By Hannah MacDonald
Papers were strewn across the floor. The smell of ink and paint filled the room. And there she was, standing in the middle of it all. Her red hair in braids that were starting to fall out. At that moment it seemed like everything was falling apart, hot tears of frustration ran down her face.
“Get it together Evelynne, you only have two days to convince them you can go on the quest,” she muttered softly to herself.
Slowly, she started to pick up the papers that had fallen to the ground. She still wasn’t any closer to coming up with a way to get mother and father to allow her to go. She had been working on the proposal for months, but still had no idea how she would achieve her goal.
Wiping her ink-stained hands on her emerald green skirt, she looked up at the old clock on the wall to check the time. She was late. Again. Racing down the winding stairs she made her way to her room. Waiting for her were the kind women who made sure she was presentable.
“I’m so, so sorry!” Evelynne said as the women immediately started to help with her hair.
They did not speak; they worked silently and quickly. For as long as she could remember, these same women had been her ladies-in-waiting. Being the only daughter of the King and Queen of Asmia came with high expectations — to sit and look pretty being one of them.
The ladies finished touching up her hair and makeup. She slipped into yet another fancy dress that she would only wear once. Black lace gloves were placed in her hand to cover the remaining ink. Evelynne thanked them and walked as quickly as she could, without ruining her outfit, to the dining room.
Reaching the large, gold-gilded doors she heard the low rumble of laughter. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for a long night of talking to lords and ladies who told the same stories over and over. She slowly pushed the doors open; the talking came to a halt.
“Evelynne, you finally decided to grace us with your presence,” her mother said dryly.
The awkward silence lasted only for a brief moment before the various conversations started again. She made her way to her seat next to Atticus, her favourite of her brothers. He was the only one who didn’t treat her like a child. He gave her a curious look, as if asking where she had been.
She sat down, shook her head and whispered, “I’ll tell you later.”
The dinner continued on without any other complications or late entrances. After an extensive night of conversations, food and drunk nobles, the night was finally over.
Evelynne slipped out of the room before her mother could interrogate her about her late entrance. Once in the corridor, she was able to rush back to the astronomy tower where she had been working on the outline for her journey.
She worked non-stop for the next two days, halting only for food and to discuss her plans with Atticus. Finally, on the night of the second day, she finished her plan for the quest. Now all she had to do was convince her mother and father that she should be allowed to go.
“You think you’re going to bring magic back?!” squawked the Queen.
Her father just sat in his throne in pensive silence. He hadn’t said a single word since Evelynne had started presenting her plan to go to the Oswell Mountains to try and return magic to the kingdom of Asmia.
After another minute or so of silence, the King finally spoke: “You can go, if you agree to take a royal guard of my choice with you.”
“But my plan was only set up for one!” Evelynne exclaimed.
“You take a guard, or you don’t go at all.”
Evelynne let out a sigh as she weighed her options. Deep inside of her, she knew that she needed to go. But bringing a guard with her would completely ruin the part of the quest she didn’t put into the proposal that was shared with her parents: where she actually learned how to use the magic she wanted to restore.
Hannah MacDonald is a Grade 11 student at Clearwater Secondary School. This is one part of a four part series. The Student Journal is a new section of The Times that showcases the work of the local high schoolers.