The closest I ever came to having what some called family was Evangeline. She was the shadow I lived under. My caretaker. Unfortunately Dimitri, her husband had been killed trying to protect me. But thankfully he was never replaced, so it was just us two.

"Proceed with the food," she asked the raven.

The raven, a woman, never a man, came in to taste my food to make sure it wasn't poisoned. A raven was only allowed to get this close to me because they had been working off their crimes and this was their seventh year. On the seventh year depending on the severity of the crime they would get their records reset. 

Still the raven had no idea who they were serving, to them I might as well be anyone else since I was just above them, and masks were not highly uncommon. It was just more cultural to groups like the Royals, Phoenixes and Tigers. So I sat there with a mask covering my face so the raven wouldn't see me. It was just one of the many rules my father had for me: I had to wear a mask at all times.

The last time I had been in the public eye was before my mother's death. For her funeral they got someone else to go instead of me. I never got to bury her. I had to keep my identity a secret even though I was the spitting image of my mother. So only 3 people knew what I looked like: my father, his right hand Yuko, and Evangeline.

Everyone else was off limits.

The other royals paid me no mind although they knew I was alive. They also had orders to not talk about me. When I was younger it was kind of awkward to cross paths with them. I think it started with the fact that I never went to the Creed with them. This was probably the only thing I envied about them.

The Creed was the educational program of The Kingdom. 

There wasn't much I could praise the King for but this was his crown jewel if there was one. Instead I got private teachers, one on one training, my own books and my masks from where I saw the royals speculating, laughing, bonding over their mutual distaste of me. But whoever they turned out to be I didn't envy one bit. The owls had this saying:

"Snakes can only hatch snakes."

It was easy to understand that when I saw them. Every single one just a copy and paste of the other in lifted noses against the Kingdom they were supposed to be devoted to. One of the many things I didn't understand about my father not abolishing all of them to lower classes to give them a taste of life outside these sturdy old embellished walls.

Evangeline stared at the raven for a while to make sure nothing was wrong and only after she left I was allowed to take the mask off to eat.

"Finally." I filled my mouth with hot soup cutting into the boiled egg with the wooden sticks and dipping a small bread square in there.

"So what did you do today?"

"Tea for an hour alone in the morning, one book in an ancient language, practiced a musical object, middle day lunch with you, trained an hour with different combat instruments, an hour without combat instruments, how to be perfect lessons, dinner with you now. Afterwards I will go for a walk, then read about economics and technological advances in the blue light room, then before going to sleep." I gave her a wry smile.

"Wrong smile. Do it again and give me obedient sincerity."

"Ugh he's driving me crazy with all these stupid lessons," I complained about my father's extensive schedule for me.

"Aren't you the one excited about coming to age finally?"

"Yes but..."

"Pay the price then."

"Fine," I gave her the smile she was looking for.

"Beautiful, just like..."

"My mother." I finished for her since she wasn't allowed to keep talking about my mother.

"Are you going to visit her?"

"Yes before going to sleep so I don't have to encounter anyone."

The Kingdom itself had never forgotten and every year they'd fill the outside of the palace with flowers for her like today since they couldn't visit her grave inside the castle grounds. Only her memorial by the sea which was where most were at today.

"Will you need company?"

"The grounds there are safe and secured."

"Don't go too late."

"Sure," I agreed.

After lunch right at the exact moment of her death the people came to the castle walls. I could hear them, the commotion right on the other side. The walls that kept me in, kept them out, I sighed against them. I would have liked to accompany them to the sea if I could but alas my sea was her room. I typed in the code and entered her room by myself.

To think I used to sneak in here and wear her shoes, her clothes, her lipstick as a kid. Now that I was about to be of age it was almost silly I had wanted to so much like her. A true Queen, a beloved leader, my mom. Mom.

Outside the Castle through the window as I went to put the flowers in a vase I could see the crowd. The people looked so tiny gathered with photos, masks, flowers, tears and for mom. If she only knew how beloved she was going to be forever it'd make her so happy.

"Long Live Queen Mahala," I said even though it couldn't be said by the crowd anymore.

I knelt along with them on both knees, bowed my head, closed my eyes and put my hand over my heart. It was a sign of respect to her as the Queen and my mother.

"Help me get to the truth, please mom."

After visiting her room I resumed my schedule until the dead of the night where no one would be at her grave. I did the walk by myself instead of getting on a horse like I would usually do to visit her. At least her grave was beautiful enough to trick anyone into misguiding their attention away into the trees and plants surrounding it. 

Carrying her favorite flowers in hand it was weird to know the royals always brought out flowers for her too. I couldn't tell if the royals disliked my mother or just me. My thoughts were abruptly cut off until I saw someone standing in front of it. My feet froze at once and almost my breath as well. I stood still trying to make it out but all I could see was a hood and a long cape to disguise the body shape. Was it a woman or a man? My father wouldn't have come at night wearing a black cape. Before I could move an inch towards the caped stranger they had already noticed me and left through the door to my left. I ran after it but they hid somewhere I couldn't find them in the dark.

