Serene

All Credits to Joshua Turner (https://twitter.com/joshuat) and Pinterest for Book Cover.

In only two hours of time, the country of Mondine would have a ruler once again. A female ruler. A queen, just like the one three centuries ago. A ruler who would find and avenge her siblings, that was the expectation. But her survival of the morning was uncertain. Would her fate match her late siblings or would she persevere?

Serene sat up straight, her eyes shut. The servants, who were brushing on blush across her cheeks, could have thought she was asleep. Perhaps, that was where they got the courage to speak of such defamatory comments.

“Who would have thought the thirteenth princess would become the ruler?” One commented in a whisper.

Another maid scoffed, “And only a month of time since the Seventh Prince’s death?”

“That’s because he was your favorite.”

The maid nodded, not bothering to whisper. “He was. She should’ve died then, instead of him.”

Serene sat up straight. She had to combat the thoughts intruding her mind; she couldn’t just blank out again. None of them even considered her position, though. How did they have the courage to speak of the tragedy that was just weeks before her literal face? She had not been involved in the politics of Mondine, but certainly, most people weren’t as shameless as these women.

In addition, they were her sister’s, the late Third Princess Juliane Valentin’s, personal maids. From the ounce of the relationship Serene knew her from, Juliane would’ve never have tolerated such behavior. Even Serene’s personal maids had such courtesy, although he had no idea where those women disappeared to.

Thankfully, a knock stopped the women from continuing their gossip. All fell silent as the familiar voice of the Royal Advisor delivered a reminder. “Your Highness, you have ten minutes.”

Serene, whose eyes never opened, gave a nod as if the man behind the doors would be able to see.

“You must hurry. I must reach the attendant as soon as possible,” she ordered her sister’s maids. Someone chuckled, but Serene didn’t acknowledge it. She didn’t care, nor was it her main worry. Unlike most, she had not yet forgotten the danger against her life.

In a short amount of time, the servants finished her makeup and hair, helping her rise from the seat she was glued on for the past two hours. Her eyes barely grazed upon the reflection of her appearance, only remarking on the pure white dress she was wearing. Only gold embellishments dared to differentiate the color.

Opening the door with a simple wave of a hand, Serene hurried to join the Royal Advisor’s side. The man shook his head in pity when the princess ran towards him.

“Your Highness, you do remember what is to happen, right?” Before Serene could even agree, the man allowed himself to explain again. “First, you must greet the peoples, following after your oath. The archbishop will bless you and you will be crowned. Then——”

“A series of Lords will give me their promises of allegiance,” Serene jumped in. “Sir, I know.”

“It’s miraculous you do. You were so far down the succession line, yet you were able to be prepared in such a short amount of time.”

She looked up at him. “I am to be the Sovereign. This is the least I should know.”

“And it’s a pity that no one can help you learn. Not even Theo, I’ve heard he used to spend a lot of time with you.”

Serene shifted her head away, her body already shaking at the name. The Royal Advisor continued talking but she had already tuned him out.

Theodore. That was a name she hadn’t heard in months and one she didn’t want to hear of, especially not on her coronation day. Theodore, the First Prince. The ex-Crown Prince. The first dead royal.

It took her months, months for her to mourn, to get over her sole blood sibling’s death. Months for her mourn the loss of her sole best friend.

He had been decided to be the crown prince the day he was born, although he was a mere concubine’s child, for there was no heir for five years. It only helped that he looked like a spitting image of his father, late King Jacques Valentin.

And it only ruined her that she looked like the Fifth Concubine. He was a brunet, while she was blonde. The only similarity between them was their identical brilliant blue eyes. It was only the two of them with the color, given that their father had green. The other concubines had a different range of colors.

Even so, he decided to stay with her, teach her, befriend her, out of all their fifteen other siblings. He taught her to read, argued with her on politics, scolded her with sciences, all in her home alone.

She had caught on quick, maybe faster than him with the same topics, despite their eight-year age gap; Serene was more of a prodigy than Theodore was and it said a lot. More than his constant repetition of “if only” that would start and end every sentence that came out of his mouth. If she was younger, she could have mistaken it with her name with the number of times he said it.

Regardless, she couldn’t imagine that she would usurp him. Take his rightful place.

“And that you would be the one to discover Theodore’s body? It’s a blessing that you were not convicted as the murderer. I suppose the fact that your back is forever ruined helped you. It wouldn’t make sense that you would be able to harm your back…” The advisor continued rattling off words that her brother would’ve jailed him for. He was lucky, for Serene had no wish of doing so. She needed him for his title only, everything else she already knew.

