The Golden Core | Secrets of the Core #1

Chapter Four - Part One

A knock rang loudly at the door as she rolled over in her bed, pulling the blankets over her head when the fan blew above her. She groaned, then yawned as the same ring appeared again. Her eyes fluttered open for a few seconds before she closed them slowly. "I'll be ready in a minute, Mother." She leaned her head back into the pillow a little more, wanting to go back to sleep.

"We have to go explore the city!" Winter's head immediately jerked up when she heard that voice. Quickly, she pulled the blankets off her as they flew to the ground and jumped out of bed. She walked closer to the door but didn't dare to open it up. She did not want to deal with him right now, but it looked like she didn't have a choice.

"What are you doing up on the second floor?" she asked through the door. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. When she didn't get a response, she turned and opened the curtains, letting the sunlight shine brightly inside of her room. "You know you shouldn't be up here."

"Nonsense," Phoenix replied. "Your mother asked me to come wake you, so we could go explore. She does know me, remember?"

Winter rolled her eyes. Of course, her mother would ask him to take care of her. She remembered, too vividly, the conversation that the four of them had yesterday. Nausea took over her stomach. She couldn't even imagine being forced to marry someone she didn't truly love. Especially someone like Phoenix!

From the other side of the door, footsteps became louder. It had to be Mother. Shortly after, another knock arrived. "Winter come on get up," her mother said as she continued to knock on the door.

"I am awake, Mother. Phoenix woke me up." The door knob wiggled just a tad. Winter groaned. Could she not get time to herself? Irritated, she yelled, "I said I'm awake! Don't come in here, I'm not properly dressed!" She sighed when she realized the knob stopped moving. "Thank you."

Her mother's voice trailed off as she walked away. "Just hurry up and get ready, you two have a long day ahead of you!"

"Fine." She lowered her head and walked over to her closet. Slight shuffling came from her door, making her stop immediately. Waiting for a few moments, she didn't think it would be her mother. Mother never usually stuck around. It had to be--

"Phoenix!" she yelled while rushing over the door, banging as loud as she could with her fist, wanting to shock him. "Get lost!"

The footsteps that were once at her door, faded away. She must have scared him off.

Winter smiled while moving back by her clothes to pick out an outfit. She laid a nice shirt and some khaki pants on her bed before heading into her bathroom. While she brushed her hair, she kept trying to tell herself not to trust him. She had to figure out why her mother was putting so much trust in him first. Maybe he persuaded her to do something that she didn't know about. Whatever it was, she planned on finding it, but she had to figure out how. After she was dressed, she collected her self-esteem. She would never trust Phoenix or her mother. They thought they could manipulate her. She laughed. That wouldn't happen, she'd never do anything she didn't want to, Princess or not!

She walked out of her room and down the steps, her heart beating faster with each step she took. Something wasn't right about this. She needed her father now, more than ever, but there was no way he was coming back to help her. Winter had to calm down; she could do this. It was just a walk in the city with a man, would it really be that bad?

While lost in thought, she met Phoenix at the bottom step, bumping into his side, almost making him tumble over. His foot slammed against the wood as he tried to regain his balance. Grumbling a little, he stood up straight. She chuckled before apologizing. "Sorry about that."

He waved his hand at her and grinned. "It's alright." As he moved out of her way and got closer to the front door of the kingdom, Winter took her last step down the stairs and landed on the floor.

Summer was standing next to Mother in the kitchen. Through the opening between the living room and the kitchen, she could tell they were talking about something, but she couldn't make out what. He caught her eye and smiled.

She hoped Mother wouldn't see where he was looking. Maybe she would get a little more time to herself. But it was already too late.

Her mother twisted around from behind the counter, placing her hands on the table to stop herself from spinning. "Oh, good! You both are ready! I did not arrange for a carriage to pick the two of you up, so it looks like you will be walking around. I'm sure you'll have a great time! Stay out as long as you want!" Her voice was cheerful as she looked towards Winter. Neither of them moved a step closer to the door. Her mother sighed, waving her hands towards them as she opened the door, shooing them out. "Go on, you two!"

"Where are they going?" Summer asked, heading towards Winter. She was relieved that he wanted to come along, at least the question held this little adventure off a bit longer.

"Winter's going to show Phoenix around Goldenfordge." She put a hand on Summer's shoulder. "And no, you can't go with them. You have to stay with me."

He sighed. "Why can't I ever be with my sister?"

"Well, today she needs to be with Phoenix. Other than that, you can be with her."

Summer moved away from Mother so her hand fell. "You know that's not true. You're always doing your best to keep her away from me. I want to know why."

"Don't argue with me, Summer." Mother walked in Winter's direction. "Go, have fun you two! We will see you later."

Winter looked back at her brother with a frown on her face, but she was proud that he tried to get the information they always wanted to know. Why were they always separated? Was it because she was cursed? She didn't know if that was really true, but if it was, what did her mother have against it?