The Crystal of Rurgá

Prologue - A Decision of Fate

She kept on running. She sprinted over the marble floor, footsteps echoing loudly in the hall each time they hit the floor. Her vision was blurry, overflowing with tears. She could not believe that her Father, the King, would be so cruel.

The King had sent for her to declare an important decision. What this "important decision" would have to do with her she had not been able to guess. Both the King and Queen, as well as her two oldest siblings Prince Primus and Princess Illyana, had been present in the spacious throne room. Everyone but the King had looked rather gloomy, and Desdemona hadn't been sure what to make of it. If it would have been bad news, why had they only called on her? She had also wondered why they all had been facing her with serious expressions and worried looks? She had just been standing in front of them all, like she was being accused of something, for a couple of moments. Before she had clasped her hands together tightly and nervously asked why she had been called there. The room's dreary atmosphere had given her shivers down her back. And the answer her Father then gave, made her feel like the world around her had fallen and vanished completely. And in the middle of her Father's explanations and descriptions, she had not been able to take it anymore, and stormed out through the doors.

And now she was running. She didn't know where, but away from the throne room. Away from her family. Just somewhere elsewhere than there. She felt like the walls were closing in, bending towards her. So she ran outside, into the gardens. She accidentally bumped into someone, she didn't see who it was, and didn't stop to apologize either. She kept on running, with tears flowing down her cheeks. Through her watery blurred eyes Desdemona saw a big oak tree, a tree she recognized as one of her favorite reading spots. It was close to her, and so she steered towards it. The tree had a big opening at it's base, and Desdemona crawled into it, curling up inside the best she could. There she put her knees up to her forehead, wrapped her arms around them, and continued to cry. After a while she started gasping sharply after air, she felt like she couldn't get enough into her lungs. She tried taking deep breaths, but it was difficult. Her whole body was shaking frantically. She simply could not stop, and it felt like she had no control over her body anymore. Her chest started hurting horribly, and she felt awfully lightheaded. And through all that, the tears kept falling.

If it was minutes or hours that went by, Desdemona wasn't sure. But she heard a constant calling of her name. However she couldn't make out who it was that were calling her, or how close or far away it was, as it was drowned out by her now more quiet sobbing. She noticed the sun had started to set, but she couldn't bring herself to crawl outside her hiding pace. Eventually, she felt someone grab her shoulder gently, while softly whispering her name. Desdemona was taken aback by the sudden touch. Her whole body twitched, and she smacked the person's hand by reflex. Queen Ann startled pulled her hand away with a small surprised gasp. Upon realizing who it was that had touched her, Desdemona felt utterly ashamed, and bit her lip while steering her eyes away from her Mother.

"Dede... look at me darling..."

But Desdemona curled up further, keeping her eyes fixated on a single small yellow flower. It was hanging slightly, like it could feel her own somber emotion, and bowed down it's head in sympathy for her.

"Honey... please just listen then... You know your dramatic Father likes to make it sound worse than it is. It won't truly be as dreadful..." Queen Ann whispered as sweetly as she could.

The tears and cries that had temporarily stopped were now dangerously close to break out again. Desdemona felt her body starting to shake. But this time it was not only dread and anguish, but anger as well. She dug her nails into her legs, and felt a stinging pain. Then she shot a quick glance with fury in her eyes at her Mother, before burrowing down her head into her lap again.