A Palace of Love And Darkness

Cassandra

Dear Diary,
The sun has decided to let us suffer in her scorching heat today, and many of the Palace guards have remained indoors, to avoid a heat stroke. I was very close to doing the same, when I remembered that I am Cassandra Manor, and I do not normally do the "right thing." So I have decided I will head down to the village while the guards are away and see the village. I do pray I won't get caught.

I close my diary and tuck it into my skirt pocket, before quickly changing into a less flashy tunic. The village I plan on visiting today is very small and I'm sure the people would notice someone who does not live there. After pulling on my hood, I creak open my bedroom door and glance out. The palace guards are having their afternoon tea, I think to myself. What luck that the hallways are so empty.

My boots click against the red stone as I make my way down the hallway, trying to be as subtle as possible. I make it to the courtyard before I encounter anyone and I smile to myself. I turn the corner to the castle gate and smirk to myself as I realize I might be able to leave the castle without any problems. And just as I turn the corner, I find myself face to face with Luke.

Luke, born Lucas Pierre, is my personal guard and has also been my friend since I became a young lady. We do tend to argue a lot, as most friends do, but we get along fairly well. His sharp features, towering height, and soft voice make him, heavens bless my thoughts, one fine hunk of a man. He is gay, however. Therefore, I know my boundaries.

"Where do you think you're going, Cassandra," Luke barks, nearly causing me to urinate in my skirts (What an unladylike thing of me to do.) "you're going to the village, aren't you?" Luke is mad. I don't blame though, because he recently took a beating for allowing me to enter the gentlemen's quarters. I don't regret this, though. My eyes were blessed with some lovely things.

"Well, Luke," I have to come up with a good excuse now, shit. "Since you have decided that you must constantly be aware of my locational status, I shall kindly inform you that I'm heading off to visit... an old friend?"

"Who? Shakespeare?" Luke deadpans. "Talk like a normal person, Cass." I decide to go with the usual and point out a half naked man standing in the distance, (this man does not exist, but Luke doesn't know that.) and dash past Luke and out the gate.

Pretty smart, right? Wrong. Because Luke is now running after me and he is definitely much faster. Luckily, we are running down hill. Unluckily. I have thick heeled boots on. Before I realize what's happening, my shoe gets caught on a stone I did not notice and my gut drops as I begin to fall. I hit the ground and continue to roll downhill, acquiring many cuts and bruises. I hit my wrist and hear a sharp crack. I hit the bottom on my rump and sit there in complete shock.

Luke scrambles after me and drops to one knee. He starts fidgeting around trying to make sure I'm okay. It takes me a few moments to register the complete shock I am in before I inhale and scream bloody murder. Luke starts freaking out and hoists me over his shoulder, carrying me behind a building. "LUKE. IM DYING!" I shriek. Today, I will pass away, and Luke will be the last to see me alive.

My eyes start to close and I think I see a light. I will perhaps be going to heaven, unless I don't. Everything starts to fade and Luke's worried expression is the last thing I see before my vision goes black. And then it is quiet. "Father God?" I stutter. "Have I gone to heaven? I must apologize. I'm so sorry for looking at that man changing from his open window, but it was just as much his fault for not closing the blinds." Silence. "And I'm sorry for replacing the Duke's wine with pigs blood, even though he is vegan. It was quite funny, I'm sure you laughed as well." Still silence. I sigh. Maybe I am in hell. Maybe I am nowhere, and have been lied to about a place after death. I shudder at the thought of being in nothingness for eternity.

Wait. My eyes are closed. I open my eyes and see more darkness, although my eyes are adjusting. I am laying on a hard bed and there is a heavy breathing somewhere. A candle casts a dim illumination and a man lifts it to his face. I flinch as I do not recognize him. I suddenly sit up in the bed and pain ricochets through my body. I release a hiss of pain before falling back onto the table. The man suddenly stands, causing the other, who was sleeping on his shoulder, to jolt awake.

A deep husky voice sounds through the room, causing an echo. "Is everything okay, Miss?" Oh my. Perhaps this kidnapping isn't terrible. A more soft, familiar voice sounds out, and I recognize Luke.

"We're safe, Cass. You broke your wrist when you fell, and passed out. This man found us and he's helping heal your wounds." Luke's voice is very calm, as usual. I look back at the man and take in more details about him. He is tall, although not as tall as Luke. Nobody is as tall as Luke. He has chiseled features and a few scars and burns on his arms. I believe he works at a forge, because his burns are similar to those of our blacksmith. On his head rests a mop of raven curls, which do nicely with his darkened skin.

I beckon Luke to come closer. "Luke," I mutter, "What is up with you and gatekeeping such men? My eyes have been blessed!" I meet the man's eyes and shoot him a wink, accompanied with a flirtatious grin. He draws together his brows and frowns. Luke swipes a hand down his face. The man reaches out and takes my wrist. After inspecting it for a few seconds, he exits the room.

"I couldn't take you back to the Palace in that state, Cass. You know what the Duke would do. The man heard you screaming and offered to fix you up. I'd much prefer you don't start flirting with him." Luke sounds unamused. "He's agreed to keep this secret, but I am a bit worried about what he will ask in return," Luke does seem quite worried. "He hasn't said anything about it yet." He's very worried, I can see it in his eyes. Poor Luke, he always has so much to worry about. He'll probably be gray by the time he turns 30. I decide to console him. "Don't worry about it Luke. If anybody finds out, I'll make sure they know it was my fault." I reach out to take his hand, but the pain from my wrist shoots up my arm, and I release a yelp of pain.

The door shoots open and the man walks in, looking anxious. "WHY THE FUCK ARE THERE GUARDS SURROUNDING MY HOUSE?" He barks, surprising us. I ignore the pain pulsing through my body and quickly climb out of bed. The man is fuming, his teeth gritting together.

"Calm down," I say, "they won't hurt you just as long as we're here." Will they? How did they even find us? Usually, they'll send one guard (usually Luke) to find me. But with both of us gone, I suppose the Duke might've been worried. "They're not just here to retrieve you, woman. They're here to arrest you. And I don't want to be a part of that shit." He moves forward to grab me and Luke immediately lunges in front of me.

"Hey, stay the fuck away from her," he growls, almost sounding like an animal. I remember my theory of Luke being a furry and consider it again. The man's jaw ticks and he doesn't make a move to hurt Luke in any way, but he is still glaring at me. "We can leave, if that's what you're worried about." I'm trying to keep my head, despite my anger at him lashing out like that. "We'll let them know we came here against your will." I try to be reasonable, since he does not deserve to be executed because of our faults. I will not allow such a good looking man to be executed.

"Get out," he snarls, "now." That's what we were just about to do. "Cass," Luke mutters, "if they're trying to arrest us, then we probably shouldn't-"

The door is blasted open and it flies off its hinges with a huge boom, making us all flinch. A scary looking man with an eyepatch and a very large firearm walks in. I immediately recognize him as Terner, the King's best friend and a dangerous bounty hunter. He sets his bone chilling gaze on me and starts walking my direction. Luke places his hand on his sword and gets into a fighting position, and for the first time in a very, very long time, I feel scared. But then I feel a sharp prick in the side of my neck and see a dart hit Luke as well. The next thing I know, I am falling, very, very slowly. I hit the ground but barely feel it. I lose all consciousness as I pass out.

~~~~~~Authors Note~~~~~~
hello lovelies 😘
i hope you like this first chapter !! if you can't already tell, i'm very amateur and i'm working to improve. please leave any suggestions for what else you think should happen in the comments. who's your favorite character, as of right now? who's your least favorite character? should i have a fandom name?