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A Perfect Day - Mystreetia Part 1 Chapter 1

1293 Words

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It was a perfect day for a walk.

The sun was shining, not a cloud in sight, and a refreshing breeze wove its way through the alleyways and roads of Solaria, just enough to cool the bustling plaza without scattering merchants’ wares to the wind. Like a brilliant shining jewel atop a dragon’s hoard, the royal castle of Phoenix Drop shimmered in the light cast upon it as it towered over the horizon. Walls and towers of gleaming amethyst and quartz stood watch over the bustling city below, their majesty and grandeur reminding the citizens of the glory of the kingdom of Phoenix Drop, small as it was.

However, while its outside appearance spoke of riches and beauty, the goings on inside crafted a different story. For within one of these ivory towers, the queen and her daughter were causing quite the ruckus, while the Court Alchemist and Head Scribe watched on, unfazed. Normally, the Scribe would be recording the interactions of the royal family for future generations, but it was determined that this argument—which was quickly becoming all-too common of an occurrence—was not exceptionally noteworthy.

“Young Lady, if I catch you attempting to sneak out again this kingdom will need a new heir!” The Alchemist nonchalantly dodged the chair that was thrown, while the small group of servants present in the room scrambled to catch the high-speed furniture before it could shatter against the walls.

“Well maybe if you weren’t so overbearing I wouldn’t feel the need to leave every now and again! It’s always so boring here!” The Princess stamped her foot indignantly, her tiara lying discarded on the floor where she had tossed it. She was still so much like a child, her face contorted into a pout as she ranted and raved about how suffocating her life was, occasionally tossing some trinket or another from her nightstand at her mother, who replied in turn while lecturing her daughter about the responsibility of a royal heir. The room was beginning to look like a warzone, and it was all the servants could do to keep things in one piece while their superiors raged.

“I mean, I can’t even trust you to go out on your own—you couldn’t even remember your way to the banquet hall yesterday!”

“We never use the banquet hall! Of course I couldn’t find it!”

“You get lost going down a one-way street! You’re not capable—”

“Because you never let me try—”

“And if I can’t trust you not to get in trouble within your own home, how can I know you’d be safe going out?”

“YOU NEVER LET ME DO ANYTHING!”

“BECAUSE YOU NEVER WANT TO DO WHAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO! You don’t pay attention to your lessons, you run off at a moment’s notice, you’ve chased off more than half of your tutors, and if any of the staff take their eyes off of you for even a moment, you’re trying to sneak outside the walls!” The Queen punctuated her argument by straightening her crown and fixing her hair, before she continued. “Aphmau, sweetie, you need to understand. You are the only heir this tiny kingdom has, and—”

“The only heir this kingdom will ever have, because Dad isn’t around anymore.” Aphmau joined in, having heard the speech before. “I know that. But it gets so stifling here sometimes. I’ve never even—”

“Been outside the castle walls. I know.” Sylvanna’s expression softened, and she pursed her lips before continuing. “But you’re still so young, and if anything were to happen to you…” Sighing, Sylvanna schooled her expression. “You are to return to your studies until further notice. We can go on a walk later.” And with that, she left the room, the servants hurrying after her.

The Alchemist turned to glance at the sulking princess one last time, before turning to follow the Queen. With any luck, the princess would return to her studies after sulking for a few hours, and things would once again return to the usual quiet.

Aphmau watched as her mother left, trying not to cry. Wiping away her tears, she reached down and grabbed her tiara; she moved to place it in its usual perch, but thought better of it.

With a sinister grin, Aphmau moved to grab her traveling cloak from the closet, as well as some of her less extravagant clothes. If she waited for her mother to finish holding court, then it’d be dark by the time they were ready for a walk. Which meant one thing.

Aphmau would have to take matters into her own hands.

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“Your Majesty, if I may?” The Alchemist entered the room slowly, respectfully. Sylvanna looked up from her paperwork as one of her closest friends and advisor stepped in the room.

“You needn’t be so formal with me, Terry. We’re friends.” Terrance raised an eyebrow at the remark, and Sylvanna countered his expression with one of her own.

“Of course. Well, you see, I came to tell you that perhaps you need to loosen the boundaries you have set on your daughter.”

“Oh?” The Queen asked, in a tone that implied she would not like to be having this conversation. But Terrance pushed on.

“Now, I understand why you’d have trouble letting go. Believe me, I feel the same about my son. But you have to realize that Aphmau’s not a little girl anymore, and that at this age it’s only natural for her to be curious about her kingdom.”

“It’s not just that.” Sylvanna interjected. “She gets in so much trouble, and she never knows how to handle herself.”

“Yes, because she’s never gotten the chance to even try. You have to let her grow on her own, Sylvanna. At least let her meet other children. She’s going to go crazy if she stays locked up in this castle. Travis and Lucinda are much the same way. All children are.”

“I… I suppose I have been a little overbearing. I… yes. I will organize a meeting between Aphmau and your son. Tomorrow. Your son does have free time tomorrow, right? Hyria won’t be keeping him long?”

Terrance nodded, answering her query. “Yes, I believe Travis will be free tomorrow. But even if he wasn’t, you still have the final say.”

Sylvanna nodded, suddenly looking as old as she was. “Yes, that’s… that’s good. I’ll send one of the staff to let Hyria know. You can go on your way now, Terry.” She waved her hand, looking back down at the documents she had been reading as Terrance left, a soft smile on his face.

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Okay, so maybe leaving the castle to explore the town unsupervised was a mistake.

Aphmau was beginning to regret her split-second decision after being pushed aside by some rushing passerby for the fifth time; this one was a dark-haired boy who gave her a dirty look when he bumped into her. “Watch it.” He muttered, before continuing on. Aphmau huffed, returning the dirty look in full force as she watched his retreating back. Some people!

Things began to wear on Aphmau as she continued to wander aimlessly, desperately trying to ignore that she was horribly, horribly lost. To someone used to the high halls and extensively decorated corridors of the castle, all the dusty streets and narrow alleyways looked the same to Aphmau.

Stumbling into an alcove, Aphmau pulled her hood up as she struggled to hold back her tears. She was lost, and nobody would notice she was missing for hours…

A bell rang out, and suddenly the street beyond the little alley was full of people jostling to get to the square. Aphmau, startled by the crowd, hunched her shoulders and curled up further. She just wanted to go home.

“Hey, are you okay?”

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This was going to be longer, but I had hit the perfect spot to cut the chapter in half, so I did. I tried something new with the dialogue in Aphmau and Sylvana's argument, but I'm not sure if it worked as well as I'd hoped.

I was planning to do an illustration or two, but finals came up and all of the scenes I wanted to illustrate are in the next half, which is actually still unfinished. I did say progress would be slow, so at least I'm not setting everyone up with false expectations!

Next time: A griffon, three irresponsible teenagers, and a flight around the kingdom that ends poorly (also Sylvana rides a pegasus)