[DISCONTINUED] -The Elements of Disharmony Book One- §Shadows and Flame§

Chapter 1

They call me Princess Ashlyn Adara, the girl with the ability to warm even the coldest of hearts with a simple song.
But I choose to go by Ash.
You can call me whatever, really. It doesn't matter. 
My title doesn't mean much.  Princesses don't sit around looking pretty, dance with hot boys and spend their days singing to kids at the orphanage.  They charge into battle, meet with foreign leaders and do things that actually matter!
Princess? It's more symbolic. I appear at events, stand by Mom, Dad and Kai and dance at balls.  
I act compassionate, beautiful, intelligent, and not a threat at all.
Why? You ask? Surely I have control over that!
Well,  it's all an illusion. An intricate one woven by me, one that fools every single person in this kingdom.
You see, if I appear lethal, I'll be on every villain's kill list.  If I'm not already. Why should I place an even bigger target on my back?  By seeming innocent, they'll be able to push me aside for a few more days, while I sit in my castle, scheming for the masses.
Not to mention the citizens.  They'll be more likely to fight for someone they love, someone who has so much to lose, someone so innocent and compassionate.
    I can envision it clearly:
There's that soldier who comes home, picks up their little daughter and spins her around.  That night, she'll tell him about her day. "Mommy got me a pale yellow dress, just like Princess Ash.  Daddy, we sung Princess Ash's new song in music class.  Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be just like Ash." 
    See what I mean? 
Now, onto my family.
My mother is Princess Celestia. You know her.  Benevolent goddess of the day, raises the sun and has this flowing rainbow hair that I have to admit, is really fun to play with. 
But is she really that benevolent? She banished Lord Tirek to Tartarus itself, King Sombra to the frozen north, Queen Chrysalis to somewhere no one knows. Heck, she even banished what? A 10 year old to Tartarus? Not to mention encasing her own fiance in stone.  All for 1000 years. All because they pissed her off.  And Mom gets pissed very easily. 
My brother, Kai is three years older than me.  At seventeen, he's hot. (No pun intended). He's everyone's childhood crush. He can act like the perfect prince charming, but it's that mischievous twinkle in his eye that really makes you blush.
My dad ...well, everyone says he's Discord. Here's the thing. We don't look anything like each other.  There's no family resemblance whatsoever.
      You'd lock me up in an insane asylum if I told you my guess for who my real dad is. Ready? Ok.
    King Sombra. I have three good reasons why.
1.   Appearances.  We both share glossy, wavy raven hair, but mine has blue, pink, red and green streaks in it.  I have fangs that look like his, and we look very similar when we smile.
2.   Ever since I was 10, I started getting these birthday gifts.  One year it was a book on mind control (which yes, I also have). Another year it was a black crystal whip chain.  Last year it was a set of black crystal weapons.  All of them came with a smoky black message tipped in purple, green and red which disappeared as soon as I read it.  I knew not to tell mom or dad.
3.   Sometimes these creepy shadows talk to me. They help me out with magic : Emphasize the hand movement more.  They congratulate me: Good, Ashlyn. Your fighting skills have gotten so much better since I last saw you. They even comfort me:  Don't let them get to you, they are weak, crippled, fragile beings compared to you.  Show them. He is the King of Shadows, after all.
I'm actually not creeped out by the fact that he may very well be my dad.  You get used to those kinds of things over a while.
    But then there are the things that you never get used to.
Last year, I was in class and just sitting in the front, doodling dress designs while taking notes in history.  Pretty normal day, huh?
Yeah, right.  Our teacher was droning on and on about the Obsidian War, when Commander Tempest Storm led an army against King Sombra himself. 
He left to use the bathroom.
That's when the chaos started. Three bullies who had ended up in my class started calling me names. They noticed my fangs, my hair. They called me a Tartarus Spawn and laughed in my face, pushed me onto the floor and beat me relentlessly.  They even called me Sombra's child. Little did I know that was true.
I was so frustrated, so scared, and my survival instincts turned on.
I literally set the damn school on fire by accident. Flames erupted, the alarm went off, and all I remember was the smell of burning flesh before I passed out.
When I woke up, I was lying in the rubble of our school building, which was nothing more than a skeleton of metal and ash.  No one could get to me because I was surrounded by a ring of fire. 
That's when I realized I was a pyrokinetic.  And, heck, I was thrilled! Call me psycho, but for a moment I just shrieked in delight and basked in glory.   Controlling fire? Awesome!
Then I looked around and saw the damage I had done. All my happiness was sucked out of me.  Ambulances were there.  It turned out I had killed my entire class.   I gasped, in shock and horror. I did this? 
But, I hate to admit it, at the same time I was overwhelmed by how powerful I was.  How much raw magic I had.
You have potential, the shadows whispered in my ear.
By age 13 I was a murderer of double my age.  26 people lie dead in their graves because of me.
A year later, I still ask myself the same questions.
Was it really my fault? They provoked me.  And a spark has to start a flame.
I didn't even know it was going to happen!
I had good intentions! I never wanted to do something like that! But in this world, no one cares about your intentions.   
My mother did her best to cover it up, but rumors spread like wildfire. (Again, no pun intended).
Now, whispers follow me wherever I go, along with the names. Arsonist, murderer, Tartarus Spawn.  I've heard it all.
That's why I work extra hard to cover it up, keeping my mask on.
The more innocent I play it, the more this rumor will pale in comparison to all my good deeds. 
    At this new school, I'll have a chance at starting over.  I can work my way back up. I can restore my reputation as the darling of the kingdom. The princess everyone loves for her compassion and amazing voice.  As Princess Ashlyn, not a murderer who burned her school to the ground and killed her classmates in cold blood.
For how can a murderer of 26 sing little children to sleep?