Bandit Queen

Chapter Nine

Elicia swayed in a rocking chair by the fire. It was an especially chilly day and the castle was old and not built to keep heat inside. She pushed her hands closer to the fire, shivering.

Knock Knock Knock

"Who is it?" she called, praying that it was Cecelia, with a letter from Myron, her beloved. Sadly, it was just Hubert, her father's new servant.

Hubert bowed. "His majesty summons you." 

"What does he want this time?" she said, more to herself than the man waiting for her at the door.

He took it literally. "I do not know, your highness."

Elicia rolled her eyes. The man turned around, leading her out of the chamber.

"This way, follow me," he called, walking briskly down the hallway towards her father's study.

 I know my way around the castle. She thought, biting her tongue to stifle a rude comment. There's no point in taking out my frustrations on poor Hubert. She reluctantly followed him through the castle.

"This is it," he called, proud of himself for leading the princess. Again, she rolled her eyes.

The man opened the door to her father's chamber with a grand hand gesture, announcing, "The princess."

Her father and a man that she had never met before sat inside drinking wine. He looked to be in his 40's with sandy blonde hair and sinister green eyes. He reminded her of a peacock with his flamboyant emerald uniform, decorated with an array of colorful medals.

"Daughter, this is General Odeon of Ezliar. Odeon, this is my lovely daughter, Elicia." She gagged, hating the way that her father pretended to love her. She was his heir, that was all.

Odeon leaned over to kiss her hand. His lips were hard and thin. They felt rough like sand paper on her skin.  Now, she really wanted to vomit.

"It's a pleasure," he purred, licking his lips. He looked at her the way King Thoren looked at his wine.

"Is there a reason for my summoning?" she asked, wanting to escape as quickly as possible.

"There are two," Thoren said, reaching into a drawer in his large mahogany desk. He pulled out three golden letters, sealed with the familiar Isdolian royal crest. Elicia gasped, her heart picking up speed.

No, No, No. The one worthwhile thing in my life. He can't take that away from me.

Her eyes began to water. A single tear escaped. It rolled down her cheek, leaving a trail of despair and hopelessness in its wake. Odeon brought a finger to his mouth, biting at a hang nail. He absolutely despised involving himself in conversations filled with so much emotion. It made him anxious.

Thoren fondled the envelopes, turning them over in his large hand. He took one, abruptly tearing it in half. He did the same with the other two. Elicia ran to her father's side.

 "Please let me keep the scraps. I will never to write him again. Please." The king picked up the pieces, smirking and shaking his head. He strolled towards the fireplace, enjoying her sorrow. Elicia grabbed on to his coat. He continued moving as if she wasn't there.

"Please don't." she cried, but he wouldn't listen. One by one, he dropped her precious scraps into the crackling fire. Each piece turned pitch black around the edges, crinkling up into unreadable piles of hot ash. With each one, a part of her heart broke away with it.

And then, she refused to let go of anything else. She ran towards the fire, thrusting her hands into the flames. It barely licked her fingers, before Odeon had pulled her back by the hair, yanking her onto the ground with a thud. Painful sparks shot up from her tailbone. She reached again towards the last flaming piece, but there was nothing left. She brought her fists high into the air before slamming them onto the ground in frustration.

"It would be helpful, my dear, if you would stop with the temper tantrum and act like a big girl. Grow up. Puppy love will mean nothing in a week."

Elicia exploded. "You know nothing. You are selfish and horrible, and hope that you die. You killed my family, you let my mother perish, and now you burn the one ray of happiness in my life. I wanted one thing, just one." She ran towards the man, her fists throbbing and her heart pounding. She didn't care. She would kill him with her bare hands if she had to.

Smack.

Thoren hit her across the face. Elicia clutched her cheek, shaking.

"How dare you, little girl. I am your father and I deserve respect. I have worked hard to be where I am and I don't need some spoiled princess to criticize me. Now listen carefully, brat." Elicia breathed in deeply, trying to calm her tempestuous emotions. "You are going to forget about that Isdolian prince at once. You will marry Odeon without complaint."

"Marry?" Elicia asked, bile rising inside her throat. Odeon nodded his head, imagining life living with his enraged fiancé fulltime.

"In three months, on the winter solstice, you will wed." Elicia clenched her fists. "You cannot make me do that. I refuse." Thoren's face hardened with anger and hate. He grabbed her by the collar, pulling her face inches from his.

"Then I will kill you right now, as you serve me no purpose," he spat, venom practically spewing out of his mouth. He dropped his daughter to the ground.

Odeon raised his eyebrows, shocked that someone would say that to their own kin. He knew that the king was selfish and ambitious, but not evil.

"Perhaps we should give her a moment to calm down," Odeon suggested, wedging himself between the pair. "We all know how women get on their time of the month."

"Excuse me?" Elicia hissed, getting back onto her feet. She wiped the dirt from her disheveled dress.

"Hush," her so-called fiancé ordered.

"You have no right to say that. I will tear you.." Odeon flinched, taking a step back. Thoren cleared his throat.

"Guards take the hormonal princess back to her chambers," he ordered, shaking his head.

Three men in uniform rushed into the room.

"How dare you," she roared as the men took her by the arms, dragging her out into the hallway. The wooden door banged shut behind her. She screamed unspeakable profanities as they escorted her back to the bedroom. The leader practically threw her through the entrance, shutting and locking the door. She again threw her fists against an object violently.

"Princess, please stop. You will only make your hands bleed," the man called from the other side.

"I hope they do," she screamed back.

"Please princess, you are already losing enough blood this week. Calm your emotions."

"No I will not calm myself."

She screamed loudly in frustration. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she sobbed on the cold floor. She did not want to live this life. She thought of her poor family and her mother and then of Myron.

"Myron,"  she thought, "I have to tell him."

A new sense of determination erupted inside of her heart.  Letters weren't enough anyway. She would see him in person.

Hi guys! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story, it means so much to me. Please remember to show the love by commenting and voting. have an absolutely wonderful day.

-XOXO Meaghan