I really appreciate all the criticism that I got from the first chapter that I posted. I doubt many people are following this so I don't plan on posting any more chapters, but I'm hoping that maybe chapter 2 is a little better. I've been writing this novel over the course of years so I think my writing style changes as the story progresses.Chapter 2Katherine and his newly acquainted friends chatted for a while as they admired the verdant countryside of Charlenmire where Katherine's father Heracles rules the Kingdom of Morra. Katherine has spent much of his youth running about the forests in search of frogs, berries, mushrooms or whatever he could find to take home and examine. He also spent a considerably long amount of time trying to climb the towering dark trees, which were awfully tempting with their many long branches that protruded forward as if they were slender arms reaching out to give Katherine a hand in ascending them, however, Katherine had fallen a countless amount times so he was forbidden from this activity. The moon was high up in the sky, gleaming like a darling pearl, pure and full of heaven’s light, but at the same time having a dark and ghastly luster. As they talked, the wind howled in a way that seemed as if the air was whispering and eavesdropping on their conversation.“Are we going to get there any time soon?” demanded Nixie.Katherine was still in his head, so he didn’t really hear what she said. He looked back as if he was about to respond but was really just checking the surrounding out of curiosity, not intentionally ignoring her question. After a short moment he turned his head back to its original position and began to whistle a tune quietly. Eva snickered. Nixie positioned herself almost as if she was going to move to the front of the carriage and smite Katherine, but she decided to sit back down and instead crossed her arms, then sighed angrily. Luella just sat there; she hadn’t spoken much since the carriage started moving.“So, what’s it like at your big castle?!” asked Eva, enthusiastically, her eyes opened wide with excitement.Katherine rubbed his chin and pondered her question for a moment, and then he replied,” Well, I really like it there. I’ve lived there all my life. There are many rooms; the chefs are superb, bunches of well-bred horses to ride, a lot of impressive artwork, some of it was drawn by none other than me!”Katherine looked up and bit his lip, he was thinking of things to say to exalt his home even more.“Also, the architecture has been masterfully crafted by some of the most famous artists, such as Verliel Augustine, and Julian Winterwand.” he said, enthusiastically.The carriage continued to move steadily towards its destination when it came upon a noticeably dark area in the road that seemed to be moving.“What is that?” said Eva, while pointing her finger at a dark and strangely moving mass in the road.Katherine harshly tugged the reigns of the horses and in response they whinnied fiercely as the carriage wheels steadily creaked until they came to a stop. Nixie leaned forward eagerly to see what was going on, putting her hand on Katherine’s shoulder rather uncomfortably, though he didn’t express it. Katherine, Nixie, and Eva all got out of the carriage, but Luella remained in her seat. The group watched carefully as the dark area on the road started to move more whimsically and eventually it rose up and began to disperse like shifting shadows. A crow flew past Eva’s shoulder, and then several others awkwardly flew past Katherine and Nixie leaving behind numerous stray feathers and made horrible squawking noises as they disappeared into the blackness of the night.“Such beautiful birds.” said Nixie, with an eerie grin on her face.“I hate birds, especially crows, they’re bad luck.” Replied Katherine, demurely, while rubbing his shoulder.“I wonder what they were all doing here?” said Eva, with her hands folded as if she was trying to solve some sort of mystery.Katherine looked all around very cautiously, before he decided to walk over to the site that the crows had been gathered. For the most part, this wasn’t so much an act of curiosity as much as it was about him trying to prove that he was brave and unafraid. The night was dead silent and each of Katherine’s steady footsteps made noticeably loud sounds as his feet crunched and crackled on dead autumn leaves. The wind howled at random times very eerily and sharply through the black of the night and with it brought a stream of frigid cold air. Katherine paused for a moment and considered what he was doing, because he was inwardly afraid, though he tried not to show it.“What’s the hold up? Aren’t you going to go check it out?” said Nixie in her usual caustic tone.Katherine looked back and put on a fraudulent smile.“I’m going. I’ll check this out and we will be back on our way.” said Katherine with a false confidence that was likely perceived by Nixie and the others.“I am getting back into the carriage; I don’t feel comfortable standing around anymore.” said, Eva as she walked back into the carriage.Luella remained silent the whole time; she hadn’t said a word in a while. She sat there quietly not drawing any attention to herself; she played with her hair a few times, but nothing meaningful. Katherine continued to walk towards the area; he felt more and more uneasy the closer he got until a bright shimmer glared in the darkness. Katherine got to his knees and upon a closer observation he beheld a small silver ring with an exceptionally intricate design that resembled a rose vine growing around the edges and had a sparkling amethyst gemstone embedded in the top of it.