Forever Praying

The rays of sunshine lazily made their way through the long curtains, making the dark room glow in a comfortable yellow tone. The sheet that enveloped the young woman crinkled as she moved away from the light, craving more sleep. She hid her face in between her arms, welcoming the darkness that accompanied this movement.Suddenly, she felt something wet sliding across her hand, making her jump up from her position and in that process blinding her with the sun. Candide scowled a bit at the German Sheperd sitting at the side of her bed, his tongue sticking out and his tail wagging furiously.

“You’re too much of an early-riser for me, Zahlia.”

But even as she said that, she stretched and put her warm feet on the wooden floor. Candide looked across her room swiftly, the room she had been sleeping in for the last eighteen years. The whole room was a soft beige color, inching towards yellow, just the way she liked it. Zahlia was tugging at her sleeve, trying to get her master to go downstairs but Candide stopped in front of her vanity for a second just to catch a glimpse of her reflection. Her blonde hair had large curls in them as usual, and her eyes seemed to glint in the light. Her night-gown didn’t exactly flatter her body but she did not care for that and only shrugged it off before opening the door of her room.

Candide could already hear the maids and other workers of the castle bustling around and she made a point of smiling to each one that passed by her. Zahlia was right by her side as she trudged through the halls and stairs, her feet getting colder as she walked on the cement floor. Finally, she arrived at the dining room where her father was already seated, talking to his adviser. There was a long table in the large room, sun dripping down on it from the window-shaped openings in the wall that lead to a balcony. A light breeze whistled through her hair, the smell of the ocean wafting through the room.

The young woman guessed it was about the crops again; it hadn’t been a good year for them and some of the villagers had some trouble providing for themselves and the others.
This was one of the reasons Candide admired her father as a king so much. He was loyal and helpful towards his kingdom. He didn’t think that he was better than them, and always lend them a hand when he had the time.

“Good morning, Candide. Slept well, I presume?” Her father asked, as she went and took the seat to his right.

“Yes, I did. Any news today?” Another thing the young woman enjoyed about her father is that instead of just dismissing from any important business because she was a female, he kept her informed and often told her about his worries.

“My informer tells me that war is approaching us swiftly from the east. Pirates, mostly. But we also heard that an army from Turlive will be there also.”
Turlive was an island that no one knew much about, and they liked to keep it that way. It was rumored that everything that came out of that place was pure evil, with absolutely no soul. There were no indications that those rumors were false, so people everywhere were scared of them. Mostly the people from Saltrick though, because if people from Turlive wanted to get on land, Saltrick was a straight line and the most probably place they’d go.

“But, father, we don’t have enough soldiers to push away a full army, plus pirates! We’ll need help!”

“You’re right, Candide. That’s why I’m sending Christopher and other riders to go visit King Caspian and ask him for some help with this battle.”

The young woman nodded, although the name of Christopher had made her cringe. That boy had always tried to make advances on her, but she always refused simply because Christopher didn’t actually like her. He just wanted to become king of Saltrick, and if that meant marrying the princess than that was what he was going to do. It wasn’t that he was a bad guy, it’s just he wasn’t a particularly nice one either. An elderly woman came and served her breakfast, and Candide momentarily stopped listening to the conversation before her to give the maid a smile.

“Pardon me; I don’t know your name. What is it?” She asked politely.

“Suzanne.”

“Nice to meet you, and thank you.” With that, the maid bowed slightly before walking away to go back to her job.

Candide turned her attention back to her father, his brown hair and beard matching his dark eyes. Even with his age, he still looked very kingly, earning respect from everyone, in the battle and out. They were still talking about the oncoming war, and the help that King Caspian could maybe provide. The princess had never met Prince Caspian, or at least she didn’t remember him if she did. She had always heard of how great and fierce he was though, and had always wanted to meet him.

“Father, could I go with Christopher and the riders to King Caspian’s castle, please?” Candide asked, crossing her fingers under the table that he’d let her. She knew how to ride a horse, and she had already been away from the castle some times with her father for business like this. But her father was always there, and this time he wouldn’t be.

The king took a moment to consider this, taking a long look at his daughter as he did this. Candide bit her lip, a nervous habit that she had, hoping that he’d let her go.
“I suppose that would be alright. You’ll have to ask Christopher first, though, and when you do tell him that I want to talk to him.”

Candide let out a small yell of happiness before getting up and hugging her father awkwardly but tightly. The latter chuckled as his daughter ran out of the room, already commencing her search for Christopher with Zahlia tagging behind. She ran through the hallways, not stopping when she asked a knight where Christopher was and having him respond 'in the stable', nor when she almost ran straight in a door.

The young woman ran to the stables, still barefoot in the dirt but barely noticing.

"Sir Christopher?" She cried out, as she arrived to the stables. She didn't want to walk in, so she just waited for him to come out.

“Yes, Princess?” Christopher walked out the stables, nodding to her as he came before her. His black hair was messily arranged like he hadn’t taken a bath in some days and his blue eyes vibrated with vigor.

Candide knew that many girls fancied him, but she just couldn’t see it. Shrugging the thought away, she gave Christopher a smile, already trying to charm her way with this.

“Father told me that you were going to visit King Caspian. He also told me that I could accompany you, if I had your approval.” She changed from one leg to the other, almost dancing as she waited for Christopher to reply.

“Alright, you can accompany us if you wish. But, be ready to depart tomorrow morning.”

Candide nodded her head enthusiastically and started walking away, almost with a skip in her feet, before she turned around for a moment.

“Oh, and Sir Christopher? My father wants to see you.” With that said, the princess turned around again and skipped merrily to the castle, not knowing what she had gotten herself into.