Frumbloire Castle

Chapter 1

I should have known that my beautiful black horse ‘Attitude’, was always wiser then me, and that was not exactly the thing I should have really known. The thing that I should have known was not to enter that castle. Attitude was whining and trying to buck me of her back, but I had gripped her reins and calmed her down, though she was reluctant. That’s me I’m talking about. I am Emily Tiffany. My parents had died in a car accident (or at least that’s what they say), and I was to be imported to Frumbloire castle owned by my aunt, known as Queen Tiffany, who had died mysteriously about months ago. The thing I didn’t get was how I was related to the royal-blood family, and how I had ended up getting here. My mother had never talked about my aunt having a place like this, but the minute I walked through the shimmering gates with Attitude, a friendly looking man with a fancy little mustache was out to greet me, his hand outstretched, and his insane smile creeping out at me.
“Hullo, so you are the Emily that Mrs. Tiffany had been talking about?”
“But-I don’t think I’ve ever seen her before!”
The man went scarlet, which I had no idea to, of why. “Heavens, umm...I think you should come in because well…I think you know why.” He gritted his teeth (he was trying to make them chatter), and led me inside. “Oh, that horse, I’ll get Bethany- I mean uh…Erica ‘the maid’ to take that horse to the stables, fancy for some breakfast? I myself prefer that I am a good cooker, care to judge?”
I glanced over his shoulder from the entrance, and saw beautiful silky draping hanging for curtains, and glimmering sequences hanging from the crème-beige walls. But what interested me was the painting lined with silver framing; it was a woman. She had intelligent blue eyes, and blond curly hair, tight in a shimmering pony-tail. Her lips were pink and pearly, and next to her was a giant man, shades of gray all over his face, looking very violent. “So is this my mothers sister?” I asked the man.
“Oh, yes and the man next to her is her husband, who is still alive.” He said, wrinkling his nose. “By the way, my name’s Tom Soufflé; call me Chef Soufflé, or Chef Tom. Either one will do.” He opened up the entrance, and led me onto a fancy red table. “Today, Mr. Tiffany or aka Allen Tiffany is inviting his new wife to dinner. You can have a quick breakfast, but I hope you don’t mind staying in your room for the rest of the afternoon, do you?” Having no other choice, I obeyed, but my unhappiness quickly vanished when I saw my dishes: Creamy cheese soufflé, and hot chicken soup, along with little tasty treats, that I had never seen before. My soup which was too hot, had to be left on the table for a while, sadly. I jumped of me red plump chair, and started looking unsurely around the kitchen; I barely knew anyone. As I put a hand on one of the wall decorations, I heard a little click. A tiny hole not much wider than a pinky appeared on the wall, and a tiny egg-holder chucked out at me. It was way too small for and egg, but it was charming. It included a pearl pink enamel egg fit to be in the egg-holder, which was lined with beautiful golden trimmings, carefully engaged. I ran my fingers along the edge of the egg holder, and wondered if this was a priceless treasure I was supposed to inherit after Queen Tiffany. Running up to Chef Tom who was still serving hot trays at the table, I showed him the egg and the egg holder, and suddenly he looked guilty.
“Umm… can I have it?” I asked.
Chef Tom hesitated, and then nodded solemnly. Inspecting the treasure, I also added “Why are there other portraits too?” On the walls were pictures of royal looking people, all looking beautiful and happy, just like Queen Tiffany. “Those are uh… pictures of other queens.” Chef Tom prodded unhappily as if he were in a rush.
“From this castle? I thought my aunt was the only one who lived here before.”
“Oh, she was. These are other famous queens.”
“Never seen them before. By the way, how did my aunt die?”
“Okay, you know what? Here’s the deal. Ask no more questions and I’ll say no more about that tragic…umm…story.” He shot at me, gritting his teeth. Just in time, a loud ringing had echoed through the castle, and Chef Tom went to get the door. I stared after him, and then followed to the main room which was connected with the dining room. I watched as the door opened, and saw a woman dressed in a purple gown step in to the castle. Her black hair was tied into a tight bun; she had dark green eyes and really dark lips. Next to her was what seemed like my aunt’s husband in the portrait, except his eyes looked crueler, and had patches of bruises on his face. Even though he was wearing a heavy scarlet suit, something shone like gold, on his arm. “Okay then.” Chef Tom whispered silently to me. “Your new mum is here.”

