Royal Reign

The day had came, that I had been dreading for years. Today, they were electing a woman from each village who was 18, to be thrown into the running to be the Prince's future mistress. We had already seen the 5 women that were chosen to be running for Queen. All 5 of those women came from the 5 wealthiest families in the kingdom. One in each village. I lived in the Medici village, which was the farthest away from the castle. It was on the coast, we had a couple miles of rocky beach and the rest was forest. It was actually quite peaceful. The castle guards rarely made rounds here, which gave us a little leeway in how we acted.

Although, our noble family who 'watched' over us tried to keep us all in line, but they usually spent most of their time trying to suck up to the current King and Queen. King Henry the 3rd and Queen Catherine the 1st. Everyone was always gushing over her, saying how kind of a Queen she was, while anytime anyone spoke of King Henry, it was all...horror stories. They talk of his 7 mistresses, all the bastard sons he had, and all the killings he had done. Now, wether or not you believe it all, is up to you. But, personally? I didn't know what to believe. They have only been to this village once, and I only caught a glimpse of them.

They wore the prettiest colored robes, fabric probably imported in from Paris and other finer places. Their carriage was encrusted with gold, and silver, and porcelain. Their white horses drawing the carriage looked pampered, and very well taken care of. Trotting ever so graciously. The last thing I remember is seeing the guards follow behind them, and keeping the crowd at bay.

Nonetheless, I really didn't know what to believe. My father, before he passed, always told me stories of the days when he was living in the village right next to the palace, it was called Valois. He said it was one of the cleanest places he had ever been, the streets were cobble stone, instead of dirt. It had many markets of fresh food, and nice bars. Not that I really cared about the bars, but it was nice to just dream of a place without poverty.

Looking in our bathroom mirror, I finish cleaning up, wearing the nicest dress I had. It was the dress code of the event, to wear your nicest set of clothes, whatever that may be. I was my mother and fathers only child, she had many miscarriages before she had me. I was like her miracle baby. Her name was Meredith, Meredith Turner. I always thought she had a pretty name, although it wasn't common around here.

I straightened my dress, hearing mom calling my name downstairs,

"Aurora! We are going to be late! It's a 30 minute walk from here!" I sigh,

"Coming mom!" I rush down the stairs, my work boots clubbing on our old wooden stairs. When I reach the bottom, she throws a dark blue velvet cloak around my shoulders, patting the hood down, she clasps the brooch in place. It was a small golden lion, mid roar. I ran my hands over it, "Mom, what- Is that real gold?" I ask,

She smiles, "The cloak you are wearing is over 100 years old. And yes, it's real gold. I wore it on this very day when I was your age, your grandmother wore it, and so on and so forth. It has been passed down generation, through generation. It is believed to keep us safe from anything and everything. It is said that the lion is enchanted, giving us a cloak of protection against any forces that beckon upon us." She says, running her hands over the fabric. It looked brand new, and smelled of sweet roses.

"Mom, I can't-" She stops me,

"Yes you can, and you will. Never since this day of reaping began has one of us been chosen. Maybe its a good luck charm. I don't know. But," She stops and puts her hands on my face, "If fate has it that you are chosen, I want you to have this, so that I know you will always be protected. It may not be a sword, or a shield, but...it holds power. As do you, Ary..." She kisses my head, before backing away.

"Thank you, Mom...I...I don't know what to say." I tell her, honestly. She smiles,

"Don't say anything at all." She begins to smile once more, "Now, lets get on our way so we can get a good spot, yeah?"

Soon we were walking our way to the center of town, where someone from the castle would be addressing us all. Once there, mom and I made our way to the middle of the crowd, it was shoulder to shoulder. Many girls were crying, holding onto their moms and dads, some were clinging to their lovers, and their siblings. It was a very sad scene. I didn't really know what to think. Out of the hundreds of girls in this village, could they really choose me? And, if so, why? I am nothing the Prince wants. At least, not what people describes he wants.

"Good afternoon, everyone of Medici." A man, clad in very nice clothes addresses us, he looked to be one of the royals. Maybe he was related to the King? "I am Stephan Smith, the Kings head of affairs. I am here to announce the two fine ladies who will be joining court, in the running for Queen, and his first mistress." The crowd silences, everyone begins looking around. "First up, Miss Medici, would you please, " He gestures to our noble family, as a tall, skinny blonde girl stands, clad in a teal gown, makes her way to the stage, her father leading her. She smiles at Stephan, and curtsies, before standing beside him, "As everyone already knows, a noble woman will be chosen from each village in all the land to be in the running for Queen. From your village, it will be Dahlia Medici." A slow clap emerges, before it fades as quickly as it came. Her father whispers something to her before he sits back down, where the rest of his family sits, in the VIP section if you will.

Silence has once again fallen over the whole village. Stephan shuffles his papers, before he clears his throat, he begins the long drawn out speech of what we are about to do and why we do it. It's almost annoying how it's the same every year. I sigh, feeling cold breeze. Dahlia is the perfect description of what people say the Prince wants. Tall, blonde, beautiful...fair. She has the perfect body, skinny and seemingly nice. She didn't seem like a bad person. I had only ran into her a few times in the market. Each time she was very polite and well put together. Maybe she was trained to be that way, or maybe she just really was a nice person. Who knows what to believe anymore?

"...And I will draw the name of the woman, and she will step forward, to be recognized across the land, as an eligble mistress, for the King in waiting." Stephan finishes the long drawn out speech, read from the oldest piece of parchment I had ever seen. He sighs, "The woman chosen from the Medici village shall be..." He trails off as he reaches into a brown wooden box, before pulling out a small piece of parchment. I close my eyes, breathing slow. My heart was racing. "Aurora...Turner."

My heart stops. No! It can't be! My mother gasps, and everyone turns to look at us with sympathetic looks, I look at my mom, as if asking what to do.

"No..." She shakes her head, "Not my baby..." She trails off, I gulp,

"Aurora Turner, please join me on the stage. " He repeats, he gives the guards a knowing look. They begin to pull out their weapons,

"Mom, let me go..." I whisper to her, she holds me tight,

"I can't.." She says, I could hear her heart breaking, "You're all I have left..." She says, "They will kill you, Aurora!

They're going to kill you!" She starts to speak louder, the guards hurry down and grab her,