Destinare: A Destined Tale Of Time

VI The Last Bond.

Azmeralda never thought that she was going to be making a habit out of getting lost. It was only just the night before that she got lost in the maze. She hoped to end the tale at that, but apparently, the heavier came later, when she was blessed by the troops of men led by her father to find her.

She was embarrassed to face anyone, ashamed of the trouble many had to deal with because of her. Even now, as she strolled through the hallways of the palace, she felt the glares coming from everyone that passed by her shoulder. The greetings she received this morning felt like an insult to her – or at least that’s what she thought.

Fortunately, the unsettlement that she felt in her belly was gone as she moved on from the phase of shame. However, there was no one around or within her eyesight that she could ask for directions on how to get back to her room or at least a spot where she might find her father.

*If he leads yet another crowd to search for me, I’m going to bury myself alive* she thought, her feet halting to see if she recognized her surroundings, and that was the cause of her misery. Every other hall looked exactly the same – or at least to her, she had no clue how to tell them apart. It was all before she gave up any hope of finding the way herself.

 “Did I stumble across a place I shouldn’t or something?” she thought, her gray-stormy orbs were testing the place for any signs of life. “I don’t think I can even go back to where I first got lost.”

She measured her options, not remembering where she first lost touch with Canaria. Her bad habit (at least in this situation) of stopping and staring at something that caught her eye, got the better of her yet again. She stopped to dwell over a portrait of the Pantera family hanging on the patterned wall, and before she could realize it, Canaria was already long gone.

The least she could convince herself of was the note of her absence. Before long, Canaria will inform someone of her disappearance, yet again. Azmeralda crossed her fingers in the hope that Canaria was smart enough to know that Julianus wasn’t an option in this sort of situation.

Hopefully, after yesterday’s events that Canaria was part of, she will disregard the Emperor from her options.

Part of Azmeralda wasn’t feeling half as bad as she should be. The aesthetic part of her was having the time of her life as she wandered through the hallways of the palace that were exactly her cup of tea. The ornamentation adorning the walls with the simply decorated wallpaper along with the paintings and portraits of older kings, kings that were even before the time her own father was born.

So sophisticating how the history of an entire empire can be summarized on a few canvases hung atop a wall in one of the hallways. Perhaps, that was what the owners wanted, to become a legend to the future generations that they were sure to come, and it is what the current emperors are seeking as well.

To join their ancestors on the wall of fame, with greatness carved on the golden-metallic plates beneath their canvas.

Among the loudness of her mind as she put the pieces together, in the corner of her eyes she was blinded by sudden sunlight tearing through the cool air around her amid the hallway. The walls on her right soon started to disappear smoothly into the inner garden of the palace.

Azmeralda’s nose worked before her eyes could, the intoxicating smell of roses teasing her nostrils as her feet kept following the scent. Before long, her eyes welcomed the sight of rows upon rows of roses aligned around the paved path on the dirt, as the marble tiles ceased after Azmeralda went down the steps to be on level with the ground.

But among the rose-decorated garden stood a thick tree with its branches shielding the surrounding roses with its shade. Amid the sea of red, it stood tall and proud, emitting an aura of calmness in the air through the blossoms adorning its branches.

Azmeralda found herself halting in her walk at the sight of it. She couldn’t help but eye it from the roots extending down beneath the dirt and up to the branches that were almost as high as the palace. The pale pink petals feel like snow in the middle of summer, so gentle and soft as they touch her skin.

She took her time to admire and engrave every corner of it on a canvas in her own mind palace, adding yet another memory on the second day of her arrival. The reason for her stumbling upon this blossom tree was soon off her mind as she started to approach it, and with every step closer she saw a different landscape before her eyes as the perspective changed.

As her feet got closer, she saw a figure of a boy standing before the tree trunk. Something about him felt familiar to her, the shape of his shoulders and his slim and somewhat frail frame hooked her in. As Azmeralda got closer to making out the raven color of his hair, she knew that it was none other than Tiberius.

A smile cracked her face as she happily skipped over the ground approaching him. It was only half a minute before Tiberius was staring over his shoulder at the sound of the approaching footsteps.

For a minute there Azmeralda swore that she saw a smile dancing on his lips, more like, a hint of it crossed his face for a minute before it returned to the normal blank expression.

“I never thought that I would meet you here,” Azmeralda said first, before offering any form of greeting.

“Good morning to you too,” Tiberius said, turning back to the tree.

Azmeralda felt the heat travel through her in embarrassment as she was reminded of how up-tight he was regarding their relationship. Though Azmeralda could never say if that was just the way he talked to people, or was the problem with herself.

She cleared her throat while straightening her posture, taking tiny steps to stand beside him. She felt blood seeping down the spot where he was staring. Azmeralda felt that she could no longer ignore the stares and decided to turn and return the stare, but she came to regret her decision not even a second later.

