Chronicles of the Accursed One: Fatal Ties

~Angelus~

The day started off with such promise. The birds flew high above and the roses, daisies, tulips and lilies that I tend to in the castle gardens bloom ever so beautifully. Each patch of flowers were situated around the fountain like a compass: Daisies to the North, Lilies to the South, Roses to the West, and Tulips to the East. My home is located approximately ten meters north of the daisies. I share my cottage with several gardeners; Miriam, Postelle, and Theo. I am not a gardener, I am the Princesses personal servant and am supposed to be living in the same room as she, but being the kind princess she is she allowed me to live wherever I choose. I chose to live with the gardeners due to their constant involvement in my life. I owe them much for how I turned out. Without them I’m sure I would have been beheaded for some act of rebellion.

With the clear skies proclaiming healthy growth to my children surrounding this marble fountain that sparkled in the sunlight, tending to them meant peace and relaxation. I look towards the second castle with a grin knowing that the princess would soon join me. The second castle is mainly used as the living quarters for most of the maids and servants as well as where King Atticus Clair and Princess Calena Clair spend most of their day at. Of course, that is only when none of the dukedom and upper class come to complain or try to add on bazaar and absurd laws.

With a deep sigh I pull on my thick leather gloves and begin to tend to the soil, removing the bad soil and replacing it with watered down and sun dried horse manure. I start on the lilies watching carefully not to bend their stems and not to add too much fertilizer. Miriam comes out of the cottage and waves at me from afar. Her aged face holding on to the sincere kindness that is the core of her soul. Her cooking and herbal medicine made her a valuable asset to this estate, but her experience and wisdom makes her a beloved figure to the king.

As she came up to me, she put a bony hand upon my shoulder asking, “Shouldn’t you be leaving these to the actual gardeners, Angelus?” Her voice was shaky, depicting her age as visibly as the wrinkles on her face.

“I’m sure I should, but I felt like doing it myself. I hope they don’t mind.”

“No they don’t, but then again, you’re taking away their duties and will leave them nothing to do for a good portion of the day!” she chuckled softly. I joined in on the chime and apologized sincerely for it, but I couldn’t resist myself. This was one pastime that absorbed my very being and kept me from going crazy with the princesses adventures.

Things were always happening when Princess Calena came around. Her smile radiated the garden with the most pure light of happiness and laughter that it was very much hard sometimes not to wonder if in fact their was something hidden behind that smile. Even now as she runs to my side as I just started to tend to the daisies, I feel as if I am aiding her in hiding a pain deep within her heart.

“Oh dear sweet lord! They are so beautiful, Angel!” She falls to her knees upon her silk dress and bends to smell them. I couldn’t help but smile. Her innocence knew no bounds. At the age of 18 she held her image as somewhat of a giddy child amongst us servants. We each adored her because unlike most royalty, she cared for those who helped her and always tried to help. It wasn’t like her ancestors at all. They used us until we broke or died. She became somewhat of a daughter figure to most of the older servants. To me, being the youngest by 10 years at the age of 20, she was more like a sister.

“Well, my lady, I tend to them as often I can to make sure they each bloom their best.”

“I‘m sure you work hard to take great care of them. I just love how they fill the castle with their perfume.” She chuckled softly taking in another good smell. She looked to me and smiled softly. I smile in return but look to the flowers as I took off my gloves.

“You are too kind, my lady.”

She tilted her head and looked me in the eyes smiling brightly. “Come with me. I’ve got something to tell you!”

She takes my hand and tugs me along to the back of the cottage then taking a right at the fork in the path. Once again, I am dragged along behind her into another adventure. Our last resulted in the king thoroughly punishing me for letting her go through the forbidden archives below the castle. Some of the elder servants told her that their once was a place within the castle where the first ruling king hid a grimoire that could raise the dead. Her drive; her kitten that had recently passed away due to malnutrition. We looked high and low through the dust filled bookshelves for a book closely resembling what one of the cooks thought the book looked like. Green leather cover with a dark brown binding. Embossed on it’s spine was the word Unum. By the end of the day, the king found us down there and ordered us to go to his study. The king, noticing this as her reason, obtained a cat that appeared exactly the same and said, “Look, my dear. Such magic is forbidden. Hanzel was a good kitten, but he is in a happy place. So be happy for him that he can run around and be free with all his kitten friends.” She had smiled and agreed not to rely on magic for anything. Her smile after the king hugged her was irreplaceable.

She lugged me along towards the back of the circle garden. Past the tulips and lilies, through the hedge grove maze, and across the giant fountain with a statue at it’s center depicting the previous king in a mighty pose holding his sword high pointing towards the forested area within the castle grounds. It was a marker pointing towards our secret spot where we played when we were children. Passing through the forest, she continuously spoke of her passion and future ambitions for the kingdom of Izol. Although it is a small kingdom, it held much prosperity and wealth even during the Shadow War.

