Chapter Three: The Aftermath

The Aftermath

 

After making sure that all of the ashes had been disposed of, Danani slowly made her way back to the village. She walked down the same dirt street, lined with the same shops that had always been there. The same smiling, happy people waved to the Princess as she passed, but it was obvious to them that she was preoccupied in thought. Usually quite friendly, Danani walked with her eyes on the ground, waved only halfheartedly back to them, and made no eye contact or returned her normally beaming smile. Once she had walked through the town, leaving a wake of confused and less jovial townsfolk behind her, the Princess climbed the grassy hills up to the grand castle that stood at the top most point, where she resided.

Like the kingdom's walls, the King had built the enormous castle with his Earth ability. The tall, moss covered exterior walls were all stone, the four lofty towers all the same stonework. The entire castle was made out of either stone or wood or a combination of the two, only materials out of the earth. The giant doors to the castle, including all the other numerous doors it housed, as well as the furniture and other things inside had all been carved from various woods by King Dwoven.

The young girl reached the front doors, though not remembering exactly how, her entire trek from the forest a blur. Instead of going inside to her family, Danani decided to walk around the castle walls, still deep in contemplation, trying to sort the confusing thoughts and feelings that were raging in her.

After a couple of hours of trolling the grounds outside of the castle, the sky started to darken. Danani looked to the beautiful sunset, a mixture of red, orange and purple on the horizon. With a sigh, the Princess knew she would have to go inside eventually and decided now was as good a time as any to face her family and she walked towards the entrance.

 

Once Danani quietly stepped through the doors into the expansive entry of her home, she looked from room to room, seeing if anyone was around. Her goal was to make it to her room without notice, though it was abruptly thwarted when her father saw her pass his study and he called her in to the room. With a deep breath, she steeled herself, trying to mask the jumbled emotions written on her face and turned to see the King.

"Good evening, my daughter." King Dwoven was sitting in a plush arm chair in the corner of his study with a book across his lap. This was where he spent many hours a day, and it showed. Along the many artifacts and pictures, the several hundred books and along the tops of bookcases, many different kinds of plants came through the many open windows, and like vines, ran up and down the walls, spread across the ceiling and floor.

It was the best room of the castle, Danani felt, because it showed her father's presence in beautiful forms. There was always so much light in this room for the many winows. Several potted plants stood much taller than they would normally, vibrant and thriving. Danani took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh, earthy scents that always accompanied her father. Even now, Danani saw her father unknowingly twisting his wrist in circular motions, and the nearby plants grew taller and brighter with each motion.

"Hello, father. I see you have been here for a while," Danani said with a less forced smile once she saw her father's wide, bright grin and deep brown eyes. She was definitely "daddy's little girl" and so to him, she could do know wrong, but she couldn't help to think that if she told him what happened, that it would change everything, change his feelings about her. She wouldn't be daddy's little girl anymore. Could she bear it? She didn't think she could.

The gentle man laughed when he noticed the growing flora, and stopped his wrist motions. It was a habit of his when he was reading or lost in thought, and usually how much the plants grew was his indication of the time he had spent. His wife always told him he would overrun the castle with the greenery, though she always said this with a white smile.

"So it seems I have been. How are you my girl?" He looked up at his first born, his pride and joy with welcoming eyes, and Danani felt her heart break a little. How could I have done this to him? 

Tears and emotions were starting to bubble up and she knew she had to leave the room before they overwhelmed her. "Fine, papa." Her voice was tight, forcing a steady tone, trying to not have her voice crack from nerves. "Good, dear. How did you spend it?"

Danani's thoughts were screaming at her to lie. To figure out her thoughts and  emotions about what happened back in the forest and then maybe tell him. "Oh, just sat by the river mostly. Nothing exciting." Her mouth was a thin slit, and she was working hard to keep composure, so as to not spill the beans. 

"Supper is served!" The sweet sounding voice of his wife perked Dwoven's head up, and he sniffed, smelling a wonderful aroma coming from the Dining Room. With a sigh, she forced her tears away, shying away from her father's glance, then looked back to him, now dry-eyed. He turned his attention from Savina's voice back to his daughter.

"Ah! Time to eat Danani, let's go wash up," he said with a smile as he got out of his chair and they walked towards the door together. As she washed her hands, Danani had to continue swallowing back tears and the truth as she stood next to her father who splashed her with water like he did to her as a child. The small grin appeared on her face, and she was able to keep her emotions in check. She just hoped she would be able to make it through the meal without letting them go.

 

"So, how did your day go, Danani?" The Queen asked her as they were all finishing their supper. They were eating in the Dining Room, a large rectangular room with several portraits and statues filling it. The large, oak table, which could easily seat twenty people, set in the center of the room, though with just the four of them this evening, they all gathered at one end of the table together.

The room was warm with fires blazing in the several stone fireplaces positioned throughout the room, as well as the castle. Danani had almost refused to light them as usual, but she knew that it would be suspicious, so she lit them all without protest. She could feel the familiar warmth of the flames on her back and it was taking all her effort to not cringe at it. She couldn't even look in the red-orange flames like she typically would get lost in, instead staring at a blank space of the wall, again lost in her tangled thoughts.

Only barely did Danani realize that her mother was speaking to her, snapping her out of her gaze. "Ma'am?" The young girl asked, it becoming quite obvious to everyone that she hadn't heard a word anyone had said.

