𝔯𝔬𝔶𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔶

Departure

NARRATOR

    When the morning came, Elizabeth allowed very little time for Idina to prepare herself for the day. She helped the frozen-featured princess into her deep red brocade dress. Idina detested the color despite it matching her eyes. She much preferred white, like her hair, which was fastened into a tightly braided bun and topped with a gold and onyx aigrette tiara. Idina watched as her nurse and a few servants danced about her frantically, yet cautiously, dolling her up for the day.
    Still silent and with an unmoving countenance, Idina was escorted to the front hall. Waiting in front of the entrance to the palace stood her mother and father.
    War had been declared on the Remulos the night previous — a decision believed to be inane by Idina and the Queen. Now, the king and his best men were prepared to return to the fields and resume battle over the refusal to end a feud remaining since the Old War fought over one thousand years ago.
    Only a few days ago had Idina remained respect for her father. He wasn't the best king to have served the Damiras Kingdom, but he was otherwise effective and beloved. She recalled what she had told him in the Royal Preparatory two days ago: "Don't fret, dear father, you've made the correct choice." How ignorant they had both been. Much changes once betrayal pollutes the inner workings of a high establishment. The people had no other option but to serve a king unaware of the tainted Remulos input shaping the future of the kingdom. Everything hung in the balance held by the trusting king.
Today, as Idina gazed at what could potentially be her last look at her father, she saw nothing but a man to toss away. Once he was out of the picture, the reigns of the kingdom would be handed to her mother and set on track under her authority. She questioned whether or not she should feel ashamed for wishing he could be killed already. Her leg bounced in anticipation for something that couldn't seem to happen fast enough.
Those thoughts, in this moment, were impolite, so she shoved them away in approaching her father.
"My darling, Idi. How I shall miss you!" King Elphes embraced his daughter in a tight squeeze.
    "How you shall, Elphes." Idina brought her mouth to her father's ear and dropped her voice down to a whisper where no one else could hear. "You've disappointed me greatly. Good luck leading your men into the arms of the beast while her offspring breeds rampant within our own walls. I'll be seeing you."
     Idina didn't bother to witness her father's reaction. She turned, shot a daring look at Rurorveck, and let her feet involuntarily take her away to someplace else in the palace.
The walk helped her organize her thoughts. She was relying on Rurorveck to attempt to deescalate the situation while also trying to sort out what to do about his alliance with the Remulos. Seventy spies resided currently in the kingdom. What were the Remulos up to? What do they want to know? And what will they use that information for? A perfectly curated plot to take down the Damiras Empire. What cog in the system could be jammed to cause everything to come to a halt? Rurorveck was an obvious lead, but a hard one to pursue. What else could Idina do to save her kingdom?
     Idina didn't entirely realize where she was going until she was there. The Hidden Garden. She had gone all the way around the palace to a back door and ventured through the maze of hedges to find her way she somehow knew in her heart. All the way to where Hollen stood, trimming the hedges.
She didn't say anything for a while. A strange feeling twisted in her stomach as she stared at his lean, yet muscular features tossing excess leaves into a wheelbarrow. She hadn't seen him in such intimacy and detail before; adorned with a white shirt that held close to his skin and dirt-stained slacks that accentuated his long legs. He was busy at work.
In one toss of his clippings, Hollen finally noticed the silent Idina, causing him to lose his balance and fall into the wheelbarrow.
"Oh! Ow! Ah! Princess Idina, I didn't see you there." He put his hand over his chest to steady his heart rate.
Idina danced over to his side and pulled him from the wheelbarrow, brushing off leaves with her hand.
"I didn't mean to scare you, Hollen. I was merely observing your excellent handiwork." She gestured to his delicately detailed trimming work.
"Oh." Hollen turned to the fine hedge, "Why, thank you."
    Idina surveyed the grounds. "Is it just you here?"
    "Yes." Hollen contemplated Idina's face. "Do you want me to get more groundskeepers out here to help?"
    Idina smiled at his consideration but then spoke, "No. Actually I'd prefer if you continued working with this level of detail and craftsmanship. That way it will take you longer and I can talk to you."
    "If that's what you wish, Your Majesty," Hollen joked.
    "'Tis!" Idina beamed.