But that would be too peculiar. Perhaps only a person or two knew of her actual education.

The advisor opened the gates of the castle for her to step out of. She did so, only now paying attention to his words. “And the fact that you had the blood of both Darren and Étienne on you was too suspicious, your Highness. It’s a surprise that Luc’s wasn’t, although he was never hurt, was he?”

Darren. Étienne. Luc. Was it some sort of trend to mention all of her siblings minutes before her ceremony started? She ought to mention the advisor’s dead wife and see how he would react.

Unfortunately, her sense of humor could not battle memories of that night.

Serene gasped as her thoughts won over her. Vivid pictures flowed in her mind as she lost her focus on her entering the carriage standing out front. She attempted to keep her head up high as she bit the insides of her mouth.

It had been six months after Theodore’s death, and she still regretted escaping out of the castle. But she couldn’t have been blamed, along with three of her brothers; they had grown tired of being stuck in the castle. Although the restriction made complete sense, back then, it seemed like the murderer for then twelve of their siblings’ death would never be found.

She shouldn’t have, but she invited the trio into the abandoned palace that had always been her home. It was out in the countryside——how the murderer knew of it was still beyond her. There must have been a spy attached to one of them, for her brother was the only outsider who knew of it. Excluding her mother and father, of course.

“Serene, what are you waiting for?” Darren, the Tenth Prince, snarled at her. Her brother’s arms were on an angle, his sword barely protecting him from the opposing one. “Take the baby and run. Save his life, at the very least!”

With Theodore’s death, she should have assumed that the rendezvous she had with the Sixth and Tenth Prince had come to an end. The little sneakings she had then included the Seventeenth Prince, someone she found herself babying too much, were over. How dare she invite them over for one last time?

Thank goodness the Sixth Prince had not arrived yet. At least he would be a survivor. Serene tightened her grasp around the child, her feet barely missing the hem of her dress as she ran out of the ballroom.

The clanging of the two swords echoed the halls she passed until suddenly it stopped. A piercing scream replaced the sound, but that died down quickly. Her pace slowed down as the realization hit her. Darren might have only acknowledged her presence because of Theodore, but at the end of the day, he was still her brother.

Her brother perished because of her. She took a deep breath and started running again. With the Tenth Prince gone, it would mean the killer would go after her. Her heels hit the floor loudly, making too loud of a commotion.

She kicked them off in the process but made a thud as they hit something, following by a groan. Her eyes lowered as she turned her head around. There were no walls behind her but on the sides instead.

Her brilliant blue eyes widened as she recognized the man they hit. His voice followed after. “Damn, Serene. What was that for?”

“Étienne,” she breathed, turning her entire body parallel to his. She was grateful but fearful that the Sixth Prince arrived. At least his sword was strapped on him. “Why are you here? Get out, Étienne. You need to get away.”

Her words were barely understandable between the mumbles that came out.

“What are you talking about? Or more importantly, why were you running?” He wasn’t going to listen to her, but they were only giving more of an opportunity for the killer to catch up with them.

Although soft, a sound of approaching footsteps was getting louder and louder. The sword, on the other hand, glided against the floor. A chill went down her body.

Serene grabbed his hand and started to run again, barely holding onto the child in the other. There was a low chance her older brother heard; it was his biggest weakness when she fought against him. Those little disputes that would never happen again. A frown grew on her face.

Complacent but still very confused, Étienne repeated, “Why are we running?”

“He’s here, Étienne, why are you having such difficulty understanding that? We’re going to die!” Serene snapped, before breaking into tired sobs. She didn’t have time to argue; she needed to figure out a path, a course for them to take. “We’re going to die just like everyone else.”

The man not only slowed down his pace but stopped in his tracks. His voice dropped to barely a whisper as he let go of her hand. “Then you have to run.”

“Exactly!” Serene argued in between sobs. Her shoulders shook violently. “Exactly, so come on! Étienne, get up!”

“You have to protect Luc,” he said slowly, referring to the baby in her arms. It still bewildered her as to how he was still fast asleep. Serene shook her head, now motioning for the older prince to follow her. “I’ll fight him.”

“He already killed Darren!”

Pain flashed between his eyes. Now his blood sibling was gone, just like hers. A tear slipped down his face, as he shook his head sadly. “So let me get you time. Run, Serene!”

