MidReal Story
Gothic Princess: Embrace the Shadows
Scenario: Goth princess girl
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As the goth princess of a dark, shadowed realm, I am set to come of age on my sixteenth birthday.
Stepping into my role as queen, I will also be expected to finally put an end to the curse that has been plaguing our kingdom for the past century.
Traditionally, my birthday would be celebrated with a grand feast and ball, where I would be introduced to all of our people as a grown woman.
The eve of my sixteenth birthday is usually celebrated with a small feast and just Luna and I, my royal advisor and essentially my mother.
After dinner, I’ll retire to my chambers to prepare for the day ahead and be left alone to prepare for what’s to come.
As the goth princess of Eldoria, my sixteenth birthday was supposed to be a grand affair.
The eve of my birthday would bring a feast with all of our council members and their families in attendance.
Tomorrow, my actual birthday, would begin with a ball attended by all the citizens of the realm, where I would be presented as a grown woman for the first time.
It was tradition, but it was also a way to show unity and strength in our kingdom.
And now more than ever it was important that it looked like we were strong.
After the curse had taken hold of our people, they had begun dying before they reached old age.
For over a century children were lucky to see their tenth birthday.
My parents had done everything in their power to stop the curse from spreading, but eventually they ran out of options and time.
They both died so that I could live.
And with their deaths left me the last surviving royal in the kingdom.
Theoretically, once I came of age and was able to take my place on the throne the curse should have been broken.
But no one knew if that was actually true or not.
This was uncharted territory and we were all just hoping for the best.
My parents and Luna never spoke about it aloud but I could always see the worry in their eyes.
And it made me worry as well.
At long last tomorrow will be my sixteenth birthday which means tonight we are supposed to celebrate the eve of my birthday by having a small feast with Luna and I and then tomorrow I will officially become queen.
I’m not sure what exactly that is supposed to entail but I imagine there are all sorts of ceremonies and things that will need to happen before I can sit on the throne and rule our kingdom.
But, after tomorrow, it will be official—I will be queen of Eldoria.
That’s not to say that I am not already queen but according to our rules I must come of age before I am able to take my place on the throne.
Sleep in heaven
“Raven are you ready?”
Luna Evernight asked me.
She stood in the doorway to our dining room, looking at me with that same expression she has always had.
It’s the look that tells me she knows exactly what I am feeling, even when I have no idea myself.
I wish more than anything else that Luna was actually my mother.
When she first came to live with us as a child, she was supposed to be nothing more than my royal advisor.
My own mother did not want to teach me about our gothic heritage, which meant someone needed to.
But after the death of my parents, Luna ended up taking on so much more than just teaching me about being gothic.
She became the only motherly figure in my life.
I may not have real parents anymore but if anyone could come close, it is Luna.
She has been there for me for as long as I can remember.
She helped me to learn about who I am, she helped me to become who I am now.
And she was there to pick up the pieces when everything fell apart.
I shook myself out of my thoughts before moving to the table and taking a seat across from Luna.
I looked up at her from beneath my lashes before letting out a sigh.
“What do you think will happen tomorrow?”
I asked her quietly.
Luna gave me a small smile.
“Honestly, I’m not sure,” she admitted to me.
“But it doesn’t matter what happens because we will face it together.”
I nodded in response to her before giving her a small smile.
“Thank you, Luna,” I said to her.
“For everything you’ve done for me.”
She smiled before shaking her head at me.
“I am your royal advisor,” she said to me.
“It’s my job to help you.”
I let out another sigh before picking up my fork and pushing around the food on my plate.
I had always been an odd child and had never really been one for eating or sleeping very much.
When the sun began to set, I made my way back to the balcony and stared out at our kingdom below.
The sky was painted in brilliant shades of purple, orange, and pink as the sun dipped further below the horizon.
Castle Darkwood was perched on top of a hill in the center of the kingdom which meant from the balcony there were no obstructions in the view.
Normally it was beautiful to see the kingdom below us but with the curse hanging over us it was hard to enjoy it fully.
Since the moment I arrived at the balcony, the sun had completely disappeared from view and the sky was already dark as night took over completely.
The only light came from the thousands of stars above us, shining brightly in the night sky.
Our people could not see them but they were there nonetheless.
The kingdom itself was shrouded in mist and darkness as far as the eye could see.
I watched for several moments before shaking myself from my thoughts.
Tomorrow will be the biggest day of my life up until this point but it will also be the beginning of something new for our kingdom.
Our realm was not like most others.
The days were short and night took over long before most people were ready for bed.
The nights were not very cold but they always felt as if they were.
This darkness made it seem as if it would be impossible for anything to thrive here but that wasn’t true.
Our kingdom was a sanctuary for all things dark and mysterious.
Even our flora and fauna were different from other kingdoms.
All around our people, their world was filled with plants and trees that thrived in the darkness.
Even though they could not see them, I knew that at that very moment there were beautiful purple flowers blooming all around us.
I could just barely smell their sweet scent as it wafted up to me on the breeze.
The building architecture in our kingdom reflected this too.
Castle Darkwood was a grand testament to gothic designs and even though it seemed as if it should be crumbling to pieces, it had stood for centuries.
The castle itself was made of dark grey stone that seemed to almost blend in with its surroundings.
There were many different spires and towers that seemed to reach up to the sky.
They were all connected to the main building by a bridge that arched down across the space between them.
The roofs were made of dark red tiles and I could see small gargoyles perched all around the castle.
The castle had always been a place that I found interesting but I also knew that I would have to be careful about spending too much time exploring.
There were many secret passageways and rooms within the castle that I had never even seen before.
Most people were not even aware that they existed but I had been told about them by my parents.
I suppose that is what led me to discover the secret chamber.
As I stood on the balcony, I took a deep breath before allowing myself to take in everything around me.
The only sound I could hear was the wind whispering through the trees as it blew past me.
I tilted my head back and closed my eyes as I listened to the sound.
It was a peaceful sound and the darkness that surrounded me was comforting.
I had spent so much time alone while growing up that I had come to find comfort in the silence.
I had never been one to be bothered by it but I knew that was because I had grown up in a world where there was never complete silence.
Suddenly, the sound of a bell tower echoed through the night air.
It was the bell from the church just down the road from us.
They rang it every night at this time to let everyone know that it was almost dawn.
I had been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn’t even realized how long it had been since I arrived on the balcony.
The sky was starting to lighten again as the sun began to rise over the horizon.
I watched as it began to creep higher and higher into the sky.
One of the first things that I noticed was that the moon was still out.
It would be a few more hours before it disappeared from view completely.
Despite it being so early, there were already people out and about.
