TODAY WAS A DAY OF CHANGE, an emotional and mental change. The type of change you feel in the air.
I feel it before it happens. Like a low buzz of energy underneath my skin that makes me lightheaded.
Every time something of significance is about to happen, I feel it.
I felt it before Father failed to show up to my seven-year-old birthday, the next day, he was found gravely wounded close to Revillon borders.
I felt it the moment Mother got pregnant. She lost the baby a few months later.
I feel it now, I've felt it since this morning.
My head jerked to the door of the Queen’s waiting chambers, as the guards pulled it open and my parents walked in regally.
“Mother, Father,” I greeted them with an incline of my head.
The King returned my greeting with a warm smile and the Queen ignored me.
Typical.
Queen Vanisha sat by the fireplace where a warm fire crackled dispelling the cold winter air, and she gestured opposite her for me to do the same.
Seating was the last thing I wanted to do but pacing anxiously does not exude the strength my mother expects of Gaham’s princess, so I sat and tried my best not to tap my feet.
"Zura,” Father started, his voice solemn and his face grave. “Our spy in the Berravin court just got back to us,”
He paused and shared a look with my mother.
“What is it?” My voice shook with uncertainty.
“Berravin is after your head. They’ve sent an assassin,”
A small chuckle of relief left my lips. “Is that all?” I asked incredulously.
“I’ve been sick with worry since I received your summons. An assassin is not a problem. Berravin has been getting bold lately, I’ll deal with it,”
“Zura,” Father shook his head. “Not this time,”
I smiled softly.
“Father,” I began in a patronizing voice. “I’m trained, I’ll—”
“Don’t be stupid Arielle!” The Queen cut me off. “Your pesky training is not enough—”
“Pesky?” My mouth dropped open in shock. “I was trained by Vladin himself,”
I feel mocked.
Rumors of me have traveled as far as Revillion and I’m called the Shadow Princess for a reason.
My training is certainly not pesky and I don’t consider a miserable assassin from Berravin a threat.
“Quiet girl.” The Queen hissed. “Even Vladin will use wisdom in a situation like this. You’re just a princess. That Assassin will crush you like dust,”
Anger swirled in the pit of my stomach. “You’re keeping something from me, aren’t you? We both know I can handle the assassin so tell me? What is it?”
King Andres and the Queen shared a look.
I took in a deep breath to calm down
“I can handle the assassin without breaking a sweat. Just tell me. What are you keeping from me?”
Queen Vanisha and the King exchanged a look again.
This time, Father spoke. “Prince Scott himself is after you and the Assassin is his dog,”
My stomach dropped. So the cruel Bastard finally caved and decided to come after me himself. And he sent his dog.
My stomach flipped.
Everyone in the three kingdoms has heard of Andal, though I doubt anyone has actually seen the man and lived to tell the tale.
Yes. The man. Because that’s exactly what Prince Scott’s dog is. A man who can change into a dog at will. Well, not a dog but a wolf.
We just call him a dog because of his undying loyalty to his feared master.
“It’s because I took the Valley isn’t it?” The question left my lips in a whisper.
Mother gave a nod. “We’ve been at war with Berravin for years. He has endured you been taking over territories with no serious backlash but this one hit too close to home. The Prince wants you dead and he’s sent his best to do it,”
“I suppose I should be flattered he thinks so highly of my abilities. I’ll have to train more and of course, prepare—”
Mother shook her head immediately and stood to her feet. “Doesn’t matter. By the time the assassin gets here, you’ll be far away in Revilon,”
I blinked in surprise unsure if she was joking. “Revillon? I’ll be traveling to Revillon?”
“Not just traveling Arielle. You’ll live undercover in Revillon for the next one year. In disguise, you’ll just be another noble lady of the Revillon court,”
“No no,” My mind went blank with panic as I turned to Father. “I... I don’t understand, You don’t mean that. Do you?”
But even as I asked the question, my heart knew the answer. Mother never says anything she doesn’t mean.
“You leave at dawn,” The Queen turned her back on me, signaling the end of the conversation.
