I awoke abrubtly. Noticing that my bed was stained a bright scarlet, my eyes widened. I tried to sit up, but a white-hot pain shot through my chest. I cried out in pain. Looking down at my dress, I realized it was covered in blood. I shot up from my bed. In less time than I could make sense of, I fell to the floor. A knock sounded from the opposite side of the room.
"Your Highness?" a voice asked. "Are you all right?" I was about to respond when another wave of agony clenched my chest. All I could manage was a groan. I heard the door open hesitantly. In a moment, the gateway flew open the rest of the way. Heavy boots ran into the room. I tried to get up, but my chest erupted in pain. My vision began to blur as the figure of a guard registered in the back of my mind. A faint yell tugged at my earsdrums. Strong arms lifted me from the cold floorboards.
Despite the burning agony, I struggled to be removed from his grasp. As soon as I felt the bed under me, I stopped moving and tried to relax. The pain began to subside, but the most awful ache took its place. I looked down at my chest to find a jagged scar. It seemed to have healed, yet the blood on my sheets and gown was fresh. I furrowed my brows, confused. I looked to the guard for an explanation. The look on his face revealed that he was as clueless as I was.
Tristan charged through the door. "What happened to you?" he demanded angrily. "You completely dissappeared!" I winced at his tone, but the sudden intake of air caused bright flames of pain to burn away what small grasp of control I had. I cried out. My twin seemed to finally recognize the enormous amount of blood surrounding me. His eyes widened and he rushed to my side.
"I've been busy." I managed weakly. He laughed nervously in a failed attempt to lighten the mood. In a few minutes, the ache returned and the pain dissappeared. After much debate, I convinced him to take me to Father. Using Tristan for support, I hesitantly stood. Together we slowly shuffled to the dining hall.
Once there, Tristan was just about to open the door when we heard a muffled conversation from inside. We froze. Our ears strained to hear the voices. They proved to belong to Mother and Father.
"Aidan, you have to tell her." Mother said.
"I can't. Not yet." Father stated.
"It's a decision that will determine the rest of our only daughter's life! It is her right to know!" she shrieked. "If you don't tell her willingly, I promise I will force you."
"Even if I wanted to tell Sindri, when the hell would I?!" he yelled. I couldn't take the suspense anymore. I had to know what they were talking about. I was furious with them for keeping something so important from me. Suddenly finding new stregnth in my anger, I tore away from Tristan. I shoved the heavy doors open easily and stormed into the room.
"How about now?" I demanded. Both pairs of eyes snapped over to me. My parents were standing at either end of the long table by their respective places. They looked at eachother nervously. My father took a deep breath.
"You're not going to like it." he admitted. I folded my arms across my chest, stubborly denying him the right to stop. "I have approved the union between you and Lord Mason." I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up a hand to stop me. "Since he isn't in line for the throne as you are, he is required an heir in order to be king."
"He needs an-" My eyes widened. "No. No, no, no, no,no. Not with him. That's disgusting!" I cried.
"Unfortunatley, it is necessary." Father sighed. My mother turned to him with a look of horror.
"It is not! It shall be her decision!" she said with certainty. My father locked his sight of Tristan and I.
"There has been a change in plan." he stated simply. A man began to grab my shoulder from behind. Tristan pulled his fist back and slammed it into what I assumed was my captor's face. His grip loosened and I tore away from him. In less than a second, my twin shifted into a large black panther. I leapt onto his back and he carried me to the opposite side of the room.
What lay before my eyes shook me to the core. Several dozen royal guards lined the wall by the door. How long had he been planning this? My chest began to throb. Soon after, blossoms of agony burst within me. I screamed and fell to the floor with a thud. My twin turned to me with a look of worry. In that instant, a guard clubbed Tristan on the back of the head. He collapsed. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw the steady movement of his breathing. Another surge of pain overcame me and I let my head fall. A deep groan escaped from my throat as Father made his way over to me. He kneeled down and supported my upper body. He brought a silver goblet to my lips.
I refused to open my jaws. He brought a fist down on my stomach and I gasped from the sudden force. My father forced the edge past my teeth. The bitter liqiud flooded my mouth. It flowed down my throat. My body went numb and my vision began to blur in and out of focus. My eyelids began to droop.
"Yes, my daughter." Father said. "Sleep. When you awake you shall begin a new life with a Lord." I remember weakly flipping him off before I blacked out.
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That took forever. Sorry if I'm grossing anyone out. I have a habit of it. Just hit 60 readers today. YAY! So a shoutout to my special friend Gillian for truly understanding me and for texting me every five seconds so that it took me literally all day to write this stupid chapter. :) HUZZAH!!
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The Blood in Our Veins
Fantasia(Book One in the Storm Trilogy) Sindri Willow is next in line to become High Queen of Arkenon. She accepted this responsibility with a heavy heart, though she may need to rule sooner than she wanted. Her uncle, Lord Gallahein, plans to take the thro...
