Lady Truth

i

There was a time, when existence was happy for me. Simple, but happy. And now? a complicated mess. Those happy years I spent in my village were nothing but memories to comfort me in the darkness of my cell during the bleakest of nights. Throughout these nights, I did not allow myself to remember the betrayal of my village. However, I was not always successful and the only thing that could soothe the sting of my nightmares - nightmares laced in truth- was the voice that caressed my mind.

You are Truth. I am Death. We will have vengeance. It promised.

On my worst nights- the ones where I screamed and writhed on the stone floors, my pain was drowned out by the sweetest of melodies. A lullaby woven just for me. It was a mixture of a song my mother once hummed to me, and the sounds of the harps and drums played at the village's Festival of the Sun. It had been six years since my last one. Six years since I'd last had the freedom of body and spirit to dance under the setting sun. I hoped I'd get to again one day.

You will. A command.

A creak and cry of rusted hinges told me that my door was being opened. That and the sting in my eyes from the candlelight. So used to darkness as I was, the mildest of light was an adjustment. I cringed to think what sunlight would do to me.

"Gabriella" I breathed. My shoulders slumped at the sight of her in the doorway.

"I'm sorry. The King requires your services upstairs. I'm to get you ready." Her voice soothed me almost as much as the familiar one that was hissing through my mind at the King's mention.

"Services? In his bedroom?" It wouldn't be the first time.

Shock coloured her tone. "N-no. Your other services, Lia"

I cracked a smile, wanting to lighten the mood. "What a relief. He's rather ... saggy y'know."

"Annalia!" She giggled. I just stuck out my tongue in response.

"So, any gossip in the castle lately?" Ella's stories were usually pretty much my only connection to the outside world, and I hung onto every word as she told me of a footman's spurned proposal to one of the chamber maids.

It was after dusk was when Gabriella had finished readying me. The elegance of the glittering black dress was not dampened by the invisible shackles on my wrists and ankles. A shame to waste such a pretty dress on me. The guards led me through the castle, and I took in every detail. Every window, every door. Every possible escape route. I was cataloguing for the future. It seemed my hope of having a life after this hell was still intact.

You will have freedom. Another promise.

There was freedom in death. I contemplated the thought bitterly as I shuffled to the dais at the end of the gilded throne room. There he was. The man of my nightmares and my greatest enemy. King Agmenas looked down at me with disdain. My cheeks coloured at the insult. My hands shook. I was not defiant. I was not brave. I was just a simple village girl trapped in hell. Sold to the devil himself by my own people, my own family. I buried my horror deep within until it was nothing and knelt before the devil, the king. Not my king, for I would never claim him.

"Truth-Teller". He spat my only name he knew. I resisted the urge to wipe his saliva from my ebony hair and avoided his gaze as I replied humbly.

"At your service, Your Highness."

"Up". He barked and I stood on trembling legs.

"Tonight, my court is hosting a ball in honour of Lord Helion, the Shadow King's ambassador. We are in trade discussions with the neighbouring Court of Shadow. It is your task to find truth in Lord Helion. You fail and your sisters will suffer."