Chapter 19: A Queen's Plea

I was stunned at the beautiful woman that entered the dusty room. She looked royal and elegant, on par with my own mother. Long delicate blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a grande purple dress which showed her voluptuous body and heavy cleavage. It only served to aid in the sex appeal this woman oozed. She seemed to be in her late 20's, and while beautiful, she seemed tired with dark circles under her eyes.

"Hello child, I apologize for the barbaric way in which you were taken... " Her voice was silky, captivating me instantly. She seemed oddly familiar, but I couldn't place where I had seen her before.

"Who are you?" I asked, rude on my end, but tying me up like a torture victim was not the best way to gain my favor.

"Apologizes, I am Dianna Jasmine Lov Karmillia. Queen of this country" The Queen?! I've met three Queens so far in this lifetime. Amazed and slightly stupid, she gave a bitter smile while looking at me.

"You are Rosalia yes? My granddaughter?" I nearly spit blood. One, being the granddaughter of Royalty was no joke, and two, she looked no older than 30! I wanted to study her genetic makeup badly.

"I am indeed Rosalia... May I ask why my welcome to my mother's home Kingdom has been so personally... violent? You have me tied up like a common criminal despite my status and background, not including my age" I reasoned. She nodded in understanding.

"I had you brought in like this to lower suspicion. Rosalia, you are currently missing in your home country. While it is not illegal for one to leave on an adventure, it isn't recommended to escape with only a note... when my precious daughter contacted me with this information, I nearly fainted. While you are a rare and treasured contracted human... it does not mean you are invincible" Her words were wise and just... though it didn't explain why I was still tied up like this.

"Sounds suspicious but alright. Where is my fairy?" Her face held a slight look of disdain.

"The fairy is within a holding cell which locks its magic. This prevents any damages" she explained. I had nearly forgotten the hatred this kingdom has against fairies, or any race.

"For now, you will remain here until I can return you home.... or" she paused looking me directly in the eye. Such a gaze held enormous sorrow.

"You can help me" she finished simply.

I couldn't return home. Not yet. I wasn't finished...

"I'll help you" I stated calmly. I needed to get Ricin and find the mermaids. If it meant a small side quest in the Kingdom of Karmillia, so be it!

She smiled gratefully. She made a hand signal and from the shadows of the room which weren't illuminated by the dim magical light.

Three figures all in black appeared... ninja?

They moved and began to untie me, I nodded gratefully, turning back to the Queen.

"What is exactly going on in this country?" I asked, the economy wasn't stable and the issue at the Port... it was all too suspicious. How did Hana play into this?

"My husband has been sick in the recent months... and his brother took over the throne for his absence. His name is Karen, originally he wasn't found suitable for the throne for his crimes against the Kingdom in the past... but my husband had a weak spot for his brother and pardoned him. Now that the King is sick, next in line is him..." She looked miserable and helpless...

I stood from the creaky bed. Her height was even similar to mother... mother took after the Queen in manners and tempter.

"Alright... let me meet my Grandfather. If I can possibly diagnose his illness maybe we'll get some clues" I murmured hopefully. The Queen's hesitation was soon replaced with determination and she gripped her pale hands into fists.

"Very well" she agreed with a nod of her head. A soft smile played on my lips. She seemed even younger now, like a teenager still excited to meet her first love. Her blue eyes held deep emotions, and the only true indicator of her age was her maturity. A normal woman would be over come with grief. This woman was standing firm and strong, unwilling to bow... she was fighting for her husband and this country. All on her own.

"First however... I need my fairy. I can't even feel his connection anymore" I stated firmly, not willing to back down on this. Again she hesitated, another look of disdain and reluctance on her features. She nodded slowly.

"Fine..."

I never imaged the small dainty room was located in the castle dungeon. On might image the room to be placed in a sweet abandoned cottage. Existing however let me know it was heavily guarded and the wet stone walls and lack of sunlight or windows let me know we really were in a dungeon.

It was very much like how I expected a dungeon/prison to be outside the room.

Long dark halls had cells carved into them, along with strong metal bars which kept prisoners in check. The Queen, while dignified and poised, did not look right in an area such as this.

Then again, neither did I.

I grew anxious when I though of Ricin in a cell... was he eating well? Did they even feed him? Did they hurt him? Was he crying? He was a lazy and pampered fairy, always lounging around in his cat form... I worried deeply for my companion's safety.

Finally we reached the end of a hall, and when I peaked inside a cell, I saw an unconscious boy with green hair. Ricin!

I eagerly looked at the Queen in panic. She nodded to a guard on post who opened the cell as I ran into it. Grabbing the boy with his hair undone and flowing across the ground into my arms, I patted his cheeks to make sure he was conscious.

