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It was darkness as far as the eye could see. An unwelcoming gloom, in which only the ones accustomed were able to find their way, while the less fortunate would wander around until the end of time in the underground maze. With twisting tunnels and hidden passageways, steep stairs carved into stone and slopes with uneven surfaces, this system of caves and mineshafts, the Kingdom of Darkness lay inside the womb of the mother Earth, somewhere under the other kingdoms that flourished in the light of the Sun. In the light, of which not a ray would hit the stones down there. Only silence, occasionally broken by the dribbling of dripstones would rule the obscurity of this place.
But however impenetrable the quietness of the tunnels seemed, it would not last forever. Like the calm before the storm, footsteps sounded against the rigid flooring. Slowly but steadily, someone roamed through the unlit passages in the night. Or was it day, maybe twilight already? Who could tell, in this constant state of dark, one so firm that even the bravest would find the footsteps eerie?
What monsters could the darkness hide? Were they strong like the branches of the forest, durable like the eagles of the desert, or sharp like the wolves of the Kingdom of Eternal Ice? Did they have giant teeth, pointed claws and… it was a girl. No ghoul, no beast, nor an evil spirit who disturbed the peace of the labyrinth. She was alone, but wasn’t scared at all. With one steady hand touching the walls, the other was gripping the rim of her skirt tightly, lifting it up around her ankles with the utmost elegance. Nobody could see her, yet she was leaping between rocks gracefully, similarly to the movements of a butterfly. Her fair hair was pinned away by the bangs, allowing way to a pair of clear eyes, which were now acutely searching for something in the dark. She’d been wandering in the tunnels for quite some time, after having escaped the attention of the mole guards and her private tutor. They’re probably looking for her frantically right now, calling out her name and asking every passerby if they’d seen her, and in spite of that, Diamante didn’t care at all.
Yes, she may have been the princess of darkness, yet her words were no more than a child’s inept talk, not orders for these people. What’s the point of calling one royalty if a few hours of alone time was too much to demand?, she thought. But she didn’t have the nerve to stay there, in her palace, studying about those distant lands she would never be able to see with her own eyes again. They made her sad, angry even. So, when her tutor wasn’t paying attention, she slipped away from the study room and ran until her lungs could take. It’s been only a few years — three, perhaps four — since she had been living in the kingdom, but she already knew the tunnels like the back of her hand. After her successful escape, during which she had managed to distance herself from the larger caves and populated areas where they’d be searching for her, she had had no clue what to do next. That was only until she discovered a few interesting crystals wedged in the walls of the shaft she was walking through. With her sight well-adjusted to the murkiness of the underground, Diamante was an expert at differentiating regular rocks from valuable minerals and gems, which she put to good use whenever she needed more materials for a bracelet or a brooch.
She had been collecting the crystals for a while now, probably a good two hours, and however confident she was in her skills of orientation, her attention wavered. Before she could yelp, her velvet shoes slipped on a damp stone and she found herself with her back against the moisty flooring.
“Even my own kingdom is against me”, she muttered to herself while she folded her legs and sat up. “And the ones they teach me about are out of reach.”
She had been thinking about her sisters a lot lately. Since their separation, none of them could talk to each other or leave their own kingdom for a visit. At first, the sense of an important duty made it easier to stay alone, but as the years went by, Diamante had to admit that she questioned her father’s decision more than a few times. But who could she complain to? Her parents went missing shortly after they said their goodbyes to their children, and even if they were still alive, Diamante had no way of telling them how she felt about her life in the darkness.
Initially, she was amazed by the network of caves, the salt mines, underground settlements and of course, the gems the primordial rocks hid, nevertheless, that thrill was now dulled, and all that remained was a feeling of longing, a yearning for the world outside, a world with her sisters and the Sun.
Sometimes she felt envious, even if she denied it. Her memories of the surface kingdoms were slowly fading, but all the pictures she could make out filled her chest up with warmth: snowy fields and impulsive geysers, the vast sight of the golden desert, the billowing waves of the sea, the rustling of millions of leaves… All that beauty had been taken away from her. She was trapped in the cold embrace of Darkness, which on one hand, fascinated her with its glimmering crystals, colourful pools and enormous caves, still, on the other, made her feel like a forgotten ring locked inside a jewel box.
As she was frustratedly contemplating, she noticed a sudden flash in the corner of her eye. With a delicate entrance, a huge butterfly appeared, glowing in the dark like a dim lantern.
