Welcome to Gaia! ::

There was a darker wing of the palace that had been left unattended for at least the past twenty years if not longer. Rumors spread throughout the palace staff that there was something strange about the abandoned suites and that perhaps at one point they had belonged to a lover or even a queen of a previous king. A madwoman who had been devastated by the loss of a child whom the king had no choice but to lock up in the southwest wing once her behavior became too erratic to truly control. Over the years it had separated mostly from the main palace and the only sign of its existence was the small greenhouse surrounded by a garden of weeds. The only way to get to said garden was through the abandoned suites, moving through cloth covered chairs and furniture that was placed inside for storage over the years. They said that the suites were unused because the recent kings had stopped taking mistresses into the palace and that the queens preferred either sharing their rooms with the kings or that the upper north suites were nicer. But many claimed it was because the spirit of the mistress still lingered there, haunting the elegant rooms in her despair.

This was the rumor that inspired Reina to invite Nicias. The spirited girl had been dared to go into the abandoned wing and doubted that Nicias would want to go there with her should she explain why she was going exactly. So instead Reina had asked a maid to send a note to Nicias telling him to meet her at the entrance to the suites so that they could explore the arrangement of books she had heard were inside. He enjoyed reading and the likes so there was no telling what they would find honestly. She was also curious about the greenhouse and why people had left the smaller garden abandoned for years. It was just so strange to think that others truly believed the space was haunted. “Though I can’t help but to see why.” Murmured Reina as she peered through the doorway, her spine tingling as she stared into the darkness. It was a bright enough day outside but with the drawn curtains it seemed like very few spots of sunlight could enter the rooms and so she simply waited for Nicias to appear before venturing further.

[Reina 1]

Reina had started pacing back and forth in the hallway before the abandoned suites. The Oban was twisting her fingers together almost nervously as she pondered what could lay in store for them. If it hadn't been for those girls taking her....Reina's mouth pursed into a fine frown at the thought. Certainly she never meant to cross paths with some of the noble daughters but they had started something with her by picking up her favorite bracelet and holding it hostage! The clasp had been loose and it had fallen to the ground but surely they would have returned it once they picked it up, right? Nope! Instead she had found herself starting an argument, her hot temper not so subtle, and the girls had somehow broken a vase in the conflict. So now Reina was supposed to go into this place on a dare and find a replacement vase. Shame decorated her cheeks at the thought, her pride too hurt to let Nicias know the true reason that she had asked him to join her. I just hope he appears quickly. But should she have dragged him into this? Surely the girls thought that she would just get spooked and chicken out before getting the vase.....there couldn't really be a ghost after all. It was simply a creepy area! A stupid idea from two spoiled brats. Quipped Reina quietly before almost jumping as Nicias appeared. "Nicias!" She breathed with relief, "I was wondering what was taking you so long~"

[Reina 2]

"It's okay....I guess I'm just eager to explore." Replied Reina after a moment's pause. The teen shook her head at Nicias when he pulled out a sandwich and she couldn't help the chuckle that left her lips. "Of course. I should always expect you to come prepared." She quipped playfully before reaching out to steal the sandwich from his hand. "I'm much better now that you're here." An honest statement considering how creepy this area was beginning to feel the longer that she was alone. It seriously felt like someone was watching her and Reina couldn't help the chills that went down her spine. Seriously was this truly worth it? She almost wanted to call things off but pride kept her rooted in place. She also felt a lot safer and calmer now that Nicias was here with her. If anything she could always rely on her best friend to keep anything awful away! Or better yet she would punch anything in the face before she let it get near Nicias. Just the thought of guarding the prince made her feel braver and more confident about venturing forward into the suites.

"Will I get in trouble if I eat the sandwich now?" Reina playfully mused before holding the sandwich back out to Nicias. "It passes inspection though and looks good." Her dark gaze swept back towards the open doorway, the shadows of pillars and old furniture somehow stretching even in the darkness of the area. Yep, definitely spooky. She frowned slightly before glancing back towards Nicias. "Apparently there's a trove of interesting things inside including old books since a lot of the palace avoids this place.

[Reina 3]

"Welp. I suppose then that's all the better so I have enough energy to deal with this." Reina took back the sandwich and tapped it against her lips thoughtfully before taking a bite. "Mmm. Perfect." She joked lightly before swallowing. She would see about Nicias not sharing a sandwich later and the playful thought made her mood lighten despite the dark corridor stretching out before them. And then just like that they were off into the abandoned area! Reina's gaze widened as she quickly stuffed the rest of the sandwich into her mouth and darted after her friend. "I suppose I'm ready as I can be." She replied with a small grin as her fingers clutched around the lit candle like a lifeline. As she carried the candle before her she darted around a corner to inspect the areas covered in cobwebs. It was so strange to see an area of the palace like this when all the others were cleaned religiously with no specks of dirt in sight. All she knew was that she wanted to get to the greenhouse quickly and grab something for proof of her adventure into this area so that the stupid dare was taken care of already. The feeling only intensified whenever Reina swore she heard something moan faintly in the distance, the noise making her entire body tense as she turned away from some old draperies to look for Nicias.

