She was always seen as a dainty little girl by everyone who had seen a glimpse of her.
"What they do not know cannot hurt them"
She was always dressed in lovely pale colored dresses and fine pearls with only a few golden jewels here and there. They never seemed to notice the red on her hands and face.
She was dainty and that's how she lured them in. Men from across the sea would travel thousands of miles just to see her, to bask in her presence and attempt to woo her.
But not a single one of them was the man she seeked.
If she didn't like something she'd destroy it with her own 'dainty' hands. Her servants and even her parents would plead for her to stop.
"But why? If father does the same and does not get reprimanded..I should not either."
Despite the many deaths she has caused that should have left her in ruins. She takes wonderful care of herself and her mentality, for a princess of her caliber she's a lot more intelligent than she ought to be.
She spends her free time drawing and walking through the city. Engaging with the citizens and keeping her image as a sweetheart.
"No one knows what happens behind my closed doors."
Her parents grow weary, worrying that their daughter will never cease her killings.
"This is temporary bloodshed..when the one I seek is brought to me..I shall lay down my blade..and give up my hand in marriage."
The king made an order to find the man the princess seeks. Only to find out that man is long dead killed in a war, that he had caused.
The princess doesn't know he is dead, she has no clue it was her father's misdeeds that caused her love to die and he will keep it a secret until his last breath. His wife however made a vow that she would never hide a secret from their daughter.
When the king fell asleep, the queen snuck out of bed and quickly traveled the halls to her daughter's bedroom.
She entered carefully and found the princess staring out at the moon as if it was telling her stories of grand adventures.
"My dearest daughter...I come with a terrible secret your father is keeping from you."
The princess looked at her mother in slight worry and confusion.
"What do you mean, mother?"
The queen let out a shaky sigh to steel her nerves.
"The one you seek has been slain."
The princess looked bewildered then furious.
"Swear you are telling no lies to me, mother dearest!"
"I am not lying to you my sweet child! He told me so himself..your love was slain in a war he started!"
The princess got up from where she sat and walked over to her portrait she had made of her true love.
"Say it is not so..my own father...is the destroyer of my happiness"
Sorrow over took the princess as she knelt down in front of the painting.
"Shall my heart know no pain? Or will it continue to suffer in this endless nightmare?"
She began to sob. Her mother ran to her side and pulled her into a tight embrace to attempt and console her daughter.
"So much red stains my hands..only to find the only red that mattered to me stains my father's...I will kill him!"
The queen didn't say anything. There was nothing she could do to stop her daughter, if she failed before she would fail again.
"If it will free your tortured soul from its shackles..do as you please but be careful, my dear..I do not want to see you hurt more than you are.."
The princess pulled away from her mother and wiped her tears.
"Another shade of red shall stain my hands tonight..the
final shade I shall spill..go and wake him mother..tell him nothing of my plans."
She grabbed her sword from it's sheath and stabbed it though the painting of her lover.
"I shall avenge you..my darling,may the gods look down upon my deeds and forgive me so that I may join you someday."
The queen stood up and pressed a small kiss to her daughter's forehead before running off to wake the king. The princess got dressed in her finest pale dress and her shiniest jewels then went to find her father,sword in hand.
"You have destroyed me father..let me return the favor."
She found her parents in the courtyard, walking amongst the white rose bushes,her favorite flowers.
She charged at her father in a blind rage and stabbed him repeatedly until she got tired.
The white roses were dripping with red, as were her hands and her jewels.She will burn all of her pale dresses and her golden jewels will be put away never to shine again.
"..long live the king."
She removed her blade from her father's torso and left it in the garden with her mother who solemnly stared at the king's body.
"You are a fool and so was I...and she will be foolish as well. We ruined her."
The princess cleaned her sword and had a servant burn her dresses, she got another one to clean her jewels and put them away. She put her sword away and went to bed with a heavy heart.
The next morning she was woken up by a maid who had told her the news.She pretended to be upset and then sent the maid away. She asked a servant to go and get a tailor and a seamstress to make her new dresses with darker fabrics, lots of red,black,dark blues and purples.she sent another servant to find her dark jewelry that would match her dark clothing.
"..It seems I must prepare for a coronation.."
She stared out of the window and saw a bird flying by,she smiled but it quickly dropped when she felt a presence behind her.
"Who are you? Have you no decency to knock before entering or stating who you are..I am indecent right now."
She turned around to find her lover standing there.
"Leave for I know you are not real! Leave phantom I do not have time for your horrible games!"
The ghost approached her and she took a step back.
"Stay away! I'm warning you!"
The phantom vanished leaving her shaken.
"Have I finally gone mad? Am I stuck in my own personal hell? Has all the blood I spilt not been enough? Am I exactly like my father...NO! I am nothing like that man... an eye for an eye and the world goes blind..for every soldier I've lost..I've killed..for every broken heart I've slain..this nightmare isn't fair! I have done what I needed to..you do not get to play tricks on me you foolish devil! I have won! I am worthy of the freedom I have earned!"
She shouted at the empty space in front of her.
"I am the Red queen! No one will take that from me!"
*I was listening to classical music for a bit and this came to mind..*