“It seems you’ve found me”, smiled Diamante, gently holding out a hand for the feeble creature to settle on. The faint light from its wings revealed the colourful crystals the princess had dropped while she had fallen on the wet stones. “You and your sisters are always there for each other when in need.”
She wondered whether this applied to her and her family as well.
The butterfly positioned itself on Diamante’s fingers, with its hairy legs slightly tickling them, which gave the princess a small chuckle. She pensively admired the insect’s intricate features, as if she was examining one of her most dazzling gems. Its clear wings never failed to make her memories of Arcandida resurface. Maybe that’s why her father gifted them to her before his departure: serene little creatures, bright like the snowflakes that fall from up above. Up above. It was strange to think how far that was, further than Diamante ever wanted it to be. A sudden wave of emotion hit her, making her eyes water until the very first teardrop rolled down her cheeks. As she covered her eyes with one hand to wipe away the signs of her distress, the butterfly suddenly leapt into the air and quickly waltzed into the direction to where it had come from. The princess wanted to call out to it but her voice quickly cracked, and so she got abruptly silenced by her own crying.
She felt pathetic, curled up on the ground with her back against the humid wall. All she had ever wanted was to understand what the purpose of her and her sisters’ solitude was. Of course, their kingdoms all suited them, the Wise King had made sure of that. Samah’s heart called for the scorching desert and the vivid culture of its people; Kalea’s life was all about the sea, from low to high tides; Yara had an affinity for adventure, something the jungle wasn't short of; and Nives, her twin sister, who found peace in the pearly white snowfields. Lastly, she was introduced to her very own kingdom, the one of Darkness, and once again, her father was ultimately right. It was the perfect match for her, or so she thought. She loved the whispers of wind in the tunnels that became warmer and warmer as one descended to the lower levels, moreover, she adored the iridescent water of the underground pools, and spent most of her time crafting little jewellery, for which she could easily find any materials she needed. But even in her happiest moments, why did she feel so incomplete? What was it that she oh-so missed? Was it the company or the sunshine? She wouldn’t have been able to choose between them, even if her life depended on it. In the end, they weren’t that different from one another, a smile of a sister and a ray of a burning star.
Merely when Diamante landed upon this thought, the flames of the globe in the sky appeared in front of her, sending shivers down her spine as their light hit her pale skin and crawled across the folds of her silky dress. The brightness laid hand on the fallen crystals on the ground, which amplified it and turned it into a shimmering play of colours. The princess squinted, bewildered, thinking she might’ve fallen asleep and was just dreaming. Still, the light show seemed more than an illusion of the mind — yet it was unbelievably alluring, with the gem’s amorphous pictures projected all around the empty passageway, exactly like a kaleidoscope.
It was only when the “star” got closer that she realized it wasn’t pure flares glowing in front of her but hundreds of luminous butterflies. By flapping their fragile wings, they created a scene so otherworldly, Diamante hadn’t recognized them at first.
Not only did the butterfly come back, it brought the others along as well! Now they twisted and turned in the air, dancing around the princess as she got up from the ground, drying her tears away, still shocked with amazement. As strange as these insects were, they made themselves understood very clearly: they told her everything was going to be alright. A few of them settled on Diamante, covering her hair, her arms and her dress, while the rest continued to produce a whirlwind of shooting stars in the depths of the underground, as if it was their way of proving to her she was never to be deprived of beauty down here. They carried on until she was finally smiling again, and only then they took a seat on the walls, composing a sparkling cover on it.
Suddenly, the pieces of the puzzle, Diamante’s scattered thoughts all started to make sense. She wasn’t down here as a punishment, but if she made herself think of it that way, the Kingdom of Darkness would turn into her prison. She knew very well she wouldn’t let that happen. Her duty was to rule and to take a stand in the name of the people of her kingdom. It was the same task the King ensured each of his daughters with. No crying would fix what had been done, but if she strived more to make this place her home, maybe all that longing, all that pain would ease for once. Deep down, she knew there’d be a day when she’d see her sisters’ faces, perhaps tainted with the rays of the Sun. But for now, her role tied her to the depths of this land.
She finally turned her back to the empty tunnel and started to walk towards the way she had come from. With every step, she chose her kingdom, her people, her instincts. It wasn’t obedience that drove her, it was endurance and curiosity. If her destiny was truly written in the heavy stones of this kingdom, then so be it — she was ready to prove herself. Now, more than ever, she felt no need of the Sun: her army of butterflies, loyal sisters of elegance, accompanied her like a blinding veil of light, beacons in the darkness, as she began to return to her palace, leaving only her shadow behind.