Who's Kingdom?

Chapter One

"Mommy! Mommy," Emerald yelled as her mother, father, and brother were preparing to leave. Every week, they would leave before the sun rose. Emerald had asked multiple times to go, yet every time, they would tell her, "When it is your time to serve, you will know." She was hoping today would be the day. "Can I go please," she pleaded. "Little Emerald, it is not your time. Keep your voice down, your siblings are still sleeping." She pouted and crossed her arms. "I'm old enough to serve," she mutter as she furrowed her eyebrows. Her older brother, Onyx, laughed loudly. "So eager for a 7 year old. 9 more years."

"9!?" she pretended to faint and they all laughed. Her father kissed her forehead. "Go back to sleep darling, we'll be back before you and your other siblings wake up." She rolled her eyes and went back up the stairs to her room. "This is stupid, I should be able to go with them too," she said as she climbed back in bed. She had always been a determined one. "One day, I'm gonna be the best ruler this kingdom has ever seen." See, her mother and father were the king and queen of the most beautiful kingdom of their time, Gemstone. It was very wealthy and lively. All the children were named due to their eyes. As you could tell by her name, Emerald's eyes were a vibrant green, yet they held a comforting warmth. The kingdom had a capital in which was strictly ruled by the king and queen while the rest of the kingdom was split into divisions that was partially ruled by each child. The entire family was very loved as they always did what they believed what was best for their kingdom. They were kind, and with the right plan, naïve.

As Emerald had finally gotten back to sleep after complaining heavily, she heard the sound of doors slamming. "Then there was a male figure at her door. "Daddy," she said sleepily, wiping her eyes as she tried to wake herself up. As the figure got closer, one of the knights tackled them, slitting their throat quickly. "Princess, we must get going, the rebellion is attacking the castle." Her eyes widened as she followed blindly, unsure what was going on. "Rebellion!? Why is there a rebellion!? What is going on!?" None of her questions were answered as she was led to where her other younger siblings were. The knights that were still alive were huddled around them, trying to get them to safety. A smoke bomb was thrown in their direction, distracting the knights momentarily. Within that time, the knights were taken out. Emerald used her body to shield her younger siblings as she saw angry people approach.

"Don't make this hard princess," said a familiar voice. It was the head knight. "Mr. Gray, what's going on," she asked worriedly as she kept her sibling behind her. But he didn't answer. "Just move and this will be as painless as possible." Her eyes widened with realization. She tried to get her siblings away quickly, but she was quick enough. Within the next 15 minutes, her and her sibling were tied to wooden poles, surrounded by many people, some looking triumphant and others looking scared. "We know of your family's witchcraft and we will rid the world of your evil today!"

"Witchcraft!? What witchcraft!?" They ignored her continued on with their speech, talking of how they were to burn and the feast that would be brought upon the fire that would start from their burning flesh. She starting panicking, not for herself, but for her siblings. She was willing to sacrifice her life, but her siblings, they deserve to live their life. As Gray talked, his followers threw oil on them so they would burn quicker. She began to pray under her breath. "Lord, please, please save them, please... anything, just let them live."

Gray turned towards her and touched her cheek gently. "Goodbye princess Emerald... you were always my favorite." He backed away and threw a match, the flames immediately began to engulf her and her siblings.  However, the flames went from orange to green, then the royal siblings were gone. No ashes, no dead bodies. Just there. "We have rid the world of their evil, now let's celebrate!"

That was 9 years ago. As of the kingdom now, it was saddening. It was unbelievable how low it had became. Gray was now the king and led by his greed for wealth. Now, most common people didn't eat and children have to work from the age of 5. Not only that, but crime ran rampant. Rape, murder, kidnapping, all of it was common now. In the kingdom of Onyx, there was a leader, Shawn, who led based off what he thought was popular and was worthy of attention. At the moment, he wanted to be seen as a hero, so he was big on "saving people." As he was taking his carriage back to the kingdom, he saw a young girl getting thrown against the wall by a group of boys. She had refused to go home with them, so now they were beating her for her defiance.

Being the "hero" he was, he jumped out and threw the boys off. "Your majesty... why do you interfere," one of the boys asked as they cowered on the floor. He ignored them and instead grabbed the girl's hand, helping her stand up. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you? What's your name?" She didn't respond as she began to faint, her body falling into his hands. He gasped and looked at her, finally taking in how she looked. Her dark complexion and hair so wild and untamed yet still held a natural beauty...her naturally plumped lips and such a melanin figure... she was unbelievably gorgeous. 

Shawn took her to back to his castle, ordering the maids to get her cleaned up. She had waken up sometime during the ride and followed them silently. "Now, if you'll just take off you garments, we'll bathe you." She did as told, feeling them begin to scrub her skin. "Not all that is dirt, it is also my skin," she said jokingly. They chuckled and scrubbed gentler as a couple others came and began to clean her hair, massaging her scalp. She sighed contentedly as she leaned back. Once they were done, she was put into royal clothing and had her hair done. She requested to do her hair herself, so they allowed her too.

 She went into the room they assigned her to and starting to brush her newly cleaned hair. She blushed her hair, but before styling, she moved her bangs, a devious smirk on her face. "Time to take back what's ours..." She chuckled, staring back into the mirror at herself, at her beautiful emerald green eyes.