"Ricin! Wake up!" I called out hastily, the slight scrunch of his brows comforted me greatly. His eyes slowly fluttered open as he looked up at me.

"... if only it was a big chested angel..." he sighed before closing his eyes again after looking at me.

I dropped him quickly onto the cold wet stone floor.

He shot up, fully awake, and whined about the pain in his head.

"If your head hurts, go find your busty angel" I chimed indignantly. After all the worry... I wanted to strangle him a little. I was still happy to feel our bond and see he wasn't harmed. A little dirty but nothing terrible.

"We have work to do! Get up you lazy cat" I swiftly gave him a soft slap to the back of his head. He glowered at me before listening and standing up as we walked out of the cell. The Queen looked at Ricin in disgust. He gave his own dirty look back which made me laugh a little inside.

The prejudice here is real.

Ricin swiftly shifted into his cat form, hoping onto my shoulder while we left the dungeon to head to his majesties bed chamber.

Ricin had kindly performed a quick cleaning magic on us both... we were filthy to say the least.

The Queen ignored Ricin completely as she spoke to me.

"He had become ill so suddenly it left everyone lost. He's a healthy man despite his age, and he has never been sick like this before" she said sorrowfully, I asked more questions about what they knew already.

It seemed he had slowly fell ill ever since Karen had returned from exile.

He got weaker and weaker each day despite multiple diet swaps, medicine, and rest. They couldn't diagnose him, and a light fairy's magic which they had even brought in, was useless.

I inquired to Ricin about this.

"Would you know why a light fairy wouldn't be able to heal something?" I asked curiously.

Ricin was silent before nodding his fluffy head.

"Actually, the only thing or illness which can resist pure light magic would be dark magic. It must mean whoever poisoned the King has contact with one" Ricin concluded. I was shocked as it was my first time hearing of such a thing.

A dark fairy? I had studied up on them a little, they didn't live in the Fairy Kingdom and were considered Rogues when they attempted a revolt and were banished by the Fairy Queen a few thousand years ago.

I was slightly distracted in my thoughts until we reached a large hallway decorated in empty knight armor, as well as large portraits of past Kings. The on at the end of the hallway above two giant oak double doors was the one that caught my eye. It was the Queen, who looked extremely young and cute, and a handsome man with the same eyes as my mother, a bright emerald green. Accompanying the glossy green eyes was light cherry blossom pink hair. He was handsome, with a sharp jaw and a regal dress of Karmillia's formal military uniform. He had a proud smile on his face, and below him and the Queen were three children. One was a young boy with a Crown signaling the Crown Prince status. He had light pink hair and bright blue eyes full of life and vibrancy. Another boy a little younger had blonde hair and green eyes. Then a little girl... my mother. Her hair was only a little past her shoulders, baby fat still on her soft looking cheeks. Her pink hair was styled with a childish and cute white ribbon to accompany her white dress as she sat in the Crown Prince's lap. Her green eyes were wide and innocent.

Two guards stationed outside the double doors bowed formally to the Queen and looked at me with intense curiosity. Of course, I looked just like my mother and the King. The only difference was my father, Venice's, dark pink eyes.

"This is my grandchild, Rosalia, and Catherine's daughter. You did not see her here today. Understood?" The Queen commanded with authority. The guards saluted and simultaneously said "Yes!" Before opening the double doors for us.

Thank goodness I wasn't marrying Ceil still, I could never be so Queenly...

My nature was of a shut in. Though seeing my own blood grandmother like this was inspiring. A strong and powerful woman like her and my mother were more than I ever had in my past life... it made my heart ache to realize how neglected I was before. I never had any role models in my family, and they never cared to show me how to be a strong willed individual. I was left searching for my own, and finding them in the wrong places.

It wasn't until I was much older when I realized... and at that time it was too late. I was too crooked and depressed. My only relationships that lasted were 2D ones through games.

When we passed through the double doors we entered a room very much fit for a King.

On the bed there was a figure laying.

I neared the bed with Ricin, the Queen staying a few feet back.

The man laying in the bed bore hardly any resemblance to the man in the painting.

His pink hair was nearly white, his tan skin was pale and lacked any luster. His lips dry and cracked, and deep purple and blue rings lined under his eyes. He looked thin and feeble. My heart broke seeing someone like this.

I checked his pulse, his temperature, and his breathing.

His pulse was faint, temperature a little too high, and his breathing was struggled. He looked truly on his death bed. Though I couldn't find any signs of real poisoning. It was more like cancer.

"Ricin, can you sense anything?" I asked quietly. Ricin had been silently studying him too.

"He's cursed. It looks like a standard death curse that a dark fairy might cast" he answered seriously.

"What can we do?" I asked stressed now. I didn't want my grandfather to die so pitifully. I hadn't even met him yet!

