Rise Of The Celestials

Chapter 15

Knock! Knock!! Knock!!!

"Come in", a voice answered from behind the door.

Aiden opened the door and walked in to see a familiar face, one that he did not expect.

The woman saw Aiden's face twitch slightly and she said, "you did not expect to see this face here?"

Aiden nodded instantly before he managed to get a hold of himself. "I'm sorry, I just thought..."

"...that I work in the palace or someplace that is not here?"

Aiden did not answer but the woman continued speaking instead.

"You're both right and wrong". Aiden was confused before she explained her statement. "Right, because the face you saw indeed works in the Royal palace. Wrong, because that face belongs to my younger sister"

Aiden nodded. He understood it now. This was not the same person he had seen at the training grounds when he was on duty. 

His brain had skimped on the details when he saw her and only when she explained it did his brain start to fill in all the blanks and he saw the differences. 

As the older one, the woman in front of him had a more mature look to her and her skin was not as light-colored as her younger sister's. 

"I am sorry for my assumption, ma'am"

"You don't need to worry, many people make that mistake at first sight. So let's get to it. You got beaten into a coma by the princess after showing off like you knew how to fight at her level"

Aiden was immediately dumbfounded because this report was wildly different from what he would say happened during the fight. He had also not been beaten into a coma by the princess.

"That was not what happened, ma'am"

"That's what it says in the report. Don't argue"

Aiden was about to speak again when he heard that very specific phrase, 'don't argue'. Very wisely, he kept his mouth shut.

"You have been unconscious for three days, with severe head trauma from where you hit your head onto the ground very hard, severe disfiguring of the left side of the face, and three missing teeth"

After reading this report she raised her head to look at Aiden who had a puzzled look on his face, not because of the head trauma nor the disfiguring, but because of the missing teeth. He could not feel any of his teeth missing from an initial check.

"You seem surprised, I was and I still am. You woke up from a coma that should have kept you bedridden for weeks at the very least. Your face healed to its spotless state and your three teeth have regrown in that same period...

...what affinity does your elemental seed have?"

"I have no idea, ma'am. I have been told that I had a defective awakening"

She had a pondering expression on her face for a few seconds before she said in the same straight tone of voice, "defective awakening or not, your elemental seed is doing something".

She then picked up a piece of paper on her table and began writing something. Aiden was surprised by this action because it meant that she was already expecting him to be awake which would explain her lack of surprise based on the issues he had when he was brought to the infirmary.

"I know you will be able to find your way to the infirmary if there is a need for it  You've been discharged. This is your discharge slip, give it to your warden to let him know where you've been"

"Thank you ma'am", Aiden thanked her and turned to leave. 

He was already at the door when he heard her say, "if you need any help, you can find me here every day from morning to night. Ask for the general healer if you can't find me"

He turned his head to see the woman wearing a slight smile. "Will do, have a nice day Ma'am".

Aiden closed the door behind him and left to get anything that he had left behind in the compartment before leaving the infirmary building.

He'd been bashed in the head by the old sage pretending to look like an elder, and the report had been changed from a situation where he had won the fight to one where he was a poser who got taught a lesson.

He did not know how far he walked and in what direction because he had been in thought ever since he left the infirmary and not too far off to his right was a huge story-styled dining area.

He had found his way home without asking anyone for directions on a day when he simply wanted a nice walk.

He took a deep breath he walked up to the dining building. It was then that he noticed that he had missed one important point, which was the fact that Darwyn had opened the library doors.

With the nature of the events leading to the library kicking everyone out and shutting its doors, it was safe to say that everyone found it special and would want a piece of that action.

He sighed and was about to leave for the dormitory when he saw the familiar face of Mallory. 

Mallory walked over to Aiden with a light smile on his face. His actions drew the attention of the workers who were passing by and they swept glances at Aiden before they lowered their voices and began whispering some things.

"You look fine"

Aiden was surprised at this statement, but he soon threw it to the back of his mind. 

"Why do you say that?", He asked.

"News came that you got beaten up by the princess for trying to show off in a spar with her"

Aiden had a wry smile creep across his face. Mallory chuckled and said with a low voice. "There is one thing I am quite good at. I believe I am a good judge of character, and you don't look like someone who would do such a thing".

"You can't possibly be sure that the news isn't true"

"To someone who spent his childhood watching everyone else instead of playing with them, I gained a good measure of observational skills"

"I see. A question for you. What is so special that everyone is talking about?"

Aiden asked this question to be normal. He already got news of the library opening from Darwyn but he had not gotten it from anyone else. Who knew who was watching his every move?

