Chapter 1

Part 1 Chapter 1

Shaqminster Monastery, 1405

A young monk-in-training walked up to the head friar. Even though his head was bowed and his hood was drawn, it was obvious in his stride that his news was urgent.

“ Come now Glen what is it?”, asked the head friar, Kyle, “ You look as if the heavens opened up and told you all of life’s mysteries.”

Glen looked up; his blond hair turned a different shade by the candlelight, his deep green eyes shimmering with anxiety.

“Sir,”, he began, “there is something you--”

“What is this?”, Friar Georg asked, “A mere child interrupting our meeting? Kyle, surely you of all people should enforce the rules which provide our monastery with peace and order.”

“ I know the rules of the monastery and also that all rules must be kept.” , he replied, “But seeing how young Glen here is new, we must be patient with him. Rome wasn’t built in a day you know.”, Kyle looked at Glen wondering what news he brings this time.

Glen was eager but he doesn’t know what was important and what wasn’t. One time he reported that the cat ran away. Another time he said that there were only three flowers left. They all knew that he meant well but sometimes he got on their nerves.

“ Tell me child, what is your news?”, asked Kyle.

“ Well sir, there--”

At that moment the oak doors opened. The wind from the open corridor outside gushed in. a girl of about sixteen years was standing in the doorway. Her powder blue gown was ripped, her blond hair was disheveled and she was covered in mud. Her appearance was that of a maid but the way she carried herself was that of a noble.

“ Who are you?”, Georg was the first to regain his speech. As he said that he pointed to the vacant chair to his left.

“Where are our manners?”, Kyle said as he too rose, “ Please sit. Glen please fetch this young lady some tea.” “Yes sir”, Glen said as he nodded and left the room. Whoever that girl is, he thought, she is very beautiful.

“Now will you please sit?”, Georg asked as he motioned once more to the empty chair to his left.”

The girl nodded as she went to the chair. As she sat down Kyle noticed that she was worried about getting such a seat dirty.

“ Don’t worry child, that chair has seated bottoms dirtier than yours. ”, The friars looked at each other and laughed sharing a private joke. When they saw the puzzled expression on her face they stopped.

“We are terribly sorry child.”, Kyle said in apology, “We were just recalling something. Back to business, who are you and how did you get here?”

The girl was surveying her surroundings, from the ceiling to the floor as if she were expecting a trap. She was baffled to see so many pictures of saints were on the wall.

“Ahem.”

“My apologies,”, she said as she stopped inspecting her surroundings and looked Kyle straight in the eye and asked, “ What is it?”

“Of all the--”, Georg was outraged. Not only was this girl acting as if she was a queen but she was also being disrespectful. Why, even female serfs know that looking a man directly in the eye is prohibited.

“Peace brother,”, Kyle said. He knew that Georg was all talk and that underneath it all Georg was as kind, probably kinder, than himself. “this young lady was about to say something.”

“ Kyle, with all due respect, you should not be so kind. You let the young monks get away with the most--”

“Georg, if I don’t cut them some slack they would doubtless be sad and--”

“Kyle if you don’t rule with an iron fist--”

“If I don’t rule with an iron fist? What am I a man of God or a monarch?”

“Of course you are a man of God, brother, ”, Georg said in hopes of appeasing the fuming brother. “But sometimes--”

“Who is the head monk of this monastery?”, Kyle asked in a firm voice like that of a dictator.

“You are but--”

“ No buts brother.”, Kyle was outraged. How dare Georg for speaking up and with a guest in their midst? Kyle tried to cool his head as quickly as possible so as not to frighten the girl. “Now child…”

Kyle just trailed off. The girl was asleep, curled up like a cat. Kyle wanted to postpone the questioning but he and Georg were at odds and Kyle did not want to add to that.

“Kyle, can’t this wait till tomorrow?”, Georg asked, surprising Kyle. Georg was usually the first to refer to the rules but, now, just for this girl, he was breaking them.

“Let’s put her in St. Agnes’ Chambers.”, Kyle said.

“Ahh. St. Agnes’ Chambers is a wonderful room.”, Georg agreed, “The child will sleep well there. Speaking of which, we should probably do so ourselves. Surely you want to be fresh for the interrogation.”

“Excellent idea, my friend.”

They left the room with friar Kyle carrying the girl. Ten minutes later a confused Glen entered the room with a tray filled with sandwiches and a pot of tea, he specifically asked the cook to make for the girl.

“Huh?”, he said, as he looked around the room, scratching his head, “Where is everybody?”

