Crystal Pieces of Fantasy Page 4

  There she saw words written in unknown language and a drawing of a bottle. Under the drawing she read: “Seven kisses. Ambrosiae antidotos.”

  She also noticed that in the room, there was a shelf above the table on which there were seven small bottles of the same shape as the one in the book. They were filled with liquid that glowed with blue light.

  Anastasia reached and took one of the bottles. Then she heard some noise and got scared. She hid behind the door and held her breath, putting the small glass bottle in her pocket. She stood there and waited for a few minutes, then she came quietly out of the corridor and headed to her room.

  She walked past the dining room and smelled the delicious aroma of food. By the door stood the royal messenger who had accompanied her during her journey to the castle. Breakfast was served, and he invited her to the dining room.

  “Good Morning Milady,” he said politely, “breakfast is served, and you can take your place.”

  It was only then Anastasia realized how hungry she was, and thanked the courtier. She looked around, searching for the prince.

  “The prince will not join you for breakfast,” the courtier said.

  It was very surprising to her that she would have breakfast alone and she felt somewhat awkward. She was accustomed to eating with her brothers, who were always very cheerful, and now she was completely alone in the big dining room. But the delicious food and the rays of sunlight coming through the window made her feel better.

  When she finished her breakfast and left the dining room, Anastasia saw the halls buzzing with people. The servants who were nowhere to be seen earlier, now were in a hurry decorating the palace for the ball that night, an event that would bring here all the nobles from the neighbouring kingdoms.

  Anastasia retired to her room when she saw that the bustle grew even bigger.

  She took the glass container out of her pocket, examined it, and noticed that the liquid was no longer shining in blue. Then she hid the bottle in the wardrobe.

  When the evening came and Anastasia put on the emerald embellished dress, she heard a knock on the door. She opened it and saw the Black Prince standing in front of her, tall, charming and glamorous. When she saw him, her breath caught, he was so handsome that she did not know how to control her excitement of his presence.

  “You look astonishing Anastasia,” he noted, stepping forward and kissed her cheek.

  Her heart almost jumped out of her chest. She had fallen madly in love with the prince and felt greatly attracted to him. She breathed in, his aroma was as enchanting as he himself.

  He took her hand and they headed for the throne room.

  When they entered through the great gate, all guests stopped their conversations to look at the Black Prince's chosen one. She held his hand tightly. The two of them looked very beautiful together and all the guests were watching them with admiration. It was their first night as fiancés. The Black Prince asked Anastasia for a dance and while dancing with him, she felt as if she was getting lost in some unknown and magical world.

  A young man dressed in white was standing in one of the corners of the room and was watching the couple. After the dance ended, Anastasia went to get herself a glass of wine, although she was already intoxicated by the presence of the Black Prince next to her. The man in white approached her and said:

  “My greetings for the engagement, Anastasia”. He took her hand, kissed it and then bowed slightly.

  As if awakened from a dream, Anastasia only now noticed the young man.

  “Thank you,” she said, a little embarrassed, “forgive me, but I do not know you?”

  “I am the Prince of the White Kingdom, Erik,” he bowed once more.

  “Nice to meet you, Erik.”

  “The pleasure is all mine,” he said, smiling gently.

  She did not notice when the Black Prince came near, but she felt someone grabbed her by the shoulder, and when she turned around, she saw her fiancé. The Black Prince nodded in acknowledgement of the Prince of the White Kingdom but it was just a courtesy. It was obvious that there was tension between them. The Black Prince spoke no word, but he put his arm around Anastasia’s waist, and didn’t let go for the rest of the evening.

  When the ball was over, the Black Prince accompanied Anastasia to her room. He leaned towards her and looked into her eyes, then he put his hands on her shoulders, and smoothly slid them down to her hips. Anastasia shivered, feeling as if burning with excitement. Then he pressed her against his body and touched her lips with his. This first kiss was so passionate that Anastasia felt like she was entirely his and wanted to give herself to him completely. When he wished her a good night and walked down the corridor, Anastasia went dizzily into her room and sank straight into bed as she felt a little lightheaded.

  It was during this night when she felt a piercing pain that shot through her heart and woke her up. She barely managed to take a breath, when another sharp pain pierced her body. She did not know what was going on with her, but she felt like she was dying. The pain grew stronger, and she couldn’t even gather the strength to move. Then she saw something in the wardrobe flashing blue. While looking toward the blue light, she felt the pain cease for a moment, and then it cut her again. She got up trembling and staggered to the wardrobe, but there she slipped to the floor in pain. She saw that the blue light was coming from the liquid in the bottle she had stacked away in the closet. She had little power left in her and with one last effort she grabbed the glass bottle and drank the liquid. Immediately she felt that the piercing pain started to disappear. Exhausted, she lost consciousness.