"You know," Hollen took a step closer to Idina, "I never got to thank you for having me at dinner last night."
That was true. The king had stormed in with the dire news in the middle of Queen Helena's rambling of Idina's marriage prospects. Idina had noted how Hollen was the one to inquire upon the topic of her betrothal.
"Well, I enjoyed your company," Idina mused.
Hollen quirked an eyebrow. "Is that why you've come out here with me?"
Idina sighed and smiled at Hollen. "You see right through me. You're very observant."
Hollen nodded in acceptance of the compliment. "Thank you, Princess Idina."
"Just Idina." The words slipped out of Idina's mouth before she could entirely process them. "No need for titles around us. Just Hollen and Idina."
"Of course. And I take it I'll be going by Hollen Wittlee from now on?"
"Yes." Idina pondered for a moment. "Hollen Wittlee, would you like to visit the waterfall with me?"
The waterfall was one of Idina's most secret places that she held dear to her heart. The origin of the waterfall came from the Damiras River, which travelled beneath the palace and out from below it. The view from the base of the falls made it look as if the palace was floating above it in a celestial manner, towering on those beneath it. No one ever visited the base of the waterfall, though the steps to get there still stood; aged nearly a millenium and worn by the elements — it was a wonder they hadn't crumbled to pieces yet.
Idina was wary of inviting someone to her secret and special place, but Hollen was already one of Idina's biggest secrets at the moment, so she figured it would be alright if he came to visit.
"The waterfall? What about the garden?" Hollen seemed cautious of Idina's new prospect.
"The garden will be here when we get back. It will still look just as dreadful, don't you worry." Idina grabbed Hollen's hand and began to drag him through the garden.
Hollen couldn't protest at this point as his face whipped against tall branches that Idina was too short to notice as she pulled him farther into the gardens along an unfamiliar path.
Together they reached a tall stone wall. The one that surrounded the entire kingdom, in fact. A large willow tree stood in front of the wall, with long, swaying leaves that refused to die out in the southern winters. They still had February to face, though.
     The Princess, or Idina — as she wished Hollen to call her, ducked underneath the willow leaves, entering it's protective bubble. Hollen followed behind and watched as Idina pulled back a curtain of leaves to reveal an outline in the wall. Something that looked like a door.
   Idina wedged a forgotten stick in the outline, and with a little force, forced the concrete apart to reveal that there was a hidden door within the wall.
    Idina spoke not a word as she left the kingdom's grounds and neither did Hollen as he followed her through the threshold.
    The beaten stairs began a steep path through a patch of woods, nearing closer and closer to an edge alongside the falls. From there, the two travelled carefully, holding onto nearby trees for fear of a fatal stumble onto the rocky beach below. It was hard for Hollen to concentrate, though, Idina had noticed. He kept glancing up at the massive cascading waterfall with every step they took closer to the base.
Idina looked up at Hollen as they reached the gravelled beach. "Beautiful. Wouldn't you agree?"
Hollen turned to Idina. "I've never seen something so captivating in my life."
    Idina stared fondly at the waterfall. The surging teal crystals crashed down in a power comparable to a celestial wrath. The minnows at the rock edges persevered against the current and flooded into tide pools near the shore, where seaweed flourished in its own little habitat. The river continued out for miles at the turn of a head. The playful blue waves shimmered, even in the clouded sun; it was as if the world beyond the waterfall had forgotten it to be winter.
    As Hollen observed the enchanted princess and thought aloud, connecting the dots between the secret door and the beauty of the beach.
    "This is your secret place. Is it not?"
    Idina rose her chin and peered up at the new and strangely exhilarating man. Every inch of her ached to know more about him. What a strange feeling one must have, to reveal one's most prized sanctuary. A place no other has roamed. Two nights had yet to pass in the time Idina knew Hollen. She could not determine what inside her made her want to trust him so.
    "Aye," she answered. "Never has another stood beside me at this beach. Never has there been a shared wonder of the waterfall. You are the first, Hollen Eversen."
    "I? Well, Idina. Must I say, I am honored. This is not the first time. What an honor it was to talk to you in the pub. To be offered a job. To touch your soft lips. To be saved by your masterful craft. To meet your mother. To, time and again, keep you coming back to me. Oh, Idina, won't you enlighten me? What is it about me that is so worthy of your presence?"
