The king is looking out into the marketplace... There are guards positioned strategically around the square, all in disguise. The king is also in disguise, and there is someone standing on his left-hand side. There a people filtering in from all directions, but they aren’t paying any attention to the hidden king. The king looks down at his companion and it’s...
“It’s me!” I jumped out of my chair in pure elation. “I saw myself in your future! You’re going to take me out of the castle!” I twirled in place, feeling my heart soar with newfound bliss. My visions had never been wrong before, so I was going to get a chance to go outside afterall!I just knew he wouldn’t let me stay locked up forever!
I turned my attention back to the king, and my blood froze. A cold chill swept through me as I felt the fire of my joy snuff out with a single glare. The king’s face was twisted in intense anger, and his eyes burned with frustrated disappointment. “That is not what I asked you to see...” he growled under his breath.
I sank sheepishly back into my seat, my previous excitement drained from my face. I had never done that before. My visions had always followed my emotions, so why did I see something so positive after my last emotion was built up with pain? “I-I apologize. My thoughts must have been distracted. I did not mean to fail you.” I lowered my head remorsefully.This wasn’t how I wanted things to go...
The king curled his fingers into tight fists and gave the table a hard smack. I jolted from the impact, and the king stood to his feet and turned hotly toward the door. “Fine then,” he said sharply. “You want to see the kingdom so badly, very well then.” I watched fearfully with a puzzled expression as he stormed across the room. He threw the door open, smacking it roughly against the wall with a loud bang. “Get your cloak.”
chapter four
I should have been excited, and I was, but more than anything I was panicked. All my life I had wondered what it would be like to stand outside the only four walls I had ever known, yet now that it was happening... I was terrified. The king was deeply upset with me for messing up his vision, but he still insisted we leave the tower immediately. Before I could even process the king’s demands, I was tossing a cloak over my head and tying on my blindfold.
The fact that the king was so angry concerned me greatly. He guided me through the halls of the castle with a tight grip on my wrist and didn’t bother to warn me when we approached a set of steps or a sudden turn. I half-skidded, half-stepped across the floor, attempting to feel for the tops of the stairs before I fell a heart-stopping step downward. I had hoped the king would allow me to keep my eyes unbound while we were still in the castle, but he insisted I remained blinded. His tight growls quickly silenced me, and I continued to follow obediently.
If he’s so angry with me, why is he granting my request? Is it because he knows my visions are inevitable, and he wants to get it out of the way?
Not a single word was uttered as I was dragged down more steps than I could ever count. My breaths grew labored along the way, and I felt dots of sweat collect under my hood and blindfold. I often spent an hour or so doing some stretches and sit-ups, but as a whole, I didn’t have much space to move around too much. My heart throbbed in my chest, pushing my blood so strongly that the feeling reminded me of the sensation of my coursing magic. Despite the quiet king, I still heard the occasional stray footstep or muffled whisper. I desperately wanted to peek out of my blindfold and glimpse a new person, but I didn’t dare anger the king further.
After what felt like an eternity of being dragged aimlessly by the wrist, a fresh breeze brushed coolly against my hot skin. The sensation was so striking that I actually gasped. The king pulled me over what felt like a door’s threshold, and my face warmed from a blanket of pure sunshine. I had sat in my window for years, but I’d never felt a breeze caress me from all angles. It felt so freeing, so enchanting. My lace skirts fluttered around my ankles as the brisk spring air tickled my skin. As we continued to walk, I heard a collection of new footsteps follow us from the front and rear.They must be the guards I saw in my vision.My elation heightened as I recognized the elements of my dream-come-true occurring all around me.
It’s really happening... I’m actually outside.
A joyful tear welled up behind my blindfold and I felt my lip quiver as I fought to hold it back.Don’t cry yet, I’ll need my eyes to be clear so I can see the world for myself.I swallowed back the tears into my tight throat, trying to focus on keeping my balance as we stumbled across an uneven road. It was so strange to feel a different type of ground beneath my slippers. Over the years, I had learned how to map my exact location in the tower just by the feel of the uneven stone floors. But now that I was in unfamiliar territory, each step felt foreign and fascinating, while simultaneously overwhelming.
I hadn’t realized how many elements of my life I had enjoyed being consistent until everything suddenly became new. The sensation of wind and sun, the unfamiliar sounds, smells, and textures—all of it was beginning to over-stimulate my acute senses. My pulse quickened and I felt my breaths grow short as more new noises and smells flooded my brain.
