The Tower

A cold chill went down Monique’s spine as she went up the stone steps to the tower. She needed away from her older sister’s coronation. Her long emerald satin dress would catch on sharp cracks within the sandstone.

Monique looked back over her shoulder to make sure no one had followed her. She reached into the belt of her dress and took out a large brass key. It was cold to the touch as she slid it into the black metal frame. The door clicked and came open easily.

The air was cold and musty. It was an old tower that no one paid much mind to. That’s why it was Monique’s favorite place. There was a large window sill that was off to the side of the rounded room. She gently closed the door behind her so it wouldn’t echo.

Her shoes clicked on the wooden floor as she walked over toward the window. Monique sat and looked out the window onto the large estate of the castle. Her head filled with images of faraway lands. A sudden click came from the door. Monique jumped up off the window sill. She turned towards the door and her sister stood in the doorway.

“I thought I would find you up here.” Amelia stood there with a disgusted look on her primed little face. She had to get a custom-made darkened pink satin gown with gold sequin and white lace.

“How did you know where to find me?” Monique placed her hands upon her slender hips.

“Oh please, you thought that I wouldn’t notice my younger sister sneaking off. I pay closer attention than you think. Now come on back downstairs before Mother and Father send the guard after you.”

The girls walked back down the spiral cool staircase to the upper floor of the castle. They walked down the corridor towards the east wing to make their way back down to the ballroom. The guards were sparse since the majority of them were downstairs.

“Are you afraid of what your new title means, sister?” Monique questioned.

“Of course I am, but I’m the new Princess of Guan and Duchess of Angela. My new fiance is presumably charming. Though I won’t know what he is truly like until after we are wed. That’s when a man shows his true colors.” Amelia smiled at me.

Monique was always impressed by how Amelia handled political situations. Her sister had always been there for her. Despite that, Monique whole heartily knew that she would be next in line to find a suitable husband.

As they approached the ballroom the scarlet curtains with their gold-braided tassels. The place was lined with people of all wealth or nobility. Music played throughout the large room that had a huge candle chandelier in the middle. Monique’s mother enjoyed the French design. To her it represented elegance. That which she also expected of her daughters.

All eyes had floated toward the sisters as they made their way into the room. Their mother Queen Katrina, strolled up beside them. Her smile told them she wasn’t happy.

“Girls where have you been? It is not lady-like to be absent from a celebration.”

“We just needed to freshen up mother. I wanted to keep my appearance fresh. Poor Monique’s hair was about to frizz out of place.” Amelia smiled.

Queen Katrina looked them up and down. “Alright then, Amelia go show your fiancé some attention. Monique let me introduce you to some nice young men.”

She led Monique over to a group of gentlemen that looked to be in their late teens. Young men with titles, land, and money.

“Good evening gentlemen. This is my daughter Monique. I was hoping that she could become acquainted with you fine men. Now I will be right over there speaking with the Duke of Earlman.” She smiled at her daughter.

Monique knew that she needed to make a good impression on these young men. They weren't too much older than what she was. At the same time, she didn’t feel like being a piece of property to be passed around.

A dark-haired man smiled at Monique. “Don’t worry my mother is the same way with my sisters. Always so eager to marry them away.” he took a sip of his wine.

Monique looked down at her shoes and then back up at his brown eyes that had a golden ring around the outside of them. It was like she had taken a look at a piece of artwork.

“Yes, she can be persistent. Now that my sister is engaged with another title. It will only get worse. My apologies for my mother’s boldness. She has always worried about my well-being.”

“Oh, that’s quite understandable. You are a beautiful young lady.” He gently took Monique’s hand and placed a simple kiss upon it. “My name is Lord Jarrett, my lady.” he bowed slightly.

“Very kind to meet you. I see that you are accompanied by some friends.” Monique guestered toward the other men that stood there. They seemed to enjoy themselves.

Lord Jarrett smiled. “This is Lord Alexander, Lord Michael, and Lord Charles. They did me the honor of accomanying me this evening. We like to call it a gentleman’s night out.”

Monique bowed her head toward the men in respect. “You gentlemen make sure you enjoy yourselves. My mother wouldn’t let anyone live it down if one of her parties went badly.”

The men chuckled. Lord Jarrett bent his head down toward Monique’s ear. “Would you like to dance?” His breath was warm to her neck and sent a slight chill down her spine.