The Shadow War was a dark age in our planets history. At the center of the Grande Continent was a nation called Chernobyl , which was ruled by several clans of ninja; warriors using forbidden magic’s to conjure up strength from within and nature around them to conceal themselves within the shadows. They were masters of assassination, invisibility, and power, which, in turn, made them the greatest threat to the neighboring kingdoms of Izol, Brazen, and Carteia. The three nations banded together to wipe out Chernobyl after the king of Carteia caught wind of a plan they were devising to assassinate the kings of the tri-nation so the that the Emperor of Chernobyl can gain control over the Grande Continent in its entirety. It was a gruesome war that took six long years to end with the death of Emperor Sano at the hands of King McKindred of the kingdom of Brazen. Afterwards, the kings of the tri-nation put out a law, that no one is to follow the way of the ninja so that their dangerous heritage and culture may die along with them. It has been 25 years since the end of the Shadow War. Throughout the years, less and less rogue ninjas have been hung for their ties to the clans, but they still exist within the shadows as they always have.

Finally, after much running through the forests that occupied much of the northern part of the Clair Estate, we found ourselves gazing at the marvel which is our own that we officially called Heavens Falls. The waterfall was located to the east and it faced the south west. The water collected here as a small pool but it drained out towards the north then to the west where it fell into the ocean. It stood at 10 meters and the water fell strong, but not enough to make us buckle. It was strong enough for a deep massage to work out the tension built up after a days hard work. It remained warm even through winter. The princess and I have climbed to the top and followed it upstream for about 40 meters where it stopped at a pool. We finally deduced that it came from below and that it was a natural hot spring.

I looked at the princess who in turn was staring at the bottom of the pool with zero awareness of her surroundings. It was apparent to me that she was deep in thought. Without much hesitation, I asked, “Is their something the matter, my lady?”

She looked to me with a sharp turn of her head and smiled, but it did not remain. It faded soon as if she attempted to hide her sadness from me but it failed. She bit her bottom lip and tears welled up in her eyes. She ran to me, wrapped her arms around my body and buried her head into my chest crying her heart out. “Daddy’s calling suitors. He‘s trying to marry me off!”

Those words that she spoke through salty tears resonated throughout the darkest depths of my mind. I was hesitant as to whether or not I should hold her for comfort, but as a servant I felt I was pushing boundaries I should not, at the same time as someone who cared deeply for her I felt compelled to hold her until her suffering ended. “Y-your…his majesty simply wishes for you to carry on his legacy, my lady.”

“I DON’T WANT THAT!!” she cried out. “I want to live my own life! I want to marry who I want! Not someone that my father chooses!”

“But my lady, if he is calling multiple suitors then he is allowing you to choose who you want.”

“NO! In the end, he is the one making a choice for me!” She released her hold on me and pounded my chest with a gloved fist. “Stupid father! I’m tired of being his little puppet!”

“I-I…I’m sorry, my lady…,” I said.

“Just hold me for now, you dolt.” Hearing her order me to hold her put my own contradicting decisions to rest. I wrapped my arms around her and held her as close and tight as was allowed. I could feel my shirt moisten up but it was alright. I didn’t care for such worldly possessions. I simply wanted to be here for her, like I always had. Always her watchful eye, the one who protected her from harm every which way possible.

“How’s this, my lady.” She looked up at me with her red cheeks and nose. I wiped her face of the tears and proposed, “You do not want to get married, am I correct?” She nodded her head. “You want to choose who you would like to spend the rest of your life with, correct?” She nodded once again. “Then, if my lady does not like the suitor that your father has picked out, the both of us shall cause them mischief and send them away with out troubles. We will make sure they never come back. Does that sound like a plan?”

She chuckled at my words, but pondered deeply about them as she walked away a few steps slowly then turned back to me. “So if the suitor is someone I do not like we will prank him until he doesn’t want to be here. Hmm…that sounds like a good plan!” She jumped around ecstatic at the idea of playing jokes on people. “You always come up with the good ideas! Thank you, Angel!” She came up to me and kissed my cheek gently.

I could feel my cheeks redden but I lowered my head and bowed slightly to hide it, replying, “It is my job to make my lady happy.” I glanced up and saw her cheeks slightly more red than usual. “My lady, are you coming down with a fever?” I put my hand to her forehead and she chuckled at me.

“No, you dolt! It is the warm air! I want to jump in!” As careless as always, she stripped off her dress and jumped into the pool in her undergarments. “Join me! That is an order, Angelus!”