  As the rays of the sun penetrated the curtains and lit up Anastasia's exhausted body, she opened her eyes and rose from the ground, still holding the empty glass bottle in her hand. She felt dizzy and could not comprehend what had happened to her. Everything she remembered from last evening was the Black Prince's intoxicating eyes and his fiery kiss. Then she recalled the piercing pain and that the blue liquid she drank saved her life.

  She opened the curtains and looked through the window, it was a beautiful day. Then she saw a white horse in the garden which was looking at her. After a few moments of just staring, the horse bowed slightly which surprised her and made her smile.

  Anastasia got dressed and left the room. She did not know what had caused the sharp pain in her heart, but she knew she had to get more of this elixir because the luminous blue liquid had saved her, although she had no idea how it worked. She remembered what was written in the book: “Seven kisses, Anbrosiae antidodos”. Anastasia walked quietly down the dark corridor, but this time she did not see the blue light from afar because the door was closed. Slowly moving and full of fear, she reached the end of the corridor and saw a slightly flickering light through a small crack below the door. She pushed the door and it opened. Anastasia came in and saw that the book was not on the table, but the six small bottles were still where she had seen them yesterday. She picked up all of them and put them in her dress pocket, but before she left, she searched feverishly the library for a book that could explain the meaning of “Ambrosiae antidotos”. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t find any book in understandable language, but she still picked up an ancient looking book with a very strange, worn-out cover... And then, suddenly, the Black Prince walked through the door. Anastasia froze with the book in her hands, and he just stared at her with an odd look in his eyes.

  “Are you looking for something, Anastasia?” asked the prince, without taking his eyes off her.

  Anastasia felt cold sweat dripping down her forehead. But she thought the elixir bottles were safe in her pocket and hoped that the book would conceal their blue light.

  “I was walking around the palace... and I came to this corridor. I saw there was a library here and…” Anastasia stopped at this because she did not want to reveal she had discovered the blue potion.

  The Black Prince came to her and took the book from her hands. Anastasia held her breath, afraid that he would see the blue light, but he turned around and put the book back on the shelf. While he had his back on her, she rearranged the pleats of her dress to hide the faint blue light.

  “I'll show you the library of the palace, which has many more books. You should not come here anymore,” the Black Prince said firmly, his voice menacing. Then he added he would join Anastasia for dinner.

  She understood that he was dismissing her and quietly left the room.

  Anastasia hurried to her bedroom and hid the elixir bottles. When she had stacked them safely into the closet, she sat down on the bed and took a deep breath. She was not sure what was going on, she was afraid deep down, but at the same time she felt an incredibly strong attraction to the Black Prince, and she waited to become his wife with great excitement.

  A slight knock drew her attention to the window. She went to it and saw that a little white bird had perched on the ledge and was looking at her. She opened the window, and the bird bowed slightly, then flew away. A large white feather was left on the ledge of the window, and on it, in gold letters, was written:

  “Tomorrow at sunset, meet me in the garden below your bedroom.”

  Anastasia wondered who had sent this feather with a message for her, and why did they invite her to meet them in the garden?

  The evening came and she put on an elegant silk black dress and went to dinner.

  The Black Prince looked as fascinating as ever, and he greeted her at the door, giving her a beautiful rose. The food was delicious, and Anastasia was so enthralled by the pleasant atmosphere that she completely forgot all her fears. After dinner, the Black Prince invited her to the throne room.

  “I want to show you something, Anastasia. Do me the honour to come with me,”he said gallantly, and offered her his hand.

  The
two then went to the throne room, where the Black Prince gave her a sign to wait for him. The light was dimmed, and the shadows of the big columns gathered in the middle of the great hall, shaping strange silhouettes. The Black Prince came back in a moment and opened a large velvet box in front of her, which contained the most beautiful necklace Anastasia had ever seen – a string of black sapphires that sparked amazingly even in this faint light.

  “This necklace is a present for our wedding which will be in 5 nights,” the Black Prince declared.

  “Thank you, it is incredible... I am… very flattered…,” she pronounced shyly.

  “You will be the most beautiful bride,” he whispered in her ear, and then kissed her passionately on the lips.

  A little later, Anastasia returned to her bedroom, accompanied by a royal maid who was carrying the box with the wedding necklace. The maid left the box on the dressing table and closed the door behind her as she left the room. Anastasia lay on the bed, feeling sweet intoxication enveloping her again. She fell into a deep sleep and dreamed of dancing with the Black Prince when suddenly the same piercing pains cut through her heart and woke her up. She knew right away that she had only a few seconds to get to the elixir in the closet, or her life would have ended at this very moment. She managed to grab one of the bottles that were glowing in bright blue now, and drank it with her last ounce of strength.

  In the morning, Anastasia was woken up by the gentle sun rays caressing her body. She rose from the ground, then looked at the empty bottle. She could not fathom what was going on, what was happening to her. She looked into the wardrobe and saw that there were 5 elixir bottles left there, exactly as the number of days left till the wedding with the Black Prince.

