//------------------------------// // King and Queen // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// Dotty worked hard finishing up the landscape painting that Wish wanted to see after she and her father left only moments ago to prepare for the dinner with the King and Queen. A happy smile was still etched on her face as she resumed the careful strokes that had been forming her painting before she had to suddenly stop. It was a surprise, to be sure, to see Master Dreamweaver. She had no idea that the King and Queen were going to invite him and Wish to dinner. It must have been a spur of the moment kind of thing. Either way it felt a little good to be on her own right now and able to paint, she usually didn’t get the opportunity, and with Wish she still had to always watch over her and wait on her commands. Her smile wavered. Which of course that kind of thing didn’t bother Dotty. Wish was a wonderful little filly who never imposed on her, and honestly felt awkward with how much Dotty fawned on her, she could tell. But peaceful alone times like this were something Dotty could sorely use. They were something she knew just about every pony in this castle could use. At least she had her brandy squirreled away in her room. It wasn’t that much longer before she had finished her painting and regarded it with a proud smile on her face. While she had used the eastern mountains of Hoofica for inspiration it still mostly ended up as a product of her imagination. She could get some pins and put it up in Wish’s bedchambers now. At first though she decided to check on Wish’s painting, the dear probably wasn’t able to finish it before her father came in, so she wondered if Wish would appreciate it if Dotty just left it where it was for later. Dotty walked around the table and trotted over to Wish’s easel with a big smile. But when she saw it she had to pause. “Wish?” Dotty tilted her head as she looked at the painting. It looked like a bunch of big streaks of white and white blotches on a black background. She rubbed her head, wondering what had happened with the painting. “Did you not like what you were painting and tried to start over? You usually paint such nice and happy ponies...” “It’ll be a bit of a long walk, as you know. How long has it been since you’ve seen the throne room and the royal chambers?” Dreamweaver asked Wish as the two traveled down the towers, a group of both guards and Inquisitors walking in front of and behind them. “Umm… since pretty much we first started living in the castle, I think,” Wish answered. “Hm,” Dreamweaver stroked his chin. “You may be right. Being so busy I feel like I’ve forgotten some things. The days all seem to merge together.” “Yeah...” Wish said. She knew that well. And she wanted to tell him as such. She just didn’t know how to broach the subject, especially not around all these guards and Inquisitors. And she didn’t know how much her father knew about all of it in the first place. There was that blank spot in her memories when she went up to his lab but… she knew he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. That was an absolute certainty. She didn’t even know how what exactly was the cause of her broken memories to begin with. A spell, maybe? He did have to know about the pegasus though. And she knew he was the one who made sure she always had guards and her maid watching her. Wish had to talk to him about it at some point or the nightmares wouldn’t go away, the terrible, scared, feelings in her wouldn’t rest. “We’re sure to have a great meal tonight, though that’s quite normal for you now,” Dreamweaver chuckled. Wish blinked and looked up at her father. “I don’t know if I ever asked you, dad, but what do you usually eat? Do you have big feasts like I do?” “No, no,” Dreamweaver shook his head. “I have much smaller meals, usually just sandwiches and water. The simple things are fine for me. I just wanted to make sure you always have the best possible food to eat, and your fill of it at that. Your comfort is far more important than my own after all. Your happiness is always at the forefront of my mind.” His words made Wish smile even with the tumultuous worries and feelings inside her right now. She could always count on him to brighten up her day, that was another fact. No matter what else was going on she knew her father loved her. “Thanks, dad. But you know you could totally have some of the great stuff you have the chefs make for me too. Not like I can eat it all.” He smirked as he kept looking ahead. “Well I’m about to have something great tonight, aren’t I.” Wish snorted and bumped against his side. “Not the same thing.” A giggle actually emerged from her lips but immediately afterwards her thoughts went back to her memories and all the other dark things in her mind. Was this a time for laughter? To be acting so carefree? It felt wrong—and like she was ignoring or trying to push away what she had just uncovered. There was some pony down in that dungeon for some unknown reason to Wish. And she was part of why things had become even stranger in the castle. Wish was being lied to in some way, she lost an entire day, and it took great pains to get her brain and memories back in order. How could she be some jolly filly right now? She was even slightly scared and worried when her father showed up just earlier. No. Wish stalwartly told herself. I have a right to be happy. I-I can deal with everything else when the time comes. I don’t know why things are happening like this, but I’m just a kid. I want things to be normal. Forget