Leave? What would my soldiers think of me? The Shadow princess ran for her life.
“No no, Mother please,” I got to my feet and hurriedly pulled back her hand while Father watched with sad eyes. “I’ll train harder. I’ll prepare for him. I’ll do anything. Please, Mother, I can’t leave Gaham. I can’t run. I can’t—”
“You can and will do everything I command,” She hissed as she pushed my hand away coldly.
I grew frantic with panic. “No, no. Father!” I turned to the King for help but he remained silent so I turned back to her. “Mother, please!”
“YOUR MAJESTY!” She corrected me coldly. “I’m not only your mother, I am your queen and I command you. Get ready Arielle. Come daylight, you’ll be on a carriage to Revilon with a new name and new identity,”
I wanted to break something. To scream and yell and cry my frustration as tears pricked my eyelids and my stomach swirled with fear.
But I was frozen. I couldn’t show any weakness. Not when the Queen had drilled power into me from a young age.
“Now, remember,” Queen Vanisha’s voice softened as she turned around and placed a finger under my chin.
“You are Arielle Azura Theron. Princess and first Daughter of Gaham.
You are my daughter. You are a soldier in my army. You do not show weakness and You do not yield,”
When I walked out of the queen's waiting room, Kezira stood outside waiting for me. I did not have to tell her what had happened, she could read me as easily as I could read her. Kezira is my ladies maid, I wouldn't go as far as saying she is my best friend. I don't t keep friends but Kezira comes close enough."None of this makes sense. Her majesty just wants me to run away, what of my soldiers, who's going to lead them?" I asked Kezira in annoyance as I walked away from the door and stalked down the hallway.The ladies of the court knew better than to test me, they all walked briskly like scared kittens, eager to get away from the warrior princess before they experienced my wrath. Wouldn't be the first time. "Azura calm down, I think it's mostly for your protection" Kezira said as she walked briskly in an attempt to keep up with me. Kez is the only person person apart from my parents who calls me by that name."It was a rhetorical question, if you're not going back me up, then plea
THE STORY OF THE ANCIENTS CLAIM you become the opposite of yourself when you dream. Well I can confirm, that's a lie.I dreamt. For a long time, but became nothing. Just darkness and a deep void.My eyes fluttered open to extreme silence and the smell of chemicals. Heat seemed to waft from a corner of the dark wagon I was in and my mouth tasted like wool. A woman sat at the edge of the wagon, stooped over a sachet in her hands, her clothes were the dirty brown of revillon slaves and her silver hair was tied in a tight bun at her neck."I see, you're awake,” Her voice startled me “ I was thinking we'ere goin to have to toss ya out. I sure am glad you didn't tun out to be completely useless after all,”Her voice was hoarse from years of overuse, and I could tell from her accent, she had been around the Braavasi for a long time. "Well, what are ya waitin for? Sit up and lemme take a look at ya” She was surprisingly nimble as she walked over to the edge of my makeshift bed.I tried to si
I FELT THE HARD GRAVEL PRICKING MY SKIN before I heard the noises. The gruff voices of strange men laughing and jeering, the injured horses whining helplessly, A girl screaming with a voice so loud, it pierced my muddled brain. But I couldn't command her to stop, I couldn't even move to look at her, every cell in my body hurt but it was strangely peaceful. I mean If I died, then I would be free of all responsibilities and unspoken pressure. Maybe the queen would even miss me, I know she'll definitely not cry at my funeral --that's a major sign of weakness. Okay, lets see what I can feel. I think I'm laying down on the ground, maybe under the carriage because I can feel a heavy weight on my hips but I can't feel anything in my legs. My Sarfar(Revillionain scarf) had been ripped away, but the wind couldnt move my hair. My long tresses were stuck to my face in the places where there was blood. The screaming stopped abruptly and I opened my eyes. Okay, I was right, I'm on the floor
