Lovely Things: The Mountain Castle

Tick. Tick. Tick... The clock on the wall moved, the hands winding round and round, yet time stood still. There seemed to be no end in sight; only a beginning that had been frozen in place. 

Ophelia knew her life was different than those around her. She was the only daughter to the King. The only one of his eight children who did not contain a lick of power. And for that, she paid dearly. Until the day her power showed itself, Ophelia was trapped inside the castle at her father's behest, unable to run the fields of wildflowers, unable to breathe in the fresh breeze. She was trapped; dreaming of a life outside. A life of freedom.

Alistair had always done what was expected of him. He married, he had children, and he contributed wherever he could to the betterment of his village. But something called to him within his dreams. It was a calling he couldn't ignore, and one that he tried to forget. It was a call for help; a call of destiny.

Tick tick tick. Even though the ticking of the clock meant nothing, time was running out.