Darien sighs. "I'm taking you to Malum so you can see the state that your people are in. And what Ailee has been doing to help them. Who knows? Maybe by the end, you'll realize you were never meant to be Queen."
Suddenly, the ship sways. Darien abruptly stands up before pulling me up by my wrists.
"Looks like we're here."
I pull my wrists out of his hands and push past him up the creaking stairs. I almost fall backward from the blinding sunlight hitting my eyes. Darien catches me around the waist. I nod my thanks and step onto the deck. Kalin walks up to me with a smirk on his lips.
"How are you enjoying your stay, your majesty?"
I throw him a disgusted look and fold my arms. I smooth the wrinkles in my dress and walk past the pirates to the plank, which is unfolded down onto the cobblestones to the Malum. I swallow hard and begin descending down it.
How will my people react to me? Do they even know what I look like?
Darien comes up behind me with Kalin as I reach the bottom. They flank me as I walk towards the run down houses. Slowly, the people begin trickling out. I gasp at their faces. Their eyes are sunken into their thin faces. Their bones jut out under their threadbare clothing. None of them are smiling.
One of the younger ones rushes up to Darien. "My prince, you have arrived."
The buckles on Darien's boots chime as he walks toward the boy. "Where is Ailee?"
He bows to Darien and waves for the people to move. Kalin grabs my arm and pulls me with him after the boy. I'm too in shock at the state of my people to fight him off. The boy leads us down a dark dirt road until we reach a small stone house that looks more sturdy than the others. A woman in a dark hood steps out. My eyes widen as she pulls her hood off. She looks nothing like her brother.
"So this is the puny princess you've been telling me about?" She spits, examining me.
I regain some of my composure and clear my throat.
Tipping my chin, I say "You must be Ailee, the fraud who thought she could steal my throne."
YOU ARE READING
RULE (Completed)
Abenteuer"You are queen now, start acting like it." Ariana has waited her entire life to become queen and rule her country. But things prove to be much more difficult than she ever thought they would be. After the death of her beloved father, her mother sudd...
