The Queen's Revenge

Chapter 1

Hi, I'm Princess Estella, and if you're reading this, you must be a princess too. My father is King Stephan, ruler of the Iliana Kingdom. My mother is Willow, but she died mysteriously. I've started writing this diary to work out a mystery, and also to dump my feelings. Sorry, a hand-maid just wouldn't do .I was scared. Our rivals had rose against us. Basically, my grandfather, united a bunch of lands to form Iliana. There's Tony, there's Jendes, and even more. So they were all fighting among themselves until my grandfather, King Stephan I, united them under his rule. Then he died. His daughter was named Willow, after the former queen, and she got married to my dad, Duke Stephan. They had me a year later, a bouncing happy baby with a teeny tiara perched on my head the moment I was born. My dad was strict with me, while my mom was loving. She taught me basic skills like archery. My dad didn't like her teaching me warfare. He said war was for men. A few months later, my mother died. She was in perfect health, she hadn't been stabbed, and no one had been with her. Immedietly, my father occupied the throne. I was sixteen. Immedietly after he occupied the throne, Tony, Jendes and Hondonous cut away from the Union, and formed their own united front, and declared war. I sighed, thinking about all this and lay on my bed, when there was a knock on the door. "Come in." I called. It was my hand-maiden. "Lelia." I said, standing up. "Princess." she inclined her head. "King Stephan has gone to war." I rose, thanking her for the information. I wasn't very worried about my father. He can hold his own, like me. I drew open the curtains, pretending I was going to stay here. Of course I wasn't. I was going to solve the mystery of my mother's death. My icy blue eyes scanned the windows. Rain was pouring. The whole hill seemed to be holding it's breath, waiting for something bad to happen.My mother had eyes the same color as mine. I remember her well. She was confident, beautiful, powerful. queenly. But she loved me. She never seemed the type to die.I know, that sounds insane, no one's the type of dying. But she always seemed strong, and full of life, until I entered the bedroom to find her breathing ragged, her eyes widened, lips slightly parted, with a burst of foam.Horrified, I rushed beside her. "Mom..?"But her eyes had already closed.She had looked peaceful, beautiful, and a slight smile on her face like she was sleeping but having a pleasant dream.My eyes prickled with hot tears. I forced them down. My mother always told me princesses don't cry. My grief only made me more determined to find her. I changed my sparkly, and quite uncomfortable, to be frank, dress, and wore a casual gown. I shut the doors of my ornate cupboard, and exited the room.The sound of rain hitting the rooftop helped conceal my already soft footsteps. I tried my hardest not to make a sound, slipping on my room slippers instead of my usual boots. Father disapproved of boots. He insisted I wear heels.Unsurprisingly, I met no one on the way, because every one was busy with the war front.I pushed open the ornate, dusty wooden doors. The library was cold and untouched, a slight dim yellow light illuminating dusty books. The smell wafted into my nostrils, calming my nerves. I walked row per row across the huge library, stopping every once in a while to check my surroundings. It was dead silent, but a hand-maiden could burst in at any time, so I needed to be more careful. The dark wood of the shelves made the atmosphere feel more dark and subdued, the giant crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceilings gleamed as I moved through the library. The history shelf shone like a beacon of knowledge. It was suspicious. While all the other shelves were covered with dust, this one had clearly been visited.Time to think of that later. I scanned the books, looking for my mother's name, then I spotted something through the window.A forest separated the capital city, Angrina, from Jendes. The trees stood proud and tall, displaying their emerald green leaves, which whispered a warning. I squinted closer, and I saw a man with dark hair, dark clothes and a sword, riding a dark horse. An army of soldiers followed, a relativly small one, but if no one saw them, they'd easily take the castle. I jumped up, rushing out of the library, not caring that I had dropped my room slippers. I rushed to my father's room, where the forbidden war bells lay. It was the only way to alert the castle. I grabbed it and struck.Clang! I hurriedly donned my boots and ran through the white marble corridors, as hand-maidens, servant boys, guards and soldiers snapped to attention. I stopped at the armoury to grab the first sword I saw. I reached the throne room and took in the scene in front of me.The arrogant prince was in front. His horse was sleek and black, his hair dark and curly, his eyes alive with malic. His mouth was twisted into a cold smirk. His outfit was all black, a glinting sword in it's sleath. "Princess of Iliana!" he called. His voice was a deep, smooth baritone. I hated it. His expression was mocking, fake pity etched in his eyes. "You are alone and surrounded. Surrender the castle, or be destroyed."His voice was persuasive, but it did nothing but enrage me. I swallowed my rage. My mother told me a good Princess never got angry. "Prince of Jendes!" I responded, my voice strong, but behind the facade I stewed with rage and a little fear. . "Surrender, or you will be destroyed."