a breakfast for three, a quality of a king

I woke up the next morning feeling a rush in my heart. I felt a fluttering feeling, the kind you find when you fall in love. A dreadful feeling masked this, the feeling that I will never see him again. I had to start looking somehow. I picked up the mask that lay gently on the pillow beside mine. I couldn't help but feel hopeless. HaniSo burst into the room suddenly, panting like a wild dog. Sweat beads littered her forehead as she bent with her hand on her knees to catch her breath. "Madam.... queen...see you, " she said breathlessly. I looked to her confused as she looked up to me, slowly catching her breath. "The queen, madam, she wants to see you to talk of your suitor and your wedding." She said less out of breath than before. I felt my heart drop into a put in my stomach and a lump form in my throat. How was I to explain this to the queen? Instead of saying anything, I simply nodded and changed into a simple outfit. HaniSo led me to the royal dining room, which on entry seemed a little too much for a simple breakfast. My mother sat at the end of the table, her eyes very focused on what she was eating. HaniSo led me to the other end of the table, which stood at the complete other end of the room. The table had not been fully set, rather set with three sections, the two places for my mother and I, and the last for my supposed suitor who had completely disappeared. She looked up to me after a moment of silence. The only sound was a fork scraping the plate in search of food. "LuiChin, I saw you last night." she said simply, nothing implying if she saw my missing suitor or, rather, the other various men who had not even made me bat an eye. She waved her hand at HaniSo, who left the room abruptly. "I see you found your suitor. I managed to get his name. He will be here soon enough with the guide of HaniSo." she said, her eyes locked on me. I felt my heart racing, I dared for an explanation but rather kept my silence. HaniSo entered with the man, who still wore a mask. This man was not the one from the gardens. He was the one with the red suit! His eyes shone with a peculiar brightness, different from last night. He wore a green suit lined with gold trimming that did not suit the fit. "This is your suitor. His name is SiYan. I saw how well the two of you got on last night." My mother said. I looked to SiYan, knowing the name. I had heard it last night but rather ignored it, but now in the morning light seeping from the windows, I could see... This man was the girl from my previous world who helped torture me with HaniSo. I could see he had not changed in personality as much as HaniSo had. I stood quickly, my mother shocked by this action. I had to think on my toes in order to get out of this. "I must ask three questions to find out if this man is truly who I want my life with. If he is not, I will take 5 days and nights to find my next suitor, starting this morning." I said, looking frantically between my mother and SiYan. My mother agreed and proceeded to look at SiYan. Sweat beads began dripping from his forehead as he nodded quickly. "First question, simple enough. What is my name?" I said, looking into his eyes and then to the queen. SiYan looked at me with a convicting stare. "LuiYun, but better known as wife from now on," he said, his look smug. He looked to the queen who had been shaking her head. His look was wiped off his face. "The second question is even easier. What necklace was I wearing last night?" SiYan laughed at this question before noticing both the queen and I were serious. "What kind of man would notice such a small detail, hmm? That question was unfair, " SiYan replied to which the queen proceeded to say "Well the king would, a king sees all in his queen. A quality you lack." I looked to the queen who smiled at me, "The final question, what color are my eyes?" This question made SiYan sweat more. He thought for a moment and smiled, "Blue, a deep sapphire." The queen shot out a laugh signaling the guards. As they carried him out, he shouted and screamed how unfair all this was. For once, I was happy with my brown eyes. They had saved me from a horrible marriage. I looked to my mother, who smiled, " You have a mission. I don't see why you're waiting."I smiled at this and ran off to my room. I had to make sure I was ready. I grabbed a small satchel from my closet, stuffing it with the mask, the note, three apples, a cake, and a small bottle of milk. I didn't know how to start, but if I had been a lost cause. I looked at myself in the mirror, realizing I was going to be far too noticeable. I changed into a simple shirt and pants. It felt odd to have a tight fit on my legs and for my stomach and chest to feel free. I grabbed a hood and left my room. Outside the room, HaniSo stood waiting. She sprung onto me with a hug and smiled. Not a single word was said. She handed me a small blade that shone in the light. As she ushered me off, I could feel that she would miss me. I left the castle and gave a deep breath as I entered the small surrounding village. It was a new day and opportunity, and there was no way in telling how I would find this man. "Good to see your first steps out of the castle. I hope they are not in vain." a vioce said. As I looked in the direction of the vioce, I only found a small cat sitting on a window sill of a house. "Are you talking?" I asked the cat. I must seem crazy to ask if he was. That was until he replied. "Yes. my name is Que, I have lived around these parts since before the castle stood." Que said. He outstretched before jumping down and strolling to me. "No one leaves the castle much. Other than visitors. But you, princess. You've never left." he continued his vioce slow and interested. He seemed as though he were studying me. "Only one of the Royal family has left before like you. Returned with her suitor. I assume you're the same?" he asked, sitting down and looking up to me, I couldn't take my eyes off the weird sight, my questions frozen in my head. "Who?" The only word I managed to utter from my mouth. "Your mother, of course." Que replied. Could this mean... that my mother is also... why she was so sickly before... I tried to peice together everything. Instead, I pushed it down and ignored my questions. "May I accompany you on your journey? You won't even know I'm there, " Que said, his eyes pleading. I nodded and swore I saw him smile as he walked off to a tree walking behind it. The most peculiar part is he never came out the other end, when I went to investigate there was no cat near the tree.

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