The Queen

chapter 1

      Thus began the story of Maudre Renée Victoria  Bordeaux, the daughter of Baron de Bordeaux.  Any girl in present-day Carvéiq would be honoured to be in Maudre's position, to everyone else she had a perfect life, the daughter of the most affluent man in  Carvéiq who was rumoured to have more gold in his personal storage than the kingdom's treasury, from her dresses to the jewels on her neck, everything was tailor-made by the best merchants with the finest materials and in the aspect of beauty Maudre just couldn't be regarded as an ordinary lady. Although she had two sisters, she was always treated better than the rest, her father had always told her that she was destined for greater heights and she believed so too, that is ...until her" destiny" came knocking in the form of an invite to the annual tribute ball held by the Carvéiq royalty in honour of Vréur, the land which had conquered Carvéiq a decade ago and kept them under her guidance.  It was quite normal for Victoria to have received an invitation to the ball due to her family status but the event that occurred that afternoon made this ball seem to her a death sentence of sorts.
     That afternoon, as per her usual habit Victoria had gone to her father's study to join him for the afternoon tea . She met him in a sombre mood, the father and daughter had a close relationship and they usually shared their problems. Baron de Bordeaux knew that Victoria was smarter than the average human but even still she shocked him every time she spoke . Her wisdom was the reason for many successes of the Bordeaux family.
"Papa what's the matter, you don't seem to be in a good mood" she asked sweetly. Baron de Bordeaux looked at his daughter, he wished he didn't need to tell her but this issue greatly concerned her and so it'd be impossible not to let her know.
"Victoria my dear, the king sent for me this morning and he told me a few things which happened to concern you "Only saying those words, he stopped to observe her; the colour half drained from her skin and the light in her eyes dimmed considerably, it was almost as if she knew what he was about to say.
"Yes Papa," he went on                             "He informed me that he has made arrangements for you to wed the Crown prince of Vréur"

He stopped once more to observe her countenance before continuing.
" The prince arrived today to attend the tribute ball as the envoy of Vréur. He hopes to meet his proposed bride during his stay. I know this is a shock to you but you must understand that this must be done to ensure the safety and continuity of Carvéiq."
"Yes Papa "was all she could say as she exited the room.
Victoria had always been a strong woman although outwardly she had the appearance of a frail young miss that was all it was - An appearance-even when she was wronged she was always able to help herself but for the first time in her life, her strength was useless; she was helpless and there was nothing she could do about her current situation.

    The king of Carveiq had no daughters, victoria's mother madame de Bordeaux was the only daughter of the late king and so unofficially, Victoria was a second-generation princess. For days after receiving the news of her engagement from her father, Victoria shut the world out She had been trying her very best to conjure up a solution to her problem but to no avail. There was no loophole, if she refused the king's verdict her family would be punished.If she chose to run off after marriage Carveiq would be thrown into chaos and for the first time the usually optimistic Victoria had a pessimistic thought - a means to an end - if she no longer existed in this world she wouldn't have to marry the Vreurian prince, another bride would be chosen and her family and all of Carveiq would be safe.

   It was a little past the hour of twelve, the family that inhabited the grand mansion and its servants had long retired but one figure stalked the path to the lake. victoria had always loved the lake as a child she had been nicknamed " fish" because of her love for the lake, she would always spend the entire day at the lake after her lessons but then she had to grow up and now she could only glance at it from afar. She chose to die in the lake because the water had always felt like home -her own space where she could be who she wanted to be.

 The water was ice cold but that didn't stop her, she continued to move further and further until she was underneath it she closed her eyes and let the water lead her. Tomorrow, there would be no Victoria just the memory of the person they thought she was.