The Mage Queen Book 1: The Princess
The Haunted

Anastacia yawned.

Whatever she saw — still unsure whether it was a nightmare, dream, or vision — lived rent-free in her mind for the next few hours. Had it been a few hours? Or, was it only a few minutes? How many sheep had jumped over the fence? Wait! She shook her head. What kind of question was that?

"I am losing my mind," she muttered.

She shook her head before plopping down on the forest floor. Her limbs refused to move; her body demanded rest. Yet, when she closed her eyes, the vision of the woman who electrocuted her denied her a peaceful sleep. Frustration from the lack of sleep suddenly made her miss her lavender-scented linens.

A painful realization struck her. Had she not decided against the queen's orders, she'd still be resting in them now.

She sat up and glanced at Rowen and Marick, watching them snore and sleep peacefully despite the less-than-ideal setup. How could they sleep in such a dangerous forest? She sighed and slumped against the tree trunk that did not serve as a decent pillow. And besides the haunting vision, she had to deal with the ants that bit her. Grumbling and groaning, she dusted them off and jumped up to her feet.

"How does anyone" — she stamped the ground but froze when a thought hit her — "I... need a bathroom."

Anxiety gripped her bladder when the adrenaline of survival had settled down. Anastacia bemoaned at her situation; how did people relieve themselves when there was no place to do so? She cast a sideward scowl at the two sleeping boys. How on Zemlya did the two of them not feel the urge?

"That truly is not fair," she whined. "Boys have it so terribly convenient. All they have to do is to pick a tree..."

However, once the thought and the sight of her former sleeping spot put two-and-two together, Anastacia scratched and clawed her skin. "Ewww! Oh, my Deus! I slept on someone's urine!"

Anastacia hissed, clawed, and ripped out a few hair strands. Fury and disgust also caused her to shriek at the sight of the strands lodged between her fingers. All of a sudden, she realized how parched she was. Unfortunately, her exhaustion again took over, causing her to slump against a tree despite her better judgment. She ignored her earlier epiphany and instead; stared at the dark forest ceiling, wondering how many hours had passed.

Most of all, she missed Xychosia. Terribly.

Regret bubbled in a part of her, making Anastacia question her motivations. Did she want to save her people? Or was it her selfish desire to find answers? A chill ran down her spine when the princess' harsh words suddenly rang in her ears and mind.

I wonder what lies mother and father have told you.

Her cynical statement forced her to question her whole past. She lived as the princess of Sofiene ever since, only to find out she was just a replacement. Her parents — if they were even that — loved her unconditionally despite the typical rifts found between parent and child. The two boys, Mattias and Silas, did not show animosity either. Now, she was even wondering if Anastacia was her birth name. She had been called "Ana." But that could have been a nickname.

"I hate this!" Why" — she buried her face into her hands and choked out a sob — "why is everyone lying to me?"

Gasping out with broken sobs, she cried out all the tears she had bottled up with the weight of the revelation crashing on top of her. Anastacia, Ana, or whoever she actually was — all these names gave her more questions than answers. She coughed and choked on her tears, desperately trying to silence herself by stuffing her hands into her mouth. But a muffled scream still came out. What else could she do now?

Suddenly, she felt skinny arms hug her. Her screaming stopped when she noticed Rowen hugging her.

"There, there." He patted her back. "We're here together. We'll figure it out."

Amidst her sobs, Anastacia weakly laughed. "How do you know that?"

"I don't. But I know what it's like to build a new life from scratch."

"Do you?"

Rowen let go and lay his head on her shoulder. "Maybe. But my life wasn't a riches-to-rags story."

Anastacia then realized that she knew nothing about the two pirates. "I apologize; you must have found me rude and careless not to even ask about you."

Rowen shrugged. "Well, it was supposed to be a short commission. " He then sighed. "But my story isn't too uncommon."

Anastacia nodded. "Were you... a slave?"

"Not sure. The people who grabbed me just kept selling me as 'medicine' and 'herbs' or, so I heard."

Her heart sank. He was just wares to the merchants!

"They would let people rip off some of my hair. Then, they would steep it in water and turn it into tea. People told me that was their way of saying 'hello'. Humans have a weird way of greeting others."

