Princess in the Rough
Chapter 15

Amber

I panted from exertion and bewilderment as I gazed upon the something you could only see in your dreams. A colossal castle lay in the middle of an adorable village of straw roofs and brick walls.

The castle itself was enough to put tears in my eyes. This was literally a dream come true. The castle has two towering spires on each side and a domed roof in the middle. It’s walls looked as if it was made of clouds and sunsets but I know it couldn’t be. The white bricks, gold paint, and hundreds of glittering windows caught the light just right, so the castle washed the surrounding town in heavenly light.

There were four huge balconies overhanging on the front, as if layering the stories in the castle.

A large wooden door was the only entrance in sight, but to get to it you must walk past a glowing reflecting pool in the shape of a crown; the rippling water inside appeared golden.

Coming to town was something I’ve wanted to do since I can remember. I’ve always felt drawn to the town, but never had the heart to explore it.

“You ready?” I asked Echo and took her hand to stop mine from shaking.

“Yeah, but we’ve got a problem.” She said, looking at something in the distance.

A little bit of my hope withered away as I looked upon what Echo mentioned. “Oh.” I said dryly. It looked like a war of dancers up ahead.

“There’s a parade.” Echo smiled. Is a parade a good thing? Women in red, flowing dresses leaped and danced around with double sided blades tied with ribbons which swirled and cured with the slightest of movement.

Up next was what appeared to be a forest of humans. Every one of them were painted ether different earthly colors or had costumes of all assortments of animals on.

“Is a parade a good thing?” I asked and squeezed her hand tighter.

“Of course! Parades are a way of celebrating; but what are they celebrating?” Echo moved closer and I reluctantly followed her.

“Forest people, red warriors. I’d say a war has been won in a forest or something. I’ve never seen a parade but the wolves haven’t left me completely in the dark from the human world.”

“You’re not thinking of going down there, Amber? We won’t be able to go with you!” Night Cry whined.

“Just stay at the gates and if you hear me howl then come and get us.” I said back and scratched the right, underside of her neck; her soft spot. She sighed happily and collapsed in a heap of fur.

“Fine.” She sighed distantly.

As we walked I soaked in every rock, wall, path, and anything else I could see. It was all so new, so foreign, so awesome! I was brimming with excitement, it felt as if I was about to explode and release uncontrollable happiness. Echo had given me everything I ever hoped for.

We broke through the crowd and got great spots in the front.

“You excited?” I asked over cheerfully. This was my first parade after all!

“Yeah, I’ve never seen a fairy tale parade. The Fourth of July parade at home is kind of lame.” She admitted. Her eyes widened when one of the dancers did a backflip. Incredible!

“Fourth of July? You know what, never mind.” The next wave of humans walked by, they were holding all assortments of brass and silver things to their faces or pressed up against their chests. As they would hit or blow into them, wonderful sounds emitted from them! Together it made a song no bird could ever replicate.

Next there was a large wooden, sleigh, maybe it was a carriage. The wolves told me of things that the humans rode on or in but I could never keep them straight. The human moving thing was being pulled by large, gorgeous horses. Watching them trot by and shake their heads, looking upon their rippling muscles, I started to drool. It’s a good thing the wolves weren’t here. Inside the carriage, I guess that’s what it was, were four humans dressed in the most regale of furs and silks.

There was a muscular man wearing a gleaming crown atop his head. His suit was silver and the cape that was draped around his shoulders was forest green. All of his features were perfect. His grey eyes, pale, freckle ridden skin, and the best part, his perfectly styled amber hair that flowed freely out from under his golden crown. It’s the same color as my hair! If he were to have a wolf name, I think it would be Royal Majesty. That must be who he is, King Cedric Majesty. I thought, proud of myself for figuring that out.

Beside the king was most likely the queen. The woman was dressed in a majestic gold and forest green dress that seemed to be alive by the way it shifted and blew with any shift in position or wind.

She had cinnamon colored skin that appeared burnt compared to her husband’s very pale skin, her eyes were even more blue than a robin’s egg; and her hair was the color of summer leaves, it was probably dyed that way though.

She was wearing a crown identical to the kings but silver. Three spokes in the front, the middle one slightly higher than the other two and held a green gem, an emerald, on the top.

There was a younger man who sat next to a younger woman. They held hands as they waved to the crowd and the girl would blow kisses to someone every now and then. Maybe they were the prince and princess? I couldn’t be sure because only the young man was wearing almost what would’ve been a mimik crown. A thin strip of bronze that encircled his head and dipped slightly in the middle of his forehead and held an emerald.

He wore a silver plated suit with the accessories being forest green and midnight black. His eyes were blue like his mothers and his hair, amber like his father’s, and his skin was a lighter tone than his mothers but still crisp brown; assuming they were his parents.

The woman next to him was wearing relatively simple clothes. A white long sleeve shirt, brown pants, shiny sandals, and a forest green and royal blue cloak that looked out of place on top of her plain clothes.

Her raven black hair had electric blue strips in it and fell loosely over her shoulders; her skin made it look like she was hot because of its pinkish hue, and her eyes, the color of fresh moss, darted from person to person as they rode past until her eyes landed on me and Echo.

They widened for a moment then zipped to the next person, leaving me wondering if it had happened or if I was just seeing things.