The Truth

The sky darkened further and further, and the glowing clouds encircled the solid, white, glowing moon. I viewed it through the mini windows above that were all uncovered by curtains. The mosaic, black floor with speckles of white gleamed. There were statues of each and every family member in the room. They were arranged on wide shelves that had rows of steps. The door creaked shut by itself.

Cassius sat in a chair, and he watched as there was dust and cracked pieces of a statue on the floor. He stared at the ceiling and then locked eyes with me.

“Cassius?” I asked. “Are you okay?”

“Janessa, what are you doing here?” asked Cassius.

“I’ve been searching for you, your highness! You haven’t eaten anything all day. What’s the matter, Cass?”

“Janessa, let us go upstairs,” said Cassius. “This mess is dreadful.”

“Yeah, something crashed to the ground before I got here! What was it?” I asked.

The large, stone pillars held the white staircase in place.

“I do not understand how it happened. I was simply standing here when I found another statue of myself, broken and crumbled to bits,” said Cassius.

“Don’t worry about it, dear prince. Nothing bad happened. Now, let’s do something fun,” I said.

He groaned as he got up from his stone, black chair that was rectangular in shape.

“You wish for something fun? What might that be?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Let’s get out of this room, explore, and see what we can do!” I said.

“Alright, my love.”

We left the room with the grey walls through the wooden entrance and were met with a grand piano. The keys moved up and down by themselves, and a sweet tune filled my senses.

“Where is that music coming from?” exclaimed Cassius.

“Ah, I thought it was a magical piano! Is it a ghost or something?!” I said, touching my pendant.

I clenched my jaw while standing in front of him and my arms were outstretched, guarded him.

“Relax, Janessa. I am jesting.”

I breathed softly and put my arms down, facing him.

“What? Really?” I said.

“Yes, if you go to the piano and observe, you will see what the truth is,” said Cassius.

My heart beat loudly in my chest as I walked forward, to the corner where the piano continued to play the soft melody. It soothed me, reminding me of distant times when I would listen to this kind of music when I was alone.

For each key at a time, a pixie sprang up and down, dancing and spinning on the keys. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at Cassius. It was then that he burst into loud laughter while covering his stomach with his arms.

“Oww, it hurts to laugh on an empty stomach,” he said.

“Hmph.”

I walked back to him and caressed his hair with my right hand.

He touched that hand and smiled with narrowed, gleaming eyes. It was then I saw a shooting star flash past us through the upper, small windows.

“Ah, I wish that I can stay happy for as long as it is possible,” I said.

“As do I. I wish we will both be happy,” said Cassius.

“Yes, of course.”

“It is so stuffy here, let us go into the garden. Get your coat,” he said.

“Sure! Sounds fun.”

I put on my beige coat, and the prince wore his grey one with a black scarf.

He held my hand as we walked to the exit, which was guarded by two gleaming, black statues of horses. There was a passcode system that Cassius clicked on.

The doors opened, and we were led to a stone path and a black, metal swingset for two. It had blue, fuzzy cushions on it. The swing overlooked a pond surrounded by grass, where there were lily pads.

I could see his warm breath fume out of the coldness.

“Shall we get on the swing?” he asked.

“Yes! Woohoo, what an amazing view!” I said.

I rushed onto the swing and hugged one of the cushions. The prince plopped down on the other side and stared into the open sky. Above us, there was the symphony of clouds, the moon, and the stars that peeked out beneath the overcast.

“Janessa, there is something you should know,” he said.

He looked into my eyes and closed them, holding my hand.

“What is it?” I asked.

Not even the night sky with all of its dazzling, twinkling stars could stop my lips from quivering. I held onto them to try to stop them from moving. The grass beneath my feet had wildflowers and a few black ants.

“Ever since you rescued me last, something about me has changed. I do not know why. Whenever I think of whether Evan will make a fit King or if I can keep you safe, something strange happens to me.”

“Strange? Like what?” I asked, facing him.

“I will show you.”

He stood up in front of me, closing his eyes. Soon, his body turned to a faint light which eventually became brighter. I had to cover my eyes.

In front of me, there was a man with long, lavender hair, and his shirt ripped at the back to reveal outstretched, enormous, sky blue angel wings.

“Prince Cassius?” I asked.

“Who is that? You have mistaken me, I am an angel by the name of Alonso.”

“Oh no! It looks like you’ve lost your memory after all.”

His glow soon faltered, and he returned to his old self.

“Cassius, you’re back! Thank God.” I said, hugging him from the side.

He sighed and said, “I really have to control myself so that I can return to my previous state. This is bad, it is like I forget who I truly am.”

“Ugh. Is that why you can’t eat anymore?” I asked.

“I am afraid so. That being said…”

His stomach rumbled loudly.

“I really need to eat something,” said Cassius. “All the workers are asleep by now.”

He touched his tummy, closed his eyes, and frowned.

“Leave it up to me,” I said. “I’ll cook something for you.”

He smiled and stood up.

“I will assist you.”

We re-entered the castle with the passcode. The two of us climbed up the stairs and into the dimly lit hallway with guards walking past us.

“Who goes there?” said a guard in a gruff voice.

He raised a lantern to our faces.

“Oh, your highness! You must return to your rooms. It is not safe so late at night,” he said.

“Thank you for the added security,” said Cassius, grinning.

I gave him a thumbs up. We walked right past him.

“The newly appointed guards seem quite efficient, do they not?” remarked Cassius.

“Yep! That’s a relief,” I said.

We went past another staircase.

“The kitchen is somewhere here,” he said.

We switched on the light and saw that the kitchen was as large as a banquet hall. There was a row of built-in stoves, fridges, and ovens.

“Oh my God! What a massive kitchen,” I said.

The kitchen was spotless, with shining white tiles and walls, and the apparatus was all silver.

“The pantry is here,” said Cassius.

We opened the small, wooden door and found bins of grain, jars of spices, and vegetables in baskets. Meat was in the large freezers.

“Wow, the possibilities are endless,” I said. “Well, what do you want, my love?”

“Soup sounds lovely!” he said.

“Alright! I don’t know where the stock is, so we’ll have to make it from scratch. It’ll take a while. I hope you’re okay with vegetable soup. We can add a side of eggs,” I said.

Cassius nodded, and I took out some vegetables and herbs. We left the veggies to boil, and I instructed him to cut the carrots and beetroots. I cut up the mushrooms and cabbage.

“Ah, I nearly feel like a normal man, making dinner with his wife,” he said.

“Hehe, I guess so.”

I stifled my laughter and continued chopping ginger.

He’ll never know the pains of an average salaryman.

The stock was prepared, so I strained it. After cooking the herbs, I added it to the soup broth and added the vegetables.

Soon, I poured them into two bowls and served them with a spoon.

“Thank you for the meal!” he said, blowing on his spoon.

As soon as he put it in his mouth, he closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they glittered.

“Ah, so good. Janessa, have some,” he said.

He brought the spoon close to my face. I blew on it and had the spoonful, it was light and savoury, and I wanted to have more.

So, I grabbed another bowl and had the remainder of the soup with Cass. We were both silent before we kept the dishes in the sink and left the kitchen.

“Well, I will be going to my room now. Sweet dreams, my love. It is a bit awkward to give you a good night kiss in front of so many guards,” he said.

“Y-yes! Well, good night.”

After entering my room, I wondered if the other side of him would ever love me too.