Kingdom of Seraphic

"She's not in Grovecopse?" Arjun, the king of Seraphic, asked his assistant. She simply shook her head no, letting silence fill the room after her king spoke just for a moment.

"No sire, not in Grovecopse, Barrensheath, Muskeg, Savannapampa, or Boondocks." The assistant told him. King Arjun remained quiet for a long while, trying to think of where his daughter might've gone.

"Do you happen to know where Charmaine Baldwin lives?" King Arjun asked his assistant who quickly nodded.

"Have a guard bring her to me, I'd like to have a chat with her." He told her before waving her away. His small assistant scurried out of the throne room, rolling her eyes knowing how that conversation would go with the two of them.

She approached one of the guards that was on his break.

"The king requests you to go fetch madam Baldwin." The king's assistant told him. The guard just looked at her shocked.

"His ex wife?!" He took his helmet off, trying to make sure he had heard her correctly. When the assistant nodded once more he scoffed while slowly standing.

"Maybe you should go, she hates us guards but loves seeing you Dahlia." The guard told her. The king's assistant then fixed her glasses, nodded and walked off.

"If the king asks tell him I went instead!" She called back to the guard before rushing out the big doors of the castle and into the town.

Ms. Dahlia looked very out of place as she wandered through the town. While she was dressed clean, white apron like dress with a white cardigan to go over it. All the towns people looked dirty and ragged. The buildings were small and looked to be close to falling apart. Many people were on the streets due to the heavy taxes the king makes them pay. Dahlia gave a few people on the streets some money she had on her in hopes that would be enough to at least get them some fresh bread to eat. It pained her each time she had to come to town and see all the poor, miserable faces of the town of Seraphic. She had brought up the poverty issues many times to the king but she always gets brushed off.

Finally she got to a small house close to the center of town. Dahlia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She walked through the small, rickety gate that kept the chickens in the front yard and crossed the tiny yard to the old front door. She knocked swiftly and stepped back to wait for someone to answer.

A tired looking woman with beautiful dark skin and tired, red rimmed eyes. Her coal black hair hung down her shoulders and partially in her face in a long afro like style. The woman's hair was badly frizzed from the humidity and sweat dripped down the poor woman's face.

"Madam Baldwin." Dahlia smiled, bowing out of respect of their ex queen. The tired woman giggled and hugged her.

"Oh how I've missed you, come on in." A smile crossed her lips as she led her old friend inside.

"Are you hungry dear? How about some tea?" Ms. Charmaine Baldwin offered but Dahlia politely declined.

"I actually came here to..well..." her voice trailed off before getting to the point quickly. "The king wants to talk." Dahlia spat out and Ms Baldwin's smile dropped.

"What does he want." She grumbled, hating the idea of having to go near that man again.

"Well...your daughter ran away..." Dahlia slowly spoke, not wanting to upset her more. To her surprise she wasn't even bothered.

"Well it's about damn time." Charmaine said while walking to the small kitchen. Dahlia quickly followed, fixing her glasses once more and grumbling annoyed for a quick moment before going back to looking shocked.

"May I ask what you mean?" Dahlia asked and Charmaine began to spill everything.

"Your king, she hates. Especially since he arranged a marriage with a pervert from a different kingdom. So I told her she must go!" Ms. Baldwin took out some vegetables from under her counter and a large kitchen knife.

"I told her to run to Sluagh. I knew she would be safe there. Blair gladly complied, packed some food and began her journey." She went on, cutting up the vegetables with terrifying speed and putting them into a pot of water that hung over a small fire. Dahlia stood there in shock. She understood why she had told her daughter to run away but the fact Blair actually did it shocked her more.

"So that fool wants to see me?" Charmaine scoffed, adding another log to the fire and more kindling to increase the heat.

"Yes ma'am, he wants to know if you know anything." Dahlia sighed.

"Oh I'll talk to him alright. I'll give him a piece of my mind is what I'll do!" She stabbed her large kitchen knife into the cutting board before rolling her dirty sleeves up and headed for the door.

Dahlia stood there an extra moment, frozen in shock as she stared at her own reflection in the large, clean blade of the knife.

"Come on dear!" Charmaine Baldwin called and Dahlia scurried to her and they both walked through the town and back to the palace, catching each other up about the situation.

Once they got to the castle Ms. Baldwin didn't even wait for the guard to open the door for her. She simply shoved the heavy doors open and walked in, anger filling the tired mother's mind and body.

"Arjun Koch." She growled, her dark eyes glaring daggers at the king that sat upon his thrown.

"It's King Arjun to you now." The king replied, not wanting to show that this woman did genuinely scare him. She simply scoffed and crossed her arms across her chest.

"You wanted to speak to me." She grumbled and the king nodded.

"I'm not sure if you know but our daughter has taken off running." King Arjun explained, rising to his feet and walking towards the angry woman. "Do you know anything about that?"

"Oh I do alright. She ran cause she wasn't safe here anymore!" Charmaine sneered as he came closer to her.

"How so?" King Arjun asked slowly, trying to keep his composure. He reminded himself that she had always had a short fuse.

"Oh I don't maybe because you set her up with that blubbering fool from Muskeg!" She threw her hands up in disgust before Arjun finally snapped back.

"Don't insult the prince like that. You have no right to speak." Arjun argued back but Charmaine spoke as if she had nothing left to lose.

"I have every right to speak for our child!!" Charmaine roared, stepping closer to close the space between them more. "She doesn't feel safe cause you have ignored every cry for help from her! That so called prince has made her suffer and that's only from a few mere hours together! I will not allow her to marry him." She yelled in his face, unloading years of pent up anger that she had against this man. She yelled and yelled until she was out of breath.

"So she ran!!....she ran to get away from you!..." Charmaine gasped for breath, glaring into the wide eyes of the king.

"For the gods sake where did she go then?!" Arjun snapped back and watched a sly grin form across Charmaine's lips.

"One place you....will never get through...." She laughed at the defeated look that took place of the initial angry expression. "Lord Blagden shall never let you inside his walls...let alone to my daughter." She grinned brightly before turning and leaving, slamming the heavy door shut on her own.