“Oh, it’s so beautiful.” said Katherine as he leaned in, eager to get a closer look at the mysterious charm.“Whatever he found; it must be quite appealing. I suppose that would explain why all those crazy birds had gathered around It.” said Eva, to Luella, from the carriage.It seemed like she was trying to entertain Luella and get her to talk, however, she didn’t budge. A gust of frigid air swept through and made an eerie sound as it moved through the holes in the wood and framework of the carriage.Nixie crept up behind him and leaned in to see what it was that had Katherine spellbound. She got on her knees and then rested her hand on Katherine's shoulder, which caused him to suddenly jerk his head in her direction and exhale a few unstable breaths.“Please don't sneak up behind me like that.” said Katherine, returning his gaze to the object of his desire.Nixie gently pushed Katherine to the side and picked up the ring, which caused him to become a little annoyed. She held it up high in the air and then tilted her head to the side as she grinned deviously, admiring the craftsmanship of the charm and the way it glimmered in the rays of the moonlight that freely escaped through the thick cluster of trees. She giggled to herself and looked over at Katherine, who snatched the ring from her loose grasp and buried it in his pocket.“You can't just go around stealing stuff, because you feel like it. You thief.” said Katherine, with an annoyed expression, as he got up to head back to the carriage.Nixie got up as well, smirking at his obvious irritation.“I didn't steal anything. I just wanted to get a good look at it. Besides, it seems a little dainty don't you think?” said Nixie, as she slowly rolled her eyes to the side.Katherine, ignoring Nixie's comment, continued to walk to the carriage at a deliberate pace, while observing the ring carefully as it shined brilliantly.“Well, this is interesting. There is a small letter here on the ground that was hidden in the shadow of this tree.” said Nixie as she picked it up and moved it towards her eyes so she could examine it closely. She calmly walked back to her seat in the carriage, observing the letter back and forth to determine who it was from, however, there wasn't enough moonlight consistently for her to get a good look so she snugly tucked it away into the top of her shirt until they could all get to a place where enough light was present to read it. As soon as they had all gotten comfortable in their seats, Katherine motioned the horses to start on the path again and they began to tread at their original pace. The carriage was once more on its course to Whitherwell where Katherine's spent his days in luxury, but also in loneliness.“These lovely dark Rosaline trees remind me of back home. If only we had traveled this way a few weeks later, during the winter solstice, these trees would be flourishing with all sorts of purplish berries, which are exceptionally tasty in pastries, I might add.” said Eva, bubbly, taking a deep breath as if she were inhaling the aroma of these apparently delectable Rosaline treats.Katherine soon began to wonder what a Rosaline pastry would taste like, not entirely out of curiosity, but mostly out of hunger. He hadn't eaten much that day. As soon as he got up, which was early in the morning, before the songbirds began to rehearse their melodies, he started his way towards the festival, which was held every year around the autumn, and made his way hastily, forgetting to take something to eat along with him. Of course, he consumed a few festival specialties like Mrs. Connoway's candied apples, or Sir Harrington’s sweet bread, but these were more appeasing than satisfying.As Katherine and his friends got closer to their destination; the path to the road had gotten noticeably bumpy and every once in a while a horse would slightly stumble in a hole and cause the carriage to lean and then suddenly jump up without giving the passengers a chance to adjust, which made it quite difficult to enjoy the ride.After hitting her head on the ceiling a few good times, Nixie looked towards Katherine and said,“Whoever your parent's have delegated to maintain the stability of these roads is doing an awfully poor job.”Katherine tilted his head down and spoke calmly saying,“My father hardly has the time to watch over anything that goes on here. He is always either busy on some kind of conquest, arguing with my mother, or spending time with his mother and her side of the family, which live a great distance from here, in the Province of Brellawine. She has gotten quite sickly in the last few years, so I can understand why he would spend so much time with her, but he seems to favor her side of the family a lot more than my mother's and my mother can't really stand my father's mother or most of my family that lives in Brellawine, but particularly his mother.”Nixie and Eva weren't all that interested in Katherine's family problems, but they showed otherwise with their facial expressions in an attempt to seem interested in his story. Luella's eyes opened up a bit wide as if she had seen a ghost and then she leaned over a bit towards Katherine.