♔ ♛ ♔

HARPER was exhausted, to say the least.

She just finished her lengthy tour around the capital with Amara, and saying she was "tired" was an understatement. She was drained of all the energy she had leftover from that afternoon.

Afternoon. Harper still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that it had only been that long since she was in the comfort of her own home. Mom must be worried sick. Harper was so caught up in her problems that she hadn't even given her own family a second thought. Her mother was overprotective with her ever since her father's disappearance. Her hand instinctively touched her bare wrist, failing to feel the familiar rusted metal of her watch. She let out a sigh in frustration, silently deciding that she should take a breather. She needed one dearly.

Amara had given her a spare bedroom in the palace, claiming that nobody usually passed around here. Harper was wary of her offer but accepted it anyway. It wasn't like she had anywhere better to go, and with Charlie searching for a way home, she figured she'd be here for a while. Besides, she felt that she deserved to learn more about Draydon.

Her room was surprisingly large. It was bold of Harper to assume that she would get another dark basement to stay in. It was a room fit for a princess, with large floor to ceiling windows on the back wall, decorated with light, satin curtains. The walls were a colored pearl white, which complemented the fluffy carpet Harper had dug her toes in for warmth. A vanity fit for royalty stood on her left, though Harper promised herself that she wouldn't need to use it anytime soon. There was a door next to the vanity that led into a large closet. She didn't feel comfortable enough to change her clothes yet. It sounded childish, but without her watch, her worn clothing were the only things she had left that reminded her of home.

Harper moved toward the vanity to grab a black cloak that hung from the edge. Amara said to wear it whenever she left her room, to keep safe from wandering eyes. She draped it over her shoulders, adjusting it to cover her whole body, and tightened the strings that held both sides together. Throwing the hood over her head, Harper slipped on her boots and left the room.

The palace was nearly impossible to navigate without a map of sorts. To Harper, it was like a maze, only with amenities inside. Luckily, she paid attention to Amara earlier when she led her down here.

Go down this hallway. A left. Another left. Right. Through the double doors. The back exit to the courtyards is on the right.

Tugging the hood closer to her face, Harper hurried through the courtyards of the palace, avoiding others who passed by. Everyone was wearing similar clothing, royal blue tunics, and coats, with some going as far as wearing a full dress, corset and all. She felt as if she was in a fantasy video game or some surreal dream. Harper already pinched herself too many times to know that she was most definitely not dreaming. Unfortunately.

The castle was breathtaking. The gardens and courtyards were beautiful.

But Aerdon? Harper considered it a heaven on earth.

Amara had not exaggerated when she was boasting about the city. Intricately designed architecture. Carefully fashioned gardens and landscaping. Bustling streets, and vibrant culture. It was too good to be true.

And that was why Harper wasn't sold on this so-called paradise.

Nobody noticed her—nobody cared to, at least. It surprised Harper a bit since she was the only one there who was wearing combat boots and ripped jeans. Although she figured her cloak had a part to play in that. It fell stubbornly past her shoes, so she had to be extra careful when she walked to avoid tripping. Then again, it was her clumsiness that brought her and Charlie here in the first place.

Navigating her way through the courtyards of the palace, which thankfully wasn't too crowded, Harper took the time to take in her surroundings. The Caeruleus Palace was much larger than Harper thought it was, with tall towers that ascended towards the azure skies. Glittering crystalline windows adorned the palace, allowing sunlight to pass through it. Massive gates surrounded the building, along with local palace guards that stood like decorative statues in front.

Shit.

Harper completely forgot about the guards.

They didn't look too harmful to Harper. If anything, they looked more cowardly than intimidating. But she wasn't going to let any first impressions get the best of her. Who knew what kind of supernatural magic they could do. Harper didn't know, nor did she want to find out. She had enough magic surprises for a day.

Harper had one of two choices. She could try to somehow climb over the ridiculously high wall, which, oh so wonderfully, was lined with pointed, decorative fencing. Or, she could attempt to test the knowledge of the stone-faced guards and try to pass as a blueblood. The second option sounded much more appealing to her.

Great day to wear jeans and black combat boots, Harper. Perfect.

Inhaling a sharp breath beforehand, Harper swiftly but warily approached the heavily guarded gates, making sure to keep a low profile. At this point, her hood nearly covered her entire face from all the times she adjusted it. 

Harper could not explain it coherently, only that she knew that she couldn't go any longer without convincing herself that she was okay. Fresh air was one way of doing that successfully.

Luckily, a larger group of bluebloods were crowded by the gate trying to get through. Harper took advantage of this by trying to blend into the crowd. She figured that she could get through without being seen. Unfortunately, the fates had other plans.

Harper barely brushed the shoulders of the other bluebloods and hurried past fast enough before anyone could see who had shoved them. But, it wasn't too long before she ran into somebody who didn't appreciate her manner of getting through the gates. Before Harper could realize what had happened, the stranger had grabbed her cloak forcefully, causing her hood to fall back onto her shoulders. A moment of silence fell upon the bluebloods by the gate, including the guards, who for the first time turned their heads to see what caused the disruption.

Harper could pass easily as a regular blueblood in the city. There were too many people and too many problems for anyone to care who she was. But here, it was sketchy to see somebody foreign, especially in the vicinity of the palace. So, of course, the stranger made a very far-fetched claim to explain why a teenager was trying to leave the palace grounds.

"Prisoner! A prisoner is escaping!"

The blue blood held onto Harper's cloak even tighter than before. But she pulled away even harder, finally getting out of their grip. By now, the entire crowd was confused, panicked, and somehow scared.

Of me? Laughable.

The guards, on the other hand, were not that different from the other bluebloods. Well, that was true until they saw the so-called prisoner run out the gates. Lucky for them, Harper didn't know what she was doing. Or where she was going. She was just running away from them. Far away.

Harper's legs felt like jelly, but she kept going. She could still hear the guards yelling after her, shouting orders at each other, a chaotic scene on its own. The entire palace courtyard was in confusion and chaos. If the noise was loud enough for her to hear here, she was almost positive everybody inside the castle could as well.

Day one, and you already screwed up twice.

Her hair, as always, was a mess. Tangled and unruly from her unexpected run and slightly smelly from the sweat forming on her forehead. She sighed, running a swift hand through it in an attempt to tame it. Her cloak was loose, and her hood wasn't over her head anymore. She had given up trying to hide at this point. Nobody would care to know who she was.

Harper turned the corner, hoping that she would lose the guards chasing her. What she didn't realize was that she had nearly run into someone else. Harper skidded to a stop, almost falling on the cobblestoned streets and knocking somebody else over with her.

"Sorry, my bad," Harper mumbled, quickly standing up straight and brushing off the dirt on her clothing. She cursed under her breath when she remembered her cloak wasn't covering her face anymore.

The stranger shook his head in haste, "No, it was my fault. Should've been more careful," he added before looking up at Harper, their eyes meeting.

His eyes widened, and his mouth slightly opened, but nothing came out of it until Harper cleared her throat.

"What?" she snapped.

He hesitated before continuing cautiously.

"It's you. . .you look almost exactly like her."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE —

*checks calander* it's november 28

*checks the last time I updated* and it's been a month :,)

sorry for the infrequent updates. unfortunately, school exists. I'll would try to update more consistently, but when have I ever lived up to THAT promise lol-

I don't what else to say here, tbh.

Q: soft or grunge aesthetic?

( yes, I know it's not a great question. but it's something)

A: soft, because I feel like I can't pull off a grunge aesthetic lol

thanks for sticking with me even when I'm being stupid :,)

and as always, thank you for reading <3