Short Story Contest (Round 1/Prompt 1) The Princess Assassin

The Princess Assassin

Isabelle, the name was beautiful and yet was given to an ordinary maiden. She felt more than out-of-place, residing in the kingdom's village. Zariya sounded too false, but it was the name given to the kingdom and the village by their founder many decades ago. Of course there was a 'royal family' who reigned supreme. King Magnus ll and Queen Irina were the proud rulers and parents of the one and only Princess Yelena of Zariya.

It was all a bunch of hypocrisy, if you asked Isabelle herself for an opinion. Everyone thought that the royal class was their saviour. She thought the same thing once. In fact Izzy herself admired them for half of her life, up until she turned 16 and learned the cold, hard truth. Her opinion of the Princess was a whole lot different though.

Yelena was something else entirely they amazed Isabelle. She suspected the whole village loved her even more, seeing as they always threw the phrase 'beloved one' in her parents faces. She was the representation of peace and prosperity. Though she never showed it Isabelle never hid her amusement whenever the princess took the reign right underneath the rulers' noses. The raven-haired country girl felt admiration swirl at the thought of her, wishing that the entirety of the royal family were like her. It was in her to resent how her parents so obviously tried to cage her like a worthless bird. Not so coincidentally she was on her train of thought as Isabelle prepared for bed, ever since the Great Battle it was just her living in this empty house. Her parents were slaughtered, and her only sibling disappeared into thin air, and she gave up, trying to find them a long time ago. Surprisingly, it was the princess and her spirit that kept Isabelle going and kept her motivated enough to survive. She hoped that when the Princess claimed the throne she would change this kingdom's ways for the better. Thought it didn't stop her from wishing that by some miracle there would be news quickly spread of the rulers taking ill or just disappearing. All of this weighed in her her head as she melancholically forced herself to sleep. Once sleep finally did come to her, she found herself in the same nightmare that always preyed on her.

A sudden bang from somewhere made Isabelle scream and jerkily rise out of bed. Her widened ice-blue eyes wildly analysed her completely silent room. It was all the same as she left it earlier which as a result calmed her racing heartbeat back to normal. Wiping her dreary eyes she was ready to dismiss it as a part of her nightmare, and get any remaining sleep that was possible for herself. The next bout of clanging and pattering made her stop and freeze, her muscles tightening inside her rigid body.

None of Isabelle moved as she heard the patter of footsteps grow closer. Finally as the tension grew too much to bear, the beautiful-haired girl climbed out of bed and carefully padded silently inside the room. She held her breath as her shaky hands, found their way on a wooden broom. Holding it by the front she took a deep breath and started creeping towards the door. It took Izzy a few moments to realise that it wasn't a nightmare, and there was really a burglar in her house. Isabelle's entire body was shaking at this point, reaching the door knob, she didn't even know if she would even successfully knock them out with the rackety thing. My hand pressed on the golden latch made me grow a rush of confidence and I quickly whooshed the door open only to meet face-to-face with.... the so-called burglar.

There was just absolute silence between her and the assumed burglar, her jaw then completely falls on the floor, when they raise their head, and reveal themselves to be... none other than Princess Yelena.

"So, you've caught me," she says, with an icy glare straight at me.

"Your h-highness, what?. I mean how?" I stammer our feeling a million questions flooding into my brain.

"It is a very long and complicated story that you probably won't love to hear. Any last words?" She asks sinisterly pressing her hand in your throat and holding a sharply pointed knife.

"Please. Don't, I admire a-and look up to you so much?" She managed to get out while starting to suffocate but it ended up sounding like a question.

The words escaping her mouth seemed to make a change, to the princess, and Izzy felt her loosen her grip on her throat and lower down the knife. "I don't believe that. Everyone thinks my parents are the saviours of the country."

Isabelle rolled her eyes at that famous phrase, wishing that she could stop hearing people say it, and she turned to meet Yelena's gaze with new determination, managing to take a gulp of breath, "I, hate your parents. They are fake. They represent everything I hate." she mumbles loud enough for the hooded princess to hear, who in turn starts to smirk slightly. Letting go of my throat makes me take a deep breath and step back slightly, but the Princess only stepped closer to her.

It was as if she was analysing every part of me as she started circling me almost like a predator sizing up their prey. When she stopped Yelena just looked at me with her cold blue gaze. "I will let you live. On one condition of course." She blurted out. The relief finally washed over me, knowing that they were sparing my life. "What is it?" I squeaked pathetically in desperation. The princess just narrows her eyelids and opens her mouth... "Run away with me."