The Thirteenth Princess tapped her bare feet impatiently. “Étienne, please. I can’t lose you too.”

“This is what Theo would’ve wanted.”

“Now is not the time to think of Theo!”

Étienne put his hand up, silencing her voice. Her whimpers didn’t stop though. “I hear him. You need to leave.”

“Étienne, my goodness! Come with me, please. You can’t leave me like this. Not you too.”

“You need to protect yourself. Save yourself.” Étienne unsheathed his sword, steadying in his hands as he turned his back away from her.

“Étienne, please,” she begged again, but her feet had already begun to move. Naturally, she knew she had to abandon her brother. How cruel had she become?

The Sixth Prince turned towards her one last time. “Serene.”

Serene shut her eyes closed, not caring for the drips of water that were falling down her chin. And her feet took off.

She ran, ran as if she had never run in her entire life. The woman sprinted up three staircases, with only one place in mind. Tiny chips of wood entered her feet but all the physical pain was overshadowed by the emotional.

Serene tuned out the clashes of fighting until there were no longer any sounds. Keeping her two brothers’ deaths out of mind, she only focused on the baby’s safety.

Her bruised feet led her to the dusty attic, a place which she had not bothered to return to since her childhood. Moonlight shone through the singular window, reflecting off wooden crates.

Serene collapsed right in the middle of the room, falling to the floor. Dust jumped onto her and her brother’s clothes. Hugging the prince tightly, only one phrase reached the baby’s ears.

“I’m so, so sorry.”

She should have never asked for her brothers to come to her palace. There was a reason why it had been bestowed upon the Thirteenth Princess, and she shouldn’t have forgotten it; Serene was the forgotten princess.

How dare she attempt to make herself known?

Letting go of her brother, she ran her hands through her hair. How was she to tell everyone the following day? It was her stupidity that got them killed. She deserved to be imprisoned, to die in their sakes.

With swollen eyes, she felt her eyelids drifting shut. She couldn’t fall asleep; the killer was still in the palace, most likely searching for them.

But only a moment, a second, she needed to close her eyes. Just as she was about to give in to her temptations, Serene straightened up her posture.

Was that creaking she was hearing? She stood up at once, becoming aware of her surroundings.

“Luc?” She called out, each repetition coming more hitched. Knocking and pushing down boxes, she repeated, “Luc?”

The creaking was getting louder along with her words. “Luc, Luc, where have you gone to?”

Serene threw a box towards the door as if it would keep the killer from entering. No one even knew of the attic, so how had the murderer found them already? And she still couldn’t find the Seventeenth Prince.

“Come on, Luc. Return back to me, come on——” Her voice fell, as her eyes finally registered the doll-like child sitting on the other side of the room, right next to the door. The doorknob jingled and turned, the door opening up a creak.

“Luc!” Serene cried out as she attempted to run across the room. But the man had already found himself inside of the room. Dressed in pure black, not one body part could be seen, except for his eyes.

But that was beyond Serene’s concern. The murderer raised his sword, dripping blood of her brothers down on the baby. She threw herself across, just as the man struck at Luc.

Serene squeezed her eyes shut, enveloping the prince in her grasp as the sword swiped her back. Rich red blood gushed out immediately, seeping through multiple layers. Her rough, heart-rending wails filled the silence, but it wasn’t for the pain pinging her.

She almost had another one of her brothers die on her.

The killer, on the other hand, almost dropped his sword. He stepped back, revolted by the sight of the bleeding woman.

Tightening his grasp around his weapon, he had the opportunity to kill her. Instead, he simply looked out the window, moonlight reflecting on his brilliant blue eyes, before stepping out.

Serene kept her brilliant blue eyes shut, even after multiple people addressed her.

“Your Highness!” The Royal Advisor shouted, grabbing Serene’s attention.

She shook her head, bringing herself out of her thoughts. Her eyes set on the closed gates of the coronation hall. She exhaled, her breath coming out too shaky. “My apologies. Is everyone ready?”

The four maids of honor, all of which were her sister’s, nodded, along with the five men around her. One adjusted the embroidered, dark red coat sitting on Serene’s shoulders. It resembled blood. Blood that was on her hands, for she still had yet to find the murderer.

Taking another deep breath, she opened the gates to the sounds of clapping and cheering. A smile jumped to her lips, but that surge of energy didn’t last long.

