Chapter Twenty: The Princess's Comfort

" No, I do not want guards posted at the walls, what I want is for someone to explain to me why in the hell I have wated days for statements from the Taxers" Aurora placed her palm against her eye as she had been frustrated in organizing the Kingdom.

" I am sorry your highness, I will try to get them to provide accounting as soon as possible" one of the guards stands firmly, but anxious that the the Princess do away with him.

" I thought I got rid of taxes..why in the world do I even need the statements in the first place.." Aurora Sighs again. Ruling the Kingdom of the Witches has become a complete hassle as of late. Aurora had not heard news from Ember in days and was growing increasingly worried about her absence.

" Well you got rid of them, but the money does have to come from somewhere your highness.." The guard explained.

This made Aurora sigh even louder " We are witches. Why do we even need money? We have food, we have homes, we are thriving at this point. For the life of me, I cannot understand why we are dealing with archaic ways of sustaining ourselves when there really is no need for it " Aurora stands up from her throne and approaches the guard.

" In fact, here is what I want you to do. I want you to go to the taxers, and I want you to fire them. No questions asked, just fire them" Aurora then walked past the guard who was completely dumbfounded and she began making her way to her room.

It had been a long day of dealing with the Kingdoms issues and she had completely worn herself out trying to resolve the issues. She needed a rest but once she arrived to her room, she found a familiar face waiting for her. It was Ember.

" Long time no see, how did the visit go? " Aurora smiled as she ran to Ember and hugged her tightly. Ember seemed to be dazed and confused on how to answer the question and simply sat in silence.

" So i'm guessing it didn't actually go that well..." Aurora took the que and sat down on the bed beside Ember.

" She still wants nothing to do with me really..and that girl..I talked to her. She said she has Penny's best interest at heart but I know she is up to something. But, I think..I think I need to keep close eyes on her for the time being. I came back to let you know.." Ember finally spoke.

" You came back to tell me that you would need to be gone for a while longer? " Aurora was slightly puzzled.

It was then that Ember broke down into tears and Aurora placed her arms around Ember to try and console her as best as she could.

" I just want the pain to stop " Ember cried.

" I know, I know " Aurora rubbed Embers back, trying to soothe her troubled mind which only helped a little.

" I think I'm...I dont..I don't know what I am " Ember cried even harder.

" I think you care about Penny deeply and you feel you are being replaced. You also are worried for her, and want to make sure that she is safe. But she is shutting you out and that bothers you because you want her to understand just how much she means to you" Aurora explained to which Ember nodded, wiping her snot covered nose.

" Yeah..something like that" Ember cried.

" Well again, it's going to take time. All you can do is be supportive. You are strong..and you'll protect her. I know you will. If you would like, I can go with you to keep an eye on this girl, maybe I can kind of help smooth things over" Aurora offered but Ember shook her head.

" No, this is something I have to do on my own. I know you are trying to help but I have to do this. Penny is just so damn infuriating at times.." Ember stood to her feet and began pacing around the room, mouthing off obscenities.

" Well, People tend to be frustrating. But if you stick by her side i'm sure that she will come around to seeing what you mean. She will see that you are a loyal and she will see that you have her best interest in heart. But you have to keep in mind that you can't force her to see that. She has to see it from herself and that is just going to take time" Aurora comforted.

" But if you believe that you need to go and watch over her, then I'm not going to stop you. And I will be here to support you when you need me. Just don't let your emotions consume you. Let things play out how they are suppose to, okay? " Aurora smiled.

" Okay" Ember nodded.

A sudden knock at the door interupted their conversation and a guard poked his head in through the crack in the door. " Sorry to disturb you your highness, but Garreth has come to lodge a complaint about the loss of his job..." The guard announces.

Aurora shakes her head " I don't care if he came to tell me that his mother was turned into an elephant and sold into the circus with a wage of unsalted peanuts! Get out of here! " Aurora demmanded and the guard nodded and closed the door.

" Sounds like you are busy " Ember smiled finally.

" More than I would ever care to be " Aurora sighed.

Aurora stood to her feet and stretched for a brief moment. " This is where I belong, and apparently I have to get back to work but again, if you should need me, for anything at all, you know where to find me " Aurora smiled and leaned over and kissed Embers cheek before leaving her chambers and heading back down to the main hall.