Novel Treatments / Chapter 1: The Day Of My Enemy's Arrival

Chapter 1: The Day of My Enemy’s Arrival

17th February 1707

It is early morning and I find myself sitting in the mountains staring down at the harbor. This is a beautiful place that I rarely am allowed to visit because of time constraints. My duties as a kidea and to my country are far more important than any whim I might concoct in my mind. Today is supposed to be a magical one. A hathuran from the kingdom of Wolf Mist will be arriving on our shores. Not one wolf has dared enter my beloved vampyre kingdom in some 200 years, but this one, the one they call Xavier is brave enough to come and stay. I doubt whether any of the negotiations that are supposed to happen will, but having someone new enter the land is sure to be exciting.
For I, Kidea Midnight Dheul, shall be the first princess in my country’s long established history to see a wolf in any place but combat. I will be on my best behavior as I have promised my baleho and my inlete, but even that promise that I am sure I won’t keep isn’t enough to quell the deep rooted fear and excitement that I feel welling up inside of me.
Xavier Corbainia is what they call him, a dignified male of his kind that keeps the king in his right mind and their princess level. All of it sounds so important and like such a responsibility that I find myself worrying that in this time of strain between our lands that his visit could mean the break out of another war between the vampyres and the wolves.
“ Midnight come down from up there right now! You have to be down at the dock with your father for the official greeting of the ambassador.” I peered out of my place on the mountain ledge and made my famous pouting face. Nanny Grace knew that I was so looking forward to meeting with the male, but she also knew that I had no interest in being within two inches of my fathers oppressive hands.
“ I know nanny, but I don’t want to go yet. This morning feels like electrified magic underneath my skin. I can’t help but think that something amazing will be happening on this land today.” She walked closer with a disapproving stare painting her hardened features. This woman had known me my entire life, and better yet sometimes she knew me better than I knew myself. I hate that about her but will never say anything, for I do love this old woman dearly.
“ Electrified magic darling? How can you know what either one feels like? I’ve kept you away from as much harm as I possibly can. I never want to see you hurt, it would make me into a bad nanny, and so far I’ve made a good name for myself.”
I turned then suddenly to look at her, I didn’t like the tone in her voice or the words that she was saying. It sounded like she was hiding something from me. Something that my nanny had never done before, and something that I didn’t want her to start now. She stared back at me very much aware that I was calculating; trying to weigh everything that she had said, debating what to say.
“ Is something wrong?” She asked me before I could even open my mouth, and I shook my head no. The smile that she gave me then was the one thing I remembered without fail from my childhood, and even though I didn’t want it to, her smile was infectious and forced the corners of my lips to rise and smile in return.
“ I’m just confused about all of this, nanny. I’ll be ok in a little while. We should probably head off towards the dock. I suppose that my father will be waiting down there impatiently for me, and even more impatiently for Xavier.” I said beginning the decent from the wondrous view of the mountain top to the small dirt path that lead back to the only homeland I had ever known.
The trek through the sloping hills was quick and I began to realize the extent of the electricity in my pulse. I couldn’t believe that all of this was happening and so close to my seventeenth birthday. It seemed like our dearest mother, the Esteemed Lady of Death, was trying to make my special day even more special. This thought made me laugh because I knew that this couldn’t be the case. Our goddess Azullia had much more important things to do than make my birthday special.
I felt Grace staring at me the entire way towards the dock. She was so serious today, staring forlornly like something was really bothering her. I was so worried. My dearest friend was not herself, and I couldn’t help but feel like it had something to do with me. I knew that I shouldn’t pry even if it was about me, but I couldn’t help myself Grace was my best friend…someone that I knew I should help if she needed it. So I turned sharply stopping both of us about one hundred yards outside of town,” Grace my beloved, baleho why are you being so quite. It isn’t like you at all.”
Grace looked up at me with tears streaming down her face, the strong willed woman that I knew was rumbling right before my eyes, shattering every idea that I had of strength. She opened her mouth and a croak came out before she finally said,” Don’t worry about it honey. There is nothing that can be done about all of this.”
She pushed past me and quickened her pace so we wouldn’t be late to the arrival of the wolf. I followed her wondering even more now what could be ailing this woman that I had idolized since my mothers passing. She avoided my eyes and barely looked at me, she acted as if just being there with me right now was causing her some untold amounts of pain. It made me feel so enraged, so sad to see her like this, but I honestly had no solution to our problem so I spent the rest of the trip brooding in the stiff, un-welcomed silence.

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