Lady Of Lake And Arrow |A Swan Lake Retelling|: Book One

Chapter 1 (Kinda Edited)

Chapters 1 and 2 are a tribute to the Throne of Glass series, my most favorite series ever and the main inspiration for this book. Sarah J. Maas is my hero.

At first, there were only the two worlds. Separate. Peaceful. As should've been.

Then they came.

Mortal like us humans, but with powers of the immortal Faerie.

Most feared them. Others hated them. Lesser, still, saw them as divine beings.

They were the Tartareans. Not quite Half-Fae, but the result of generations after generations of them.

The children of Hell.

- The Birth of the Tartareans -

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Jessa didn't know how long she had stayed in her filthy cell.

She had tried to figure out the patterns from the daily meals delivered to her cell, but it was like they intended to confuse her. A tray of mouldy bread and a cup of water would appear, and then another would arrive what felt like only a few hours later. But after that, a tray wouldn't come for a long time, leaving her on the verge of starvation and almost giving up.

Laying her back against the pile of old hay behind her, Jessa's eyes was about to flutter shut into another deep insufferable sleep when she heard her cell's lock click and burst open.

She stayed still, going stiff at the sound of human steps walking towards her.

"Is that her?" A male's voice sounded above her, low and slightly appealing in a way that'd probably make women–except her–swoon. She had never heard this man before. Her attention instantly perked up.

A newcomer.

"Was pretty talkative when she first came here. Be glad her mouth has silenced, sir." Sir? Jessa recognized one of her guard's voice. It was the guard that had snickered at her countless times before.

She hated him.

"I didn't ask what she was like," the newcomer said in a deadly calm voice that seemed to reach the core of Jessa's mind.

A hand suddenly grabbed her chin, jerking her head up abruptly. Jessa finally opened her eyes to frown up at the guard's face, so close to her own. She saw a hint of a dark cloaked figure over the guard's shoulder, blending in with the shadows. The hold on her chin tightened, forcing Jessa to turn her attention back on the guard.

"I don't know what the hell they want with you, but I'm going to detach your chains from the wall. If you try anything, you'll find your head off swiftly," he sneered so quietly only she could hear. Jessa carefully kept her face blank, acting dazed like they'd expect her to be. Her mind, though, started to spin with thoughts.

Were they finally letting her go?

She felt small useless hope bloom in her chest.

When the chains fell to the floor, Jessa didn't bother to fight, deciding that her body was too weak anyways.

She almost yelped when she was grabbed by the arm and pulled up, dizziness threatening to take over her as the guard threw Jessa mercilessly to the cloaked figure; who caught her by the chains carelessly. Jessa winced as the cuffs dug into her already bruised wrists.

The cloaked figure dragged her outside, Jessa barely keeping up. She tried her best to ignore the ache sparking up her whole body. The figure pulled her closer while still walking, and Jessa quickly assessed what she could see of him in the darkness. Male, obviously the source of the newcomer's voice. Muscular and striding with a type of confidence fit for a soldier. A man with something to do with the palace then; if he could gain access to the prison and was familiar with the guards.

Jessa's suspicions confirmed when she saw something flash beneath the hood of the man's cloak.

The symbol of the Royal Court of Andalia.

What did a high class person from the palace want something that to do with her?

Indeed, that was the question as Jessa and the strange cloaked man walked through the tunnels in the piss-poor prison of Carleone, the capital city of Andalia.

"Where are we going?" She asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"You'll know soon," the man surprisingly replied. She had meant it as a rhetorical question.

Looking ahead, Jessa peered into the darkness for no apparent reason; as if she could really see where they would be going. Unfortunately, that wasn't an ability she'd acquired.

No, her's was so much more different. She simply just tried to avoid using it.

So why did she have a sinking feeling this had something to do with it?

Don't be so stupid. What you have is completely irrelevant to this.

Or at least Jessa thought it was. Perhaps they were really setting her free.

After a while, the man finally stopped, making her bump face first onto his back. She unintentionally caught the faint scent of spice and smoke.

Before she could think more about it, the cloaked man pushed the huge doors in front of them; light Jessa never thought she'd see again streamed through, making her squint and blink painfully. The chains still pulled her arms tightly behind her back, unabling her to shield herself.

Scowling, she said, "what is this?"

"Such a way to address me, little one." This time another completely different male voice responded. Such arrogance should be burned, Jessa almost shot back.

"Call me little one all you like," she purred softly instead. A yank on the chains–pain shooting up the skin of her wrists. A chuckle.

Her vision started to adjust to the light just then and the first thing Jessa saw was the cloaked man standing next to her with the chains.

"No need, Terhen. Her attitude's one I don't encounter much. Certainly a nice change from the court."

Jessa turned to the source of the previous voice and blinked.

This can't be right.

She shook her head. But the man still looked the same standing there.

She'd heard of the famous bright blue eyes with a glint of mischief shared with his two younger brothers on the streets. There was no mistaking that the man looking to be in his early twenties in front of her was him, his light brown hair combed back neatly.

It made completely no sense as to why the Prince of Carleone was in the same room with her along with the cloaked man-figure. Would even want to talk with her.

But it wasn't just any prince, no.

It was the Crown Prince Casrian Janis Manoe, heir to the throne of Andalia and possibly the whole of the Middle Continents.

Not to mention, the son of the wretched rulers who ordered Jessa's parents killed.

HI YEP THIS IS MY FIRST CHAPTER I KNOW IT'S REALLY AWKWARD AND STUFF BUT I PROMISE I'LL MAKE IT BETTER IN THE FUTURE

Above is super old doodle of Jessa drawn as a result from sleep deprivation :p

Anyways, hope you like it!

- Ryn