Fly or Fall

Chapter Twenty

"I'm old enough to make my own decisions," Val practically yelled.

The empress laughed. "That is beside the point." She crossed her legs. "You are a princess and she is—"

"I love her," she said, desperate to have her mother understand. "Does that mean anything to you?

"I wish it did," her lips curled into a frown. "But we live in a world were love matters very little. Especially, when you have a crown on your head. We don't get the simple pleasure of being with the ones we love."

"What about you and dad?" Val asked. "Are you going to tell me you didn't love him?"

"I grew to love him," she answered. "As you will grow to love whoever I'll arrange for you to marry."

"No," she shook her head. "You can't make me marry anyone."

The empress smiled cruelly. "Darling," she stared intently into Val's eyes, "I'm the empress. I can make you do anything. Refuse me and your girlfriend spends the rest of her life in the dungeon."

"You can't," it was a plea.

"I won't," she promised, "as long as you obey me nothing will happen to her." Her expression softened. "Maybe one day you'll understand why I'm doing this. I only care about your well-being. This is for your own good."

Val scoffed before glaring indignantly at her mother. "Sure," she huffed. "You're forcing me to marry someone I don't love because it's for my own good. Just like forcing Nicco to marry Theana is for his own good. Because he hasn't been a fucking mess since you told him. You can pretend like you don't notice but I know you do. His calling out for your attention. I know as empress you're not used to this but listen. Listen to him. Listen to me. I know what's good for me."

She turned for the doors. "Valneela, you may believe that's true but you don't. None of you know anything," the empress said. Val clenched her fists, anger and frustration burning through her body then she walked out of the throne room.

"How'd it go?" Sage asked. She'd been waiting for her outside.

Val huffed. "How do you think?" she started down the hall. Sage followed after her.

"Hey," she stopped in front of her, "tell me what she said."

Val took in a deep breath reminding herself Sage wasn't the one she was angry with. "She wants me to get married," she explained.

"She can't make you."

Val shook her head. "It's what I said but... It's not like she's giving me a choice."

Sage tilted her head in question. "What do you mean?"

Val hesitated. She couldn't tell Sage about her mother's threat. If she did it'd accomplish nothing than making her guilty. "It doesn't matter," she said instead. "I'm not doing it. I love you, Sage. I want to be with you. Nothing she can do will ever keep us apart. We'll find a way. We always do."

>>>>>>>

The temple had stood at the summit of mount Selpp for over three hundred years. It cast a long dark shadow over the valley below it. Nothing had ever grown in that valley as far as Wenly could remember. The land was barren, the soil was like ash, rain never fell on this part of the island. Wenly stared down at the valley from the temple. Crows cawed and screeched perched up on dead trees. The prince's expression was crestfallen, his heart was heavy but his mind was clear. He knew what he had to do.