The Crown's Obsession

Music Recommendation: Oogway Ascends - Eliott Tordo Erhu

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When the day to leave Devon and visit the land of Cait to meet the King arrived, a small trunk had been packed for the journey. Helena had planned only to visit and not to stay the night. Getting in the carriage, she started her journey alone as she had done even in the past.

As the travel time was long, her thoughts drifted to the time when she was still young and free of any worries. Or it would be more right to say that she had been ignorant about the things that had been going around her.

It was true that many people who had known her from the time before were surprised to see her current demeanour as she had changed, but Helena didn't care about it.

When the carriage reached the Kingdom of Cait, her carriage was stopped at the borders by men, "Who goes there?" demanded a man, coming around to stand near her window.

"I am from the High House and am here to meet the King," Helena replied to the person.

The man stared at her for a few seconds before saying, "I will need you to show me your-"

Helena pushed the black cloak away to show her uniform that every High House member wore, "Does this suffice?" she asked him in a dull tone.

The man cleared his throat and raised his hand. "Let the carriage pass," he ordered his fellow men who had blocked the road. The long wood was then raised to allow the carriage to move forward before moving towards the castle and stopping in front of the castle.

Helena stepped out of the carriage, where the castle looked the same way as in her memory. She hadn't pulled her cloak to not gain attention from people by revealing her uniform.

"Well well, look who has finally decided to come back to Cait," came a woman's voice, and Helena's eyes lazily moved to her right side to catch sight of an older woman. The person made her way towards where Helena was, and she sized her up and down. "Don't you look pretty, Helen."

Helena didn't offer the woman a smile, but she did greet her as she was her aunt, who was also the former Queen of this land, "Good afternoon, Aunt Guilene."

"Come inside, Edison is waiting for you. He told me he sent you a letter, but you didn't write back to him," said her Aunt Guilene, placing her hand on Helena's back.

Not liking the touch and to make the woman understand she was no more the same old person, Helena took a step forward. "I know the way to the King's royal court room. After all, I used to live here. I wouldn't like to bother you and will go and find him myself."

The woman watched Helena walk away from her, and her smile was quick to drop from her face, and she narrowed her eyes. She raised her hand at the nearby guard to come in front of her, and she ordered, "Make sure to check her luggage and seize all the weapons."

"Yes, milady," the guard bowed his head, walking towards the carriage and having the trunk brought down on the ground to check.

While Helena walked through the corridors, she felt the light flashes of the time when she used to live here. The times back then were peaceful that had been lost in front of arrogance and misuse of power. Every step she took on the floor was sharp, making the castle servants turn to look at the woman in a cloak, who had blonde hair making her way through the corridors.

When she reached the entrance of the royal court room, she saw the men who were inside turn to look at her, and the room suddenly turned quiet. But soon, murmurs of chatter stirred. Unlike in the past, Helena didn't have to stand outside, waiting for permission. Instead, she walked right inside the room, and the men moved away, making room for her.

"My dearest cousin Helen," King Edison greeted her. It seemed like people liked to forget that there was an 'a' after Helen, thought Helena to herself. Her cousin stood up from his throne and walked forward to welcome her. "I am very glad to see you here. To think that we are meeting after such a long time."

For the position the man held in the land, Helena offered the King a slight bow before raising her head.

"And I am glad to see you. I am here because of your letter where you mentioned you wanted to speak to me regarding the land disputes that are occurring here?" Helena came directly to the point instead of wasting her time on things that weren't beneficial.

At Helena's cold behaviour, King Edison only smiled and said, "There's a lot of time for that." Leaving her gaze, he looked at the other people who were in the court, "Let us continue the discussion later. The court is dismissed."

The people left the room on the King's command, and when Helena's eyes fell a few places away from where she stood, she remembered the blood that had spread on the floor in the past.

Her voice echoed in her head as she screamed and begged for her brother's life.

'STOP! He didn't do anything wrong! Please, stop it King Solomon!'

But her words had fallen on deaf ears. Not a single person had stepped forward to aid her or her brother, who had been pushed down on the ground.

'He dares to create treason and threaten my position on the throne,' the King's voice echoed in the room in anger. 'To make sure no one ever attempts it again, son of Nixon, shall be executed right here now.'

'NO!' she screamed, tears falling while she was being held back by two guards.

With no parents, her uncle, who was filled with power and greed, had used her brother as a sacrifice. When her eyes met her brother's gaze, she saw him looking in her direction as the guard held the sword above his neck. She had seen the helplessness filled in his eyes. And the sword moved down, maring the floor with innocent blood.