We Promised

Chapter 1

                    No one ever really wants to die. Not really. Nobody ever thinks they will die either. People walk among the earth believing they are invincible. But, death can sneak up on you when you least expect it. Death is like a snake, slithering in the depths of tall grass. The snake waits for you to show weakness, to show vulnerability before it creeps up on you and sinks its fangs into your flesh. I once thought I was invincible. I guess I was not. But, that doesn't mean I didn't take my enemies down with me. In this life or the next, I will kill him.

The scar on my wrist itches and I scratch it softly, ignoring the memories that come with it. My dress is darker than the ones I've worn at previous coronations. Silk caresses my skin, and the material makes me appear slimmer than I should. My nose wrinkles as I watch my sister's corset being tightened. They pull the strings of her corset and she smiles, exhaustedly at me. I give her a reassuring smile, but in the deepest parts of me, I feel sorry for her. Evelyn Nora Oxuris, my sister, is the firstborn girl of the Oxurian Empire. My brother, Blayne follows behind her, then me. Athena is the youngest of the family. My mother had five kids but the second oldest, my brother Corbin, is dead. He's not suffering anymore, I tell myself, for comfort. We're bonded in many ways, my siblings, through the trauma of our childhood. Trauma that we've hidden from the country our whole lives. The country that my sister is about to be crowned to lead. "Evelyn, are you alright? You look...sick." She gives me a curt nod, her skin pale. "I'm fine, Ilvera. It's just a lot to take on my shoulders. Big shoes to fill." Her dress looks like a wedding dress. The intricate designs along the waistline add some dimension to it but it's not a dress my mother would have worn. I guess that's why it makes my lips twitch into a ghost of a smile. Her hair is pulled away from her face and I stare patiently. She's beautiful. I could never be Queen. I wouldn't want to. My mother's hair started to grey by the age of thirty-five. So many faces to watch over, so many lives counting on you, I couldn't bear it.

Blayne walks in, and wraps his arms around me, pulling me into one of his bear hugs. "V, how's she doing?" His smile is contagious, and a grin sparks on my face. My hands fly to my mouth when I remember. "Our sparring match was today!" His ink-black hair is swept into a military cut, as usual, gelled back. He matches with Evelyn, and I realize the impression that they give is terrifying. They look like gods. They look like our parents.

I've always been better at combat than getting dressed up and fancy. Of course, I've been accustomed to being dressed and masked up all my life, but my hate for it never changes. Events like this stab annoyance through my very soul. Coronations mean you have to put on a mask in front of an entire Empire. One wrong move or impression and the matriarchy would hate you for everything you do. My country has been set in its ways for years. The heirs, my siblings, have been trained like narcs, soldiers. At least, me, Corbin, Blayne, and Evelyn. Athena was young when my father left us. She wasn't held to that expectation once we were on our own. Our empire is a unique one, an empire that has never taken place in the history books. Men are inferior to women, judged by the dirt under their nails. Blayne is extremely fortunate to live the luxurious life he does today.

My grin disappears quickly when I spot one of our military strategists waiting silently by the door. I put on an armor of strength, of ice, of an indifferent cover that no one can see through but Blayne. "We'll be back soon, Eve." I walk slowly, Blayne on my heels as he slams the doors to Evelyn's dressing room closed. We've been planning out carefully the fall of the biggest terrorist group in the world. The biggest countries this world had ever known had fallen to us. Othus had fallen into our control so many years ago, once called Russia. France, Asia, and South America had fallen as well. It's illegal to call them by their old, relic names. You're hanged if you talk about the Old World now. We live in Osmea now, a mesh of states that used to be separated in a country called the United States. Landforms from before humans existed have drifted back to where they once were. I guess I should be impressed by the work of my ancestors.