The Clue in the Book
Chapter 2

“WHAT?” I shouted again, as chef Tom tried to calm me down.
“Your aunt expected your mother to inherit all this property, but your mother died, and her next will was to your father, but he died too, so it went to you. She was just going to let you live in it, but she died too, so the castle is yours. But that still means that Queen Tiffany’s husband is allowed here, and because you are the princess here, he is the king, which means he’s your father, and his new wife is going to be your mother. Do you get it know?”
“No, I don’t, and there is no way you’ll make me call her ‘mother’, for god sakes.”
“Then be that way, see what happens.” He snorted, as he tromped out of my room. My room was so charming, with tiny doll furniture and light blue walls; it was all enormous. I had no TV or technology, but a lot of books and writing paper. At eight in the night, I sneaked downstairs to catch a glimpse of Queen Gabrielle, as Chef Tom called her. Her hair was now damp and in loses curls, she was prettier, but her husband who was ‘my father’, did not look any better. I tiptoed to a large green plant perched on the glassy marble floor, and hid behind it.
“No, Allen, there should be some other way we could tell her.” Sara Gabrielle was telling her husband. “Besides, other than sign language, do you think writing a note to her would help?” I was confused. What on earth were they talking about?
“No, but I have and idea, and I can’t tell you in front of Emily.” He said coldly, staring right at me. As Sara turned around in her seat, I froze, and closed my eyes. I didn’t notice that my head in bare sight, and my brown auburn long hair, latched all over the floor.
“Hello, Emily. Can I please ask you to come here?” Mrs. Gabrielle asked me dryly. I hesitated, and then stood up. “Now that’s perfect dear, I have something for you, now if you just come to my room.”
I guiltily followed her up, wondering what she was going to do to me. As we passed the second floor corridor, Chef Tom who was going to his room had been eyeing my new ‘parents’, suspiciously.
“Now, now Sarah, don’t you think it’s a bit late?” He asked. “Ms. Tiffany here needs some peaceful sleep. You don’t want her to be too tired tomorrow, when we introduce Kiro. She needs to save up some energy for your playing in the fields.”
Queen Gabrielle which was going to be Queen Tiffany sooner or later looked suddenly offended. “My stepdaughter will not play in those fields.” She replied bitterly. “Unlike you, I know the danger of loosing her. If she weren’t my stepdaughter, I would’ve never let her in, with you for company.”
“Oh, Sarah, when do you ever get me? Remember the rules. Not in front of Emily!” Chef Tom hushed.
“What is everybody talking about?” I asked. “I hate when people say not in front of Emily!” What are the rules, exactly?”
Mr. Tiffany growled at me. Under his black eye was a scar that seemed to be some sort of picture. “Now you girly, you just go to bed now and stay out of it!” He howled at me, his grey metal eyes glaring with anger. I shuddered and quickly ran up to my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. So I just laid there on my bed for an hour, before I got up to lazily take a shower and brush my teeth. I was up till midnight reading Harry Potter, until a gentle knock landed on my door.
“Who is it?” I asked moodily.
“It’s Sarah; I’d rather have you call me by my first name.”
“Okay then, ‘Sarah’. What do you want?”
Immediately, the door opened, and Sarah had hushed me outside. I was about to pull back, but a deep instinct held me still, a slithering sensation made me sweep towards her, as I entered her room. The room was not appealing, in fact it was straight darn ugly. The beautiful green wallpaper was shredded down on the floor, revealing a blank stony wall, the bed was all lumpy, and the light was so dim, that I could barely see my step mothers face. She silently slipped an old brown book which probably contained seven-hundred pages in it, and took a furry feather out of a faint-blue box she was holding. She flipped through a few-hundred pages, and tucked the feather carefully in a specific place. I wanted to just walk out on her, but my feet felt like a million pounds. Slowly, the image faded, my eyelids closed, and the next moment, it was morning and the book was still in my hands.


Dear Diary,
Frumbloire seems to be a wonderful place, Chef Blue is an ambitious but kind Chef. Because I’m to be married when I’m sixteen which is my age now, I went through some provocations with the maids. They did not like Allen Tiffany, but he was young, handsome, and humorous. My little sister Amy was with me today, we had lots of fun, picking out my wedding dress, but still, I’m not very sure of the secret in Frumbloire Castle. It was in the library.
R.K