Page 12 of Secrets & Curses of Crimson

“My family?” I questioned.

“We will take you home immediately.” The man stuck out his hand for me. He was tall, with untrusting eyes and no hair on his head. His tanned skin glistened with sweat as his dark eyes watched me closely.

“Thea,” I whispered.

He chuckled softly.

“Yes, I know.”

Right. He knew exactly who I was, and I didn’t know anything apart from my name. I took his hand, and he helped me mount his horse before taking another man’s horse for himself. Then we were sprinting in the direction they had all appeared from. In the short distance on top of a large hill sat a castle made of grey stone with blue flags waving in the breeze.

It filled me with a sense of unease when I looked at it. There wasn’t a familiarity about it like I thought there would be. No excitement or happiness. I felt indifferent at the sight of it. Even as we rode closer, it still didn’t feel right. Perhaps it was my lack of food or sleep in the past few days that made me feel like this.

“Home sweet home,” theman sighed.

“The castle is my home?" I looked at it again, but nothing surfaced. No memory or comfort.

“Yes, I’m sure your family will be waiting at the doors.”

Princess. That is what the woman had called me. The word didn’t sound right to describe me; ‘captain’ sounded more proper for whatever reason.

“How did you know I was in the woods?” I asked.

“The fire exploding.”

As we rode through town, I saw the way the fae in the streets stared at me. They did not seem happy to see me. Their whispers were undoubtedly at my expense. It did not feel very welcoming. I felt more like a spectacle than a fae.

When the gates to the castle came into view, I noticed the long stone wall that ran around the perimeter of the castle grounds. It was the same one that flashed in my mind earlier. I could see them standing through the gates at the door of the castle. A king, queen, and two women who were dressed in light blue, gold, and white attire.

When we dismounted the horse, no one said anything to me. They all stared at me in a way that I didn’t know how to decipher. They almost looked scared of me. Something inside of me hummed at the sight of their fear. I liked to see them scared of me.

“You don’t recognize us,” the king said. “We’re your… family.”

I looked like the king in some ways, but I shared no resemblance to the queen or the women next to her.

“So, I’m a princess?” I crinkle my nose at the term without thought.

The queen’s eyes nearly popped out of her pretty face when I spoke. The two women next to her scoffed softly.

“Y-yes, you’re my eldest daughter,” he stuttered over himself, which I found odd. He did not look confident in himself. “You were never fond of the term princess. You were—are the captain of my army.”

That seemed right. Something about the sentence rang truer than any of this. I noticed they did not hug me; they did not say they missed me, but I kept that concern to myself.

“Aren’t you wondering where I’ve been?” I questioned them.

“Of course, but we did not want to overwhelm you. Let’s get you settled, and you can tell us over dinner.”

I nodded and followed them inside, keeping my unease to myself. I kept my face indifferent as they walked in front of me. Their bodies were stiff and tense. The castle was pretty with the expensive decor and tapestries that cluttered the walls. The king turned and smiled at me over hisshoulder, but it looked forced. We took a left to a grand staircase.

“My room is this way?” I glanced to the right and saw a door with stairs leading to a floor below us. That seemed familiar.

“Yes, we left your room just as you left it,” he said, almost irritated. I nodded and followed without questioning it again. He stopped at the first door on the left and opened it. When I stepped into the room, it was mostly white with pops of blue and gold.

My mind flashed to a dark forest green bed and decor. I shook my head to clear it away. This room looked... dull.

“Did my room used to be green?”

“No.”

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