  The day passed quickly. The Black Prince had ordered Anastasia to be taken to the great library while she didn’t know where the Prince himself was. Anastasia liked the library very much and stayed there the whole day until sunset. Then she left the room and went to the palace gates. She wanted to go for a walk in the garden but was stopped by the royal courtier who was by the gate at the time and said she couldn’t leave the palace. Even though Anastasia insisted on going to the garden, the royal courtier and the guards would not let her go. She realised that there was no way out.

  Anastasia returned to her room when the sun began to set. A little later she heard a tap on the window and saw that the white bird was there. She opened the window and the bird started leaping from branch to branch as if walking down invisible stairs. Anastasia realized that it was showing her how to get to the garden using the tree. She followed it, and after a minute she was down, a tall maze of rose bushes rising before her. She boldly stepped into it and heard a horse snorting. In a moment the white horse she had seen the day before stood in front of her, and behind him was the prince of the White Kingdom she had met at the ball. He was tall, dignified and friendly, and he smiled, his horse bowing to her again.

  “Glad to see you again, Anastasia,” he said, kissing her hand gently.

  “Yes... me too, Your Highness,” she said timidly.

  “Call me Erik. And this is Acorn.” The prince glanced playfully at his horse.

  “So this beauty is yours… Yesterday I saw him in the garden.”

  She went to the horse and started stroking him.

  “Anastasia, I have to tell you something important,” Erik began seriously, and she focused all her attention on him – “You are a remarkable young lady, who is worthy of taking a queen’s throne and reigning along a king all her life”, Erik stopped for moment, then took a deep breath and continued:

  “I have called you here to tell you that the Black Prince is not the one who will give you the opportunity to reign to an old age. He is deadly, and even one of his kisses would kill you.”

  Anastasia felt a pang piercing her soul and her eyes began to shimmer with tears.

  Erik took both her hands in his and fell to his knees.

  “I called you because I wanted to tell you one more thing. I want you to be the queen who rules the White Kingdom with me, Anastasia. Be my wife and I will give you my heart and my kingdom.”

  Anastasia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She began to realize that marrying the Black Prince she had fallen in love with, would lead to her doom. She felt what Erik was saying was true, it explained why she had experienced the unbearable pain in her heart after kissing the Black Prince. Tears of sadness rolled down her cheeks.

  “But Erik, why is the Black Prince deadly... and why do you want to marry me?” she asked.

  “Because his heart is black and full of poison and will destroy the life of the one he has chosen.”

  Anastasia started feeling sick and Prince Erik caught her gently and put his white cloak on the ground for her to sit on. She received the worst possible news, that she would lose her life if she married the Black Prince; but at the same time this handsome prince wanted her hand, and that gave her immediate comfort, though her feelings were completely confused.

  “Anastasia, as soon as I saw you, I realized that you were the woman I’ve been waiting to meet my whole life...”

  Deeply moved, she looked into his beautiful browns eyes, and saw how warm they were.

  “How beautiful are your words, Erik… But how can I avoid my unfortunate destiny to marry the Black Prince?”

  “Anastasia, I would take you away immediately, but the Black Prince will chase you until he finds you, so you have to go back to the castle tonight. There's only one way he would let you go - if he forgets he has ever met you.”

  Anastasia looked at him with great astonishment:

  “But how could that happen?”

  “The elixir that brings you back to life after the deadly kisses of the Black Prince is the only thing that can wipe you out of his mind,” said Erik, "that elixir was prepared many years ago by a wizard who was honoured in the kingdom of the Black Prince. The wizard loved the prince as his son, but the prince's heartlessness drove him away, and no one heard anything about him ever since.

  He left behind only this elixir that would save the life of the prince's chosen one, but it is enough for just 7 days.

  Only this elixir can erase you from the Black Prince's memory and you will have to make him drink one of the bottles. Then you will be free from him."

  It seemed to Anastasia that everything was just a dream. It was a question of life and death, and she was really grateful to Prince Erik for giving her a chance to save herself. She nodded and, deeply in thought, stood up to go back to the palace.

  “Acorn will be in the garden every morning at sunrise,” Prince Erik continued, “and he will wait for you to come so that he could take you to the White Kingdom where I will be waiting for you.”

  Anastasia smiled through tears and wished she could meet him again, because that would mean she had a future ahead - a bright and beautiful life which prince Erik was offering to her.

  She returned to her room, climbing the tree back and a moment later someone knocked on the door. It was the royal courtier who informed her that dinner was served and the Black Prince was waiting for her in the dining room. She got dressed quickly and went to meet again her magnetic, deadly fiancé.

  That evening, Anastasia had no convenient occasion to serve the elixir to the Black Prince and instead, he kissed her again and she experienced the same agony during the night. The same thing was repeated the next day and the day after, though she was carrying a bottle of elixir with her, and was looking out for an opportunity to give it to her fiancé, but she never got a chance. Time was ticking on, and she felt that life was slipping away from her grasp. She had to find a way to make the Black Prince drink the elixir. Six days passed and only one night remained until the wedding, and one last bottle of “Ambrosiae antidotos”.