Savina, who sat across from Danani, forgot her original question completely at her daughter's uncharacteristic mood, and became concerned. "Is everything alright, Danani? Did something happen today? You seem a little...unsettled?"

Danani peered at her royal, beautiful mother, with her long dark blond hair, her simple silver grown always upon her head as she felt a Queen should. She was still unsure whether she should tell her parents about what happened, that she had gone out of control, that she had KILLED men and abruptly sat up at her mother's questioning.

"No, ma'am," she sounded nervous, and she knew it. She had never been a good liar, she never had to be before, her parents had always stressed to their children that no matter what, to be honest with them. She knew, deep down, that they would always love her. That it didn't matter about what she did. But she just couldn't stand to think about their disappointment in her, that she had lost her mind and the control of her gift. She couldn't bare to think that her parents would be ashamed of her, she just couldn't deal with that right now.

"What I mean to say... is that nothing happened today. Everything is fine. I am just tired. I think I may have spent a little too long in the sun." Danani watched as her mother's piercing blue eyes looked over to her father who sat next to the Queen, and they shared a curious look at their daughter's strange mannerisms. Danani also felt Kath's inquisitive stares from beside her, examine her responses, and thought he could notice her hands fidgeting with her dress under the table .

Before they had a chance to question her further, Danani asked to be excused, claiming to be tired from the sun and she just needed a good night's sleep. Her parents agreed and she escaped the table and made her way up to her bedroom.

 

After nearly running through the castle, up the many stairs and down the hallways, she burst through her door, locking it tightly behind her. She chose to take a long, hot bath, to try to relax her body and sort out her thoughts. Danani sat in the round, wooden tub filled with sweet-scented bubbles up to her neck. Leaning her head back to rest on the brim of the tub, she kept her eyes closed and tried to concentrate on the steamy water relaxing her sore muscles. When the water started to cool, she created more heat so as to stay sunk deep in the water longer.

Eventually, with her skin shriveled like a raisin, Danani reluctantly stood up in the tub, letting the excess water drip from her body, then after carefully stepping out, started to dry herself off with a plush red towel. She was only using her powers in very small amounts.

The way her powers swirled out of her control had severely damaged her earlier perceptions of her Fire, so she was being cautious at the moment. Danani had always felt that fire provided warmth and comfort and good living, but she now realized she had been naive. Fire could also burn, and destroy. And KILL.

The Princess sat in front of her vanity in a thin night gown, and combed her long, dark hair. For several minutes, she used her crystalline hair brush, though comb the same strands of hair, until then began to become sore. She stopped the combing once she noticed the pain on her scalp, and Danani caught her reflection in the mirror.

She still looked like the same girl she was before. She still had the solid black hair that fell down her back, the same round, bright jade-green eyes. Her plump, pink lips were still there, as was her thin nose. Her porcelain white skin was still as flawless as it had been before. Yet, for some reason, Danani knew that she was now a totally different person from the girl who had woken up this morning. Large tears started filling her eyes as she stared at the girl who was no longer who she was.

"What is wrong with me?" Danani dropped the comb from her hand, making a thud as it landed on the floor. She flopped her head on the vanity table, tucking her arms underneath her head as she started crying.

"How could I have done that?" She said under tearful breaths. "What kind of monster am I?" Danani lifted her head back up, now seeing her puffy eyes in the mirror. She couldn't stand the sight of herself anymore, and pushed away from the table. Knocking the chair over, the Princess ran across the cold, stone floor of her room and flopped onto her large, plush bed. Feeling the soft, safe, comforting support of her bed, Danani rolled onto her back with a huff, and stared up to the ceiling.

"What am I going to do? How am I supposed to tell mother and father that some villagers attacked me in the woods?" She exclaimed in a whisper, sighing deeply. "That I lost control of my stupid powers and I killed them?" Hervoice rose and she threw her arms up in exasperation. "How in the world am I going to tell them that there daughter is a murderer...and that I maybe, possibly, could have liked doing it...just a teeny, tiny, minuscule bit." She felt her arms fall back onto the bed,her voice getting quiet, and after a moment, she breathed deeply and closed her eyes, knowing that she had just confessed her true feelings to herself, at least to herself, for the first time. A big weight had just lifted from her chest. There was still a lot of weight on it, but this a good start, she speaking, out loud, outside of the depths of her mind.

"So that is the big secret, huh?" The voice that entered the bedroom washed over Danani in an instant, her eyes opening with a flash and sat upright, staring at the person who was standing just inside her now open doorway.

"Kath?"

Author's Note

I know this was a short chapter, but I will most likely expand on it later. I just wanted to go ahead a post it. So what do you think thus far? How is it going?

What will Danani do now that Kath knows her secret? What will Kath do with the information?

Please let me know what you think, all the feedback I can get is much appreciated.

-Thanks!

Reviews

[dw817]

⊰ℛℛ⊱
Her deaths weigh heavily on her consciousness, as well they should. And I will tell you now, a parent, a real loving parent, would immediately sense the change in one of his children. Death is not something to be tossed around so lightly.

Especially if this is the first murder she has done. My own Dad for instance knew of every instance when my mood was affected by things around me. While some things I couldn't about, and he knew that, he was STILL aware there was a problem somewhere.

As for voting, I am not seeing a switch for this ?

[Cory Firestine]

I agree, and you will see his knowledge of her change in behavior.
As for the voting, that takes place on another site that I post my stories, sorry. I have removed that part.

Thank you for the time to took to read this and hope you enjoy reading it. Have a great one.