A Royal's Tale [COMPLETED]

Prologue

Lydia

Shouts chased after Lydia and Wilder as they sprinted around a corner. Pockets stuffed with food stolen from the kitchens, they raced through winding hallways. Servants let out shocked gasps, flattening themselves against the walls to avoid collisions.

The stone beneath Lydia's bare feet felt smooth and cool to the touch. Heart pounding in her chest, she spared a glance at Wilder, who gave her a wild grin in return. The pair dashed down a hallway that spat them out into the main foyer of the palace. Wilder skidded to a stop, Lydia barreling into him and nearly knocking him off his feet. Before she could make an ungraceful mess on the floor, he caught her around the waist.

A current of hurried servants streamed through archways and up and down stairs. For a breath, the two of them stood rooted to the spot, like an island in a storm. When a guard appeared from a corridor across the way, Lydia snagged Wilder's hand and pulled him in the opposite direction. The guard called to them, but they had no intention of stopping.

Diving through an archway, they came to an abrupt halt again, this time Lydia the one to blame. They were in the center ballroom with a flurry of servants in the throes of final preparations. This was not what had stopped Lydia, it was the two stasis figures standing amidst the commotion. Corwin and Vienna turned upon hearing Lydia and Wilder's frantic entrance.

At the beginning of his twenty-fourth year, Corwin already held himself like the king he would become. Vienna in her nineteenth year, only two years Lydia's senior, had the bearing of a queen. The brother and sister looked commanding standing side by side. In comparison, Lydia looked like a beggar plucked off the streets in her loose shirt and trousers.

When Vienna opened her mouth, Lydia twisted away and scrambled for the archway Wilder and she had just come through. Her motion was too rushed, she slipped on the polished stone, one hand touching the floor before she got her balance and took off.

The break for freedom barely lasted a heartbeat as two guards blocked the archway. Breathing hard, Lydia backed away from the approaching guards. She looked for another escape, but the only ones she could see were across the room. They would never make it before the guards stopped them. They were trapped.

"Wilder," one of the guards said. "Commander Ror is looking for you."

With an apologetic shrug and a quick mischievous smile to Lydia, Wilder followed the two guards out of the ballroom. As they disappeared, Prince Reen appeared. Second in line to the throne, he held himself with an air of authority but didn't have the rigid posture of Corwin. His unruly hair gave him an almost boyish look. A teasing gleam came to his eyes when he surveyed Lydia with her hair falling from its tail and her clothes disheveled.

"What did you do, fight the sand monsters?" he asked. His voice had a lightness to it that made you think a laugh hid not too far off. She smiled, swept into Reen's playful manner.

"No, stole almond cakes," she said.

Reen brightened. "Do you still have one?"

As Lydia pulled a flaky pastry from her pocket, behind her she heard Corwin grunt in disapproval while Vienna gave a resigned sigh.

"You shouldn't encourage her," Vienna said.

Stuffing half the cake into his mouth, Reen strode towards his siblings, nudging Vienna affectionately with his elbow.

"Relax, Vienna," Reen said. "There's a celebration tonight. You look as if you face death."

Standing together they looked the part of a royal family, Lydia the outsider amongst them.