"Come out! Are you here to kill me too?!" I asked but I heard nothing so I waited them out.

I didn't move from the spot I was at. I knew it'd be harder to hear if I also started running aimlessly. All I needed was a sound to follow it so I stood still. Maybe too still as I eventually ended up closing my eyes for a bit until I heard the birds chirping and my head came back up in a jolt. So I stood up ready to defend myself looking for a sign of the stranger or danger but I was alone and on the floor a note.

The Gryphon Murderer is alive

Was this the caped stranger? Was this why they didn't harm me? They waited for me too? For me to close my eyes so they could leave this in my hands? Why? Or rather who were they? I had questions! How did they know? What made them so sure? Maybe if I hadn't been so abrupt they would have stuck around? No. They were hiding. They don't want me to know it's them. Why? Would they be in danger? My mind asked every question, thought of too many possibilities and then I stopped because this meant I was right. They had never released images of the real killer, just a statement the Kingdom had caught them. I had never been able to see the Gryphon killer with my own two eyes and by the looks of it it wasn't even real?!  He had lied to me. Again!

I folded the paper neatly hiding it between my clothes and stormed off to find my father.

"Is King Alaster in there?" I asked one of the most loathed people I had the displeasure of knowing.

Yuko.

The owl who also happened to be my father's appointment keeper waiting outside for him like she was his dog. From the moment we met I disliked her and over the years I tried to come up with some possible explanation. The best I could do was that maybe I simply hated her because she spent more time with my father than I ever did.

Yuko was the person my father talked to, listened to.

How many times did I hide behind walls hoping to listen to their plans and strategies? She was smart and he saw that in her but not in me and maybe I was jealous. But I had never been able to shake out my animosity towards Yuko who looked at me like a hindrance to my father's day.

"Yes Princess Gryphon?"

"Announce me, I need to talk to him."

"That won't be possible; he asked not to be disrupted at this time by anyone and you..."

I walked past her and if she wasn't so self-controlled like the owls are supposed to be she would have body blocked me for sure.

"Princess Aurora I..." I walked past her locking the door behind me so she wouldn't walk in with me.

Invading my father's quiet time he was as always unbothered by the noise I made on my way in.

"Hi father," I smiled cynically at him.

"This is my quiet time Aurora; we can see each other later." He played an old string instrument.

"It's later, look 20 years later."

"Aurora please. I don't have time for this, make your requests later."

"I want to know now."

Finally he sighed opening his brown eyes and looking towards me as he saw we were alone and everyone had fled to leave us alone.

"You promised to give my mother's files a few days earlier won't make a difference."

"That is not how things works Aurora."

"Yes it is. You're the King, you can do anything you want. So do it."

"You are too impatient."

"Yes. So what? Impatience gets things done earlier."

"Well I cannot. The council has voted no."

"What do you mean the council voted no?"

"I have not yet been able to persuade them to give you full access. They believe partial access will be more prudent to your eventual crowning."

"What?" I asked feeling my heart grow so cold it drained the life out of me. "They can't do that." I shook my head. "You promised me!"

"They can and I don't entirely disagree with them. Everything is best when it is step by step."

"No! I waited for this for 20 years! They can't just take it away like that! You can't take it away!"

"I brought it to them and they voted no. I can't keep a promise that goes against the rules. You know better."

"No I don't! And I'm tired of you not making any sense at all to me!"

"Aurora..."

"I wanna see those files! My mother was murdered and I couldn't go to her funeral! This is the least you can do!"

"The truth is your mother died and nothing will change that. You need to move on."

"What I need is to see him! Take me to him! Tell me who it was who did that to my mother! Your wife! Don't you know me at all by now? Or what I need?"

"I have to go. Yuko is waiting for me."

"You have to go?" I scoffed but he didn't say anything back as expected. "Of course. It's always a pleasure talking with you my King." I bowed to him and he walked past me like he hadn't cut off the rope keeping me tethered to this place. The rope that kept me in this cage. 

"Ahhh!"

I began to break my father's harp into a thousand pieces. String by string I pulled it out, I smacked it on to the floor until even the floor cracked from how much I slammed the curves of the harp to break.

"Ugh!!!!"

The shards of the harp laid unrecognizable all over the floor as I stepped back looking at what I'd done and turned my back on it.

If we weren't going to do this the easy way then I was going to do this my way...

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Kingdom Dictionary

Refresher - Restroom/Bathroom

Glass - Phone

Toxic - Alcoholic Drink

Ink - Body Art

Tattoo - Personalized ID

Newscreen - TV

Deskscreen - Computer

Power - One of seven placements for life after graduating the Creed.

Creed - Educational System

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No part, character, names, plot, setting, conflict or resolution, point of view, theme or symbolism of this story may be replicated.

Copyright: All Rights Reserved to A. Sena Gomes.