A Fairy Tale Minus the Happily Ever After

Chapter 2

Lord Rinaldi sat in his chair uneasily, as Gildeon rambled on about the previous night. "It was just so magical, I really don't know how you pull those things off, Rin..."

Rinaldi wished he could tell her about the plan, about how he had to kill her. The night after her sixteenth birthday, the plan would take action. 9 days left...he had to last nine days without falling in love with her for good...

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Gildeon sat with her maid, Lydian, and Queen Reece as they were discussing the wedding details. "Elegant, with lots of roses..."

"White roses, Lydian. They must be white."

"Yes, of course. White roses..."

The conversation carried on and on. Flowers weaved all along the pillars, an ensemble of a hundred trumpets...

But their conversation was interrupted by a fierce and sharp knock on the door. "Come in," Queen Reece ushered, as head guard, Sargeant Emino, stiffly entered, sharp and straight.

"Your majesty," he huffed, giving a quick bow. "We've finally caught him."

Queen Reece stood from her chair. "You don't mean Wes Rinder..."

"Yes, madam!"

"There can be great rejoicing in the kingdom tonight!" Her face lit up as she turned to Lydian and Gildeon. "Ladies, if you will excuse me for a minute-" she sauntered out of the room, followed by Sargeant Emino, as stiff and straight as ever.

"Oh my!" Lydian gasped, braiding Gildeon's long, auburn-brown hair. "Wes Rinder. Hasn't he been wanted for..."

"Two years straight! I've heard of his legend. It's still a mystery how he stole two white horses from the stables..."

"Yes, yes! And how many loaves of bread he stole from the baker! Quite a legend indeed!"

Yes, Wes Rinder was a true legend. But there are two types of legends. There are the kind whom children hear about and go dilly-dallying around town singing, "I'm going to be like him when I grow up!" And then there's the kind like Wes Rinder, the legends that children hear about but no one envies. Because legends like Wes Rinder are a good buzz-but they all eventually end up hanged in the kingdom square.

Minute after minute passed, until the minute Queen Reece came back through the doors. "If I hadn't have seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it! Two years we have been hunting that damn thief and we've finally caught him!" She twirled around the room, as Lydian couldn't help but snicker at the sight of the queen acting like a child in a candy shop. "It's set! His trial shall be in four days...oh! And as an early birthday present to Gildeon, your father and I believe it is time you came to help judge this trial! Don't worry, love, this one shall be a fairly easy verdict."

Gildeon chuckled, but was still scared. 'My first trial?' she thought. 'Could I really point at a boy and tell him he must be put to death? A boy I've never even met?' But she knew someday she would sit as queen and assign death sentences, so she smiled and nodded happily.

But there was still a thought in the back of her mind which told her she couldn't do it.

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"Rinaldi, come here boy!" Lady McEnvely snapped, grabbing Rin by the shirt and shoving him into her room, scanning the hallway to be sure no one was around to hear them. "SIT!" she barked, slamming the door as Rin stumbled to a chair.

"Mother, what is so important I had to be dragged here?" Wes brushed down his shirt, and smoothed his hair.

"It's about this thief-Wes Rinder?" her eyebrows raised as she propped herself onto the loveseat.

"Yes mother, I've heard all about it. The guard has caught him, and he shall most likely be put to death..."

"Yes, yes, Rinaldi, think this one through! You very well know this thief has one of the most clever minds in the kingdom. We could indeed use him for, oh, stealing the crown?" Her eyes shifted towards him.

"Mother, that's impossible. He is going to be killed..."

"You imbecile! You can't think out anything on your own, can you? Listen, here's what you must do: I want you to sentence him to the most brutal death sentence you can possibly think of. Hanging him with an arrow through his head! You must do it, because I know that dirty idiot of a princess certainly won't have the heart to sentence him!"

"What good would that do?"

"Listen, boy! Two nights before he is to be hanged, you must go to the dungeon and propose a little deal with him. He is a dirty peasant, a thief. He will do anything to avoid death. Pull out your knife and tell him thus: there is a way he can avoid his sentence. Tell him if he wants to live, he will join our fight. It will work out splendidly. And if you decide to betray me and fall in love with the princess and cannot kill her, have him kill her for you, since I'm questioning if you will truly be able to kill her. And, if he refuses to join, kill him on the spot. Can I trust you with that much?"

"Mother, how are we to get past the guards? With a knife? And if I walk out of the dungeon and the thief is dead..."

"Mmm, there are passages, Rinaldi. Secret passages you do not know about. Oh, but I know all of them. Only I, the King, Queen and Princess know. In the Fathering hall there is a secret trap door. I will show it to you at midnight when you are to go. It will lead you into the cells. Enter and exit through there. And remember: Be on your toes. There are traps in the passageway, knives that shoot out of the walls, so be on your toes. And if you fail to come back alive...well, do not fail me son. And in the end, if the princess is still alive, not only will I kill her, but I will kill you." With that, she stood up, marched out of the room, slamming the door once again behind her. "Do not fail me son."

Rin could only think of the future. His mother was willing to kill her own son to steal the crown? He thought in nine days he would kill the princess and it would all be over. But he realized something.

In nine days it wouldn't be over. Nine days marked the beginning. The beginning of a war, of bloodshed, of tears, of death, of murder.

In nine days, his life was going to be on the line. Him and a thief, who he knew he couldn't trust. His life would be a question.

Forever.

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AND THAT MARKS THE END OF CHAPTER 2! SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO POST THIS- IT'S BEEN A REALLY BUSY SUMMER! I PROMISE THERE IS LOTS OF EXCITEMENT TO COME!!!!!! THANKS FOR THE GREAT COMMENTS ON MY FIRST CHAPTER! I HOPE THIS CHAPTER BRINGS THE SAME THING!!!!!

Oh, and I highly recommend the stories written by soccergalus18, pandapen31, wbluvr, and more! They're amazing!

So comment and tell me whatcha think!!! like, comment, vote! :)

-Bubbles!