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"Oh, that sounds just lovely!" Lady Vevina shouted in
glee while my stomach started to turn over. I glanced away from my father's
formidable figure and looked down at the food which I still haven't eaten. I
forked up some salad into my mouth to help comfort the uneasiness growing inside
of me, but the leaves felt dry and tasteless.
"Have you found the Draik which helped that runaway
escape?" Lady Vevina said in her same sugary tone, but a hint of treachery seemed
to lurk beneath her words. I eyed her carefully while she continued to stare
adoringly up at my father.
A fierce look crossed my father's already troubled
face the moment he heard her words, and he shook his head angrily. "Darn those
treasoners! As soon as I find those betrayers I would make sure that they'll
never cross my path again!" he shouted and pounded his fist upon the table.
Another shudder ran through my body and I looked down guiltily, not noticing
the stare which Lady Vevina gave me.
"Uncle Alastare..." Lady Vevina sneakily said,
"what type of Neopet was the inside worker, anyway?"
"Oh, a Draik," my father growled, and I unfortunately
saw his eye twitch as he looked over at Lady Vevina. "Why?"
"Oh, no reason," Lady Vevina once again said
in a sneaky tone. "Saaaay...what color was the Draik?"
"The onlookers said that it had a creamy white
color with purplish stripes upon it's body...like a Maraquan Draik," my father
grunted and hastily shoveled another mouthful of meat into his mouth. "Why?"
"Well, I believe that if you search for every
Maraquan Draik in our lovely kingdom of Erodaire, we would be able to find the
culprit," Lady Vevina said back. "Now start thinking about any Maraquan Draiks
which resides in Erodaire."
My father glanced up at the ceiling thoughtfully
before his eyes swiveled back down. "Well, the only Maraquan Draik that I know
of is-"
"Lady Andra?" Lady Vevina said and gave me an
evil eye. "Why, isn't that a coincidence?"
My father gave an awkward glance at my direction,
and I felt my hands start to shake nervously. But I bravely looked up and met
his eyes, trying to look as innocent as possible, but it was hard considering
the fact that I was staring into the eyes of a Draik who showed no mercy upon
his very own citizens. I kept my jaw as firm as I possibly could and met my
father's glare with my very own glare.
"Welllll..." Lady Vevina said, interrupting my
father and I's staring match, "she is a likely candidate, is she not? She knows
all the mazes of the castle, and it's been reported by a guard that he caught
her going down to the dungeons once..."
At these words my blood froze and I quickly averted
my father's gaze. I gave Lady Vevina an angered glare before growling, "How
dare you accuse me of betraying my Father and my King!" I stole another
glance over at the King's formidable form before I added, "I would never betray
him no matter what!"
Silence reigned over us while we awaited my father's
reply to this question. His face was as stern as ever, but deep in his eyes
I could clearly see that his mind was desperately running around and trying
to find the answer. Deep inside of me, I hoped with all my heart that my father
would never discover the truth behind the dungeon's escape.
"How dare you!" my father finally shouted, surprising
both Lady Vevina and I. We both looked at him and saw his eyes ablaze with pure
fire. "How dare you accuse my daughter of betraying me! If there is one person
in this castle whom I could trust, it's Princess Andra, and you accuse me of
laying my trust upon the wrong shoulders?" he growled. Lady Vevina simply stared
at him in awe.
"Buh-buh-but I only meant the best for you..."
Lady Vevina stuttered awkwardly. Relief washed over me when I realized that
Lady Vevina wasn't going to continue arguing with my father. For some odd reason,
I knew that my father would eventually discover the truth if this argument were
to continue on.
"GET OUT OF THIS ROOM YOU...FOOL!" my father
bellowed after the retreating form of Lady Vevina. Before her Starry Draik form
was able to vanish behind the door, however, she gave me a deadly glare, but
I simply smirked at this act.
"Thank you, kindest King Alastare, for defending
me," I said and beamed up at my father's form, but my smile vanished once I
saw the disappointment upon his downbeaten and weary face. It seemed as if a
thousand pains had been dropped upon his mind, and a thousand weights were lying
on his shoulders, for he had on the most sorrowful face I've ever seen him wear.
