Warrior Princess

Chapter Four

I spent the rest of the day alone in my bedroom. The entire room is covered in pink. Pink bedsheets. Pink wallpaper. Pink Curtains. Pink Carpets. The bright color is blinding compared to the dark shades of color in the forest.

I light a small candle in my room and gather a cluster of dinner knives. I take a long breath and throw the blade into the wall. I had done this many times in the woods. I'd grab a dagger and throw it into one of the trees. It was a way to channel my anger or confusion.

I throw the second knife, and it sticks right beside the previous one. I feel like a burden was just lifted off my shoulders. I throw another knife, and another. By the time I'm at the last knife, I feel a lot lighter. But I still feel weighed down. What was I thinking? These people could be plotting to kill me this very minute. Of all people, I should understand that you can't trust anyone! Why wasn't I thinking straight?

I fling the last knife at the door, just as it was about to open. A handmaid walks in. She has dark black hair, filled with grey streaks. The blade lands an inch away from her face, but she barely flinches. Instead, she stares at the blade with intrigue.

"Sorry," I mumble.

She stares back at me. " Do you need anything, Your Majesty?"

"No," I mutter, "You would think all the servants are running away because of the incident at dinner."

The maid scoffs. " Marisa is down in the servants' quarters, rambling on how she was viciously attacked by the long lost princess. As if? I saw the whole thing!" I shakes her head with distaste, "You must have been terrified! After all, you've been in the West Forest all these years, scared for your life!"

I'm confused by the maid's understanding attitude. It was as if she had experienced it. "How would you, know- What's your name again?"

"Lillian," She answers politely, " I'm a nothing but an old refugee from the Southern Kingdom."

I wait for Lillian to elaborate, but she doesn't. I pretend to be satisfied by her answer.

" Well, if you don't need anything, I'll be on my way," Lillian says. She then leaves the room, and I'm alone again.

I sigh and blow out the candle. Then, I slip onto my four poster bed and immediately fall to sleep.

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"This is impossible!" I exclaim as I try to walk while wearing a dress Queen Amara, no my mother, picked out for me. I couldn't make it four feet without tripping over the overly attractive gown she picked. And the stairs were an absolute nightmare.

"Hello," I hear a familiar voice say as I stumble in a random room. I glance up, and I see Queen Amara sitting on her throne. I grumble. She was the last person I wanted to see.

"Hello," I mumble. I try to walk out of the room before Amara pesters me with questions about last night.

"All right," Amara says distracted. I glance at her again. She looks frantic with worry as she scans through several scrolls.

"Are you okay?" I ask. This didn't seem like Amara, even though I barely knew her for a day. She always appeared to be calm, even if she was on death's door.

Amara hesitates for a moment, probably thinking of what to say. "Yes," she says honestly, "There was a robbery in the Royal Records. We're still trying figure out what was stolen."

"Why would anyone steal old scrolls?" I say as I walk up to Amara. I examine a scroll. Even though my English is a little rusty, I figure out it's a list of the kingdom's population, a hundred years ago.

"It's a good way to figure out our secrets." Amara answers listlessly.

I open my mouth to ask another question but before I say another, a soldier runs into the room.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" The soldier runs into the room and falls to his knees.

"Speak Anthony," Amara asks. She doesn't look at him, since all her attention is on the old papers.

"We've identified the stolen papers, Your Majesty."

Amara's eyes widen and her head jerks to Anthony. "What was stolen?"

"The military tactics used during the first war with the South Kingdom. And," Anthony pauses, as if he dreads this moment, "all the papers of any reference to Project Cygnus."

Amara drops the scroll she was holding. Her voice trembles as she dismisses Anthony. I stand beside Amara as I hold her hand. "What does this mean, Your Majesty?" I ask her when she mildly relaxes.

Amara takes a deep breath before she answers. " This means war."