The innocent smile on his face disturbed her. She did not see any signs of distress or despair. Anastacia could not decide whether to pity, empathize, or call him out for how he spoke about the cruel treatment. If Queen Regina had found out, she would have sentenced them to life imprisonment.

"Although, someone finally bought me with his lunch money. He said, and I quote, 'I think a playmate would be more interesting to have than a brand-new helm.' The guy who bought me looked like a kid too. So, I thought he just wanted a new toy and thought I was one."

Anastacia gulped. "What happened after?"

"Well, the kid bought me and grew up to be a captain. He sailed the seven seas while dragging this" — he pointed to himself with a cheeky grin — "talking beansprout along."

She froze. It was Marick! "You two go that far back?"

Rowen counted his fingers. "Well, yeah. I'm 20 years old now. He picked me up when I was 5. Back then, I think he was around 14? But, people and Time can be so strange."

"Oh? Why?'

"Well, I noticed that every time a person looks at their round thingy that has hands and numbers —"

"— You mean a watch or a pocket watch?"

He nodded. "Yeah! Whenever they look at their watch thingamabob, they get more worried." He shrugged. "Like, they start rushing, shoving, and pushing people."

Anastacia nodded.

"But why would people keep something that makes them panic?"

"Well, they want to keep track of Time."

"Why? Is Time always running away or something? Is Time like a fugitive?"

Anastacia blinked. How could a twenty-year-old be so naïve about Time? "They do that because they know other people's time is precious. Just as much as theirs," she tried to explain.

Rowen nodded slowly. "I see. But I don't like living like that."

Anastacia mentally rolled her eyes. Of course, time and etiquette didn't matter to someone not involved in diplomacy and things of similar nature.

"I don't like living my life to the last second. It kinda makes everything confusing. Like, it's telling me that I have to do everything all at once" — he scratched his head — "how is one supposed to like eating a bowl of ice cream if all they're thinking about is rushing to meet another person or do something else?"

Anastacia prepared to retort but realized that she had no good answer for it. Only now did she have time to sweat over the small details. Such as the lavender-scented sheets she slept in. While she didn't expect the escapade to take so long, there were too many things to absorb. And now, Rowen was asking her some philosophical questions that had her scratching her head. Did she ever enjoy the meals served to her at Xychosia? How about the scent of the flowers in the newly trimmed garden? As all these memories flooded back, a tear dripped from her eye.

"Ah!" Rowen jumped and waved his hands. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!"

She shook her head. "No, no. It's not your fault." She sniffed and snorted. "I should be thanking you. I've always taken things for granted but, now everything feels like a distant dream."

Rowen blinked. "But was it?"

"What was?"

"Y'know, living in Xychosia. Was it?"

She thought for a moment and then smiled. "It sure was. The whole castle smelled like a fresh flower garden everyday. There would always be a warm meal on the table. I didn't have to worry about anything."

"But you still did."

"Huh? I just said I didn't!"

"If you didn't, why are you out here?"

Again Rowen stumped her. Why does he keep saying the darndest things? Anastacia groaned. "You're really good at making people feel stupid, aren't you?"

"Oh..." He paused. "Asking questions makes people feel stupid?"

"No! I mean —"

"— Because Captain said to always ask questions. Even if it will make you look stupid. He says it keeps people alive."

Anastacia sighed. While he wasn't wrong, she didn't like how he said it. Although with the silence and sitting in the middle of a murderous forest, the memory of her not enjoying her debut flashed into her mind. Her dance with a particular young man and his off-handed remark started everything.

I'll cherish the moment the Princess of Sofiene was generous to compliment my amateur dancing.

It made her think. How different was she from the original princess of Sofiene? Based on how he thanked her and when she spoke with the "original" princess Anastacia, she could see why her compliments were taken quite graciously. She's someone with such insane standards, she thought. But she was sure that wasn't the only thing that haunted her after. That one dance had her excuse herself from the celebration and decide to leave, landing her into the mess they were now in.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Anastacia murmured.

She turned to Rowen who had fallen asleep on her shoulder. While he snored away peacefully, she smiled and ruffled his hair. She could only wiWith a soft sigh, she soon passed out into a dreamless sleep.

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