The Princess Of Othria

Chapter 1: A Not So Happy Birthday

Breathe in and out, then smile. A routine practiced often by Andromeda. Her smile dropped once her corset was pulled so tight she could barely breathe. She looked down at the green dress she was wearing. Beautiful, but horribly uncomfortable. 

"Turn and let me see." Thomasina, her best friend and maid said. Andromeda turned. The emerald green dress seemed to shine and enhance the beauty of the girl. Of course, not that she needed it. Andromeda had hip-length, wavy, golden brown hair, hazel eyes, pale, fair skin, rose colored lips, and freckles. The whole land thought of her as the jewel of land, not only for her beauty, but for her kindness.

"Oh you look like a rose!" Thomasina exclaimed. 

Thomasina's mother had worked for her parents and Andromeda and her had been playing ever since she was born. Thomasina was a year older, but the two girls were still very close. She had black hair and brown eyes and tan skin. She was very beautiful. 

"Just needs a finishing touch..." Thomasina grabbed the tiara off her vanity and gently placed it in the princess's hair, finishing her appearance.

"I can't quite breathe." Andromeda frowned. Thomasina giggled. "Too bad, now lets get you downstairs, your suitor is waiting.

"Some birthday..." Andromeda muttered as she glided down the halls of her palace. Andromeda had finally turned 18. Now for many 18 was a good age because it guaranteed freedom. Now, for Andromeda it was an anchor. Her parents had set up a arranged marriage with the biggest jerk of the land. Stephan, Prince of Plomia. He had a massive temper and treated Andromeda as if she was his property. Andromeda hated him, and she had no choice but to marry him.

She would become queen, and him king. She would lose her voice, her choice, and her life. Today was the day she was to discuss marriage preparations. 

"I know it isn't ideal, but you don't exactly have a choice. Maybe you will learn to like him?" Her best friend said.

"I have hated Stephan since age 10, the day I met him. Plus, you already have someone you actually like so you can't be talking." Andromeda scoffed.

Thomasina and one of Andromedas guards had been having a slight fling, though they hadn't told anyone besides Andromeda, afraid that the king would fire them. Thomasina blushed and shrugged.

The finally reached the dining room, where the two families awaited. Thomasina bowed and left, leaving Andromeda alone. She slowly made her way to the table and sat down next to Stephan, who smirked at her. She rolled her eyes. 

"My apologies for being late, I wanted to look my best." She said through gritted teeth. "No worries dear." Her mother smiled.

"We were just discussing where you two will live. We are having a castle built by the Willis wood, between the two of our kingdoms." Stephans father, King Harrison said. 

"Oh, how wonderful." She said dryly, hoping for this to be over as soon as possible.  While they chatted, Stephans hand snaked to her thigh and she grabbed one of his fingers and bent it back farther than it should've have gone. He made of face and yanked his hand back but continued smiling. 

She thought of the life she would soon be living, trapped in a palace, forced to live with her least favorite person. The boredom and torture she would go through was unbearable to Andromeda. Eventually, they would have kids and her children would most likely go through the same thing. She would grow old, and die.

Andromeda had always been the kind who wanted freedom. She would run through the woods as a young girl, barefoot often. She explored and most of the time made a huge mess of her beautiful gowns.

An hour or two went by, torture at its finest. Then finally the Adults dismissed them for "quality time" as her father called it. Andromeda hurried off hoping to shake off Stephan. It didn't exactly work. They finally stopped at the gardens. Andromeda sat down on a rock. She glared at Stephan.

"Whats with the long face beautiful?" He said lifting her chin. She smacked his hand away. "Don't call me that. Or touch me. I don't need your filth anywhere near me." She said.

"C'mon. We are getting married I'm not that bad." He pulled her to her feet. "You are that bad. I want nothing to do with you." She tried pulling away again but he pushed her to the floor. "Look Andromeda, you don't have a choice." He pinned her arms down and got close to her face. She struggled and he smacked her. Hard. Right across the face. 

"You will obey me, I am going to your husband and you will listen!" He said anger rising through his voice. She held back tears, realizing fighting would just get her hurt worse. She nodded hoping the situation wouldn't escalate anymore. He sighed and lifted her up. 

"You know I love you yes?" He said, lifting her chin forcing her to look at him. "Yes.." she muttered. He kissed her, as he did every time they fought. Which happened to be quite often. He pulled away after what seemed like forever. She avoided meeting his eyes. "Smile." He said with authority in his voice. So, she did.

"Look, theres my beautiful girl." He smile and held out his arm. She took it and they walked through the garden more, making small talk. They got quite close to the woods. She heard rustling and stopped, worried of a bear, or beast or something that could harm her. Although if something happened to take Stephan, she wouldn't exactly care. 

"What is it dear?" He said looking at her. "I don't... I thought I heard something, carry on." She said and they continued on. He finally escorted her to her room, and she bid her goodbyes and quickly locked her door. She glanced at herself in her mirror, noticing her cheek growing redder by the minute.

She walked to her terrace and peered over the edge. She watched the family climb into their carriage. "Gone finally." She said to herself. They rode away and she smiled. Then her gaze traveled to the wood. She realized the trees rustled again.

That's when she saw him. Percivil.