* * *

In the corridor, a knight asked about the girl, who she really was, where she came from, and why she chose this abbey. The brother was at a lost. The knight was the one who brought the girl but he didn’t seem to know a thing about her. The brother bade him goodbye and went back inside. He went to friar Kyle and reported what he learned: absolutely nothing.

Prologue

Part 1 prologue

Tranvale Castle, 2005

The room was dark and silent as Prince Kenneth walked through the bathroom adjoining his room to that of his twin sister’s. As he stood in the doorway, he surveyed the room from the vanity filled with her make-up to her canopy bed with pink curtains, which were never drawn.

“Ahh…”, Ken sighed, “Sari, where on earth are you?”. He said that out loud as he recalled his mother’s reaction when she found out that her beloved daughter was missing.

When Ken went down to the drawing room that was found in an older part of the ancient castle that morning, he found his mother already there. The room was filled with turn-of-the-century furniture. His mother who was circling the whole room, about 5x5 meters, almost hit a hundred year-old chair. Her pacing only meant one thing: something was wrong.

“Mother, what is wrong?”, Ken asked as he entered the room.

“Ken, where is Sari? It’s almost ten and she is still in bed?”, asked his mother in a panicked voice.

Queen Myrrh is like a roasted marshmallow, coarse and bitter in the outside yet soft and sweet in the inside. Ken and Sari often used that comparison, when in public their mother would be the queen, ruler of all, serious and, to be frank, frightening, but at home, when they were alone, she would be soft, sweet and motherly.

The queen was also a just person. Why, whenever matters needed resolving one would only have to seek the queen’s counsel. Though she is fair and kind, she has the figure of a hippopotamus, eyes the color of steel and hair with the most putrid shade of brown.

Thankfully her children took after their father, King Cole who had eyes the color of the sky and straw colored hair. The king was every bit as just as the queen, but one summer afternoon, the king vanished as he was out for a cruise on his yacht.

That happened before the twins even turned five, leaving the burdens of being the queen and a mother on Myrrh’s shoulders. It was not easy for her to be a just monarch governing a whole country, a strict lady ruling her home and a loving mother raising her children.

“Mother”, Ken said as he forced her to stop pacing, “I thought Sari was already here. Her bed was empty when I checked her room”

“But she has not come down yet. I was the first one in. the maid said so”

“That cannot be!”, Ken exclaimed as he shook his head “Sure I didn’t hear the shower but her bed was empty.”

“Did you find anything amiss in her room?”

“Let me think…”, Ken recalled his entry to his sister’s room barely ten minutes ago. “Her vanity was normal, closet doors were closed. As far I as saw the place was spic and span.”

“ Then where could she be? Upstairs, downstairs, the kitchen, the roof--”

Ken who was not listening to his mother interrupted her, “Her bed!!!”

“What about her bed, darling?”, his mother asked, “Didn’t you say it was empty? And normally empty means that she’s not there.”

“Mother this is not a time for your sarcasm. It’s even worse than your pacing.”, Ken said as he forced his mother to sit down in a plush armchair, “Her bed wasn’t made. She always makes it even when she ‘s sick.” He explained as Myrrh’s left eyebrow raised.

“ Oh my”, his mother repeated as she got up and started pacing again.

“What do we do?”

“ Yes, a plan.” , The monarch in her started to take over. “Do you have one?”

“ In fact, yes.”, he said, “ We tell people that she’s sick and can’t attend to her duties until she is well.”

“ Even though that might cause major concern for your sister,”, Myrrh said, “ it can be a good excuse for her absence. We have to act as if nothing was wrong.”

“ Of course we will. We have to.”, That ended their conversation.

Ken strode in and lit the lamps. He took out two puppets and mimicked a person feeding another person. He was very good at arts, he always was. If he were given a choice between art and politics, he would choose art.

He was the creative twin or so they say. Of course what they really meant was that he was the weaker twin. Humiliating as it was, Ken didn’t mind at all, it was his mother who was ashamed.

“No prince should ever consider a job less than what his station considers acceptable.”, was what his mother would always say whenever the topic of his hobby as she called it would pop up.

Even though his mother couldn’t understand his passion or arts, Sari did. Whenever his hobby would be criticized she would change the topic so that he won’t feel bad.

Ken laid the puppets on the bed and turned off the lights. “Sari wherever you are, please be safe.”, he said as he took one last look of her room. He locked the door to Sari’s room and went to his. He set up his easel and started painting Sari’s image, all that time praying to God that she was safe and would soon return to them.