Chapter 1
"Stop!".
"Stop!".
"At once your highness"
"Please...".
He said 'please', I stopped in my tracks. Turned back. That was stupid, of course it was a trick, I should know that by now.
"how did you fall for that?" mocked Henry from a nearby garden, I hated him.
I spotted the guard rushing towards us and panic set in, my father was going to be mad, I was going to be punished.
"Are you waiting for them to get to you?" he flashed one of his signature smiles and it made something in me twitch.
"Come with me" He ran over to me and grabbed my arm, I shook it off, "don't touch me!" I said, clearly annoyed but he just laughed and took my arm again, ignoring me, this time I just went with him.
A few minutes later, we reached a lily garden. I remember it because after my father hit her-again-she used to cry in this garden, where no one could see. I remember the lilies soaking in silence, like they were listening. My mother.
"so..are you going to thank me or..?" Henry's smug intrusion into my thoughts made me angry,I had forgotten about him for a second, he got on my nerves. "I didn't ask for your help" I reply sharply, building tension in the atmosphere around us.
"But, you needed it", I roll my eyes at his awfully supercilious attitude, he really thinks he's better than me doesn't he? "What's your problem, what do you want with me" I ask after a few minutes of silence, he had never really bothered to talk to me before, even though my dad always compared me to him and asked me to be more like him, with his charms and brain, everyone in court swooned over him, like he was some God or something.
He moved and sat next to the small pond staring at the water very intently, almost like it was bothering him, he didn't reply so I walked over and sat next to him, his expression changed almost immediately to an annoyed face, his brows furrowed and his lips twitching like I did something wrong, and I got irritated.
"you heard my question" I said standing up and he just continued looking at his reflection, his lips thin, he looked really annoyed at someone or something, perhaps me, but I didn't know why, after a few seconds he got up and said "nothing, you just seem a little daft to be the future queen, and you don't know what you're doing most of the time".That answer caught me off guard and I opened my mouth to retort but I knew what he was saying was true, I was next in line for the throne and the phoenix mark and I still couldn't cast a proper fireball without setting everything else on fire. It hurt that he said it out loud, my eyes started to prick with hot tears, and I was on the verge of crying before I pulled myself together.
I understood why he thought that, I understood why everyone in the kingdom thought that,because I was useless, unfit for the throne, and the funny thing is I promised my mother that I would make her proud but there I was doing the complete opposite, but I was trying and I knew that I was.
"You didn't actually take that to heart did you?,because if you did I would be disappointed" my cheeks instantly went red, I did take it seriously, Great Elariana,I blushed, why was I listening to him.
He had always annoyed me with his cockiness and façade of the perfect male in existence.
He was adopted by my uncle, the duke, as a baby, his parents had died in the war and my uncle happened to find him on the street. He took him in, Henry only visited the palace sometimes but he didn't fail to get on my nerves.
"Why would I care what you think", i said and he turned to face me, his eyes so captivatingly blue, it's like they could see into my soul, I felt small and fragile, like he could snap me in half if he really wanted to, then he smiled and I felt something inside me, it was a strange feeling, like floating. I didn't stop looking into his eyes, they held something, dark and enticing, very enticing.
"Can you stop staring at me, it's weird" I quickly looked away, embarrassed, he made me want to punch a wall.
"You have to go back now or your father is not going to be happy".
We started walking out of the garden, but after a few steps I felt sick. I tried to brush it off as hunger or tiredness but I started to feel dizzy and had to stop to catch my breath. Henry noticed and quickly rushed over to me, "are you okay?"He asked but I couldn't answer, I couldn't speak, my vision quickly started to blur and I felt as if I was being pulled into a void.
I opened my eyes to a familiar landscape, my chambers, I tried to sit up but that action immediately sent a sharp pain into my skull. I decided to stay still, I scan the room and try to process everything.My father stood by the window, flanked by ten Drigens in obsidian armor. Each one held a halberd pulsing with emberlight.
Royal enforcers. Silent. Deadly. Loyal only to the throne, I didn't know what was happening but it didn't look good as my father never really paid much attention to me unless it's very important. Very important.
I tried to listen to their conversations but only caught a few things about the crown, so I tuned out, it was probably about how I was unfit and not deserving of being the ruler. I fell asleep a few minutes later.
The next time I opened my eyes, Henry was staring at me, he had a weird look on his face, he looked peaceful and sad at the same time with his mouth slightly open, he was muttering something, a prayer, he was muttering a healing prayer to Elariana velora.
This confused me, I always thought he didn't like me but he is saying a prayer for me, I hated the fact that he was giving mixed signals, he still hadn't noticed I was looking at him, so I kept quiet for a few minutes until he finished his prayer, he looked good doing it anyway.
"Well, thank you, prayer boy" he looked at me in surprise, clearly embarrassed that I had caught him praying for me in my sleep
He scoffed "I do pray all the time, you're not special", he cheeks were slightly flushed and I didn't see the arrogant, perfect Henry but the shy, embarrassed one, I wanted to see this one a lot.
"If you pray all the time, why did you choose to watch me sleep then, and why are you here" I pestered him a bit more because I simply wanted to see how he would react but he just got up and walked out, his face hidden behind his shoulder length, brown hair, he had nice hair, but he was ever so rude!.
I wanted to say something about his abrupt dismissal of my existence when two royal guards walked in and started searching my room. I sat up carefully and asked with all the authoritative tone I could muster "what do you want?" They ignored me and kept rummaging while Henry just stood there, a blank look on his face, his face was unreadable and he didn't try to help me, he was so full of himself.
"I am the princess, how dare you barge into my chambers, do you wish to be rid of your positions?!" I asked again with more vigor, but this time I didn't bother to continue, my father had walked in, a scowl on his face, it seemed to be etched permanently on, he walked over to my bed and looked down at me "Emmadale milegrant"
His voice was ice. Rid of any fatherly love he could offer. Emotionless. Empty
"You shall leave the Capital and travel to Nifti by dawn tomorrow. No arguments shall be placed. And Henry Gatroden is to accompany you as your escort."
Why Nifti? Why now? What did they think I had done? I wanted to scream at my father-but I didn't. Not in front of Henry, he would just see me as a fool. Not while I was still feeling lightheaded and susceptible to another black out.