"What is wrong?" I asked quickly.
"Oh...nothing...nothing dearest," he whispered
softly and patted my hand comfortingly. "It's just that...what Lady Vevina said...it
made a lot of sense, and I can't help but think that it's the truth..." he whispered
the last words in sorrow and looked up at me, his eyes containing the pain of
a child who just lost his mother or father. My heart fell at this look, and
I yearned to tell him the truth. The only thing which held me back was the fact
that the truth was going to make his pain even deeper.
"I would never betray you, father, remember that,"
I said, my heart breaking at the sight of his down eyes and at the fact that
I was lying to his face. "You have my loyalty..."
"I know...I just...it's just that...ever since
you're mother died, you're the only family I've got, and if you ever betray
me..." and my father released a shuddering sigh, leaving his sentence unfinished.
"Oh well, I know you would never do that. How would you like to go through the
streets of Erodaire this evening, darling? Just you and me, and the guards,
of course."
I smiled at this offer, and my enthusiastic nod
was accompanied by the words, "I would love that."
"That's wonderful," my father said back, and
a flicker of a smile appeared on his face before the pained look overtook it.
"Before we go, though, I would like for us to go down into the dungeons to see
how the improvements are going along."
I nodded at this statement to show that I didn't
mind at all, and gave him a graceful smile while he simply gave me his usual
grim smile. My father stood up and started to walk away from the table and towards
the halls which led to the dungeons, but I continued to sit there, absentminded
and deep in my own thoughts.
It has been many years since I've last seen my
father smile, and only the shadow of his grins tease me. Although he always
called me the 'joy of his life' and his 'tree's most precious fruit', he always
simply treated me as a close companion. He never treated me like a father should.
Like his smile, whenever he gets close to actually allowing me to believe that
I truly was his daughter, it always runs away and hides before I'm able to take
a good look at it.
"He's went through too much trouble in his time..."
I said and pushed myself away from the table. Walking slowly out of the room
and into the connected corridors, I continued to drift on thoughts of my father,
my mother, and Oldraik. I missed my mother dearly...and sometimes I would always
think about how my life would be different if she were still here. If her kind
and loving attitude were still alive so that they would be able to calm my father's
quick temper, he wouldn't be the tyrant that he is. If only I were able to turn
back time and save my mother...everything would be perfect, and everything would
be the way it should be...
I glanced out the window and stared down into
the kingdom of Erodaire as I pushed out all my wishful thoughts. It was folly
to continue dwelling on things which were never going to happen, and I knew
that I mustn't live my life on shadowed dreams. My eyes lingered upon the trees
which grew along the street's sides; they billowed in the wind like small green
flags. The tops of all the houses were splashes of black and red on the brown
dirt, and Neopians who were browsing the many stalls and going on their little
errands looked like brown Mootix's from this height, and I couldn't help but
smile at how their carefree lives were so simple and uncomplicated. The only
thing which they had to fear was getting on the King, my father's, bad side.
I drew my eyes away from the picturesque windows
and focused my attention on the corridor before me. I turned left into another
hallway which allowed me to see a small, wooden door up ahead. It was the door
the led to the dungeons...a door that I've been through a few times before for
many important reasons which I did not feel like remembering now. I quickened
my pace and started to approach the door quicker for I knew that my absence
was quite long, but as I came closer, I heard yells and bellowing from behind
it.
Fearing the worst, I grabbed the doorknob, yanked
it open, and quickly descended the steps into the brightness at the bottom.
Although many weeks ago, the Dungeons of Erodaire were as dark as the deepest
black, they were the complete opposite now. They were not dark anymore, for
although it hindered the prisoners sight, it also hindered our guards sight,
so my father allowed little windows to be made at the top so that light would
stream down. But I wasn't focused on the changes which were made to the dungeons,
for my eyes were glued on my father's terrible sight.
To be continued...
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