about the Inquisitors and nightmares for now. Dad will always be looking out for me, I don’t have to be miserable all the time. The tough stuff can wait. She looked up at her father and smiled. While the things she had gone through confused her, she knew there was nothing to be afraid of. The two of them and their entourage made it to the top floor of the central part of the castle and proceeded to walk towards the east wing that contained the throne room and past that the personal living chambers of the royal family. The only way to get into the throne room was from the third story, Wish didn’t know the layout of it and the rest of the east wing very well, a lot of it was kept secret for obvious reasons. She was sure there were other ways in and out of the east wing but she didn’t know them. It wasn’t really a concern of hers though since she had only been in that part of the castle once before this. She had seen the Queen a few other times but the royal had never really paid any mind to Wish. She was always more interested in talking to Wish’s father, something that made Wish supremely uncomfortable. Just the way she spoke and acted… Wish shook her head and shuddered. She didn’t want to think about that either. Some of the things she said Wish didn’t really understand, but the way she looked at her father, and her body language, just really made Wish awkward. What did the King think about all that anyways? Wish couldn’t remember him talking or anything, and the Queen never mentioned him either when the two were apart. He never came to visit her father and she didn’t hear about him doing… much of anything at all. Back in the countryside she remembered adults where she lived not really having anything bad to say about him, it was always same old same old. Now she wondered what the average pony out there thought about the King and Queen ever since the sky turned dark and the kingdom became like this. It was unusual for a dinner like this to happen too. Wish was guessing that it was just because the Queen wanted to see her father again. At least she’d have something different to look at while they walked through the throne room, it was much prettier than the boring black walls of most of the rest of the castle. And anything out of the norm was probably something she should savor. As they moved on, Wish saw the pair of grand doors that led from the central area of the castle to the east wing and the long throne room that took up much of it. A red carpet was laid out in front of it with two guards in black armor standing to the sides along with heavily burning torches on black stands. The nearly twenty foot high doors were of a rich oak with golden rings at the middle the guards needed to pull to open it up. Once they did so, the party was able to walk into the illustrious throne room of Hoofica Castle. It stretched down for nearly three hundred feet, with a wide floor and a gilded red carpet going from the doors all the way to the thrones at the end. Great pillars of black stone held up the vaulted ceilings along the sides of the carpet while stained glass windows covered the northern wall and a single flowing grand painting covered the southern wall from end to end. Statues of ponies and previous leaders of the kingdom were built alongside the pillars and in-between the stained glass windows for a while until you got closer to the thrones. At the far third of the throne room, triple-tiered rows of wooden seats with plush cushions sat for those to attend court to use. Though they were all empty now. And beyond them the glorious thrones sat on a higher level up several stone steps. They glittered with gold and inlaid jewels even from a distance. Wish however paid the most attention to the magnificent painting as she and her father walked through the throne room. It had everything. Beautiful landscapes, portraits of rulers, massive historical battles, and a detailed recreation of the capitol and castle in the middle. Wish wanted to be able to paint something like that one day. Or at least be able to paint on that level, it was just incredible how the entire wall was one giant painting. She had to take her eyes off it once they got to the rows of seats though. But their trip didn’t stop here. Behind the thrones existed another door that led directly into the royal chambers, or at least what could be called a personal castle inside the castle. More guards stood beside it and the entourage of guards and Inquisitors that had come with Wish and her father stopped and formed ranks beside them once they stepped up and past the thrones. It seemed they weren’t going to be coming inside the private residence of Hoofica royalty. However as soon as those doors opened up and she and her father passed the threshold, a new pair of armored guards were there to meet them in a brightly lit hallway. They escorted Wish and Dreamweaver down the short hallway to its end, passing a few doors on the way that must’ve led to other rooms. At the end of the hallway they emerged onto a marble balcony that overlooked a large room brightly lit up by multiple chandeliers hanging overhead. To their left and right a staircase led down from the balcony on either side while across from them on the other side of the room a single large staircase went up and up towards another ornate door painted in gold. This room they were now in was decorated with royal Hoofica tapestries and banners that hung across the wall, catching Wish’s attention and making her look on in awe at them. While the guards then guided them down the