Kingdom of Refuge

Chapter 1

"Many moons ago a favoured people made a dangerous journey across the icy sea of Dunis, in search of a place of their own in which to settle. The mighty warrior who guided them forward, was said to have the ear of God. The weary travellers came upon a land of kings and magic, a place they were to call their own."

A loud pop echoed through the room and a thin tendril of smoke rose from the stage. Ruby chuckled, her lone laughter amplified in the arrested silence that filled the theatre, as the hunched over narrator drifted across the stage in a less than graceful shuffle.

"The rich soil and breath-taking forestry drew them as did the certainty of their leader." A thin man in a long robe and staff, stepped onto the stage and bellowed, "This is the place to which our God directs us" and a loud shout erupted from the meagre crowd surrounding him.

The narrator continued, "The people had rejoiced, at last they had found a home, a place free of oppression where they could freely serve their God. But the darkness that filled the land was great, the kingdoms that surrounded were hardly welcoming and even though their God was powerful, and their leader was fearless, many adopted the ways of Saharia, forsaking El, the only wise God of Aldor. It had been a long journey for the travellers from the time of their arrival on the shores of Saharia, and during that time the many trials they endured caused division among them, scattering their kind throughout the lands. It was of this people that the great Kingdom of Aldor emerged, the only people who had not forsaken the God who had brought them to this new land."

As the drumming intensified, Ruby looked over at her sister, who despite having seen this play numerous times before, was utterly enveloped. Ruby rolled her eyes, she could think of so many other things she could be doing right now.

"The kingdom of Aldor began as a fortified city upon a cliff and nestled against majestic mountains. With time the small kingdom expanded into prosperous villages and farmlands and neighbouring cities, over which the main city overlooked, now called Stone Vale after the first king of Aldor. Now under the wise leadership of King Kalgary of Stone, descendent of the first king of Aldor and a loyal servant of El, the source of good and highest of all..."

"Ugh, how many times do we have to hear this story?"

"Quiet Ruby. And it's not a story, it's a history lesson."

Ruby sighed and slouched lower in her chair, feeling the sharp ache in her posterior grow into a persistent throb.

"If we are to listen to this again, the least they can do is get us more comfortable chairs and better actors."

Topaz, her sister shook her head, "maybe if you stopped acting like you were so ignorant of Aldor's ways, father would not keep asking Baron Enis to keep putting on this play for us."

Ruby rolled her eyes, "this is doing nothing to help my ignorance. If we are bound only by our loyalty to El, then why is there discrimination, why is there disdain towards those who do not look like natives... like me!"

"Princesses!" came Baron Enis' disapproving reprimand. He was sitting one row in front of them and had turned around to level his signature glare at the princesses.

"Sorry Baron," both sisters muttered simultaneously, earning Ruby a hard glare from her sister.

The king had five children, a son and four daughters, Jasper, Pearl, Ruby, Topaz and Diamond. They all grew up within the safety of the kingdom, all they had ever known were the ways of Aldor, ways they were expected to uphold and defend as future leaders. But Ruby, Ruby never quite felt like she belonged, and in a way, she might have been right. See, the king's blood did not flow through the veins of the troublesome princess, and so the power and honour that royalty afforded her, seemed to pale in comparison to her desire to be accepted for who she was, starting with the lengths she had to go through to hide her differences. As her most recent rebellion proved, Ruby was set on doing as she pleased, even if it meant going against the ways of the kingdom, ways that she felt herself despising more every day.