I COULD FEEL A number of things. I could feel the pain in my bad leg and the ache in my slightly better leg, I could feel the cool midday breeze on my bare chest where my clothes had been ripped off, I could feel the rough hand palming my right breast. I opened my eyes quickly and tried to push the offending hand away, but I could only muster a weak pat. Loud laughter followed my measly attempt at attacking the hand, and I looked around. I was outside the tent now, in something like a mainsquare. Several men surrounded me, and they bickered over whether or not I was worth much. "I reckon she'll do alright. She's got a lil spirit that's for sure" A man whose name I later learnt was Tim said. He was the one who was feeling my breasts. I tried to push him away again but that just ignited more laughter. Another man dressed in Revillionian attire stepped towards me and started caressing my bad leg. "But I doubt she can do much with that leg. I don't buy damaged goods." "Nonsense! We g
THE NEXT MORNING, I wish I could say I was awoken by beams of sunlight or maybe even the chirping of birds. Those would have been pleasant.But no.When I woke up, I couldn't even identify, if it was night or noon. The tent was that thick. With no windows and just a door flap, its a wonder we didn't suffocate.Somehow, during the course of the night, Kezira had moved and now layed curved in on herself. I don't know how she was so comfortable sleeping there. Hell even I, don't know how I slept through the night. Must be some of the magic left in my system.When the flaps were thrown open for the first time that day, I knew we had arrived somewhere critical.I could feel the difference in the air. The men whispering excitedly among themselves. The new spring they had in their steps. Even the horses seemed brighter somehow. Like they knew something good was up.The braavasi are normads, they move, they capture, they trade.But its only natural that throughout the years, some of them had
I DIDN'T HAVE TO WAIT LONG to find out, cause the next hallucination that came was indistinguishable from reality. One minute I was trudging along the line and the next, I was swamped by a dead ringing in my skull that made me scream and fall to the ground. For the next few minutes, I wavered in and out of consiousness.I vaguely remember them putting me in a crate filled with other items that were to be sold.I remember the musty smell of the crate and how cramped my limbs were. The crate stopped once- I thinkCause I remember the smell of Missy's poultice applied on my leg.When I eventually regained full conciousness, we had arrived. My leg was healed and I was a mess.The crate was opened by the goons and when I was let out, I stood on my feet.I smelt as bad as the stable hand we had in the palace and I'm sure I looked way worse.The other captives were no better.As we had already been sold, our masters were waiting at the port of entry to collect us.We had arrived Mistlyn, th
THE BATHING ROOM was tiny, dingy and smelled like piss.It was dimly lit with a torch that did little to provide light. It was lined with tiny cubicle-like bathroom stalls about ten of them. The stalls each had no doors, one small shower head fixed above and green algae growing on the walls.The room was filled with the sound of some of the girls crying. Some of the women working at the brothel were just leaving the bathroom when we entered. Madam Claire stood at a corner of the bathroom quietly inspecting us with the help of two of her goons. Some of the girls who were branded before me, were already naked and being pushed into the stalls by the two goons who worked for madam Claire. Kezira and I hung back, unprepared to take off our clothes in front of the men.A small meek looking woman who was introduced as Merra pushed small cut pieces of cheap soap into the hands of all the girls present including us. When the goons were moving their inspection closer to Kez and I, I unconc
THE DOOR TO that dark room opened the next day, at least I think it was the next day, I wouldn't know. Since Madam Claire has decided I was a bad investment, her soldiers didn't bother wasting her food on me.It was so cold, alone in my thin strip of a dress, I was freezing and my teeth were chattering by the time they came to take me away. I wasn't taken through the brothel, lest my dirt and smell irritate the important clients. No, I was taken through the rear of the brothel. I only saw Kezira once, and it was enough to break my spirit and stop me from fighting.She had taken a bath and looked considerably cleaner. She had makeup on, the rosy blush bringing life to her cheeks. She stood beside a client and when he whispered in her ear, she laughed. I was struggling against the guards hauling me towards the rear exit when I heard the sound of Kez's laughter. The moment I saw her laughing, all the fight went out of me, and I just fell limp and allowed them to carry me away.I was