“So, it's basically just you and your mother?” said Luella, with a peculiar expression on her face; her eyes were wide open, staring at him intently. Katherine held his head down for a few seconds, before replying and said,“Yes. That's mostly true. I hardly see my father. I don't even know where he is now. I never really know.”Katherine looked out the side of the carriage and let his eyes linger on the verdurous countryside, not paying much attention to the road.“Halt!” yelled someone with a bellowing deep voice.Katherine continued his focus on the trees which by this point had lost their individuality and had mushed together to become an amateur abstract painting.“Look there's a person in the road!” yelled Eva, as she repeatedly tapped on Katherine's shoulder.Katherine sluggishly turned his view back on the road and upon seeing the person he gasped and then quickly pulled tightly on the reigns to stop the horses, which had been charging forward very aggressively. The carriage came to a rough stop and dust and leaves flew in all directions, some of which got in Katherine's eyes. The horses snorted violently and stomped around making a lot of unnecessary commotion. As the dust cloud finally began to settle down the person in front of the carriage became slighter more visible. It was a man in brilliant silver armor that was mounted on a fierce dark horse. The man quickly dismounted and began to walk steady towards Katherine's side of the carriage, his footsteps made loud metallic clanks with each step.“This man appears to be a knight. Is he one of yours?” said, Luella.“I don't know.” said Katherine, nervously.Katherine leaned his head out the side of the carriage to meet the man who was walking towards him. The man stopped walking a few feet away from Katherine and carefully opened the visor of his splendidly silver helm before saying,“Well, if it isn't Prince Katherine of Charlenmire,” He said, “Rightful heir to the benevolent Kingdom of Morra. Why doth thou tarry so long before returning home?”The Knight grabbed his helm from both sides and pulled it upward, struggling a bit at first to position his head through the opening, but once It was off, he held it in the side of his arm. After seeing the man's face, Katherine soon realized who he was and replied hastily saying,“Sir Aldentine, you surprised me there for a second. I figured you to be a robber or something and I am very glad to see that you aren't! Why are you wandering the roads this late at night? Is this what my father has commanded?”Aldentine grinned and gave Katherine a friendly rub on the head, in the way that a father does to his son when he is proud of him.“No, your father is away and he won't be back for weeks. I am actually here out of personal concern. I know the festival was ending pretty soon and I wanted to make sure that you got home safely. I've gotten word about a mysterious fellow who has allegedly been stealing quite a bit of valuable items from homes not too far from here. In fact, your mother's favorite earrings are missing as well as two loaves of bread and the roasted swan that was prepared for her birthday. Needless to say, she is rather vexed.” said, Sir Aldentine, nonchalantly.The wind blew shrilly through the trees and rustled the leaves of a few nearby shrubberies. Aldentine scratched the back of his head and positioned his eyebrows in a way that expressed a little concern.“Katherine, you need to be more careful. You are a prince, you know.” said, Sir Aldentine as he proceeded to look into the windows of the carriage to see who all was riding with the young Katherine.He looked all around the carriage and paused for a few seconds at each of the three girls while he rubbed his chin and contemplated something in his head.“Well hello there Sir! My name is Eva!” said Eva loudly with a smile, which caused him to bump his head on the top of the window.“It's nice to meet you Miss Eva.” said Aldentine, who then rolled his eyes shortly after and removed his head from the window of the carriage. He then leaned over to Katherine again and rested his arm steadily on the side of the carriage.“I see you've made some friends. They seem delightful. Are they all going to be over for a late dinner?” said, Aldentine, who would occasionally look around very intently, not fully able to let down his guard.“That's the plan.” replied Katherine, smiling softly.Sir Aldentine scratched his chin and whistled halfheartedly. He didn't really want Katherine to have anybody over this late at night, especially not people who the royal family was not familiar with or never met for that matter.“Well you see Katherine...your mother wasn't really expecting company tonight. If you still want to have your friends over, then try to prepare for another day in advance and we will try our best to get something together.”“Are you Katherine's babysitter or something?” said Nixie, abruptly.Sir Aldentine kept his composure and replied calmly by saying, “Not just anyone can simply step into to Whitherwell Castle uninvited and expect some sort of royal treatment. Besides, I like to think of myself more as an older brother, if you will.”Nixie stuck her tongue out and sneered at Sir Aldentine when he turned his back. Katherine scratched his chin a few times and looked down as he tried to think up a way to persuade Sir Aldentine to let him bring his newly found friends over for dinner.Suddenly, an unnerving howl pierced shrilly through the forest. Sir Aldentine hastily surveyed the area looking to find the source of the sound.“What was that?” said Katherine, who was trying to hide the fact that he had begun shaking uncontrollably.The noise was heard again, but with growling this time and it seemed closer to them than before.