Royally Cursed

Chapter 1: The Market of Reatha

Daria Asadi- Present

A shriek of excitement rings in the air, as I dragged my dagger across the Royal guard's throat. His eyes stared at me searching for mercy before, he accepted his fate. I memorised the look of fear in his eyes as the angel of death claims his soul. His blood bursts from his neck, wrapping around my hand like little vines. I wait to see if the feeling of guilt and disgust wash over me, it hasn't, not for the past eight years. In its place, adrenaline and anticipation takes control, giving me the high I learnt to long for. When life hurdles a word like revenge into your fate, you forget the meaning of morals. You just take, take, and take souls till you learn to breathe easier around yours. For monsters, they are never born but always created.

I shove the guard's body onto the floor, watching as he thuds into a puddle of his own blood. I do not fail to notice the colour of his uniform that separated him from the rest of the Royal guards, he belonged to the Scarred Prince. The Scarred Prince, I often wondered how he would look pleading for mercy.

Leanor watches in awe, swiping a finger through his blood that landed on her shoes. She brings up her finger, examining the blood, a look of curiosity passing through her icy blue irises. My dear Leanor, my gentle Leanor, how I wished they did not keep her hostage in her own home. The pleading, the cries did not work on them, it never did. My loyalties to Leanor certainly knew no limits, I do not think she would ever understand.

She turns to me with a raise of her eyebrows and an innocent smirk, "Want me to heal him, so we can do that all over again?"

Leanor was my sister, not by blood but by fate. Fate forced me and Leanor into a dark corner where we both had only each other to lean to. She held onto her selfless traits with a tight grip despite the horrors of the City of Reatha. She didn't care about the body that lay on the floor, but she cared deeply about the young girl who had tears streaming down her face, clothes that looked like they had been abused just before we came.

I paused at her words not out of shock, in the moment her offer was a great idea. He should have thought twice before following the young girl into the alleyway and using his royal authorities to belittle and exploit her. Except, he didn't know that there was a monster lurking in the dark alleyways of the City of Reatha, waiting to feast on the souls of people like himself.

The thud of heavy footsteps, an echo of voices that sounded much like the rest of the Royal Guards grew louder. My head snaps up to Leanor with a gesture that indicates for her to get ready, it was our cue to leave. I pull my dark green cloak over my head, Leanor following my lead. I knew the ins and outs of this alleyway, meaning I knew the quickest way to the Market of Reatha. We discard the body on the floor taking a quick right, then breaking into a run.

"Over there look- they are making a run for it," calls out a man in a loud voice. His voice was too clear, they were closer than I wanted to admit. It didn't stop the anticipation coming back full force, the chase between me and the Royal Guards was one I lost count off.

"Together," I called out to Leanor as we continued to run, a full smile drawn on my face.

"Always," she replied with a light laugh, her smile mirroring mine. For a moment, I had wished Leanor was a part of the daily tasks Aunt Zahra and Uncle Mustafa had set me. If they had found out Leanor had joined me today, nobody would have saved me from the nonexistent mercy of uncle's belt. Not even Leanor's gift. Good thing they were away until midnight.

I did not let the thoughts of punishment linger, as I pulled Leanor to another left then through a secret door that would lead us right into the middle of the market. I discarded my cloak, straightened my long nude skirt, and ran my hand over my black hair. Leanor did the same to her loose brown curls, we both wiped any excess blood on our cloaks. I made sure to tighten my dagger that hung around my thigh, wiping the one I just used onto my cloak before tightening it around my waist.