BANISHED

Prologue

Faye's head would not stop spinning as she tried to process the information she had just been given. She didn't know what to do. She was supposed to meet Elijah at the clearing but she was certain that after her parents found out she wouldn't be able to leave the castle. It had been just one night, a night that Faye remembered so vividly...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He had gently reached for her hand, holding it in his as if it were a piece of glass that would break at the slightest touch. His gaze lingered on her manicured hand, leaving Faye confused before he looked up at her, his hazel, brown eyes meeting her pale, blue ones. He held her hand in both of his while he spoke,

"Come with me darling, please. Just for tonight, I want to be alone with you without the constant fear of being caught. I'll show you places you've never seen before, Faye. Please...I love you." Elijah's voice was full of genuine passion and love for the young princess who had managed to steal his heart the first day they met.

Faye just looked at the prince, hesitant to accept his offer. She wanted to go with him and not be afraid of their kingdoms ever finding out, but she had never defied her parents' orders before. Eventually, she slowly nodded her acceptance of his offer. She loved him and she figured that one night wouldn't hurt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She would never forget that night for as long as she lived. It was, dare she say, the best night of her life. However, she didn't realize that it would lead to this.

'You're pregnant.'

Those haunting words were etched into the young princess's brain. She was only 19 and wasn't even crowned as queen yet, she wasn't ready to have a child! But alas, the universe clearly had something else planned for the princess, and whatever that was, it clearly wasn't good.

Faye then looked up at the doctor who was still in the room. Her eyes were full of fear and were glassed over with tears, this had to be some sort of sick joke. Maybe Faye just had a temporary stomach illness and it would all go away within the next few days. Maybe the doctor was just joking around, hoping to get a laugh out of the miserable princess.

"Please, tell me it's a joke. No, it has to be a joke. There's no way! Please, doctor, tell me you're lying!" It was evident in Faye's voice that she had truly hoped that this was a sick joke that the doctor was playing, but the serious expression on the middle-aged woman's face showed no signs of humor or amusement.

"I'm afraid I do not 'joke around' Princess. I do not lie to my patients. I tell them the truth and only that. I do not tell them what they want to hear. I wish you the best of luck Princess and I'll assign you a midwife to assist you throughout your pregnancy and your child's birth." With those words the doctor was gone, leaving Faye alone to process the information that had just been dumped on her.

She was with child at the age of 19 and she wasn't married. Her father, although an understanding and caring man, was someone who respected tradition and if it wasn't followed, there would be consequences. Of course, Faye just had to be born into a royal family where everyone's main focus was.

Faye remained seated on her bed, mentally cursing out the God that she had been raised to love. The God that was supposed to love every single one of his children. The God that was supposed to be there for you through thick and thin. Well where was that God now, and why had he ruined Faye's future?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Her parents had never mentioned the doctor's visit over the past week. They were just happy to have there daughter back to what seemed like perfect health. They also figured that she would tell them what was wrong, but she never did, so a week later at dinner, her father decided to ask.

"So, Faye, how did your check-up with Dr. Kingston go?" Her father, King Charles, questioned while everyone was gathered at the table for dinner.

"Yes, do tell. We were quite worried about you darling." Faye's mother, Queen Sage, joined in on the harmless interrogation. Faye knew that her face had paled significantly after she had processed her parents' words. She didn't want to answer them; she couldn't answer them. She just wanted to stand up, leave the table, runaway, and never return, however, she knew it wasn't that simple. Faye swallowed the bit of food she had in her mouth before speaking up, answering her father's question.

"I'm pregnant," Faye answered truthfully, already preparing herself for the lecture that was certain to come.

"You are what?!" The King and Queen asked in disbelief, not believing the words that had just come out of their beloved daughter's mouth.

"You're not even married, Faye! Have some decency!" Her mother scolded, ashamed of her daughter's actions. Just then, one of the castle servants entered the room, but they could sense the tension in the air and left immediately.

"Who's the father?!" King Charles asked, his voice echoing throughout the dining hall and the empty castle hallways. Faye flinched slightly at the tone of her father's voice and moved down in her seat.

"Prince Elijah," Faye answered quietly.

"Who?!" Her father asked, the volume of his voice never changing. Queen Sage placed a hand on her husband's arm, trying to get him to quiet down.

"Prince Elijah," Faye repeated her answer, a little louder than before, and that's when all hell broke loose.

"PRINCE ELIJAH?! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! NOT ONLY WILL YOU HAVE A CHILD OUT OF WEDLOCK, BUT IT'S FATHER IS SOMEONE WE STRICTLY ORDERED YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM?! YOU ARE NOT OUR DAUGHTER! WE DID NOT RAISE YOU LIKE THIS, FAYE!" The King was clearly not happy with the news he had just received. He took a breath, calming down slightly before speaking again, only slightly though. "I want you out of this castle and out of this kingdom by dawn," he told her. "And don't you ever think about coming back! I'd rather pass the crown off to some commoner than give it to you just for you to pass down to some bastard child!" Faye's father snapped. Faye hadn't even realized that she was close to crying until she felt a few warm tears roll down her face.

"Language, dear," The Queen reminded her husband.

Faye didn't stay in the dining hall for much longer. She left her food, that she had barely touched, on the table, and made her way to her room. She informed the midwife of her leave and then packed as much stuff as she could into a rather small, leather satchel and left the castle, soon disappearing into the night.

The midwife had given Faye directions to a small abandon cottage in the forest because she didn't want the pregnant princess trying to fend for herself in the woods. Faye eventually made it to the cottage where her life alone began.