Our Fractured Fairytale

.+*Bad Beginnings*+.

[T/W: DEATH]

The snow softly fell against the window that prince Roman stared out of. Remus sat curled against him, enjoying the warmth that the younger twin produced. The two stared out the window, waiting for Miss Cadence to inevitably come and wake them for breakfast. They had been awake for at least an hour by now.

They heard the door open, and both princes turned to the door. Instead of Miss Cadence, as they had expected, the queen stood there, leaning against the frame of the door. She walked over and knelt beside her sons. She pulled them both closer to her, staring out the window. 

"Roman," The two princes looked up at her. "Can you try and create a small flame, like we were practicing last night?"

Roman nodded, the faint red glow from his hand grew brighter and brighter, and eventually, a small fire burst from his fingertips and the flickering flames sat in the center of his palm. He kept it there for about a minute, before closing his hand into a fist, extinguishing the flame. Queen Maria nodded.

"Thank you, my son. I know this is tiring and tedious, but you are stronger then you could ever imagine, okay?"

The younger prince nodded, he understood by now that he could never tell anyone. King Alistair would have Roman hung. Roman had witnessed it himself.

Two years ago, age 10.

Both young princes sat up in a state of panic and fear, a blood-curdling scream echoed through the castle halls. They quickly jumped out of bed, running to their bedroom door and pressing their ears against the wood. Soft murmurs were barely heard from outside the door. After a moment or two of dead silence, they both cautiously returned to their beds, trying, and failing to go back to sleep.

The next day, just as the sun rose, there was a light tap against the wooden door. One of the maids opened it, bringing in a pile of folded clothes, which the young princes were instructed to put on before heading downstairs. The two brothers did just that, bundled up in layers of royal attire before going down to the grande hall. There was a small gathering, including the king, queen and a few of the royal guards, who held someone in chains.

There was a hushed murmur throughout the crowd and the young princes made their way to their mother. Queen Maria stood further to the back of the crowd, a nervous look on her face. She saw the boys and froze, grabbing King Alistair and turning him around.

"What are the children doing here, they're far too young to witness this!" She whisper yelled at her husband, who shook his head.

"They must witness what we do to monsters so that Remus can do the same when he takes over the throne." the King responded in a gruff voice.

The Queen nodded, taking the two young princes by the hand and leading them to follow as the crowd of people began to move out the castle doors. It was like the small town just before the castle fell silent at their entrance, with every villager stopping to watch the group walk to the center of town. Parents covered their children's eyes, others followed along with intrigue.

In the center of town was a platform that Roman did not recognize. There was a pole and hanging from it, a rope in an odd shape. The guards brought the stranger up onto the platform as the royal family took their seats in the front row. The seats around them slowly filled with townsfolk, and King Alistair stood up and made his way onto the platform.

"My loyal subjects," he began, causing a hush to fall over the anxious crowd. "We have gathered today to witness the execution of Matilda Annesley, who late last night was caught practicing the dark art of magic. Annesley, do you have any remarks on this?"

The woman lifted her head, her dirty blonde hair moving aside and revealing her face, littered with burns and scars.

"IT'S NOT A PRACTICE IT'S A GIFT! I KNOW EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOUR SECRETS, YOUR MAJESTY!" One of the guards grabbed onto the chains bound to her wrists, dragging her backward. She snapped her head up towards where the queen and her sons sat in the front row.

Matilda's face softened, yet she continued to twitch, wide-eyed. "Oh, does the young prince have a little secret that would hurt daddy's feelings?" She bared her teeth, a deranged look in her bloodshot eyes.

Roman turned to his mother, tears falling from his wide eyes. He clung to Remus, who was petrified, scared. As if the woman would attack the two princes right this second. The crowd exploded with murmurs and glances at the twins, which only made Roman curl in on himself more.

"Well you don't deserve to live up in the palace while your REAL family are brutally slaughtered! You deserve to share my fate young prince and I PROMISE you will! EVEN IF I HAVE TO BURN YOU ALIVE MYSELF-!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" The king cried out over the crowd, immediately silencing the whispers. He glared at the woman in chains, who only smiled back. "Hang her."

The guards jumped into action, one grabbing her by the chains and dragging her towards the rope, the other fighting off her enraged kicking and screaming. She was tied up, head through the hoop and a bag over her head.

An eerie aura fell on the crowd as the trapdoor beneath her dropped and Matilda let out a blood-curdling scream before her body hung there.

Lifeless.

The King stood tall on the platform, his voice booming over the crowd. "Matilda Annesley was hung for her crimes of dark forces. Let this be a warning for any other monsters left in my peaceful kingdom."

'Monsters.'

Roman often has nightmares of that morning. Especially the woman's screams, and her odd threat towards the prince. He was snapped out of his thoughts by his mother, a sad smile on her face. She stood up and outstretched her hand for both her children to take.

"Let's go exploring, just the three of us. We can take one of the horses and ride into the forest. What do you say?" Both the princes glanced at each other, a spark of excitement in their eyes as they both nodded.

"Well then get dressed you two! Roman nothing too formal, Remus you have to have pants on."

The princes both nodded, running off in the opposite directions and talking excitedly about possible things they could do. Queen Maria glanced out the window, her smile slipping as she hid her cough.