The Last Dance

This piece is a short story about my character, Princess Amantdeiylaia. It’s her 15th birthday, and an old friend pays her a visit. But is his presence welcomed?

And so it was that time again, the castle was bustling with unfamiliar voices, and royals of all shapes and sizes roamed around the palace halls as they gushed about tonight’s event. It was rare to see different walks of life joined together in one place like this, but tonight was the social event of the season. Princess Amantdeiylaia was throwing a ball to celebrate her 15th birthday. While this might seem typical for someone of her status, this was the first time the court would be seeing her since she was a young child.

Typically, the royal family hid her behind a plethora of excuses that involved her ongoing battle with her poor health or something convenient. However, rumors began to spread that she had died and the King and Queen were trying to pull wool over the eyes of the court. When the invitations were sent out, most believed this to be a joke of sorts. However, as more people began to receive invitations, it seemed like this supposed party was bound to occur. Since this was a ball thrown by the King and Queen of Upworld, if you were anyone worth talking about, you’d be attending. For some, there was nowhere else they’d rather be, eager to see if the princess was still alive or if they had managed to get a decoy to fool everyone. But for the guest of honor and birthday girl, the princess was anything but. She begged and pleaded for her parents to change their minds but every attempt was futile. It was only a matter of time before Amantdeiylaia would have to face the royal court once more.

There was one person the princess was interested in seeing attend, the Lord of Downworld: Verrdonsei Voulneir. Despite coming from warring countries, the two seemed to get along in the past. They met in her father’s library where she was forced to reside while her adopted sister, Myriideiya, was having a tea party. Verrdonsei had run inside, trying to hide from the other children in attendance only to find the princess climbing up the bookshelves to reach a book. Ever since then, the two had grown quite close. Despite his cold exterior and dry manner of speaking, he’d always come to visit her in the library. The princess had even taught him how to read and kept his closest secret, the fact that he wasn’t biologically born a male. Even when he would tell her that their friendship was strange and didn’t make sense, she assured him that she would remain at his side and be faithful to him.

“Doesn’t the fact that I’m from Downworld bother you?” he asked one day while resting his chin in the palm of his scaly hand.

The princess shook her head, her pale white eyes looking upon his masked face with pure adoration.

“I suppose it doesn’t matter… We’re both masked freaks,” he scoffed “Still, it probably won’t last. You’re the heir of Upworld and I’m the heir to Downworld. We’ll be at each other’s necks soon enough-”
“Don’t say that!” her voice echoed through his mind as she slammed her hands on the table. She shook with anger and her eyes began to water. Despite being forced to wear a mask, her pained expression spilled through the porcelain that concealed her face.

“You’re only avoiding the inevitable. You’ll understand what I mean soon enough…”

I foretold the destruction of your kind,
How I mourned it so.
Down a most dreadful path,
They were beyond saving.

There was one being that stood above the rest.
A creature;
Fierce, blood-curdling eyes,
Serrated, needle-like teeth.
You glare at me with contempt and yet–
I am utterly infatuated with you.

I cannot help but stop and stare into your eyes.
Are you upset by how I pity you so?
Does it tear you apart to see one so revered by your kind?
You cannot push me away.

“This creature is not tamed!”
“This creature is exceptionally wild.”
“Does my presence make you shiver?
Does it?”
It asks me questions like these regularly,
but surely it knows the answer.