The Blood Stained Crown

I

The four sisters were close, once, when they were young. They each lead carefree lives, unaware of whatever loomed ahead. Not that they cared much about it. Each thought that the story was a tale for the gullible, and refused to believe in it. 

How very wrong they were. They were four princesses, and they knew full well that there was only one crown, but this did not mean that the heir would be the oldest. Oh, no. They had to fight for it.

"The tale tells of one crown nestled in the kingdom's heart, the royal family had only one bloodline, but they had more than one child. Only one child survived to get the crown, and the rest who failed, died in the attempt. Hence, the crown was laced with blood, and was placed right where the princesses lived. The palace. The cursed prize of the royal family was so enticing that children of the royals would kill each other over the crown. Although each one was brought up as a respectable individual, in the end, the crown would still corrupt them. That was the curse of the royal family, and it could never be broken. When each royal family member came of age to take the throne, there would be fierce competition, and each night, all lived in fear, unable to sleep, for fear that they would be murdered in their own beds by their own blood related siblings. They were that power hungry. Each one hoped to survive, but then again, only one could make it to the Crown."

"Oh, don't be silly, Seraphine!" 12 year old Anastasia laughed. "We would never do that! That is just a tale for the gullible!" Adelaide added. The youngest, Kiera, remained deep in thought. "But it is true that only one person in our bloodline have ever lived." She mused."They said the others died from unknown reasons."

"Nah, that must be why the tale came up in the first place. To find a reason for their disappearances." Seraphine told her.

"I mean, if you say so..." Kiera murmured.

Mother appeared at the door right after that conversation.

"What are you four still doing, not in your rooms? Stop lounging about here, go to sleep!" The Queen told her children.

"Mother, we were going to ask you about The Tale." Adelaide replied.

The glass The Queen was carrying slipped from her hands, and her face went a shade paler.

"Must you know about it? Look at the time already! Go to sleep!" The Queen insisted, quickly regaining her composure. "If you MUST know, it is a tale told to frighten the gullible! There is ZERO truth in it! Now, go to sleep!"

Kiera stood up. "Mum, how did Aunt die?"

The Queen threw her a fleeting glance. That glance, however, held an almost crazed look in her eyes no one had seen before. Kiera barely registered it before it was gone.

"She died from adventuring alone in the Northern Mountains. Her body was never recovered. Happy now?" The Queen let loose a shaking breath. "I regret...not going along with her. I don't even know what happened to her. Now, enough of stories, go to sleep!" The Queen snapped at them, then swept out the door.

The sisters waited until her dark red nightgown was out of sight before bursting into questions.

Anastasia did not know what to make of the situation. She did not say anything just now, but had witnessed everything. "What do you think really happened to Aunt? Was it what really Mother described?" 

"Let's not have any suspicions, alright? After all, it is just a tale. There are no validations to it. We should head to bed. It's getting late." Seraphine gestured everyone out before turning out the lights, leaving something silver glinting in the moonlight, something that no one had noticed.

A knife.