stairs, Wish was also able to take note of a number of other doors and hallways going off from the ground floor to other parts of this inner castle. It was a large place for just the royal family. Even more so since the King and Queen had no children. They weren’t going to any of those places though, Wish and her father were being led right up to the gold-painted door. Wish briefly glanced up at her father as they walked up the stairs, seeing the same confident smile on his face as always. She still didn’t exactly look forward to eating with the King and Queen but with her father there things couldn’t be too bad. Once they reached the top of the stairs the guards opened up the golden door and Wish and her father finally arrived at their destination for the rest of the evening while the guards closed the door behind and left them. A great dining room was opened up to them, gold, orange, and yellow paints coloring everything from the floors to the ceiling. The middle of the ceiling held a large chandelier as well with hundreds of small candles placed in it. Directly below it sat a long dining table with an elaborate centerpiece of flowers. Already food was placed on it, an amount and variety that even dwarfed Wish’s normal dinners. And at the head of the table the King and Queen sat, waiting. “Your majesties,” Dreamweaver said and politely bowed. Wish straightened up and copied him, trying to look as formal and well-mannered as possible. “Welcome, Dreamweaver and young Wish,” the King said, briefly standing up to greet them. He was a robust pegasus in his fifties with a blue-green color and a white mane and bushy white beard that covered most of his face, making him look older than he really was. Atop his head sat a golden crown with a golden horseshoe at its tip and he wore a regal purple cape that flowed down his backside. Despite the polite words of his greeting, he still made Wish feel weird. There was no emotion in his voice or on his face of any sort. He blankly stared at them like a statue. The Queen however- “Oh welcome, welcome, Dreamweaver!” She smiled widely and clasped her hooves in front of her chest, looking at Wish’s father with a great deal of fondness and not showing any attention to Wish whatsoever. A salmon-pink unicorn with a wavy blue mane, she wore far too much red lipstick and other makeup. Slightly younger than her husband but still almost fifty herself, you could easily see the wrinkles in her face when she smiled. Like the King she also had her own, smaller, crown and a similar cape that was a shade lighter than the King’s. Wish didn’t like the way she acted around her father. That way she spoke and looked at him while ignoring (at best) her. And ignoring the King for that matter too. It creeped Wish out. If she had any shame when it came to the way she acted around a stallion that wasn’t her husband, she didn’t show it. Weirdly, the King didn’t show any problem or voice any complaints about it either. “Please, sit down, and let us eat!” The Queen said, patting the seat next to her on the right side of the table. Wish was annoyed but not surprised that the Queen was clearly going to have her father sit right next to her. As they walked around the table to sit down at the designated spots, she noticed how there weren’t any other settings or silverware out. It was just going to be the four of them. Eating at least, there were a number of guards standing around in the luxurious dining room, but they seemed to just be watching over things. Another door at the back left corner of the room also led to what Wish believed was the royal suite and bedchambers of the King and Queen. “It looks like a wonderful meal,” Dreamweaver said as he sat down. “Thank you for inviting the two of us here tonight.” The Queen smiled longingly at him and fluttered her eyelashes. “Well it’s just been so long since the last time we could… eat together, now hasn’t it been?” “Ehehe… yes,” her father awkwardly smiled back at the Queen. Wish meanwhile fought to not retch. She looked at the King as he sat beside his wife and saw that he was merely staring down at his so far empty plate. The Queen giggled and levitated an apple from a bowl and placed it on Dreamweaver’s plate. “Well please, help yourself and the two of us can catch up during dinner.” Her eyes darted at Wish, acknowledging her for the first time. “You can eat whatever you want to.” Her tone was so abrupt and dismissive, and the look in her eyes was almost disdainful. It was the exact opposite of how everypony else in the castle treated her. Wish didn’t know whether to be grateful for that or just annoyed. “Now my Queen, I’m sure you and my daughter can get along swimmingly too. You wouldn’t want to only talk to boring old me all evening, would you?” Dreamweaver said, reaching over and patting Wish on the head. “With how busy I am I hardly get to see her either, I wouldn’t want her to feel left out on such a rare occasion.” “My, you’re always so conscientious when it comes to your daughter. Such a good father,” the Queen giggled, sighing as she stared into her father’s eyes. “Just another good thing about you. I’m surprised you only have one child, I’m certain you’d be an excellent father to more.” Dreamweaver coughed. “Yes, well...” The Queen now looked over at Wish with a playful smirk on her face. “I know how much your father cares about your happiness, I do so hope you’re enjoying your time in our castle. I’ve allowed him the uses of our facilities and the guards just for your sake after all.” “Ahem, my Queen, please. Let us keep