The Vengeful Princess

Chapter 5: A Forbidden Meeting

Dead leaves crunched underfoot as I ran softly through the woods, the dark silouhettes of trees blurring in my peripheral vision. The endless inky abyss overhead was speckled with thousands of glittering stars, the brightest being the Northern Star which I used as my guide as I headed deeper into the woods. Adrenaline pumped  through my veins, each of my senses overtly aware of my surroundings. 

I had been jittery all night as Ella and Ivy went through my night time routine, partly with excitement, partly with anxiety. It was the anxiety brewing in the stomach that currently consumed me. Ella and Ivy had already proven their loyalty to me that first morning by keeping my possession of the Prince's coat, which I still needed to return, a secret. However, I had no doubt that their fear of King Francis' wrath was stronger, should they check up on me during the night and find an empty bed. It would be policy to alert the palace guards. 

I had used the same route from my first night in the palace, once again bursting out the side of Aphrodite, nearly stumbling straight onto an off duty guard and his mistress fornicating against the statue. Thankfully, they were too preoccupied to notice my sudden presence and I was able to sneak off. 

Despite Irelia's mandatory daily 5am runs during my time with the Forsaken, I was panting with exertion as I came to a stop in the clearing. My ragged breaths were the only noise amongst the ominously silent opening. The empty opening. Cautiously, I stepped forward out of the security amongst the trees, on high alert as I came to a stop in the middle. I would be a vulnerable target to any awaiting assassins. Walls of trees towered over me, and behind those trees were merely more, stretching on in all directions, the foreboding shadowy silhouettes creating a wall that obscured any oncoming dangers from my sight. 

 Paranoia coursed through me. What if Irelia had been caught by the palace guards? I listened for any approaching footsteps in the distance. 

A sharp whistle pierced the air, the familiar sound immediately triggering my reflexes. I threw my head back and bent my knees, bringing the centre of my body closer to the ground and shooting my arms out from my side to stabilise my position. I felt the whisper of a wind brush past my face as the arrow sailed past where my head had been a few seconds ago. I pulled my dagger from where it was strapped onto my thigh and threw it towards where the arrow had originated from. It embedded itself into a tree, centimetres from Irelia's smug face. 

"You missed." Irelia pulled the blade out from the tree and coolly walked over, handing it back to me. "Your aim needs practice."

I snorted. "And Ashe is still a better shot than you." I shoved the dagger back into place.

Irelia's white hair looked even whiter under the moonlight. Although I didn't know how her hair became such a bizarre colour, I had heard rumours from Ashe and Silas that it was a result of King Francis' sadistic torture and experiment with chemicals. Irelia's background was a mystery, but I had seen the burns across her neck and hands, the only places that she didn't cover up with long garments. One of her earlobes had a jagged edge, as if bitten off, which I had always found too disturbing to bring up. 

One by one, the members of the Forsaken slunk out from the shadows and stepped into the clearing. Ashe rushed forward from the crowd and threw her arms around me, "Rose! I've missed you! Irelia has been so anxious ever since you departed, I've been forced to train twice as hard as usual lately..." She sent a joking glare towards Irelia. 

Irelia cleared her throat as she focused her steely grey eyes on me. "The reason I've called for a meeting is because the Initiation Ball is quickly approaching. This is a vital time to gain the Prince's affections and get close to him. You can use him to dethrone or discredit the King. I'm sure Alex will know about the King's usurping and treason against your father, maybe even helped him. I see that you have successfully passed the first elimination - how is it going with the Prince?"