The black of his eyes was shimmering as the sunrays found their way to his raven orbs through the branches of the tree before them.

“W-Why are you staring like that?” she finally said, breaking the silence that lasted so long.

“It was dark last night.”

“Eh?”

“I couldn’t see your face well in the darkness of the maze yesterday,” he elaborated with a stern face.

“Oh,” she simply said, turning her attention back to the blossom tree before them.

Suddenly she felt the urge to let the silence prevail, all the words she had once wanted to say were now forgotten as she enjoyed the peaceful moment. The silence was no longer awkward, in fact, it was appreciated. The only source of sound was the rustling of the branches against each other as the breeze blew amid the garden.

“Thank you,” she said almost in a silent whisper, but against the silence of the garden Tiberius had no other way but to hear the words.

“For what?” he said, looking sideways at her profile. The petals were getting tangled in the curls of her hair as they fell off their branches, creating a painting-like image in the back of his mind.

“I never got the chance to thank you for helping me out the night before,” she explained, averting eye contact. “Sorry you had to witness such a family problem.”

Tiberius blinked in ignorance before he registered what she meant. “Oh,” he said. “There is no need to thank me, I just did what I had to.”

The reminder of last night as the Queen came banging on his door was nothing but a hazed memory in his mind now, and it was all thanks to the same person that stood next to him. The same person that was giving him butterflies in his belly.

Last night, Tiberius never got the chance to pinpoint the time when the Queen finally gave up on the door budging. Usually he would’ve cowered away in the corner fearing that the door might collapse under her strength. Perhaps, even now, he feared bumping into her. At least in an empty place like this.

In the crowds she has got no other chance but to put up the façade of the perfect Queen. However, she always made sure that his existence stayed at the bare minimum. Even Julianus had heard nothing about him as he received a report from his men. But even hiding in the shadows of the crowd wasn’t an option.

“No one cares about a bastard prince…”

Who said those words? Tiberius would never know, he would never get to hang the words to one person in specific as they have been said by many. They were spat out like poison from mouths that he never stumbled upon before, and yet they all never hesitated to stab him with the dagger of their words.

“Hello…”

Tiberius snapped from his dwelling and jolted his head up at Azmeralda. She seemed to have been saying something that went unheard by his hazed mind.

“S-Sorry,” he stuttered, taking a step away from her as he ruffled the back of his head. “What were you saying?”

“I was asking if you had your breakfast,” she said again, her eyes narrowed. “Or did you skip it like yesterday?”

Tiberius took a moment to answer. “Y-Yes,” he said. “I eat in my room.”

“It would be…”

Azmeralda halted mid-sentence, reminded of the situation that he was in. ‘I don’t eat with the Royal family’. She remembered his exact way that he put these words coated with sadness underneath the surface. His words had so many layers in them, it was hard to make them apart.

As her head went up again, she was met with questioning looks. “I-It’s nothing,” she said. “Forget it.”

Tiberius didn’t seem convinced but nodded either way. It was before long that they returned to the silence again, taking the time to enjoy the moment as it lasts. Azmeralda came to forget her position at the moment and where she was standing. Canaria and the whole deal about being lost was soon crashing on top of her head.

She gasped loudly, taking Tiberius by surprise as he stumbled backwards.

“I-Is something a matter?”

“I’m lost!”

Tiberius, at this point, couldn’t help but wonder if this was yet another joke that he didn’t catch on, but the genuine look of horror on her face said other wise and he soon knew thta the wasn’t wrong about reading the situation.

“PRINCESS!”

Azmeralda turned on her heels in the direction of the familiar sound, to find Canaria racing at her with panting breaths. In half a minute, she was with the two of them and took another whole minute to catch her breath from running all around the place.

“Canaria, are you okay?” Azmeralda puzzled, feeling the guilt feed on her for the second time for the same reason.

“Thank…thank goodness you are alright,” Canaria said breathily. “I’ve looked all over for you!”

Azmeralda drew in a sharp breath as she hurriedly scanned over the quietness around her, waiting to hear the footsteps lashing through the air as her father surrounded them.

“You didn’t go to my father, did you?!” Azmeralda exclaimed in a rush. “He can’t know!”

Perhaps rather than being worried about her, she hated the thoughts that never fail to envelope her father’s mind at the idea of harm befalling her. The memory of her mother never truly leaves his mind, triggered by Azmeralda’s very existence next to him as the only thing left behind that Julianus believed bonded him to her mother.

“N-No,” Canaria confessed. “But I was on my way to doing so.”

Azmeralda felt relief wash over her as she released the breath that she has been holding.

“I knew that you wouldn’t tell him,” Azmeralda chuckled, patting her on the shoulders.