AURUM: DRACOSPHERE

Chapter One

As the sun rose over the magical land of Aurum, Princess Amandi did with it, though with less positivity. Despite an enjoyable night of rest, the young monarch was feeling particularly glum, as today she was supposed to be entertaining her betrothed, the despicable Prince Mal and his terrible father, King Lutum.

King Lutum was known for being deceitful and cold. It was a wide-spread rumour throughout his kingdom that he murdered his wife for total control of the land but strangely enough, nobody ever talked about it. Not even the most talkative of barmaids were willing to engage the topic and if any stupid drunkard or unknowing traveller brought it up, they were promptly shushed, and the subject was changed. After all, no one wanted to get on the bad side of a monarch so twisted he was considered the embodiment of Pravum himself.

The Queen despised the monarchs of Larimeth as much as her daughter did. Nevertheless, that did not stop her from wedding her unwilling daughter to the egotistical prince. Whatever it took to ensure Aurum was as prepared as possible for war and hardships, that is what the Queen was prepared to do.

Once prosperous, Aurum had certainly seen some harder years over the past century. No more than fifty years ago had there been a great civil war.  The conflict had not lasted long, but it took its toll on the land, especially after the war prompted an invasion by enemies, which had luckily been prevented by an avalanche as they trekked through the mountains.

Even with both battles won, Aurum was in need. The solution? A marriage. The unwilling Princess Amandi was to marry the boastful future king of Larimeth. At first, the princess had found the idea hysterical but the gruelling truth had set in over time. The truth that led the young princess to today, where she sat in her quarters, her hair being tugged and teased as other maids pulled a ridiculous wedding ensemble over her body. She had put up a great fight against her mother, but the decision had been made for her. After tonight, she would be the Princess of Larimeth, her freedom all but her own.

"Cheer up, Your Highness," Erith said as she combed Amandi's hair. "If it makes you feel any better, there was a rogue guard who allegedly hated Queen Olympia, so it may not have been an inside job after all!"

"Great. So, I won't have a murderous father-in-law, just a murderous security detail that wants to kill me!" Amandi replied sarcastically.

"Erith," Lynde said. "That's enough."

Lynde was in charge of all of the maids and was a rather matronly woman. She was a motherly figure to both the maids and to Amandi herself. She always listened to what the princess had to say and allowed Amandi to vent about her betrothal whenever she wished for as long as she liked. Amandi felt closer to Lynde than she did to her own mother at times.

"Now, now, dear, you needn't worry about that. Prince Mal may be a very different ruler from his father- and that old wasp will be dead soon anyway," Lynde said, lowering her voice during her last statement so only Amandi could hear.

"Perhaps," Amandi replied, briefly indulging herself in a laugh. "But from what I've seen, he's exactly the same as his father."

"It's not ideal, I know. But if there's anything you can do, dear, it's make the best out of a terrible situation. And I know that even if Mal wouldn't be, you would make a fine leader of Larimeth," Lynde reassured her.

"Thank you, Lynde," Amandi replied.

Although Lynde's words had brought comfort to the young royal, there was still a flurry of thoughts swirling in her mind. There was only one person who was able to ease her whenever she was feeling conflicted, and that was her mentor and the court mage- Madhavi.

"Erith," Amandi said. "Have you seen Madhavi?"

"Not today, Your Highness, but I needn't be concerned. I am sure that she will attend the ceremony," the maid replied.