I tried to focus on calming my breathing and hone in on my excitement, but the sounds were growing more intrusive. There were so many voices now, and I couldn’t even make out a single word.When had everything gotten so loud?Shouts, clatters, coughs, ringing, clanging, and so many footsteps tore through my ears.I can’t tell where anyone is. They are simply everywhere.I could no longer focus on a person’s breathing or the position of their head by the resonance in their voice—it was all too muddied to make sense of it. My nose burned with scents of smoke, cooking meat, floral perfumes, and various musks. The vast variety of smells made me nauseous and queasy.
It’s too much. Where are we? Why would the king take me this way?
My steps became heavier as my exhaustion mixed with my sick stomach and cluttered brain. The king seemed to notice my slower pace and finally stopped in the middle of the loudest area we had reached. I felt so small, like everything was crushing me from all angles, pressing me down into this foreign ground and trampling me under a stampede of chaotic noise. The king released my hand and instantly, I tensed.
What is he doing? He didn’t walk away, did he? He wouldn’t leave me alone, right?
For a moment I considered reaching out for his cloak, but I was too paralyzed to move. I huddled my arms tightly to my chest, trying to make myself insignificant and unnoticeable. A warm body brushed against my side and I nearly screamed from the startling contact. I jumped away from the touch and instantly collided with another figure.
“Hey, watch it!” a gruff voice shouted.
I leaped back again, hunching my head and shoulders low in submission.Where is the king...?My legs trembled as I remained entirely stiff. I opened my mouth to call for the king, but only a weak squeak came out.This isn’t how I had expected the world to be... Why is it so scary?It always looked so beautiful from my window... Another body slammed into me from behind and I gasped in panic. My entire body was shaking now, and I felt like I might be sick.
Where are you, Your Majesty?
A second later, a pair of hands latched onto the side of my head and I let out a silent shriek. Before I could scream for my life, two fingers laced around my blindfold and tore it off with a single pull. I stopped breathing entirely as the world outside my window came into focus.
It was all moving so fast. There were colors flying in every direction—vivid fabrics, rainbows of produce, painted pots, and earthy-toned stands and buildings. My ears deafened as my sight enveloped the entire function of my brain. Carts were being pushed through crowds of bodies, overflowing with flowers, spices, or fruits. Dyed silks danced in the breeze alongside flapping banners and other various wind-catchers. None of it was still, as it all needed to move, shake, or dance for people’s attention. My head pounded as I tried to focus on even a single painted pot, but as soon as I settled my eyes on it, another cart filled with animal furs pushed in front of it.
And then I made the biggest mistake. I looked at a face. It was the first new face I had ever seen outside of a vision. It was a young woman with black hair, soft features, and olive skin. She glanced at me from the side with a distant glare and my eyes met hers.
I felt the warmth of my power stir inside me and a new type of panic rushed through me.Not now! I’m not supposed to use my magic on others! The king is already furious!I looked away from the woman, fighting to suppress the churning power that raced through my blood. As I adjusted my gaze, my eyes met another face—an older man with a cane and a warm smile. My magic stirred even fiercer, and I spun around again and again. I couldn’t escape the eyes. There were so many eyes! I fought against my power harder and harder. My head seared with pain, and my lungs stung as if they were being pricked by needles. I felt hot, like my blood had been replaced by liquid fire, and then, with a rush of crippling heat, my magic broke free.
The woman is sitting at a table with her family... No, wait, it’s the old man gardening with his wife. Now there’s a boy with a... No, it’s a girl and her sick mother she’s trying to...Wait, now there’s four more children, and they’re all crying because... There’s a wedding? No, that’s not theirs, that’s the... Hold on, it’s a... but they just... Someone’s in pain, now they’re happy. They can’t, wait... they will, and now there’s a—
I crumbled to the ground with a painful cry, pressing my hands over my eyes. “Stop, please stop. It’s too much. I can’t process it all!” I sobbed into my hands as hot tears spilled out through my fingers and puddled onto the strange soil beneath me.
Slowly, my magic simmered back down and my body cooled off, leaving me feeling completely drained and defeated. I continued to cry as more people brushed past my shrunken form, occasionally kicking up dirt onto my pink lace skirts or scuffing me with their boots. My legs threatened to give out on me and simply collapse onto the street, but I was too petrified to fall any further.
My sobs persisted until a familiar hand touched on my shoulder. Despite the recognizable touch of my king’s ringed fingers, I still jumped from the contact. I looked up a mere inch from my tear-soaked hands and saw he was reaching out the silk blindfold to me. With a broken heart and a shaking hand, I took the strip of fabric from him and gazed down at it dismally.