She stepped forward, each step heavier than the prior. Her death could be any second now. It was a perfect time too. With her head up high, Serene didn’t bother to glance at the crowds of people in the seats surrounding her path.

It was expected for everyone’s stares to be on her, but one person, from her left corner, was unsettling. It was if she had seen them before, or rather, if they had seen her before.

But that wouldn’t have been unusual; Serene found herself in the public’s eye, giving speeches on the constant. She must’ve been wrong, she had to have been, but there was an odd feeling in her stomach surrendering into her fears.

The owner of the stare was the murderer. No evidence proved such, nothing but her fears. Her heart raced while her strides became longer. Her maids of honor sped up to meet her pace.

Her eyes quickly darted to the right, sighing. Although Luc was still alive, due to his young age and the fear of two royals in the same room, he was not allowed in the coronation ceremony. At least she would succeed in protecting him.

The archbishop stood in front, with an unreadable expression, along with other members of the church. Her little cluster of people removed her cape, quickly turning around to help Serene settle on the throne.

Surprise didn’t take over her expressions. Not many people were in favor of her becoming queen, given it was only last month that her presence was even known. Regardless, there was nothing they could do. She was the only one who could reign over them.

The archbishop initiated the coronation oath while Serene kept her eyes focused upon the first row of people. If she even glanced at the back, she would lose her calm.

Her voice was barely steady as she repeated, “I solemnly swear.”

“Will you solemnly swear to govern the people of Mondine?” She didn’t answer, not paying attention.

The idea that the killer’s eyes were on her was all she could think of. It would be easy too. Sprinting from his seat and throwing a dagger at her would give some sort of injury.

“Your Highness?”

How would everyone react? Luc would be thrown to the throne immediately, that poor child. He hadn’t even reached the age of three. The Royal Advisor would certainly corrupt him.

“Your Highness,” the archbishop repeated, disdain hinted on his face. “Your Highness.”

In addition, she wouldn’t even be surprised if the murderer escaped after killing her. Sure, there were more guards than ever, but he did manage to kill sixteen royals, including her father. Taking her out and disappearing should be easy enough.

“Your Highness.” His voice became more curt, more hostile.

She blinked twice, before answering in the same tone as his. “I solemnly swear.”

At least he was referring to her with the wrong title. That would explain her late, rude reply. She was now a Majesty.

A book with the same oath inscribed was placed before her and Serene quickly signed it. Her signature came out as unsteady but no one remarked on it. The ceremony continued as the archbishop proceeded to bless her.

As the large veil encompassed the throne in the process, she took a deep breath. Almost halfway done, she reminded herself. But that didn’t keep her from slightly rocking herself in the chair.

The veil was removed in minutes, and Serene steadied herself again. Her eyes flew to the back before she caught herself again. She was too willing to ruin herself.

A priest approached her with an orb, which she took dutifully. In an attempt to calm herself down, she held onto it tightly. But as a specter was handed to her, the trembles had already taken over her, along with those accursed intrusive thoughts.

The murderer could also be sitting closer to her, couldn’t he? Then, instead of throwing a dagger, he could easily plunge a sword through her heart if he was sitting in the front row.

Her eyes dropped to the ground before she reminded herself where she was. What type of a ruler would she be if she couldn’t even look her people in the eye?

The archbishop, carrying an intricate currant crown from the altar, made his way behind the throne. Standing on a stepping tool hidden from the people’s view, slowly but carefully, he placed it on her head.

It fit perfectly as if it was made for her. Nesting above her head, a tide of courage led her to stand up. A stress reliever, she could’ve dubbed it as such.

She could already read the anger on the Royal Advisor’s face, even though he was far from her eyesight; she was not supposed to be standing but beginning to receive pledges.

Her hands shook horribly at the same time as she forced a grin on her face. Someone started clapping before the entire room began applause, yelling out.

“Long live the Queen!”

“Long live Her Majesty!”

The smile became genuine, as she surveyed the crowd. Most people looked satisfied and pleased, regardless if that was their true emotion. She could truly make a beloved queen, couldn’t she?

Her hands stilled as Serene beamed. Oh, if only her entire family could see her now.

But it was one pair of eyes that caught her attention. A shudder went through her body, the smile fading, as she made eye contact with someone she never imagined she would be able to again. His hands immediately raised to his face to brag his applause.

Brilliant blue eyes stare back at her with complete attention, pride growing on his face as horror struck hers.