The princess walked silently past Hollen, back towards where they came from.
"Come with me, Hollen."
Idina hated to admit her first thought upon Hollen's compliment was how easily she could manipulate him now, like a vine to her trellis. But she quickly shook away those thoughts and continued to trek back up to the palace.
"I am sorry," Hollen called from a few paces behind Idina. "Have I offended you, Princess?"
    "You've not offended me, Hollen Eversen. In fact, you've extolled me."
    The words that left Idina's mouth were in fact the same sentences she had told Hollen after he had kissed her hand in appreciation only to her recoil. She had kissed his lips in return.
Hollen chuckled, but remained in his throat was the waver of worry that Idina picked up on. Still, he trailed Idina as she neared the kingdom wall. Idina realized she could have him follow her around the palace all day like a lost kitten and he wouldn't complain a word. That would do no use, ultimately. It was nice to know she had someone other than a servant will to her beck and call.
Idina snapped at herself for allowing these unjust thoughts plague her mind. Never before has she considered someone else's well-being before her own. Never before has she censored her own wicked mind. Idina seemed to have the same question as Hollen, who still padded along behind her as she made her way inside the kingdom walls and into the garden. What was it about him that warranted such behavior?
Idina waved her conflictive and confusing thoughts away, storing them for another time as they reached the her destination for the pair. The balcony overseeing the waterfall.
Idina planted her feet together once in the middle of the balcony, the palace behind her and the horizon ahead, displaying the winding Damiras River, going on for miles and miles. Hollen followed suit, standing a head above Idina to her right.
     "I could not tell you why I've given you so much power. So much lenience and assistance. See, I've not ever had a friend quite like you, Hollen," the princess said after a moment of quietness. "Most everyone around me doesn't know who I really am. The part of me that wants to be unshackled. Ruthless. Boundless.
    "They don't know of my secret paths out of the palace grounds. My sacred waterfall where I've spent so many fleeting hours writing poetry. Picking a name from a fairytale my mother used to read me and using it as an alias on my nights out into the kingdom. You are a product of my spontaneity and I no longer wish to be restrained nor predictable.
    "I am a fantastic actress, understand me, Hollen, when I tell you: seventeen years I've been forced to play a role. Everyone knows the power I yield and are simultaneously intimidated by it. What they don't know is that it is only a fraction of the power within me. I feel powerful when I am with you, yet without the need to use that power at all. Those are my secrets I share only with you, now, Hollen."
    The breeze sent loose hairs flying from Idina's bun, but not moving her aigrette a single inch. She considered telling him about Rurorveck, but she decided that was information was too risky to disclose just yet. She'd have to trust him more first.
     "I can't imagine how that must feel, Idina. Having no one else to turn to. I'm glad it's me, though... And I like making you feel powerful." Hollen grinned while peering at Idina through his long eyelashes.
    "Me, too, Hollen."
    The pair both smiled and a wave of a new emotion came over Idina. Similar to the rush of the night she met Hollen. She made the same move she did in the pub, but slower this time.
    Idina reached out with her bejeweled hand to find her palm pressed against his jaw, fingers curled against his cheek. Hollen squinted at her until he realized what she wanted. They both began to gravitate hesitantly towards each other, Hollen's head dipping and Idina's neck craning. Neither wanted to be the first to close their eyes, but it was inevitable once they connected with each other to create a passionate symphony with their mouths. Their lips moved with curiosity, both discovering each other in soft exhales and slow movements of their tongues, accompanied by the sensation of their travelling arms. Idina wanted to be closer to him, pulling his torso to hers as his arms locked around her waist.
    She wanted to ask herself why she was doing this, but every movement in Hollen's persistent kiss made her forget her worries and contemplations. When the two finally broke, neither said a word, slowly letting go of each other until the chill of the January afternoon was all that enveloped them.
     "I don't wish to run from you, Hollen, but I do believe this is where I must leave you for the day. I must attend lunch before someone is sent searching for me. Then we'd both be in trouble. Goodbye."
     And that was how Idina walked away from Hollen. Him. Completely speechless and still. And her. Completely powerful and energized. That was the way Idina liked it. However, the power he gave her was only fueling a far more sinister girl to come.
     And the consequences would be deadly.