Monique smiled and took his hand. He led her out onto the dance floor and they joined into the dancing. Monique kept her composure as his arm wrapped around her slender waist. This is what made her nervous. She never thought of men more than just friends despite the pressure she had been under.

Lord Jarrett noticed Monique couldn’t look him in the eye. He kept the pace of the dance and then spun her around. Her eyes widened in surprise. Monique looked up into his deep eyes the golden rings that laced the brown. It was like a magical spell being pulled over her.

The music stopped and Monique felt stunned. Lord Jarrett stepped back and bowed to her. She gracefully curtsied. They walked off the dance floor and went toward a column within the room. Amelia and her fiance William walked over towards them.

“Dear sister may I borrow you a moment.” Amelia locked her arm with Monique’s and led her towards the open hall behind them.

The hall was darkened because not many candles had been placed because of the coordination. Which meant it was mostly vacant except for a few guards. Amelia looked around to make sure there wasn’t anyone watching. She pulled out a small parcel that was hidden within the under-layer of her gown. It must have been tucked within the fold of the sash that laid between the layers of her bodice.

Monique was puzzled...Amelia took her sister’s hand and placed the parcel within it. “Keep this close and don’t lose it. This is part of your dowry. I wanted to make sure you had it just in case you wanted a choice. I know I haven’t been the biggest help but when I saw you out there on that dance floor. I knew that you still needed a choice.”

Monique looked at her sister. She wasn’t sure what to think. Lord Jarrett would be an excellent match and he was handsome. Then she also thought of all the time she spent wondering what was beyond her castle walls.

Monique looked up at her sister. “How did you get this? How much is there? This feels really heavy.”

“It doesn’t matter how I came about it. There are over fourteen-thousand pounds which the Yankee’s would call twenty-thousand dollars.”

This didn’t make any sense to Monique. Why would Amelia go to such lengths? “What made you do this for me?”

“I might have overheard some whispers about Mother doing some special match-making. To ensure that our line would grow bigger than Great Britain and the Spanish combined. The way your face became entranced with his I didn’t want to take any chances.”

“Wait did Mother go to the local witch in town?” Monique’s expression hardened.

Amelia started to sigh. Monique took the parcel and threw up her hand in her sister’s face. She felt her face begin to warm and her eyes gathered tears. Though she held them back. Monique wasn’t about to cry like a little girl.

“Mother will not control my future. I know the rules and being a proper lady. This has gone too far. I love you and I know that you want this life sister but I do not. I have watched you be pawned like a chess piece in a game. Thank you for not allowing me to be done the same.”

Amelia hugged her sister. They went back to the men that had been patiently waiting on them. Monique had stuffed the parcel within her bodice. Thankfully, the dresses had enough material to them they could hide an entire army.

Monique and Amelia finished out the evening. The night had already been quite eventful. Once everyone had left they had told their parents goodnight and went up to their rooms for the night. Monique’s room was large with its own fireplace and it had a large window.

Monique had been sitting in her window like she normally does before bed. She waited there until everything was silent so she could sneak off up to the tower. As she quietly opened the door she looked to make sure that the hall was empty.

She quietly went down the hall and up the stairs all the way towards the top. Monique made her way back up to the tower without anyone to notice that she wasn’t asleep in her chambers. The moon shone brightly through the glass windows of the tower. She had taken a lite torch on when she walked up the stone steps.

Monique lit another torch within the tower so she could have some more light. She started to walk over to her truck to open it. Her foot slipped and she felt her tailbone hit the hard wooden floor.

She looked down toward her feet and noticed that the board wasn’t nailed in. That was odd because she never noticed it before. Monique got up on her needs and started to move the wood from the floor. As she examined the floor she noticed something under the floor.

When she stuck her hand down inside the floor she felt something leather. It felt like a book. She pulled it out and it was a black leather-bound book. The edges were stained from age. Monique undid the binding and opened it. She flipped through the pages and noticed that there were drawings of people and creatures.

Monique’s breath stopped as her heart started to beat louder within her ears. There before her on the page was a portrait of a man that looked just like Lord Jarrett. She read under his name Lord Jarrett the Leader of the Eastern Royal Warlocks. Monique felt the book drop from her hands. She couldn’t believe it...her Mother had set her up with a warlock...

It was then that Monique knew why her sister gave her the way out. The next question popped into her mind. Did she want to marry a warlock? She could run away but they would hunt her down. Could Monique brave the world outside the castle walls or be trapped within a world that she had been taught was evil?