the conversation light,” Dreamweaver interrupted, an uncomfortable smile and a telling look on his face. “My little darling is well aware of the generosity you have shown us. And I know she’s having a wonderful time here, right?” He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Wish could feel the uneasiness radiating from her father, for both their sake’s she nodded and smiled. “Yep, every day is great!” “Good,” the Queen smiled. “Well, I have your father to thank for so many things after all. It’s only natural that I pay the two of you back.” She reached a hoof over and lightly ran it through his mane. Wish cringed—and she noticed that some of the guards in the dining room did as well. Flashes of dismay, confusion, and even a bit of anger marked their features before they controlled themselves and returned to their previous stoic appearances. “And you’ve paid me back in more ways than one, things wouldn’t be progressing at all if it wasn’t for you, my Queen. The whole kingdom of Hoofica and everypony in it is here to aid me thanks to you,” Dreamweaver said. “Oh how I’m excited to see the finished product of your work. Why must you be so secretive up in that tower? You know I’m so busy running the rest of the kingdom as well,” the Queen batted her eyelids at him. “It’s delicate work that’s taking a long time to finish. And please, let’s not talk about it here.” The Queen pouted and glanced at Wish, who was completely confused. “Well then let’s talk somewhere more private after dinner. Just us two.” “Very well,” Dreamweaver placatingly smiled at her before turning to Wish. “My darling I’m afraid I won’t be walking back with you tonight, I’ll have the guards and Inquisitors escort you back to the tower when we’re done.” “Oh… okay,” Wish said, looking down at her plate. “Now, now, chin up. I owe the Queen my time too, darling. The two of us just went to that opera a bit ago, didn’t we?” Dreamweaver said to her. “Mhm,” Wish nodded. “Well it’s only fair that I spend some personal time with the Queen too then,” Dreamweaver smiled. “She’s very interested in my work—and your happiness as well.” Wish was pretty sure that wasn’t true. Or only true in the sense that she was interested in it because her father also was. She really didn’t like the sound of “personal time” in general. She may have only been eight but she knew flirting when she saw it. It was like the Queen was trying to replace her mom. Wish knew her father would never let that happen but it still really bothered her. Meanwhile the King just kept staring at nothing, not a part of the conversation at all. “Your work—and the work of your newly formed Inquisitors as well—I’ve heard so many stories. So many guards and others have tried bringing the issue up,” the Queen chuckled. “But I’m more than happy to sanction it all, my wonderful professor. You’ve brightened up my life so much.” Wish rolled her eyes. Her father wasn’t even a professor really, he was a therapist. And what did Inquisitors even actually do? “Thank you, my Queen,” Dreamweaver smiled at her. “Now I do think we should start our dinner before the food starts to get cold. Isn’t that right, Wish?” “Yes,” Wish nodded a few times, trying to not appear too enthusiastic to end the conversation with the Queen. “Alright, eat whatever you wish, as you can see we have quite the feast arranged for us,” the Queen said. She brought a plate with several balls of falafel over to her and dropped one on her and the King’s plates. Almost automatically the King grabbed his fork and stuck it into the ball, bringing it up to his mouth and eating it. He chewed a few times before swallowing it down, not looking like he paid much attention to the taste or whether or not he even liked it. Wish decided it was best to follow his way of doing things and just eat silently in peace. She could let the Queen and her father keep up the conversation if they wanted. All Wish wanted to do was hurry up and finish eating dinner and then get out of here. If she couldn’t spend more time with her father she at least wanted to get back to painting or avoid as much of the flirting from the Queen as possible. The food was great though, no surprise there. She was eating some kind of tofu steak with some stringy red thing called saffron on top of it. Her usual meals didn’t have anything like that included and Wish had to admit that it was really, really good. There was some kind of bubbly beverage too that her father identified as sparkling cider. Wish had thought it was champagne at first but if that was the case she wouldn’t have been allowed to drink it. It was funny to think that despite how extravagantly Wish viewed the feasts she was given every day, the royal family could still get even better stuff if they wanted to. At least that was one normal thing about Hoofica Castle. A large towering dessert also caught her eye, something called a “croquembouche”. It wasn’t chocolate but it made her mouth water just looking at it all the same. Maybe she didn’t need to hurry up that much. In-between bites of food she got to watch as her father and the Queen traded hushed words with each other. He had his usual polite smile on his face and she had the same flirtatious look she always looked at him with. It was gross. With practically every word he spoke she gave a small giggle like she was a little filly. Wish loved her father but she couldn’t imagine everything he was saying was that funny. Trying to take her mind off that, Wish looked at the King. He was slowing eating some kind of mushroom sandwich. Slowly. She