They say that there are two kinds of people. They say that there are the good, and there are the bad. Light and dark. Two sides of the same coin.
My name is Angeline, and I was born to be evil. At least, that's what I was told.
My family rules over a land where everything is barren and burnt. The soil is nearly black, and the sky is a dead orange and red. I've never been allowed to leave the tower without an escort. Not that I've ever tried. My parents have told me about my older sister who tried to leave the tower five years ago. She got caught, of course. She no longer lives. That's what I was told. I don't really remember her, so I can't really mourn.
I sit in my room at the top of the tower, next to the window with the obsidian frame. Tracing my finger across its smooth, dark surface, I daydream about places beyond the darkness. This is my favorite part of the tower, because if the angle is just right, the window’s frame reflects the candlelight from the lone candle in my room and the whole window appears to glow.
Through the window I can barely make out the lichen-covered North Wall that borders our kingdom. Our castle is at the very edge of the kingdom, only a few miles from the Wall, not at the center as one might expect. Still, it makes for something to look at amidst all the dark. While I wonder what lies beyond the Wall, I would never truly try to get there. That would be suicide. If the stories I’ve heard about my sister and her futile attempt are indeed true, then there wouldn’t even be a point. I’d surely get caught. Even showing curiosity about the land beyond, I’ve found, is dangerous, so I keep my thoughts to myself.
I look at the dark iron clock by the door and rise with a start. I'm going to be late for my lesson! I pull on my velvet slippers, once red but no longer, for they—like everything else here—have been stained with black dust.
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I hope you enjoyed this free sample! If you would like to buy the full story for $0.99, it's available on the Kindle Store here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01CC86MHM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1461865002&sr=1-1&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=naomi+epshteyn
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