Disclaimer: I am not the original author of The 10th Kingdom mini series. Silent Reflections is only a fan-based fiction written for amusement. It is NOT the official accompaniment for the true 10th Kingdom series. You must obtain permission for using this fan fiction in any way. This fan fiction is the property of Patty Liu. However she does not own the characters except for Melody, Patrick, Princess Wendy, and the tazzies.
One
It was a brand new day in the Fourth Kingdom. King Wendell woke up from a sound sleep with a smile on his face. He yawned and stretched himself. Today is the day that Antony shall bring my bride, Wendell thought to himself. He was looking forward to meeting the Princess Wendy. He remembered the lovely young girl whom he used to play with in the gardens whenever he visited the House of Red in the Second Kingdom. She was such a lovely creature and they had kept in touch all these years by occasional letters. And now that everyone had been pressuring him to get married, he had automatically chosen Princess Wendy; it only seemed the right thing to do. King Wendell smiled to himself.
Servants soon entered the chamber and greeted their king and began dressing him.
"Has there been any word from Antony?" the king asked his servants.
"No, Your Majesty. Nothing yet. They are still half a day's ride from the castle," a servant replied.
"Ahhh yes, send some men out to meet them then and give them a nice welcome greeting. I want Princess Wendy to feel as comfortable as she can."
"Yes, Your Majesty, at once," the servant said and left the chamber.
A few days earlier ~
A large map of the Nine Kingdoms was laid out, stretched flat on a wooden table. The corners were held down by bottles of dark liquid and shiny rocks. Melody was reading to herself from a spell book she had purchased from an old peddler that had come by her cottage a few weeks before. She looked up suddenly at a flapping sound in the corner and saw that it was just her pet dove. Her reflection in an old mirror caught her attention and she studied herself in the mirror.
"Do I look like her?" Melody asked softly into the silent room. "I wonder if people would say I resemble her?. A daughter should look like her mother, shouldn't she?" She sighed. "If only you were still here to teach me all those magic spells we used to do, Mother. Without you, I have to rely on these damned spell books all the time and I can never get anything right on my own," Melody said out loud to no one. She slammed the spell book shut and began pacing the floor of her small cottage.
The last time she had really even seen her mother was when she had still been a little girl. Her mother had always come to visit her whenever she could and they would spend a great time together dabbling in the magical arts of witchcraft. But then her mother had stopped coming to visit her. Melody had been so sad and she’d cried herself to sleep every night. Then one day one of her servants told her that her mother had been sent to prison by the House of White of the Fourth Kingdom. Melody hadn't understood what had happened. How could anyone have put her wonderful mother into prison? She’d tried her best to say prayers every night for her mother and she tried her own little spells now and then on her own just to bring that feeling of joy she’d had when she and her mother were together.
Then one day, her mother had come back. It was years and years later, but Melody could remember her mother anywhere. Her mother had come to visit her and she had brought a man in very expensive clothes who carried a large box with him wherever he went. He panted quite a lot and sniffed at everything. Melody didn't care. Her mother was back with her and she was so happy. She had given her mother a big giant hug and tried to ask her mother to explain to her what had happened. Her mother had just smiled and said, “All in good time, my darling, all in good time.” She’d then told Melody that she couldn't stay very long and that she must go at once, for she had very urgent business to get to. But she would be back very soon to visit again, she promised. And Melody had believed her.
A few days later, word was brought to her that her mother was dead. The House of White of the Fourth Kingdom had killed her. Well, actually, it had been a stranger that the House of White had hired that had killed her mother. Melody had become furious. Her mother had just come back to her and now she was dead and gone forever.
That had been just a little over a year ago, and Melody sighed at her memories. She had her plans, though. She was going to destroy the House of White of the Fourth Kingdom and the stranger they had hired for killing her mother.