I sigh deeply before removing my shirt and leggings. Sitting down upon the ledge of the pool, I looked down at my reflection and pondered deeply of my own looks. My hair remained in the spiked mess it had always been in; as black as night with a single white spike that hung in front of my face, I stood out amongst the blondes and brunettes that occupied the castle. It was my eyes that remained a mystery even to myself. A deep crimson, much resembling blood, made others stop to look at me thoughtfully wondering which demon woman did I crawl out of. Always shunned for all my life, I lived in ridicule and in hiding to make sure I lived a somewhat decent life. It wasn‘t until I met the princess did all that suffering end in it‘s entirety. I can remember that day clearly. It was her 5th birthday and she was to choose one servant from a few hand chosen commoners outside the walls. That servant will be her first of many to come.

I stood in a line side by side with a few other children hand picked from several places within the village of Osni: six girls and four boys excluding myself. I looked down at the ground in front of my bare feet. I was hungry, dirty, and alone for the most part. None of the kids wanted me there just because they hated my existence. I didn’t want to be here myself, but I didn’t have much of a choice. In the end I didn’t care what would happen to me anyways. I just wanted to die. I thought that even if I was chosen by the princess, life wouldn’t be any different than out in the village. I would be treated horribly, have to fight for my next meal and be judged for how I look and act.

King Atticus entered the room with his thick bush of a beard that, back then, was brown mixed with few strands of white. His jolly belly protruded only slightly but enough to make him somewhat of a thick man. His very presence was overpowering. I would say due to his extreme height or powerful glare, but it was mostly due to his status. The princess was to his right, her small and gentle hand within his massive palm. She had her hair up in a ponytail, her small silver crown wedged deep into it and wore a bright pink summer dress with white lining and no sleeves. She looked somewhat excited and ever so innocent. I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t care at the same time.

She strolled around and looked at us as if we were a display in some museum complimenting each piece with just the right amount of attention. I felt like some item being auctioned off and here came the high class showboat ready to buy me off the stage. As the princess stopped in front of me, the last one in line, she balled her hands to fists and propped them upon her non-existent hips. She asked, “What’s wrong?” I didn’t answer. I didn’t want to. I had my head bow down and out of sight for a reason. If I wanted her to see me I‘d have been like the rest of the kids; heads high, wide smile, and always be courteous. “Hey look up at me! As the princess of Izol, Calena Marcia Clair, I command you to look at me, mister.” The king chuckled at her innocent display of authority. I stared at the jolly old man for a second. I was sure he saw my eyes due to the fact that his smile had disappeared and concern washed over his face. With a deep sigh, I gave in and looked up at her. She gasped at the spectacle before her, my eyes.

The king came forward and tried to pull the princess away from me, saying that I was dangerous and calling me a demon child, but she came closer, awestricken at the color of my eyes. “They’re so pretty.” Pretty?! I couldn’t help but chuckle at that comment. She laughed in turn grabbing my hand and looking at the king saying, “I want him daddy!”

The king looked at me rather concerned and, in a sense, disgusted. It was well placed in my opinion. Even I felt like I was the wrong choice to have made, but she still held my hand despite the king trying to convince her to choose another less stranger servant. She held her ground, being as stubborn as a mule to keep me as her servant. In the end, the king could not deny her. As she walked out of the room with me I heard the king whisper to a guard, “Stand outside her room and keep an eye on that child.” I simply laughed within myself.

She took me to her room with much enthusiasm. She showed me her large collection of dolls and stuffed animal toys. I found myself regretting not running away. Taking my hand she dragged me to a corner of her room and pulled out a wolf toy. “I think you‘ll like this one. He‘s my favorite of all them. I call him Angelus because his eyes remind me of an angel.” She chuckled softly and high pitched as I stared at the wooden toy. It was remarkable craftsmanship. The layers of the fur was uniquely designed with very light and thin carvings. The eyes and open mouth were detailed to the point where if it were painted just right this wooden toy would look like an actual wolf was standing in the palm of my hands tall and proud watching over something.

She grabbed my hand once again and dragged me into her bathing room. The bathing pool was set into the ground and was about 3 feet deep at one end and 4 and half feet at another. She pulled my clothes off forcibly. I struggled against her, but with little effort due to the fact that I didn‘t want an accident to happen. She may have chosen me and I may not care what kind of high class aristocrat she was, but I just couldn‘t fight a girl. She pushed me into the bath and I fell straight into the deepest end. “What was that for?!” I cried out once I brought my head above the surface of the water, but I quickly shut my mouth and turned away feeling my cheeks redden and burn as she removed her own clothing.

