Chapter 1
I am resting in my chambers when I hear hurried footsteps approaching. Last week, I joined the General on his visit to the borders. Two days prior, my father left for peace discussions. When I heard that the General had matters to attend to at the borders, I requested that he let me accompany him, and he surprisingly relented. I wanted to see how bad things were for myself, but the General wouldn’t allow me to leave the estate. In fact, I have been confined to the estate with dozens of soldiers assigned to protect me, while he disappeared for days at a time, attending endless meetings and carrying out his duties. The Royal Estate is vast, nearly the size of a small castle. The Royal family rarely uses it anymore.
I look towards the entrance and see my maid, Svia, walk in, looking extremely out of it and nervous. A sharp contrast to her usual composed self. Worried, I sit up straight.
“What’s the matter, Svia? Why do you seem so tense?” I ask her, my brows furrowing.
She looks behind her and walks up to me in a rush. She breathes erratically, “Y-Your Highness. I-I think something is v-very wrong.”
My stomach tightens. Something has felt off to me as well.
“The soldiers around you have been acting strangely,” she continues.
I frown and question her, my throat tight. “What do you mean, Svia?”
She looks around anxiously and whispers, lowering her tone to a gentle hush, “I feel that they’ve been monitoring us. Monitoring you, Princess. I’ve been hearing strange rumors. That the General will overthrow the Crown, or he already has.”
I sit there in silence. Her words sound like damnation.
“Princess, it sounds absurd, but there is no reason for me to make this up. I-I admired the General. How can this be? I don’t know, but it’s not safe for us here. We don’t know what they’ll do to you.”
I stand up on shaky legs. “W-What are you saying, Svia? The General…, he would never betray the King. You can’t speak of such matters so lightly.” This is too absurd to be true. Then, why do I feel so unsettled? Where is father?
I search her face, but the worry in her eyes looks so genuine, and the terror even more so.Is this why everything seemed so tense and strange lately? It was calm on the surface, but there was an ominous undertone to it, which I had blindly ignored. I felt safe around him. I knew no harm would come to me as long as he was shielding me. I overlooked the foreboding I had been sensing these past few days. I had brushed it all aside and blamed it on the circumstances.
How can this be? He would never, ever commit such a heinous crime. It isn’t in his character. Perhaps we are mistaken? Svia is mistaken? We are misunderstanding the General, and he is only ensuring my safety.
General Warkiar is the kingdom’s most beloved man. At only thirty-one, he has led our kingdom through great victories, territorial expansions, and successful treaties. He rose to the highest rank in Vestia’s military at a very young age. It was considered prodigious. Every woman wanted him despite his not having a noble background. I was one of them.
He is a virtuous man. I trust him. I believe him. I try to placate my worries, pacing around the chamber, tears brimming in my eyes. Yes. This is it. I need to speak with him.
“I have to speak to him,” I whisper.
Svia replies, but I don’t quite register what she says. I am already walking out of the chambers and towards the General’s quarters. Is he even back yet? As I am walking through the vast corridors of the estate, the air feels stifling. Every guard I pass by stands unnaturally still, lowering their eyes upon seeing me. With every step, my composure begins to unravel. My breathing is growing unsteady, and I quicken my pace.
I can’t make sense of the dissonance between the man I knew and the possibility of his betrayal. I round the corner leading to the General’s chambers, and my eyes land on the group of soldiers gathered in the corridor. Upon taking a closer look, I realize that these are the General’s most trusted officers, and they appear to be cheering as if celebrating something. I continue walking, and as I get closer to the group, I spot him standing in the center. All eyes turn to me, and I only stop when I am standing a few feet away from him. Weirdly, nobody acknowledges me. No formal and respectful greetings are exchanged.
Instead, everyone’s attention is focused on the General again, whose eyes are set on me. He holds my gaze for a long moment before the corners of his mouth lift into the faintest hint of a smile. I open my mouth to speak, but words refuse to form. What is happening here?
“This is the happiest I’ve been in a year. The King deserved it,” one of them says, sounding relieved.
“Ha…, this is the happiest I’ve been all my life. TheEmpirewill be in good handsnow,” another cheers, as if taunting me.
I stand there, frozen. A painful anguish grips my heart. What are they saying…? The General would never. He would never. I can feel my legs shaking, but I manage to force the words out. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Careful, Princess. Speak with caution. It’s the King, no, the Emperor that you’re speaking to,” the General’s commander warns me, with a hint of malice. Only now do I take notice of the tall, well-built officers surrounding me. These men had once been the loyal subjects of the Royal family. I had never felt threatened in their presence. Suddenly, I feel small and take a step back instinctively. The General looks delighted. Was he enjoying this?
“W-what?” I can’t breathe. “Mehr…” I turn to him. “What is the meaning of this? No, y-you wouldn’t betray my father. You wouldn’t.” I am pleading with him. My vision blurs as tears spill down my cheeks.
“Aelia, it’s ‘Your Majesty’ to you. Don’t forget your pl-” An older soldier blurts out.
The General’s head whips towards him, and the soldier pauses mid-sentence. He quickly apologizes, his head bowed in shame. “I apologize for speaking ignorantly, Your Majesty.”
“The Princess,” he emphasizes the title and continues, “needs some time.”
General Warkiar points at the maid standing in the corner. “Take her back to her chambers.” He orders an officer standing next to him. “Accompany them.”
“No. W-where’s my father?” I ask, dread gnawing at me.
He says nothing.
Rage boils inside me, and impulse takes over. I snatch the sword from an officer’s side and march towards the General, screaming, “Where is he?”
The General swiftly moves aside, and before I know it, he is grabbing me from behind. His hands take hold of my arms and force the sword out of my hands.
“Is this what I taught you?” He whispers in my ear, condescendingly.
He grips my arm roughly and drops the sword on the ground. He gestures to his commander. All the officers bow to the General and begin leaving the hallway.
Mehr starts dragging me away forcibly. “S-Stop.” I try to free my arm, but my resistance doesn’t affect him in the slightest.
“I said stop. What did you d-do? Where is he?”
He pauses in his steps and yanks me closer to him. Looking down at me, he sneers, “Don’t test your luck, Aelia.” Then, he hauls me away by the arm, stopping in front of an old, unused storage room. He shoves me inside, sending me stumbling before I land hard on my hips. The door slams shut with a loud bang, and I am left alone in the dark room with anxiety and terror.
