Eternal Castle

"It has always been a desire which has pinned us down when we least expected it." His handwriting was as beautiful as ever, "Where our boundaries had always been firmly held upwards, our desires had always been overflowing." 

The quill in his hand slipped and rolled onto the ground endlessly before it stopped against a woman's foot. Her pumps were luxurious, made distinctively, and showered with pearls - nothing as he had ever seen before. He looked up at her as he was still crouching and holding his journal tightly between his arms. Even her clothes seemed luxurious. 

Since he was dressed in ragged pieces of cotton sewed together, this woman dressed in silk was probably a noblewoman. 

She glared at him. However, her puffy gown prevented him from getting a good look at her face. 

"Pardon me." 

He reached out for the quill and clenched it close in his fist, standing up before the woman. Not wanting to do anything with a potential noblewoman, he slightly bowed his head and turned around to leave. 

"Stop right there!" A man behind the woman called him out loud, possibly under the woman's orders. 

He sighed deeply and turned back around, looking straight at the ground. 

"My lady?" The man next to the woman addressed her politely, asking for further instructions. 

She gestured her hand towards her alleged servant to halt his actions, "What is your name?" 

"Me?" The man asked politely, looking at her at last. 

She was a beautiful noblewoman, adorned with the most expensive jewelry out there. Her features were soft and subtle. Hazel eyes and silky light brown hair - she looked like a nice person. 

"Yes, you." The woman nodded. 

"Hoover." The man replied nonchalantly. 

He wasn't lacking in looks. His haggard figure and dirt from the streets hid most of his features but he was a gorgeous man. His eyes and hair were both jet black but his most prominent feature was his gray sideburns and a small mole under his eye. His appearance indicated that he was middle-aged; most likely around 40. 

"Hoover," The woman repeated, finding him attractive. "Did you steal this quill?" 

The man looked confused for a second before realizing that his attire and the quill had the difference between sky and land. It was too expensive to be in the hands of a commoner. 

"No. It was a gift." 

The woman smiled sarcastically, "How do I believe that?"

The man scoffed under his breath, being involved with a noblewoman even though he had tried his hardest not to. She found him suspicious for owning a luxurious item and he had no invoice to show that it belonged to him. 

Two options. 

He could get on his knees and beg for forgiveness for having stolen a quill. But then his quill might never be returned and he might be punished. 

Or. 

He could run away and disappear from her sight forever. 

"A bird that fails to fly," The man uttered while looking at the sky, "Must go back to the ground where it came from." 

The woman narrowed her eyes in confusion but ended up looking at the sky, followed by her servant. The moment they turned their eyes back, having seen nothing but the clear sky, the man had disappeared. 

"That was strange." The woman said to her servant. 

"A commoner with poetic words, or his disappearance?" Her servant asked. 

"Everything." She replied. "Search for him." 

With that, the woman left her little stroll in the streets midway to going back to her residence. A line of servants greeted her at the Royal Palace, Princess Sofia Winter. 

"Killian," She called her servant who had returned with her, "Keep me updated." 

"Understood, my lady," Killian replied to her, bowed down, and parted ways to carry out her order. 

Princess Sofia headed toward her room to change into clothes appropriate for the palace. Her strolls kept her disguised as a noblewoman and her bodyguard Killian always followed her. No one in the country of Miraculum had ever seen the Princess which allowed her to leave the palace to her liking. 

From the silk clothes of a noblewoman, the Princess changed into much more extravagant clothes. If she were to walk in the streets like that, no one would believe that she wasn't the Princess. She couldn't afford to lose her noblewoman status in the streets for the status of being a Princess. That would hinder her regular strolls. 

"Maya," The Princess called her servant, "How did I look earlier?" 

"Your Royal Highness looks pretty in everything," Maya replied with a curtsy. 

"Did he find me pretty too then?" She murmured to herself, looking at her face in the mirror. 

"Your Royal Highness?" Maya cleared her throat, "I advise you not to interact with people outside." 

"I did not interact with anybody." The Princess quickly denied it. 

"Then who is the man in question who must find you pretty?" 

The Princess bit her lip, not knowing how to reply to a suspicious Maya. After much consideration, she came up with a believable excuse. 

"K-Killian!" She hesitated but executed the excuse. "Who else?" 

Killian was a handsome man himself. His well-built body contrasted with his dirty blond hair and ice-blue eyes. His broad shoulders and big forearms were his most prominent features. He was taller than most men around him. 

Maya sighed deeply upon hearing Killian's name. She sat herself down on the ground at the Princess' feet. 

"Princess Sofia," 

Uh oh. The outcome was never good when Maya resorted to addressing the Princess' name. The Princess pressed her lips together nervously and interlocked her hands together, trying to avoid eye contact with Maya by staring at her nervous self in the mirror. 

"Let us not forget Killian Schneider's fate…"

"I know, I know." Princess Sofia nodded. "Killian is the only heir of the General. The General is Consort Helene's maternal uncle. We cannot go against the General. I must not put Killian in a pinch." She repeated the lines laid out to her the moment Killian was assigned as her bodyguard. 

"Good." Maya nodded, having made sure that the Princess had authority over her heart. 

Princess Sofia was the only daughter of King Hans III - the seventh King of Miraculum - with his wife Queen Gisela Winter. Being the only daughter, she was spoiled in every way possible. The King was broad of mind and found her daughter to be more precious than his only son, Crown Prince Leon, who was birthed by Consort Helene. 

Though Crown Prince Leon was given the title of Crown Prince through the Royal Court's unanimous decision, the King's heart personally wanted to abdicate the throne to Princess Sofia's future husband. 

Hence, Princess Sofia was always taught by her mother and servants to have authority over her heart. Marrying someone the King would choose for her would grant her a safe future. Otherwise, the Consort would never let her live if her son were to sit on the throne. 

"Do not dwell on it any longer. I know my facts." The Princess assured Maya once again. 

Later that night, Killian returned to Princess Sofia's quarters with some information. He asked her audience through her servants and she called him in instantly. 

Killian walked inside, bowed, and then took a seat on the ground in front of the princess' table. She faced him and smiled, awaiting the crucial information. 

"There is bad news." Killian started. 

The smile on her face disappeared. 

"The man disappeared into the Mountains of Death," Killian said with disappointment. 

"What?!" The Princess was shocked. "Everybody knows that place is off-limits. Anyone who ever stepped into the range never returned. Everyone knows that… So how come…" She seemed concerned. 

"He was just a commoner after all. Had he been educated, he would not have gone to a place of no return." Killian said slowly. 

"Killian," Princess Sofia shook her head, "Even commoners know that place is dangerous. After the Great Apocalypse 60 years ago, those mountains are the only mountains we cannot inhabit. It is no secret. Even the children know not to go there." 

"He has already disappeared into the mountains, hence we cannot do anything about it. I apologize for my incompetence. However, I believe you should stop concerning yourself with a mere commoner. He lied about his name to you as well." Killian tried to shove sense into the Princess. 

"His name?" 

"I searched around for Hoover and there was no such man. Then I changed my description to a man with a journal and a quill and suddenly, everybody knew who he was." 

"What was his name then?" 

"Heinrich."