Realm of Silk and Starlight (The Divine Realms #1)

One

CHAPTER

“Aerilyn, get up or yer going to piss off the Prince again!” Samael shouted far too loudly mere inches from my face.

He had always been like this, dreadfully annoying since the moment I met him.

A nuisance. An older brother figure I never wanted in the first place.

I jolted awake, nearly rolling out of my cot and onto the dirty wood floor beneath me if it weren’t for the way I managed to catch myself at the last second.

Gods. I never was a morning person, no matter how many mornings I woke up before the sunrise.

Or more so, how many mornings Samael woke me up before the sunrise.

My eyes narrowed. He stood tall, arms crossed.

Burly as a bear, his sage green shirt seemed tight against his flexed muscles.

He lacked his armor, his sword sheathed at his side.

His beard neatly groomed, blond hair pointing every which way.

Surprisingly put together despite the early hour. A Knight in the Royal Guard, no less.

It was unfair. We were both ten when we initially met.

Both sold to the Royal Family, he was given the honor of joining the Royal Guard, while I was to serve the family within the Palace walls.

If it were up to me, I would have preferred the roles be reversed.

Not because I desired to pick up a sword, but because I would rather do literally anything other than peeling potatoes all day.

Then again, at least I knew how to read. Thank you, Princess Gelia.

I groaned, shoving my pillow into my face. “Ughhh… Five more minutes.” Morning already? The days blurred together now that more daily chores had been bestowed upon me.

He tore the pillow away, tossing it back into my cot, and nearly knocking me over in the process.

“Absolutely not, you’ve got work to do, and I hate to break it to you, but I refuse to have my head on a wooden skewer paraded around the city just because yer being lazy.

Prince Adrian and I are finally on good terms, and I refuse to let you ruin that for me. ”

I sat up, an exasperated sigh leaving my lips. Unbelievable.

“Come on, up and at ‘em… Ain’t today one of yer off days from not having to peel potatoes an’ whatnot?

” He kicked the side of my cot, shaking me.

I rolled out of bed as if the Gods above had blessed me themselves.

The soles of my feet hit the cool, wooden flooring, and as I sat at the edge of the bed, the revelation of his words hit me at a slight delay.

“PRAISE BE, IT IS, ISN’T IT?!” THANK THE GODS!

Gleeful giggles parted from my lips. I could shout from the rooftops, if only I had a ladder to climb.

I jolted to my feet, paying no mind to the holes in my socks.

Grabbing Samael by the forearms, my fingers squeezed his muscles.

“That means that I get to have tea with Gelia today!” I bounced up and down, far too excited for my own good, while Samael’s expression remained stone cold and lifeless. He rolled his eyes, unamused as ever.

“Yeah, whatever. I’ve got werk to do. Go on, get.” He shooed me.

I waved my hands, shooing him away and out of the broom closet that I called my room, so I could get properly dressed and ready for the day.

The moment he was out of the room, I closed the door behind him.

I quickly put on a dress, my favorite one.

It had holes in it, but that was to be expected when I only had three dresses to call my own and no time to patch them with needle and thread.

Surprisingly enough, they all looked the same.

The only difference being the number of holes in them and how faded the color really was.

Each a simple mint color with gold embroidery, with the symbol of the Royal Lelarin throne incorporated into my sleeve to signify my lifelong servitude.

I tilted my head to the side, peering at my reflection in my teeny tiny, cracked sliver of mirror that I found a few years back.

I splashed a bit of water on my face from the porcelain bowl that was placed in the middle of my makeshift pinewood dresser. My fingers wrapped around the hilt of my hairbrush, running it through my unruly curls in an attempt to get the knots out.

I still remember it; the day my Father sold me off to the Cruel Prince of Lelarin ten years ago.

The village I grew up in was much like most villages across East Haven. Moher was small and quiet, primarily focused on hunting, farming, and fishing. I missed it. But Lelarin was my home now, whether I liked it or not.

My family was well off, for the most part, but then my mother got sick, and after her death, things changed.

