Heart of Fire

Chapter One

Five years later

Betrayal is a funny thing. Well, maybe not funny but perhaps rather...strange. One day, a person is just another life in this world, not meaning anything to you. Then the next day, they ruin your life, leaving you broken beyond repair. It's like a switch goes off, right when they make their move they've been planning the entire time they've known you.

Bastian was that person to me. He betrayed me in a way that no human with any sense of decency would. He's always been cruel, I've known that since I was a girl, but what he did to me was something purely evil. It's been five years, but no amount of time can repair the damage he did.

That night changed my life as I knew it, forever. So much has changed since then, from who I am, to how I live, to who I trust.

As for who I am, that young, naive girl might as well have perished along with my parents. For now, I do not feel the joy or excitement in life that she once did. I survived that night, fighting and running out of the castle only to realize I had nothing. I couldn't go back to my home or to the village, they would have found me too easily. I couldn't seek out anyone that I knew in fear that they too would be killed, just as my parents were. So from the age of 13 years old, I was left to fend for myself.

I'd spent many of the first weeks finding shelter in small caves that I'd found in the woods, cold and hungry. Then miraculously, I found a small, abandoned cabin. Luckily the owner never came back to it, leaving all of their belongings to me, not that there was much left anyway. A few beat up pieces of furniture, basic tools, and a pantry of preserved food was all the cabin contained.

From there I taught myself how to hunt for food, how to build a fire for warmth, and most importantly, how to stay hidden. The cabin was small, hidden deep within the forest far away from the castle grounds. I only travel to the village when absolutely needed, keeping my face hidden under a hooded robe. It's a miracle that no one from the castle has found me yet.

Well, no one except for Hudson, the one person who I can still trust. He had found me weeks after I ran away while I was hunting and I almost mistook him for my next meal. He'd claimed that his father and his troops stopped actively hunting me down and that he would not tell anyone of where I'd gone. He held true to his claims, meeting me only once a month late at night to not raise suspicion and to make sure I was not dead. Being the darling he is, he would bring me fresh clothing and bread from the castle occasionally. He was and is my only friend, the only person I've kept in my life. Maybe it is foolish of me to trust the offspring of the person who ruined my life, but he was nothing like them, and I still stand alive after all these years.

Though it has been nearly five years since that night, my rage has not settled. I wish for King Bastian to pay for what he did to me, I want him dead. I am smart enough to know that I cannot just casually stroll into the castle and kill him myself, but the thought does bring a smile to my face.

The snap of a branch brings me back to reality. I've been sitting against a tree in the forest for a while now, simply getting lost in thought. I do this quite often, mostly when I get bored of sitting in my small cottage.

My first instinct to hide behind the tree I was just leaning on, I carefully scan the forest around me. It's still midday, too early for Hudson to be here, and I can't see any animals trotting around. It's completely silent, the only sound being the pounding in my ears. After a Moment, I finally relax, blaming the sound on my mind playing tricks on me.

Then all too quickly, there are arms around me keeping me in a chokehold. I clash against them, twisting my body out of the strong hold. I've known how to get out of a situation like this since the age of five, I'm not an easy catch.