Peril

Chapter 2

          A burst of sunlight and a flurry of activity jolted me awake.

         “Princess, you must awaken. Your brother has returned, and your father has requested you all join him for breakfast” Anne, my lady’s maid, exclaimed, peering over me.

         I pulled myself out of bed and headed to my sitting room where Anne immediately began tending to my hair.

         “Will Nik’s family be joining us this morning, Anne?”

         “I’m not sure, your highness.”

         “Please Anne, do call me Kathryn. I tire of hearing titles.”

         Anne smiled as she continued to work through my hair. I knew she would never feel comfortable dropping my title, but I was determined to continue trying. My other lady’s maid Lucy had already pulled out a lovely day gown embroidered with silk flowers and was quick to help me dress. Once ready, I made my way to the dining room.

         As I approached the archway leading into the great room, I saw a flustered Nik pacing back and forth near the entrance. When he noticed me, he looked up quickly and made his way across the room to meet me.

         “Kathryn, I need to have a word with you.”

         “I suppose it’s about your excursions last night?” I inquired knowingly.

         Nik sighed as he approached me.

         “Please, you know I don’t want to hurt you.”

         “My feelings remain unscathed.” I defiantly responded.

         He looked skeptical of my answer but didn’t press the issue.

         “So, do you still wish to go riding later?” He inquired, blue eyes looking hopeful.

         “It depends on whether my father is still angry with me after yesterday’s incident.”

         “Ah yes, he mentioned it at dinner last evening. Did you really compel a guard to take you into town?” Nik’s eyes flickered with a hint of humor. He looked slightly impressed.

         “Only because nobody else was available to escort me!” I smiled thinking about it. I had needed to purchase an herb for a spell I was working on and had come to the conclusion that compelling a guard was the quickest and safest way to do so.

         Nik laughed and offered his arm to escort me into the dining room.

         “Just tell your father you will be going with me today and he will surely allow it,” Nik offered.

         He was right, of course. My father loved Nik like his own son. In fact, he loved Nik more than any of his own sons. After my brother gave up his claim to the throne, Nik became my father’s top choice to take the throne. Although my father had produced a pair of sons in recent years, Nik still remained first in line to the throne, once he married me.

         I looked up at Nik as I took his arm. In moments like these it was easy to appreciate Nik. It was a rare look into the lively and sweet personality he had as a child, before alcohol and new responsibilities burdened him. I decided to embrace the good moments as they came.

         As he guided me into the room, my father took notice and I could tell that the sight of Nik stopped whatever beratement I would have endured otherwise.

         Moments after we were seated my brother entered the room.

         “William, you have returned.” My father stated with a dismissive tone.

         “Well, I figured you would be absolutely devastated if I stayed away any longer,” Will replied with a hint of sarcasm.

         My father looked unamused and turned to say something to his wife. I watched as Margaret smiled, though I doubted my father could have said anything remotely entertaining. I studied Margaret briefly. Despite her being married to my father for years, I had never really heard many words come from her mouth. Her auburn hair was always wrapped in a bun, and her manners were always proper yet distant. My father had never given her the title of queen, something I had interpreted as a tribute of sorts to my mother’s legacy. I appreciated the gesture, even though I bore no ill-will towards my father’s new wife. Margaret took to the role of a king’s wife well, giving him three children and acting as a source of calm when his temper became unbearable.

         Turning back to my brother, I gave him a nod of acknowledgement and began to question him.

         “Here I thought you were gone forever. Tell me, Will, what in Moldavia is so fascinating that you must remain for so long?” I smiled knowing the type of answer my question would lend itself to.

         “Ah, sister, do you even need to ask?” Will exclaimed giving me a knowing glance.

         It wasn’t a surprise that he loved venturing to Moldavia. Like me, my twin carried supernatural abilities from our mother. While his abilities lent themselves more to strength-based maneuvers, he was still powerful. Enough so that he could venture through the vampire infested town of Moldavia with a strong sense of authority. While we remained cordial with the vampires, our treaty was a fickle one, based on the trust that came from maintaining the balance of the supernatural world. Most of the people in our kingdom were humans, yet the strong remaining witches protected us, and ensured we remained respected in the supernatural world. Humans like my father also ensured we remained powerful. He maintained relations amongst the humans and the supernatural beings with ease. Even with the authority he wielded, he knew he needed to secure his standing. He sought to gain power in order to enhance his family’s authority by making a powerful witch, my mother, his queen. After her death he was content with marrying a human, knowing that when I became queen, my power would allow us to represent the witches well.

         Breakfast carried on with little controversy. Nik and my brother got caught up in conversation about some battle that had occurred in a nearby kingdom. I knew I would have to wait until we were away from my father and Margaret to properly catch up with my brother so I became content with nodding and smiling at the conversation around me.

         “Kathryn, you will start seeing Constantin again won’t you?” My father asked, snapping me out of my daze.

         “I didn’t know you wished us to continue our lessons, father.”

         That was untrue. Of course my father wanted my lessons to continue. The truth of the matter was I avoided the lessons with the powerful sorcerer because he was rigid with his methods and our lessons had hindered my ability to practice magic in the way I pleased.

         “You will continue tomorrow, Kathryn.” He asserted. “Don’t let me hear otherwise.”

         I smiled and nodded respectfully.

         “In fact, Nik, why don’t you escort her tomorrow to make sure she is able to get there” My father added.

         “Of course, sir.” Nik answered.

         I gave Nik a dark look to which he smiled and held back a laugh, ignoring my annoyance.

         As breakfast winded down I was excited, as I would finally get a chance to speak with Will.