"Umm...that's the wind, right?" Reina whispered in the softest of breaths as she did her best to maintain her composure.

[4/7]

A huff left Reina's lips and she rolled her eyes at the teasing. "It would be a shame to come in here and just destroy a whole area of the palace." She quipped back as she contemplated tilting the candle closer towards the draperies to tease him more before thinking better of it. It would be her luck that she would somehow manage to make a mess though to be fair she always felt like the one who was trained to take care of others. Her sibling seemed to be growing into the troublemaker while she was well...the one who had to grow up educated and proper for some reason. Reina shoved the thought aside quickly. She wanted to help Nicias out which was why she tried so hard lately and encourage them having some fun here and there as well.

Though maybe she should have kept thinking about her frustrations lately. It was a far better option than worrying about why there was a creepy feeling in the area....seriously this place wasn't haunted, right? There was no real thing as ghosts! Her mouth opened at Nic's sudden movement towards the noise's origins before closing tightly again. She was no chicken! Reina instead made certain to tighten her grip on the candlestick and on an old staff that she had found lying in the corner of the room by the draperies. Following after her dear friend the girl tried to keep her chin raised while they moved into the dustier, darker area of the palace. She swore she heard something like footsteps at one point and maybe even some whispers that somewhat sounded like curses whenever Nicias lit the way forward. Was it possible that this place was haunted and that there was a ghost wanting to steal them away? A shiver went down her spine before she noticed something strange near Nic's foot. "Watch out!" Reina called and darted towards her friend to try to catch him before his foot connected with a rope laying across the marble floor.

[Reina 5]

"Spirits, Nicias!" Reina's cheeks were deeply flushed as a courtesy of her mixed feelings of embarrassment and shame for having been protected by her friend and she couldn't help backing up a few steps once she had been freed from his arms. Reina wanted to be angry, truly she did and she tried to chastise him. "You are far more important than me...what if it had been something more dangerous? She protested as her racing heart tried to slow down. What if someone had wanted to actually kill her? What if something bad had happened to him because of her? She couldn't handle the thought! The thought was unsettling but it was hard to focus with Nicias in such a ridiculous state. Thankfully this time it had just been a prank and Reina had to look away in an attempt to quell her laughter. "Surely there's something we can try to clean you off with." She murmured before grabbing one of the many white sheets that had been discarded in the room.

"Well after that I think I know why I was asked here." Reina admitted sheepishly. It had been a dare but they really had tried to trick her this time. Just imagine if they realized the prince they so adored had been hit instead! A sigh left her lips. "I guess girls think petty things like this would upset me. Either way I'm going to grab that stupid object after we get out of here. Still care to get through to the old greenhouse? Surely there's something more we can use there to clean up with." Reina reached up and started to try and pat as much of the mess off of Nic as possible with the cloth while she pondered their options. Surely those girls didn't dare to go further into this place. Others truly did believe it was haunted or simply too creepy to venture through after all.

[Reina 6]

"That's nice and all but it'd be bad to get a trail of flour going after us. Better yet what if someone got spooked thinking you're the ghost?" Reina found herself teasing despite her frustration. At least they were okay and it was just a silly prank. The girl rolled her eyes at the thought. She should have known it was something like this. Damn her pride for not allowing her to 'chicken' out of a dare. Once she got enough flour off the teen just placed a smaller sheet around Nic's shoulders. It was better than nothing, right?

"It's just a bunch of silly girls. Surely I can handle myself. " Reina replied after a moment. Honestly she tried to not think about her friend's marriage in the future. It was just strange imagining him with someone else...a thought that darkened her cheeks. "Either way helping me just brings more attention to me so it is what it is. If anything I'll just have to get smarter about things until you finally do settle down. Hopefully whoever your future intended is will be ready for some fun challenges. " Reina teased with a grin before gesturing along. "Let's get out of this mess and clean up somewhere, okay? I still want to check out that greenhouse so maybe we can find some water there."

[Reina 7]

"Don't worry." Reina smirked at NIcias. If they thought one little prank was going to get to her then those girls were surely going to be disappointed. "I'll just see what happens. Let's just enjoy our day, okay?" They just had to get out of this creepy area of the palace, find that greenhouse and have a nice picnic later on.

[Fin]