“Ah, what beautiful music does nature make? It sounds to me like a wolf.” said Luella, calmly.Eva got out of the carriage and looked around to see if she could spot them.“Wolves are so pretty. Can you get me one as a pet Katherine?” said Eva, who was prancing around the carriage while giggling.From the forest a few feet away from Sir Aldentine appeared a frosty white wolf. Its eyes were an emerald green, and its demeanor was unusually solemn for a beast.Nixie stepped over quickly to the silvery wolf and knelt down to see it up close. Other wolves began to carefully creep up from behind the trees and stick their heads out of the shrubberies. Their eyes glowed and glimmered like fireflies in the eerie darkness. Sir Aldentine suddenly drew his sword and made a hasty horizontal slash at the beast. It jumped back skillfully barely missing the tip of the blade and then it looked up at Sir Aldentine and began to growl maliciously. The wolves were now circling the carriage. Some of them were moving at a faster pace, while others seemed to follow behind in a particular order. It appeared that the emerald eyed wolf was the leader of the pack.“These don't seem like ordinary wolves. There's just something about the way they look that makes me feel very uncomfortable. I've stained my sword with the blood of many of these beasts, but I think we should try our best to get out of here as quickly as possible. The movement of that green-eyed wolf is unnatural.” said Sir Aldentine, as he motioned Eva and Nixie to get back into the carriage.They tried to walk back into the carriage, but they were abruptly intercepted by the white wolf which began to shake with aggression. Three other wolves circled behind Eva, Nixie, and Sir Aldentine and they began to howl viciously while they anticipated the moment when the emerald eyes wolf would signal them to attack.Nixie, sighed angrily. “I don't feel like waiting here all night.”She took a step back and then forcefully kicked the white wolf in the nose, which was rather impressive considering how evasive the beast had been with Sir Aldentine.“Leave us alone. We have things to do and they don't include us getting held up by you and your little friends.” said Nixie, with confidence as she stared deeply into the eyes of the wolf she assaulted.Eva hastily pulled Nixie back almost making her loose her balance and looked over to her and said, “Are you insane? You're going to make them angry!”Nixie smirked and withdrew her arm from Eva's grasp. “They're already angry.” said Nixie, as she folded her arms and looked away.The white wolf turned his back to Nixie and began to look up at Katherine steadily. Its marvelous emerald eyes stayed locked on Katherine's who was frozen in place and was too terrified to move an inch. Katherine's arms began to shake, and his heartbeat started racing to the point where he could hear it over the growling and everyone talking. It seemed like the more Katherine stared into the wolves eyes the ghastlier and darker they became.“Don't worry my sweet prince, everything will be just fine.” said Luella, who grasped Katherine firmly on his shoulder which shocked him more than it comforted him.Suddenly the wolf began to chuckle with a tone that was almost distinctly human, and a wide and sinister grin spread wide across on his face. Katherine's heart was beating even more loudly than before and this was probably evident even to Luella who was right beside him.The wolf’s lips didn’t move, but Katherine could hear a voice in his head that seemed like it was coming from the green-eyed beast. The words that Katherine could hear were,“Your scent seems so familiar to me, yet I can’t discern who you are.”The wolf continued to stare Katherine deeply into his eyes until his ears lowered and his demeanor became gently like that of a domesticated puppy. The white wolf lifted his head up proudly in the air and let out a shrill and forceful howl, and then it turned away from Katherine and sprinted off deep into the dark of the woods. The other wolves that were once surrounding the carriage dispersed in an orderly fashion and ran off into the forest behind their leader.“This is strange. It seemed like a minute ago those wolves were ready to tear us apart, but then they all just suddenly went on their way like they were called off or something.” said Sir Aldentine, scratching his chin thought it was a bit awkward, because he was still shaking a bit from earlier.Luella tightly wrapped her arms around Katherine’s neck from behind and giggled.“I told you we were going to be alright.” She said warmly.She un-wrapped her arms from around Katherine’s neck and sat back comfortably in her original position.Katherine was still breathing heavily as he contemplated what he just heard and what it could have meant. After a few minutes of looking around, Nixie and Eva both got back into the carriage.“Well, that was a waste a time. Can we get going now?” demanded Nixie.Sir Aldentine looked around thoroughly a few times to make sure that they were safe.“Those wolves were looking for something and I can’t help but feel like Katherine has something to do with It.” said Sir Aldentine to himself, quietly.“That was fun. We should do it again sometime.” said Eva, who was trying to ease some of the tension with a little lighthearted humor.