Chapter 1
As my rusty breath sucked through my wire corset, the carriage galloped through the thin sheets of rain that showered the great forest that surrounded us. As the slender trees cleared, the on-coming kingdom shone like a bright light in front of us. My father, the king of the neighbouring kingdom, rose his large nose from his newspaper to briefly see our home for the next two months while my Mother gazed upon it with intrigued eyes and with nothing but hope on her mind. I, on the other hand, saw this unknown country as a place of slavery and command.
I was the only daughter of King Richard and Queen Diana. The Kingdom of Gwendilowe stood on the high hills of Hollandwell, with over forty thousand peasants who called it home. When my parents were graced with my presence in the late months of 1634, the neighbouring kingdom were bestowed with a son. Prince Heathcliff was born several months before me. With golden locks that as if shone like the rays of the sun, my fiancée could have been one of the cruellest Kings of Afirejar.
As the carriage trotted towards the gates of the kingdom, the guards, who stood in their blue and white uniforms, approached the carriage. With a brief discussion between them, my parents and I entered the province of Afirejar with curious peasants looking at us. A few weeks before our arrival, they were told by King Harold’s hand that ‘Prince Heathcliff and the princess of the neighbouring kingdom, Princess Rosa, are engaged to be married on fourth day of August.’ I always knew that I was to be married off to a neighbouring prince but I was unaware I was to be when I was the meek age of 18.
Riding through the painfully dirty kingdom, I unforgettably received a sense of what the royal family does for its people. Children in the street held out their hands towards us; mothers stood with wailing babies in the polluted streets; fathers worked in the surrounding wheat fields who had the silhouette of a newt; a burning sensation pierced behind my eyes. I was forced to look away from the monstrosity; thankfully, the palace wasn’t far.
