Page 14 of Celestia, Year Four

~CELESTIA~

"He will only do wrong, my Queen!"

"Darkness has always caused trouble. We are representing the people. They speak poorly of your relations with Prince of Darkness. All the other Princes are okay. Just not him. His people are scary looking and only cause trouble. We must revoke them from our lands, or no good will come here."

I closed my eyes and pinched my nose with my fingers, wishing I could be sleeping at this ungodly hour rather than wasting time listening to these men bicker for the last five hours.

"Gentlemen. I understand your concern, I really do. I will take this into consideration, but Mother Nature has the final say in all of this. Your displeasure is human based. She didn't create the element of Darkness for no reason. Prince of Darkness has a purpose, just like the other Princes that Mother Nature has chosen. We are all aware that peace can only be maintained when ALL the elements live in harmony. This legend has been passed down for generations. My mother, Esmeralda, did the same and held the peace for many centuriesand has passed her torch to me. I'm not dismissing your concerns but reminding you of this is principle."

"You are too kind, my Queen."

"So I've heard. I understand many of the people are displeased that a woman is ruling and allowing this to transpire, but gender means nothing to me and it has had no negative impact in the past when previous Queens have ruled. Why don't we continue this discussion in the morning? It is far too late to be talking about such serious topics," I suggested, trying my best to keep my calm appearance when deep down, my emotions were boiling with anger.

"Yes, your Majesty." The two men bowed. "Get some rest."

I nodded in agreement, watching them exit my throne room.

The guards looked over to me and I gave them a weak smile and gestured for them to wait outside.

At this point, I'd rather just sleep in the throne room, seeing as we'd be up at the crack of dawn to discuss the multiple concerns about the Darkness.

They both nodded in understanding and moved out to stand in the hall, closing the doors behind them. With a tired sigh, I lowered my head and removed my crown. I was glad it could be moved by my simple touch and not with magic.

I was far too drained to use any, but I did wish I could teleport to my bedroom to sleep.

Not happening.

"You love coming by during the night," I mumbled, deciding to acknowledge the familiar presence to my far left where the bookshelf stood.

"Even after hours of them talking poorly about me, you still acknowledge me?"

The hurt in the low voice made me open my eyes and look to my left; a pair of sad pure black eyes met mine as the Princeof Darkness revealed himself from the shadows and walked my way.

"Lucian, don't look so sad. It hurts my heart. They are confused," I comforted.

He reached the platform and climbed the stairs to face me. With a soft smile, I wrapped my arms around him.

I could feel the tension in his body, but I ignored it and continued to hug him.

It took him a minute before he finally hugged me back, and from how he squeezed me tight, I could tell all this unnecessary fighting and rumor-talking was getting to him.

The Prince of Darkness, or his true name, Lucian, was always calm and he tried not to show much emotion to the public. Except for the small circle of Princes and myself, who loved him just the way he was.

For him to show those sad eyes to me and be unable to hug me right away, made me wonder how his people were feeling.

Worried? Concerned?

I didn't want them feeling afraid for their own safety. That wasn't fair to them. The people needed to understand this, yet their own selfish reasons were getting in the way.

This was a principle followed for centuries, and I didn't want to be the one to break it. But I wouldn't deny that I was struggling, the draining meetings and constant eruptions of fights across the kingdoms were taking a toll on me.

Not to mention the other Princes. They were receiving just as much hate as I was, and their exhaustion only drained me more.

"You're not well," he mumbled into my shoulder.

I smiled at his concern. As much as they didn't want to admit it, the Princes of Darkness and Light were very similar.

They both shared that ability to tell if something was wrong with an individual internally. It was pretty handy, but I didn't want him worrying about me.

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