Prologue
Amélie Waters was just another one of the impoverished subjects in the Capital City of Grimshores. Born in the Northern Kingdom during a period of war with the South, Amélie was orphaned by both parents at a young age. Her father was assumed to have died in battle, and her mother lost her life to influenza when she was only twelve years old. After her mother’s death, Amélie went to stay with her late father’s sister, Lyssa. Aunt Lyssa had a daughter just a few years older than Amélie, and the cousins became close friends over the years.
Although Amélie had been adopted by her Aunt, life was still a constant struggle for the family of three. There were more nights than she could count, that she went to bed with her stomach rumbling. Aunt Lyssa had somehow managed to land a job at the palace of King Arturo, working as a kitchen aid, but the position did not pay well enough to keep the three of them from going hungry. As children, the girls would do odd jobs throughout the town in order to earn a few extra cents to get them by. Over the years Amélie earned the trust of the local taverns and pubs, so they would hire her to temporarily work at the bar or kitchen whenever it was needed.
When Amélie was 19, she received word from her cousin Genevieve that Aunt Lyssa had passed away, and that Genny had been invited to take her mother’s position at the palace, per recommendation of some of the other kitchen staff her mother had worked with. The opportunity was too good to pass up, and so Genny left for the palace immediately.
For the First time in her life, Amélie Waters was truly alone.
…………
Roman Reynolds, heir to the Northern throne and Prince of Albanon, was growing increasingly frustrated with his father, King Arturo. Years had passed since the end of the war between the North and the South; yet his father had done nothing to mend relations with his people or the surrounding Kingdoms. After his mother’s unprecedented disappearance (presumed kidnapping) King Arturo had spiraled downward; his personality morphing into someone entirely different than before. The once kindly King was now replaced by a cold and brooding shell of the man he once was; only recognizable by his facial features.
The Northern Kingdom was crumbling as the King sat unconcerned, in his palace. Grimshores was coming undone. It’s people were starving in the streets, and the ones who weren’t starving were committing crimes. Murder, thievery, kidnapping, and even prostituion, had began a rapid incline. Roman understood that something had to be done, but despite his father’s descent into madness, he still retained a loyal following of courtiers.
Roman has to find a way to clean up his father’s mess before it’s too late.