"I'm not familiar with curses... but I do know that they all have a break for them... I believe a standard curse like this requires something like a psychological accomplishment. If this King has any large regrets, it would require him to fix them for the curse to disperse" Ricin explained. It made sense, this curse was psychological, meaning it was his own body doing this and why I couldn't find any outside interference.

I turned towards the Queen who had been listening. Her face was paler than before.

"Does the King have any serious regrets we could try to resolve?" I asked softly. She looked at me for a long time, studying my face intently.

"Yes.... one." She answered slowly. I nodded for her to continue.

"His biggest regret was not telling Catherine he loved her..." her voice was soft, vulnerable. Very rare for Royalty.

My eyes widened. He never told my mother he loved her?

The idea came fast to me. I looked exactly like my mother as a child, the only different were my eyes. I looked at Ricin now.

"Can you change my eye color?" I asked. His ears perked up as he jumped to the floor.

"Of course! Green right?" He asked, catching onto my plan. I nodded seriously.

Ricin flicked his tail before my eyes became a little irritated. Rubbing them I blinked a few times before looking at the shocked Queen. She stepped a little closer, putting a pale jade like hand on my cheek. Her hands were cold.

"You look just like my angel..." she whispered softly. I smiled, "What did mama call the King when she was my age?" I asked. Her eyes widened and it seems she caught on to my trick too.

"She called him papa" She said with a bitter smile, "I always scolded her for the childish term, but now I wish to hear it again too" she said sadly.

It seems they missed her.

I nodded and walked back to the Kong's side. I softly crawled into bed and shook his side to wake him. His eyes squeezed shut before fluttering open a little. He looked confused and a little delirious.

"Papa!" I said with my great acting skills. I hugged him tightly. Even my voice sounded like my mother... her genes are terrifying. I'm praying I get her chest.

He seemed shocked as his body tensed under me. I pulled back to look down at his face with a worried look.

"Papa what's wrong? You look so sick" tears gathered up at the corners of my eyes. My acting deserves an award!

"Cathy? Is... that really you baby?" He asked brokenly, his green eyes were dull and unfocused but it seemed as if he would cry any second.

"Of course Papa! I'm right here" I said before he engulfed me in a hug so familiar. He hugged like father, warm and secure. I hugged back gently.

"Cathy... my Catherine... Papa is sorry. Papa is so sorry for being so terrible to you" My heart broke at his words. However I smiled a little, this meant he could say it to the real Catherine.

"Papa, I'm not mad, I love you Papa" I said sweetly, leaning back to look at him. Tears were flowing down his cheeks weakly as he smiled and cupped my face with a large cool hand.

"Papa loves Cathy too. I love you my child" His words were soft and kind, and my excitement raised when his dull green eyes became more vibrant!

His skin was becoming a bit more flushed too.

"It worked!" Ricin shouted happily, "Its gone! The curse is gone!"

"Oh my love" the Queen sobbed before grabbing the King is a death hold.

I smiled happily. The King looked more focused and awake. He also looked lost at the turn of events.

After their short reunion, the Queen looked at me with such soft eyes. "You too Rose... come here" her arms opened for me to join the hug too.

"Rose?" The King asked confused. His eyes seemed stern now, calculating and cautious. Fitting for a King.

"She isn't Catherine my dear, this is Rosalia, Catherine's daughter and our grandchild" The Queen explained. The King's eyes widened.

We quickly explained the situation and what happened. He nodded in understanding. His eyes softened as well.

"My grandchild huh? Cathy told us through letter that she had a child but she refused to come and let us see them... what exactly are you doing without your parents or guards here?" He asked, an eyebrow raised at me.

I became a little nervous and sheepish under his gaze.

"A-adventure?" I said, the Queen and King looked exasperated at my answer.

The Queen then explained the letter that my mother had sent out to her, saying I had ran away from home with only a note left.

The King gave me a stern look, much like my father does when I'm getting scolded for scaring Angie with an experiment or for blowing something up.

"I didn't realize my grandchild was so stupid..." he muttered. I flared up!

"I am one of the smartest in my Kingdom, and the strongest! I just happened to leave on the adventure now so I can make it back home in time for the Academy" I explained. He nodded a little.

"So what adventure are you going on?" He asked.

"Well my first stop was the enchanted forest and the Fairy Kingdom where I met the Fairy Queen, and my next stop will be the Mermaid Island"

They froze.

"You met the Fairy Queen? And now you want to meet the Mermaids?" The Queen asked, shocked.

"Yeah, that's why I'm in Karmillia now... but it seems that isn't our main focus. Just because the King was able to break the curse doesn't mean whoever put it on him won't do it again" I said seriously now. They looked at each other before nodding, their own expressions a little dark.

That was when we began a game plan.