Drastically. My Father gambled all our money away, and became involved with darker dealings he had no place taking part in.

We had no choice but to sell the farm, our boat, and most of our belongings too.

After things had spiraled, my father was ultimately caught.

Instead of paying for his crimes, he used me as a pawn, offering me up like a sow to sell at the Saturday Auction.

In exchange for his freedom, he offered me to Prince Adrian, to serve him and his family.

Served with a silver spoon since birth, the Prince had no shame in bolstering himself up at the expense of others.

Gods. I feared the day he would take the throne. I could only imagine what that sort of power would do to his inflated ego. Nothing good, I could imagine.

I shook those memories away, pushing them into the back of my mind where they belonged.

Today was no day to be sad. Today was a good day.

I placed my hairbrush down onto my dresser, slipped my boots on, tossed my cloak around my shoulders and clasped the hook.

Pulling my hood over my head, I made my way out the door and up the pathway to the Royal Palace for another day of work.

My arms were loose at my sides, my shoulders tense.

I knew that fatigue was riddled across my features, that my cheeks were sunken in, with dark circles beneath my eyes, and my lips were cracked and dry.

My fingers were red and raw, covered in blisters that had yet to pop. I learned to live with it, the pain.

My legs were wobbly with each step I took up that cobblestone path.

Tall buildings stacked against one another.

Various crates and barrels sat on the side streets.

Windows closed and doors locked, the subjects, while mostly friendly, kept to themselves.

Knights patrolled the streets as often as the feral cats did.

Crime wasn’t exactly a daily occurrence, but it wasn’t uncommon by any means, either.

It made no difference to me either way. My life was no longer my own.

Forever bound to be nothing more than a puppet on a string.

I made my way briskly through the marketplace, with no time to waste.

The streets were busy. Horses pulled carriages, and subjects who called the Kingdom their home occupied the vendor stalls, purchasing various goods, from fresh bread to hot chocolate.

I pulled my cloak tighter against my frame, the bitter cold chilling me to the bone.

Snowflakes fell from the sky, and a fresh blanket of snow covered the ground, making my boots crunch beneath my feet with each step.

December was always so cold, no matter the time of day.

At least the sunshine that peeked from behind the clouds made the chill seem more bearable.

The walk wasn’t all that bad, either. A mere mile or so one way and back again.

Ironic, how long it took simply because our housing was at the edge of the Royal grounds, on the outside wall.

It forced me and the rest of the Royal servants to walk around said wall and through the city to reach the Palace.

So far, in fact, I could see the Wall between the Mortal Realm and theirs.

Wisteria, where the Divine beings lived.

Or so they said. No one ever knew that they saw one and lived to tell the tale. Not anymore, that is.

It was a really, really, really long time ago that the Wall came up.

For the better, so they say. Those that lived on the other side were what we called the Divine beings.

While they weren’t Gods, they could be considered such because of the gifts they possessed.

The magic they were said to have been born with and the qualities they had were ethereal, eternal.

As a child, I often wondered what it was like on the other side.

When my mother passed, I liked to imagine she was on the other side of the Wall waiting for me.

I knew she wasn’t, because if the stories she always told me were true, she would be in the Realm of the Passed because she didn’t die from tragedy, but sickness.

She was comfortable there, surely. The Realm of Passed was always described to me as a place of eternal comfort, rest, and happiness.

Someday, we would be reunited, and I too would join her there when the Gods decided that my time was up.

I missed her greatly, but I wasn’t ready to let go of this life I lived.

I detested it most of the time, but I still had hope that someday, the Gods would be merciful and grant me the blessing of change, freedom.

I kept my head down for the most part, purposely remaining unnoticed.

I did not wish to be late. I was no stranger to lashings, but I was by no means fond of them.

I was never punished without reason, but the Prince had no sense of remorse or mercy.

The wounds on my back were still fresh, and I much preferred to let wounds heal than to inflict more pain than what I already felt over mere carelessness.

Annoying as Samael was, I was thankful that he made sure I would make it to the Castle on time.

I reached those golden gates in record time.