The Damned Princess

Chapter 1

The female frowned at the cold and pulled her coat tighter to her body. Chatter died down and she turned to the fireplace where the village story teller was starting the next story. Her hands wrapped around her empty cup, tilted away from the bartender so he wouldn't see and make her leave. It was so frosty outside, winter slipping its frigid fingers around the world, suffocating the happiness and warmth. The inn was crowded, as it had been the last three nights she had been. With their harvest failing, drinks offered a distraction from the woes of their pitiful lives.

"Now this is the tale of how the Vísava Yātāri, the Dagger of Time came to be." The female's frown deepened and she focused on the old man.

"Many moons ago there lived a beautiful girl called Aeylia," The female had to stop herself from scowling, of course, it was always a 'beautiful girl', "She lived in a village with her mother and Father. Aeylia was loved by all, both for her gorgeous looks and for her kind heart. Many men desired to be her husband. One such man was Kaki, the crown prince of the largest kingdom in all the land. He visited the village and as soon as he laid eyes on her, he fell deeply in love. Unfortunately, Aeylia did not return his feelings and fled the village, torn with the idea that she was hurting Kaki by rejecting him, but not wanting to marry a man she didn't love. She sought out a Sorcerer's help. She begged enchantress to take her beauty, to stop herself from breaking anyone else's hearts. At first the old woman turned her away, not wanting to meddle in the petty affairs of mortals, but she felt sorry for the girl and granted her wish. Aeylia died that very night." The crowd yelled their protests.

"SHE DIED?" The old man waited for them to finish and then continued.

"Kaki had been tracking Aeylia, wishing to prove himself to her and he arrived two days after her death. Kaki implored the Sorcerer to bring back his love, bargaining as far as to offer up his kingdom for her life. The Sorcerer refused and Aeylia remained dead," The crowd burst into gasps and the old man held up his hand for silence, "Blinded in his grief, he waged war on the surrounding kingdoms, burning them to the ground, killing woman and children, wishing for everyone else to feel his pain."

"A decade passed and by now the whole land had heard of the insane tyrant Kaki and feared the safety of their own country. Young Jem, an apprentice in the village where Aeylia had lived had other troubles. Kaki had demolished the village, of course, not wanting any reminder of his lost love, but Jem had escaped the destruction by moving to his distant relatives in a nearby village. He too was distraught with sorrow for he had loved Aeylia as much as Kaki had. He knew he couldn't live his life knowing she was gone, so he set out to find the Sorcerer who had killed her. The Sorcerer appeared before him one day in a dream and asked what he desired. Jem beseeched the woman to bring back his lost love, offering his life for her's. The Sorcerer's heart softened by the young man's evident sadness and she offered him a solution. She could not bring back the dead, for no being can, but she presented him with a special dagger. This was not some ordinary dagger, for the holder could travel through time. Jem wept with joy and thanked the Sorcerer profusely. However like all magic, there were conditions. The dagger fed on the soul of the wielder so more than one use would end up destroying the user's soul, sentencing them to a fate worse than death."

"Kaki had heard of this special Dagger from one of his many spies and he planned to steal it from Jem. The night of his planned theft, he felt a shift within him and suddenly his memories of begging for Aeylia's life disappeared, her death gone. Jem had already gone back in time. Furious, he stormed their house to find the two happily married with a child on the way. In his anger he attacked Jem and in the crossfire, pregnant Aeylia was struck and killed. Distraught Jem killed himself too, unable to live with Aeylia and knowing that he could not go back again. Kaki prepared to use the dagger to save her but the Sorcerer appeared and smashed the dagger into three equal pieces. She had grown attached to Jem, admiring his passion and love for Aeylia, his death had created a sorrow in her, an unfamiliar emotion to a god-like being, so she cursed the dagger, realising it had brought only pain and suffering. And that the past should remain the past. The end."

"What was the point of that?" Someone shouted.

"Yeah, where's the happy ending?"

"Not everything has happy endings." The story teller shook his head.

"That's rubbish! But why did the Sorcerer give Jem the dagger and not Kaki? He offered his entire kingdom for her life!" One male protested and the old man just shrugged, a knowing look glinting in his eyes. The female rolled her eyes from her stool at the bar, turning back to the counter. Another brief flicker of hope, quickly smothered. Someone slid into the chair next to her and she recognised the story teller.

"You do not agree with their reactions to my story? I apologise, but I noticed you."

"It's naive to think every story has a happy ending. And besides, who's to say that didn't."

"Jem and Aeylia both died, Kaki was left to wreck destruction on the land. How is that a happy ending?" The old man didn't seem to be arguing, rather encouraging her so she continued.

"How do we know death is bad? They could have both lived happily ever after in the afterlife with each other. Kaki could have overcome his grief, time is said to heal all wounds after all."

"I couldn't agree more. I just have one last question, why do you think the sorcerer gave Jem the dagger and not Kaki?" He asked her and she turned back to the bar.

"The difference between them is simple. Kaki was willing to sacrifice everything to save Aeylia it's true, but Jem was willing to sacrifice himself. That's the difference between love and obsession." She herself had a brush with the obsession side of love, and it was not to her fancy. They were silent for a moment before the man spoke up.

"You too wish for a way to go back." The female's head snapped up and the old man smiled secretly.

"How did you know that? Actually it doesn't matter, the dagger's a myth."

"Oh it's as real as you or I."

"It's a story." She said quietly, trying not to hope. The old man shrugged.

"We have nothing if not belief."

The female cleared her throat, in a way that she hoped sounded normal. "D-do you know where I could find it?"

"Like in the story, the dagger was split into three pieces and it is said to be guarded by the Sorcerer."

"And..." He smiled wider at her barely contained excitement.

"You should look in Anielle. Apparently the sorcerer's own lover was buried there." The female did the calculations in her head, picturing a map. If they took the path through oakwood forest, that was a five day journey.

"Thank you!" The female gushed and stood up, throwing a coin on the table and disappearing out the inn. The frigid cold didn't even faze her as excitement fizzled in her veins.

And for the first time in a week,

Lyria smiled.