"The library"

Mallory gave a simple answer to which Aiden raised an eyebrow and asked, "what happened to the library?"

"The short version of the story is that the library has opened its doors once more and the king has promised to protect and reward anyone who brings in valuable information from the library"

"Oh, no wonder everyone has a lot to talk about"

"You have no idea how much. I am going to sign up for entry. I hope I can find something that will help my situation"

"Oh, good luck. I'm sure you'll find something"

"Thank you"

The two parted with Aiden walking back to the dormitory. He had a lot to plan for now that he was awake.

...

In front of the Royal Palace;

A beautifully crafted carriage had just stopped outside the palace. There was an emblem of a sword wrapped in light visible to all on the side of the carriage.

At the foot of the steps, Prince Adrian was waiting and at the top of the steps were Queen Vivienne and Prince Dante. Princess Diane was nowhere to be seen.

Prince Adrian opened the carriage door, stretching his hand out as soon as he got the door open. A small, slender hand reached out from inside the carriage to hold his outstretched hand lightly.

Following this was a young woman who stepped out of the carriage. Prince Adrian helped her down from the carriage before he said in a nice little voice.

"Princess. It is an honor to have you with us"

"Prince Adrian. Thank you for the warm welcome"

She was smiling slightly, even though Prince Adrian looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.

The two walked up the steps, one step after the other till they were standing before Queen Vivienne.

"This is my mother, Queen Vivienne, and my younger brother, Prince Dante"

"Your Majesty. Your Highness", she curtsied to each of them one after the other. Dante gave a bow when she gave him a little curtsy.

"Princess Caitlyn. It has been quite some time since I saw you. You have grown into a beautiful young woman since I last saw you. Welcome to the Nation of Sur"

"Thank you, Your Majesty"

"Shall we head to the King's welcome?"

"I would be honored, Your Majesty" [1]

Queen Vivienne turned around, holding the little Prince Dante's hand as they led the way.  Princess Caitlyn followed beside them with slow and steady steps while Prince Adrian looked like he was taking on the worst punishment ever.

They only walked down one corridor before they turned to see a door at the right end of the new corridor. 

They walked up to it and the door was opened by the soldiers standing guard outside the door after they bowed to Queen Vivienne.

They walked in to see King Robert sitting on a fancy chair with throne vibes to it.

"Princess Caitlyn has come to visit", Queen Vivienne announced before she took a seat.

"Your Majesty"

"Caitlyn, welcome to the Nation of Sur. I hope that big dummy has not irked you in any way yet"

"Not at all, Your Majesty. He has been a gentleman"

"Good to hear that. If he does anything you don't like, you can come directly to me and report whatever it is, okay?"

"I will keep that in mind"

"Good. You have come for a visit after all and you've been stuck in a carriage for days now, I'll leave him to show you around to where you'll be staying"

"Thank you, Your Majesty"

"You can set your heart at ease. I won't take up much of your time. It's nice to have you here with us"

"The pleasure is all mine"

"Adrian, show her to her room"

"Yes, father"

The two walked out soon after. There was an awkward silence between them. Princess Caitlyn had an expressionless face at that moment while Prince Adrian still wore his runaway look.

"You are awfully quiet today. Did my arrival cause this?", Princess Caitlyn broke the silence. 

"Maybe I should tell your father that I will be leaving tomorrow. My presence took a Prince's voice and I don't want the situation to spread", she continued when Prince Adrian showed no reaction whatsoever.

With no reaction still, she was about to speak again when Prince Adrian stopped walking. He stood still and like a perfectly calibrated braking system, she stopped as well.

"Looks like we're here", she said.

Two female servants were standing in front of the door. Their faces were simple as their clothes were.

"Your Highness", they greeted the two.

"Dinner will be in the dining area, someone will lead you to it when before 7 pm. We will be going to the training grounds tomorrow morning to see how the trainees are doing, followed by a visit to The Royal Library. Prepare yourself"

"Thank you, Prince Adrian. I'll be sure to keep that in mind. A question; would we visit these places by ourselves?"

"That is correct"

"Huh... Have a good day", she smiled before walking through the door the two servants had opened.

[1] That must have been cringy. Was that cringy to you? Anyway, as I mentioned, or let's say as you are starting to notice, this piece right here is what I imagine Royal customs sound like. Measured and absolutely unnecessary when normal people like me see it. Wonder if a princess will see this and correct my misconceptions, that would be interesting to see.

Have fun ladies and gentlemen. This novel has some parts that require royal discussion, and I believe as we go along with this, I will find a way to balance the formal atmosphere that royal interactions have and the readability of the story at those points. We'll see how it goes.