“Let’s not.” said Nixie as she rolled her eyes.The strong screeching winds had died down and all that could be heard was the hooting of owls and the melodies of grasshoppers resonating around them like a baroque symphony.Sir Aldentine got into the carriage with the rest of them and took hold of the reigns.“Judging by the way that you’re shaking, I take it you’re still a little spooked. I think I’ll just take over from here young master.”He motioned the horses sharply and then lovingly put his hand on Katherine’s head, briefly, before focusing himself on the ride home to the castle.Katherine looked forward and occasionally lowered his eyes. The carriage had picked up speed and the sound of wood thudding against rocks could again be heard as they made their way to the castle.Katherine pulled out the ring that was in his pocket and slowly twirled it in his hand.“Are we almost there? It feels as if we’ve been riding for seasons.” said Eva, who was staring directly at the back of Sir Aldentine’s head, waiting for a response.“As a matter of fact, we are almost there. Look and see the splendor of Whitherwell Castle right above the verdant green hills there!” said, Sir Aldentine, pointing in the direction of the Gillead estate, which is where King Heracles of Morra rules the Kingdom.The carriage soon began to go uphill through the brilliant cobblestone path which led up to the young lord’s manor. The trees had been elegantly cut to encircle the castle and there were many a rose bush, which decorated the path with scarlet finesse.“This is where you live Katherine? Your home is so beautiful. I could only imagine what it would be like to live here. I’m quite jealous actually.” said Luella, softly.Katherine ignored her comment and continued to dwell on the incident with the wolves. He had become much more eager to know what the letter was about as well.“I agree with Luella. This place is wonderful to look at, however, I would prefer if there were more cobwebs, they seem rather scarce.” said Nixie, whose was also looking around and admiring the property.The carriage had made its ascent up the beautiful green hill and had settled itself in front of the gate. The doors had two fierce looking lions sculpted into the door for the handles. It was made of pure silver with bits of emerald placed in a symmetric pattern. There were intricate swivels of engraved décor all along the sides. Two strong looking knights were guarding the door at adjacent ends. Neither of them moved and they were fully armored in splendid silver mail with each a lengthy spear in his right hand and radiant shield in the other.“Who is it that comes to see the king?” said one of the knights, still in his militant position.Sir Aldentine and Katherine both got out of the carriage and walked towards the door. They stopped a few feet from the guards and Sir Aldentine looked over at Katherine and whispered to him to tell the guards that he was having company over.“I am Katherine. Prince of Morra. Son of Heracles Gillead, the King. I have some friends whom I wish to have over for dinner.” said Katherine softly, while he folded his hands.It was silent for a few moments. The rustling in the woods and the howling of wolves became very noticeable.“Friends you say? Of what noble family?” said one of the knights as he stepped a few feet in front of the carriage.Katherine looked back at the carriage and then looked down and took a crisp breath of the frosty air.“To my knowledge, they are not of noble birth, but they are welcome here. Please understand.” said Katherine, in a more desperate voice.“You know that we cannot stop you from bringing people here. After all, you are the King’s son; however, we don’t think it would be in your best interest. You know how your family is, especially your mother.” said the other knight, still remaining in place.“I understand Sir.” said Katherine as he waved to the carriage for the others to get out and meet him at the door.The two guards grabbed the two handles and with an impressive display of strength they slowly pulled the splendid and heavy silver gate open, which made a weighty grinding sound as the doors opened up.“Right this way young Lord. Also, I think you should know that her majesty isn’t in the cheeriest of moods.” said one of the Knights as both of them bowed before the prince.“Thank you, men.” said Sir Aldentine as he passed through the entrance of the gate and looked back to make sure the others were following.Katherine, Luella, Eva, and Nixie all walked through the gate and entered the courtyard on the other side where they would finally be able to enter the castle.The courtyard was gorgeous and had a few masterfully crafted sculptures around it at various places. There was one sculpture in particular, which was a fountain that was running over with spring water that was clear as a diamond. It was made in the likeness of Brecca Gillead, the hero of the third age, who defeated Lightus Blackhearthe, also known as Emperor Ariea II, and held his decapitated head proudly in his right arm as he rode fiercely on his stallion to bring victory to the people of Etherveil from the powers of darkness.“Shall we enter?” said Sir Aldentine as he looked back at Katherine and his friends from in front of the door. He smiled a bit, but was honestly worried about the drama that was sure to ensue from Katherine bringing in unexpected company.“Let us.” said Katherine as they opened the door and walked through one by one before Sir Aldentine calmly shut the door behind them. via /r/writers https://ift.tt/2IuoOzZ
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