wanted to talk to him or ask her father or the Queen if there was something wrong… but the thought of that also made her nervous for some reason. She looked around the dining room and judging by the expressions on the guards’ faces they pretty much felt the same way. Why didn’t they do anything if this was bothering them so much? Loyalty to the Queen? Because the King didn’t seem bothered? Wish didn’t really get it. She didn’t even know what was up with the King in the first place. Another odd thing about Hoofica Castle. Another thing that truly made her wish for some fresh air. Like she didn’t have enough questions that needed answers, she really didn’t need to add to that. Although it might have been best to put the issue of the King and Queen out of her mind, her curiosity just couldn’t let her. Her hoof trembled as she brought a spoonful of soup to her mouth. She was starting to get anxious and panicky again. This castle was doing this to her. Everything that had happened lately was building up and now she couldn’t even have a night with just her and her father. He was her safety net, he was the reason she was able to get through this stuff and keep smiling. This wasn’t right. None of it was right. Her heart pounded in her chest, the sudden panic getting to her. Wish felt like she did when she first woke up after a nightmare, or right after she had regained her memories. Fuzziness was crawling at her vision and the sounds of the world around her became muffled. “Well I’m just about famished, that was a lovely dinner, wasn’t it?” The Queen’s loud voice broke Wish out of her panic attack. Wish blinked a couple of times and set her spoon down, looking up at her father and the Queen and trying to calm her beating heart down. Dinner was over? “Yes, it certainly was,” Dreamweaver said, dabbing his mouth with his napkin. “Now the two of us can move to someplace a little more private, can’t we?” The Queen wiggled her eyebrows at Dreamweaver. Her father blanched and gave a weak laugh. “Ehaha… yes, yes we can.” Wish raised an eyebrow and looked at the King but he was back to blankly staring at nothing. The Queen also took notice of him and grinned over at her husband. “Dear? Don’t you think it’s about time you get off to bed? You know you need to get plenty of sleep.” “Yes, dear,” the King nodded and stood up from his seat. “Guards?” The Queen clapped her hooves together. “Please escort the King to his bedchambers, I will be spending the rest of the evening with Master Dreamweaver.” Two of the guards shared an uncertain look before one of them spoke up. “My Queen, I-” “I will not need any escort,” she said. “You have your orders, now go and attend to your King.” “Y-Yes, my Queen,” the same guard said with dismay evident on his face and in his voice. He motioned to the other guards in the dining room and they gathered around the King, who stiffly began walking towards the door at the back left corner of the room. The Queen waited for them all to shuffle out and close the door behind them before she turned back to Dreamweaver with a smile. “And now that that’s done with~” “I suppose I should spoil you,” Dreamweaver said to her, a playful tone now in his voice, different from how he had been previously acting. “I have done a wonderful job for you after all. That crystal you entrusted me with that makes all this possible is still safely in my room as well,” the Queen said. “Shh,” Dreamweaver shushed her and looked at Wish. “Wish? I’m afraid that it’s time for us to part ways tonight. Go back out the way we came in and tell the guards to escort you back to the Inquisitors in the throne room. They’ll be waiting to take you up to your tower.” “Yes, father,” Wish glumly said to him. Her uncomfortable gaze lingering on the Queen. “Don’t be so sad, remember to always stay perfectly happy, I promise we’ll see each other again soon,” Dreamweaver said. “Now you can go back and paint some more with your maid, I’m sure that will make this a ten out of ten day for you, right?” “Right,” Wish put a smile on her face that she didn’t feel in her heart. “Ten out of ten.” “Good girl, now I’ll see you again soon,” Dreamweaver smiled. Wish took that as her cue and hopped out of her seat. “Goodbye, father.” The Queen was already running another hoof through his mane. It made Wish shudder and she quickly walked back to the doors leading out into the large atrium. She had mixed feelings about leaving her father behind to be sure. It led to more anxiety and a trouble with breathing and thinking clearly for her. Even as she walked back with the guards, made it to the throne room, and started going back to her chambers with the Inquisitors, her mind was going a million miles an hour in every direction. Wish knew she had to get away, get a moment to herself, and preferably just get out of this crazy castle even for a day or possibly just a single hour. Else she was liable to go completely insane. A breath of fresh air, being able to look at something else and not have guards everywhere. Wish needed that so badly. But how? How did she accomplish that? And there was the issue of her nightmares and the dungeon—the pegasus taken by the Inquisitors the possible cause of all of this that she still needed to figure out. She had to put that off for now. Getting to the dungeon was a whole nother problem. Not like it was going anywhere anyways. Wish had to think of something, go through her memories to try and remember a way out of this castle. She just wished she didn’t have to do something that would upset her father.