The Banished Prince

Chapter 1

Cassia

     Cassia's father, King Julius, stood next to her as they beheld the camp built by her father years ago to train young adults into becoming warriors. It was situated in the middle of a forest, far from the town her father ruled over and Cassia took in her surroundings. From where they stood at the entrance, right below the sign that read Camp Trillion, she could see the many cabins made of fine timber littered across a clearing. Off to the side was a large lodge where meals and classes were held, and already, she could see commoners roaming the area with their friends, their eyes wide with fascination.

     She scowled. She couldn't believe her father was sending her away to be amongst commoners.

     "Well, this is Camp Trillion," Cassia's father said, waving towards the camp. "Astra and you are to stay here for four months. And you must learn how to behave better. This will not only teach you how to become a warrior, but also discipline."

     "Do I have to stay here," Cassia whined. "I can train at home."

     "Cassia. With the way you've been behaving lately, you need a setting that will force you to stop acting out. I am tired of dealing with your shenanigans. As a King, I must focus on my people and I can't with you around."

     Cassia bit her lip. Her eyes narrowed and next to her father, Astra fidgeted in her spot, keeping her eyes fixated the bright blue sky above them. Astra's red hair was up in a ponytail and her green eyes were averted. She'd been Cassia's guard since Cassia was fourteen and Astra was merely three years older than her, making her twenty-one. And after spending four years with Cassia, she was tired of Cassia's bouts of anger.

     "You can't change me," Cassia hissed, her brown eyes locked on her father's.

     Her father looked like her. With dark brown hair and the same big brown eyes, her father resembled her. Cassia didn't know her mother, so the parts of her she got from her mother were a mystery.

     "I know," her father said. "I have tried time and time again, but you never listen. This is my last chance to see if you're worthy of being a Queen one day."

     Cassia's jaw clenched. She wanted to argue more, to throw a tantrum and embarrass her father in front of the commoners roaming the field, but she said nothing. She was exhausted. And with her father sending her to camp, she realized in some ways she already lost her ongoing battle with her father.

     "Very well, Astra and you should go to your cabin," her father said, waving them off. "I'll try to visit when I can."

     Cassia shot her father a look as he waved, an uneasy smile on his face, and she stalked off. Astra trailed behind her as she stormed through the field, past the other campers who gave her looks, and into the cabin that was hers. She entered it and Astra did, too.

     The cabin was puny. It consisted of merely two single beds attached to separate walls and separating them was a nightstand made of fine wood. There was a washroom connected to the room, but nothing else was in the drab wooden cell with walls the colour of bark.

     "This is lovely," Astra said.

     Cassia scowled and tossed her satchel onto a nest of white bedsheets. She opened it and Astra opened her own as well.

     And the first thing that appeared was her dagger, sheathed in a sheath made of fine leather. She picked it up and laid it against her pillow as if it were a stuff animal she treasured.

     "Maybe this will be good for you," Astra said. "This camp might be your calling."

     Astra smiled and Cassia blinked. She wore an uneasy expression. It was as if Astra feared landing on the mine within the minefield of Cassia's temper.