The Vengeful Princess

Chapter 1: A New Beginning

The palace had been altered significantly since I last laid eyes upon it. I had expected to feel a consuming sadness, an emptiness or longing for everyone and everything I had lost here, but all that bubbled up within me was anger. 

King Francis had moved his family into my father's palace, my palace, after uniting Northern Aztalon with his own kingdom, Veremund to create New Cynesige, meaning royal victory; no doubt a reference to the conquering of Northern Aztalon. My father's name had been disgraced by the nation and my people turned into slaves. Meanwhile King Francis had invited 100 families to sponsor their Privileged to attend a courting ritual to help the Prince select his future wife before his coronation. 

The Privileged. 100 girls, aged anywhere from 16 to 20 were invited to the palace to essentially, fight over the Prince's heart. Provided that they had the means to support themselves of course. If their sponsors had decided that their Privileged weren't worth the money, they had the option of pulling their sponsorship, leaving the Privileged to fend for herself. Of course, we were also free to leave court whenever we wanted, but who would pass up the chance to be the next Queen of New Cynesige? 

I stepped out of the carriage, bowing demurely to the blue suited officer that had came to escort me. As he climbed up the steps to the royal blue palace doors with my trunks, I bid a quick farewell to my driver. I mirrored his farewell gesture, a quick star with the index finger across the side of the lower neck, across where his red northern star tattoo was hidden. Be careful. To anyone else, it seemed as if I were simply scratching an itch, but we knew the true weight behind such a simple movement. It affirmed our loyalty to The Forsaken. 

The palace was as opulent as ever, from the ornate chandeliers that hung in every room to the walls that had been freshly painted with New Cynesige's offical colour, royal blue, accented with gold around the panelling. Such pretty embellishments hiding the gruesome massacre that took place in these exact halls only four years prior. 

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The officer grinned, "Renovation only finished recently, so most of the structures are new. The rooms have been redecorated too, in our royal colour."

I sent the guard a weary nod of acknowledgement. He took that as a sign of encouragement and continued, "Lucky you! The Privileged will all be staying in the left wing with the royals. They will be up on the fifth level, you will be on the third with all the other Privileged. Although you will be living in close quarters with them, that does not give you the permission to visit them without an invitation. Not even the prince!" He sent me a wink. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "You have until dinnertime to settle in. I bet you've never stayed anywhere this nice before, right? Not to worry, take your time. Your maids will assist you."

Two curious faces greeted me as I entered, dressed in maid uniforms in that same colour I was quickly tiring of. They immediately jumped up from the sofa where they had been waiting, rushed over and introduced themselves as Ella and Ivy as they hauled my trunks into the room. After so many years devoid of any domestic help, it was strange yet somewhat nostalgic watching them unpack my things. I sprawled out onto the silky four poster bed, feeling my body gently sinking into the soft mattress. Ella and Ivy engaged in a murmured conversation as they worked, their hushed whispers lulling me to sleep.

♕

From the moment I closed my eyes, I was plagued with nightmares. 

My skin sizzled as they pressed the red hot iron rod into my inner arm. I felt my body spasm in pain, black dots clouding my vision as I sank my teeth into the rubber bit stuffed in my mouth, releasing a strangled scream. 

"Hold her down!" The voice was muffled through my haze of pain, but I felt strong hands pinning me down as the rod was pressed deeper into my skin. My eyes watered and my body sagged in relief as they took the rod away, revealing a small northern star burnt into my arm, no bigger than a fingernail.