She jumped in as well, splashing me and causing water to go up my nose. Once she surfaced she started to giggle and laugh like a baby. I guess in a way she was kind of a baby being pampered in this paradise life style. She pulled me by the hair into the shallow end of the bath saying, “Time to wash you up.” She grabbed a glass bottle and poured the remaining of it’s contents on my head. “Scrub a dub dub buddy cause no servant of mines going to smell like a dirty dog.” She chuckled again her innocent chuckle. I was helpless. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. I couldn’t just yell at her saying you don’t do this kind of stuff to a servant. It was her command. I can’t deny that. Even the kings maiden tried to take over saying it wasn’t lady like for a person of royalty to bathe her own servant, but with a few kicks and screams the maiden was out of the room. This princess was indeed as stubborn as a mule.

“So what’s your name?” She asked me with a high pitch tone befitting a princess who had not known the troubles of the hungry homeless. She scrubbed away all the filth from my hair without care, without a worry. It annoyed me how happy she was and how luxurious she lived as compared to the rest of her kingdom where people struggled for their next meal.

I thought deeply about that question, though. I hadn’t been called anything like a name. Just a bunch of titles. Devil, street rat, menace, and even abomination. It never struck me that I needed a name. I had no one to call me by one, no person to run to when I needed comfort or anything of the sort. A name wasn‘t necessary for me. “I…don’t have one…,” I finally said after much thought and after she repeated the question several hundred times with pestering provocations to answer.

She put her hands to her side like she did before and looked at me surprised. “You don’t have one?! That’s not ok at all. What kind of mother does not name her son?!“

“I don’t have one,“ I replied monotone-like. I didn’t want to sound depressed, but I guess I might have given that impression already.

“Oh,“ she said softly, taking a hand and putting it on my back. For a five year old girl, she gave the impression of being much older. I’m not sure what it was about her that just screamed higher knowledge and understanding. Possibly just her upbringing. “Well that’s ok. I’ll just have to name you.” She began to scrub my hair again before tapping my head with her first two fingers. I scrunched my neck out of reaction as she shouted, “That’s it!” She came to my ear and said with much enthusiasm, “Angelus!”

“Eh?!” The sound escaped my mouth without so much as a second of thought. I brought my hand to my mouth out of reaction thinking I had talked out of line, but even then I wasn’t thinking. I brought with my hand a handful of bubbles from the soap and it went into my mouth. I coughed and scrubbed my tongue to get the taste from my mouth as she laughed at me. I felt ridiculed in a sense, but what could I do? She was a princess and I was just a lowly servant. I had no other option but to accept this humiliation.

“You’re so funny,” she said between her laughter. “You’ve been holding on to my toy since I gave it to you and you remind me of him so, Angelus!“

I lowered my head once again not realizing I still had the toy in the first place. “If you want to call me that then…ok,“ I replied.

She smiled again saying, “Yes I do. From now on you’re Angelus the Pup.“ She laughed at her own joke. I guess it was a tad bit amusing. I was a bit shy and new to this world but more cautious than anything else. She then wrapped her arms around me from behind and whispered in my ear, “Lets be good friends, Angelus.” My eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat. At that time I couldn’t comprehend what it was that I felt, but I soon began to realize that it was a warm feeling of being accepted and wanted by somebody. This feeling…I never wanted it to go away.

“Ok…,” I finally sputtered out beneath my breath.

“Forever?!” she asked vibrantly, sticking out her pinky finger in front of me.

I turned my head to the left and with my left pinky I wrapped it around hers and said softly, “Yeah.”

She jumped in joy and began to splash me laughing all the while. I didn’t know what else to do but to take it. She then stopped and said, “Listen here, you dolt. When I play, you play. Got it?” I looked at her wide-eyed and nodded my head. “Good. Now lets have some fun!”

She then splashed me again and I joined in. Without ever realizing it, I began to laugh with her. I began to truly and genuinely laugh. I was smiling and having fun.

I look up at the princess who was twirling in the water, splashing her hands in every once and a while, parting it as if she were some magician and singing a beautiful song that was taught to her by her late mother, who had passed away almost 10 years ago.

“Wish, oh dearest, wish upon that star
And listen, oh listen, they’re never far
The angels dance and play in the skies
You can’t see them but they never lie
Never far, but then never near
They’re just where they need to be

So just wish, oh wish,
And listen to the stars
They will always watch
They’re always there
As you sleep and dream
Forever….Forever yours”

She turns around and looks at me. With her beautiful smile, she says, “Well what are you waiting for, you dolt?! Come on in!” She dips her hands into the water and throws a wave of water at me. I chuckle at this, stand up and dive in swimming like a fish in it’s natural home to her at great speed. I pop up right in front of her and splash her face. We then began to splash for a while, me tossing her in every once in a while and her tackling me into the water. She would jump on my back and I would dive under the water and swim with her on me. We would watch the floor of the deeper parts of the pool at the shimmering distilled lights from above. The crystalline sand glitter like stars below us. It was a great time as it always had been and how it will always remain hopefully.