate had become almost non-existent in the last few years, there was no real reason for her father to say no.

    However, her father was well aware that the demon who took her sister would be lurking around every corner during this festival. Abalyant had become quite angry when he had found out that Surke not only had two children but that they had been twins. He waited for years for the demon to retaliate against him for the deception, but the young girls had looked so alike at that time it was easy to make the beast believe there was only one. He had been terrified of losing both of his children, but now that he had watched his daughter grow into a beautiful woman, he felt he had done the right thing. The kingdom would have a beautiful Queen in her, and with a healthy marriage to one of the neighboring nations, they would also have a strong King to lead them after he stepped down.

    His only concern now was whether or not Abalyant had decided to let his lie of omission go or not. Mabiella left his study after chattering some more about the festival, and Surke went back to pacing. He would surely wear a path in the rug, but he no longer cared about such things. What would he do if Abalyant came back? How would he stop him from taking Mabiella? Was the kingdom even ready for another war, after having been at peace for so long?

    It struck him that he hadn't been back to see about the training of his army in quite some time. He had become paranoid two years ago about the return of Abalyant, but his generals had told him that they were keeping their training up to date, and they would even train harder just in case something happened at the Crown Princess's coronation. He only hoped that they had kept their word, as even an inspection of the troops now would make no difference. If they weren't ready now, they would not be ready if the devil showed up and did a tap dance in the middle of the city.

    The next two months flew by in a flurry of activity that seemed to make very little sense to King Surke. He didn't understand half the things the stewards were doing or the things they were asking him. He knew the colors, though, which every time they brought it up to him, he would say gold and green, which were the colors of his kingdom. Everything was to be in gold and green. He felt so out of touch with the world around him as he became more and more consumed with the idea of Abalyant coming back to take the rest of his life away. He was now sure he had seen the demon on no less than five occasions, lurking in dark corners of the hallway, his bedchamber, the great hall, and his study. How long before he was approached about giving up his other child, or his own life for the lies he had told?

    But the world kept spinning around him, and in a haze, the King went through his routines, and the kingdom ran smoothly, though he also wondered if it would just magically do the same if he ceased to exist at all. His deal with Abalyant had been for the peace and prosperity of the entire kingdom, had it not?