The Princess and the Forest Mage

Chapter 1: Beauty and the Princess

Kingdom of Leory

Princess Loretta stood gazing through the window of her bedroom, her eyes lost toward the horizon, fixated on the burning flames that—with every passing minute—seared closer and closer to decimating her grandfather's beloved kingdom.

Demons had wreaked havoc through the city, destroying everything in their path, and it looked as though nothing would be able to stop those gruesome-looking creatures from tearing apart every living thing, every building, and every town that threatened to stand in their way.

"This is that madman's doing!" Loretta clenched her fists in rage.

Her deep blue eyes were caught up in the torment as she relived the old days of Leory—a kingdom in turmoil, almost on the brink of collapse.

She was a beautiful young lady now, nineteen years of age, and despite the fact that she had been born with a title and honor, life had never been easy for her.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

When she was but a baby girl, barely learning to walk, a revolution had taken place. An event that had pushed her grandfather, the King, away from the throne. Her family had been forced to abandon the capital city so they could survive to fight another day. There was little that Loretta had understood back then; that was a blessing as she managed to get through things with less suffering than the others did.

Always protected and loved by her grandfather, Loretta managed to grow into a strong, independent woman, one who looked at life with daring eyes. Now, the odds were stacked firmly against her and her family, as dark enemies were gathering for the battle.

Loretta's pondering was suddenly interrupted by a voice she used to know so well.

"Your grandfather, the King, is calling you, Princess Loretta."

As the princess turned her head slowly, she saw the lovely face of Rosalen, her maid. Rosalen was a special kind of girl. They'd met for the first time when Loretta was only seven years of age while living with her grandfather up in the northern lands, an area seeded with ageless oak forests. There, in a small forsaken village, Rosalen was living as an orphan after both her parents had died due to the plague. She ended up malnourished, wearing torn, raggedy clothes, begging on the muddy streets for a piece of bread.

As Loretta was riding with her grandfather on a horse, the connection happened. "I want her, grandpa. Can you buy her for me?"

At that time, both the Queen and Loretta's mother had succumbed to a terrible illness that had ravaged the lands, and she was the light of the King's eyes and, as such, he couldn't refuse his granddaughter's desire. Thus, Rosalen was taken in to work as Loretta's servant and personal aide.

The two little girls, roughly the same age, soon became the best friends in the world.

For the next four years, they spent all their days together, running through the village and forest, generally causing mischief of every sort. They chased the stray dogs and used sticks to build little houses in the nearby forest. They caught beetles and chased butterflies, and created great games of make believe, and they huddled together often to read books that Grandpa bought some for Loretta.

On the day of Loretta's eleventh birthday, her grandfather took both girls to a circus that came to perform nearby, so they could celebrate the special day.

Rosalen wanted to stay and watch the lion tamers, but Loretta was far more interested in seeking out one of the acrobats. He looked to be the same age as her, tall and lean, with sandy hair and the cutest smile that Loretta had ever seen.