Chapter 2 Bad News

Annabelles ball was due in a month. The council decided that a new king was the best hope for the future of their kingdom and so, moved the date of the ball, they also thought it would be a nice distraction for the people.

They had decided to announce the disappearance of the The Honourable King Peter which brought sadness to everyone that heard the terrible news. Some people held hope that the King somehow made it off that boat, others believed he was never coming back. Everyone in the Kingdom were sadneded by the disappearance of their King. The whole continent was in mourning.

It's a relitevly small kingdom compared to the others, but what they lacked in space and numbers they made up for in power and wealth. The Kingdom Fortis was perhaps the wealthiest in the country.

The King was like no other. After devoting most of his life to obtaining peace amongst the other kingdoms, he gathered a group of his most trusted advisors, they became the council. Every decision runs through them. The king used his remaining time to collect and study rare artifacts from various dealers. When this wasn't enough he began visiting various locations that he thought could be hiding more. Even if he came back empty handed it didn't matter the search was enough for him. It was just another location to tick off the long list.

He'd almost achieved his life long goal for peace, now it was almost time for Annabelle to marry, he will no longer be King anyway. He had entrusted the council in a way to protect the Kingdom from whoever would be King next. The king could decide most things, but if everyone on the council disagrees with him, the kingdom disagrees. Though not many people know that the Queen has a hand in pockets of the council.. they do as she says.

Somehow Annabelle was the only one who could see her mother for what she was.. despite the kindness her father showed her he still did nothing to protect her from her mother. Even so she hated being without him. It's been a month and still no word. The ball was only one month away. She wanted nothing more than to be consoled by her father. All she wanted was for him to tell her everything was going to be okay, even though she knew it wasn't.

She was to marry for a kingdom that didn't care for her. She didn't belong anywhere. This emptiness inside existed way before her father disappeared and had only grown deeper since.

After reluctantly finishing more dress fittings Annabelle found herself wondering through the castle, she did this often so the guards patrolling weren't shocked to see her. Her head was still in a daze, she never thought about where she was going, she passed her father's study like she had so many times before. But this time was different, she felt different, a pull of some kind took ahold of her. This is her father's study, this is his safe place. She had so much respect for him she had never even thought of sneaking in before. But now she needed to know what was inside. Even the maids had to stay out.

There are no guards patrolling this area and Annabelle has seen many times where her father hides the key.

Her intention was to feel close to him, perhaps even get to know him better before her mother boxes all his stuff. This might be one of the only chances she has. She grabs an old brass key from behind a painting a few feet away. As she enters the room the musty smell of her father's calogne fills her nose, it's almost like he could have just been standing here next to her.

Annabelle takes a step through the door locking it behind her. Slowly she turned to inspect her surroudings. This room looked like many others in the house. Oak furniture and wooden cladding on the walls. Only these walls were covered in symbols that were organised in sentence like structures. The only thing she could make out whist quickly glancing around was one sequence that looked like the stages of a moon as it becomes full.

These drawings were scribbled all over the walls. From the time Annabelle had stepped into this room the weird feeling, the pull she thought was wanting to feel closer to her father was growing, it wasn't just her body that felt different, it was her mind too. She felt as though something was trying to call to her, how crazy does this sound.

The room isn't very big, it has one large desk, a shelf, an oak folder cabinet and a large oak chair apolstered in white sweyed leather. One wall is not covered with symbols but instead with books, alot of books, some of them look ancient.

Annabelle approaches the bookshelf, this feeling growing even stronger. She tried to ignore it as she instinctively reaches out to take a the only dark purple book from the shelf, it is her favourite colour. As she slides it towards her she feels it get caught on something, "Well I've never known a book to get stuck in a book shelf" mumbled Anabelle to herself as she tugged abit harder. Just then she heard a loud click from behind the bookcase. She released the book which quickly shot back to its original spot.

As soon as it did so, a quiet machine like clunking began and the book case moved in on itself before retreating to a space in the wall, revealing a dark staircase down. "What on earth were you up to down here father?" she questioned knowing there would be no response. This feeling Annabelle was trying to ignore suddenly came straight to the surface. She stood there looking down this dark stair case contemplating what to do.

Suddenly a dim orange glow lit the darkness beneath, it was faint but you could notice as before it had been completely black.

Now Annabelle knew she had to check it out, this feeling had grown more intense with each step closer to the mystery light. She stepped off the last step at the bottom, now the origin was in complete view, it was an old wooden chest in a glass cabinet. The light was coming from inside, seeping through the cracks. It looked very old. There were many other objects in the room in cabinets too but she wasn't here for them.

Annabelles head filled with a low humming as she made her way across the room. At first it was too quiet to notice, but with everystep further into the room the noise grew louder. None of this made Annabelle back away, if anything it intrigued her more. She had nothing to loose anyway. Well maybe her life but she figured that might not be such a bad thing. She had contemplated suicide as a last resort, being alone with no one to bounce your crazy thoughts off can lead to some pretty stupid ideas.

Annabelle lifted the chest out from the cabinet, feeling it vibrate under her fingers, she thought the hum was in her head but now she realised the hum was coming from inside the chest. She studied it for a few seconds, it appeared to be very old. It was engraved in the same kinds of markings on the walls of her father's study, Anna slowly slid her fingers across the crevices.

It was wooden with what looked like brass bands holding it together. Annabelle opened the chest cautiously, she knew her father collected things that some cultures believed were dangerous. If her father believed in them then she had to have some belief. After all he was the most intelligent man she knew.

As she lifted the lid, the bright orange light that had been so eager to be free filled the room, glowing like the sun. Annabelle was overcome with a euphoric feeling she had never felt before, it was like nothing of this earth. She saw a quick glimpse of what looked like jet black feathers before the light covered her body, it was so bright she had to close her eyes.

Then there was nothing, she couldn't feel anything, not the chest in her hands nor the floor beneath her feet.

Annabelle opened her eyes, the room was gone. Surrounded only by this light, yet she felt no fear. Only a warmth inside her that grew with every moment. Soon the warm feeling turned to that of power and adrenaline, now Annabelle could feel the strength of whatever was in the box, it's rage filled her to her core. It was only then that Annabelle thought about just how bad this could be. Yet somehow she still didn't feel scared.

The yellowy orange light turned to blood red flames. It stayed this red for a few more seconds before retreating into Annabelle's body. She could only watch as the last of the red flames slithered into her finger tips. There was no evidence the light had ever been there in the first place. Though Annabelle knew that it was. She could still feel it inside her, this undeniable feeling of power.

NOTES-

Thank you for reading!!