One year ago.
The carriage I sit upon creaks and bobs, causing the tears within my eyes to fall to my lap. Looking at the bag I hold, my hands shake and my knuckles turn white from the sheer amount of force I was gripping it with. This was the only reminder of my life. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to drown out the blood-curdling screams that erupt from outside the carriage, the sound getting fainter and fainter.
"Why me?" I question the universe. Everything I have known, gone. My family, friends, home; all crumbling before my very eyes. The (l/n) kingdom was no more.
———
The wind which grazes its fingers through the leaves around us would've been a peaceful night like any other, had it not been for the screams of agony, terror, and the flames that erupted from the town surrounding our kingdom. The moon smiled down upon us, as if laughing at the sight it could see.
My mother and I stood in the garden behind the castle, the sounds of a never-ending nightmare edging closer and closer as the seconds passed. She held me close to her heart, hugging me like today was the last day she would ever be able to.
"(Y/n), my dear child. You must take this and leave immediately!" My mother urges, shoving a bag into my hands. "There is a carriage waiting for you on the outskirts of the forest, you must flee to the Kingdom of Therasis and give the box inside this bag to the King! It will explain everything," she sobs, hugging me and pressing a hard kiss to my forehead.
"What about you and father? You must go with!" I sob back, refusing to let go of the hand that tucked me in every night.
"No, I cannot. I am the Queen of the (l/n) Kingdom and I must lay my life here and fight to the very end with your father," she whispers against my hair through muffled sobs.
"Your father and I cannot abandon our Kingdom and bow to cowardice in the face of defeat. Now go! You are the last reminder of the (l/n) Kingdom! You must live and succeed for us!" My mother yelled, shoving me to the edge of the forest, before running to the back door into the castle.
"I love you," my mother mouths, shoving me beyond the garden gates before shutting them behind her.
"No! Mother, please!" I scream, banging on the gates. "Don't leave me, you must come with!" Tears roll down my face, leaving me unable to stop the uncontrollable sobs that leave me heaving for air.
The screams began to grow louder. They were coming. Realizing that my parents weren't coming back, I came to my senses and picked myself up from the dirt. Stepping into the forest that I've been acquainted with for all my life, it suddenly felt foreign. These trees that used to be where I would spend my leisure time, would now act as an escape from the hell that reigned fire upon my life.
I ran and ran as fast as my bare feet would take me, clutching the bag close to my chest as the cold air whipped my face and dried the tears as they fell. I took the same path I had taken down to the river bank since I was a mere child, though this time it would be my last.
Waiting along the river bank was a carriage with a coachman waiting in front. Getting down, he opens the door and bows slightly.
"Your highness," he greets. "We have no time to spare," he ushers me in, before shutting the door. The carriage begins to move, the sound of my heart pounding grounds me into reality that this wasn't a horrid nightmare I was going to wake up from.
Looking out the window, the last thing that registers were amber flames and smoke that engulfed the place I once called home.
———
My life was once perfect. I, Princess (y/n) (l/n), was the only child to King (l/n) and Queen (l/n). We were a small kingdom in a secluded forest, and though we weren't known for our military, trades, or prosperity, it meant that we had no natural enemies, for nothing beneficial would come from going to war with us.
Our people lived in harmony, and though my parents were the King and Queen, everyone in our kingdom was treated equally, regardless of status and wealth. The royalty title, for us, was exactly that: just a mere title. Our main purpose was to ensure peace within our nation, and we rarely dabbled in foreign affairs. With such a small population, the towns we ruled over remained in peace, for everyone contributed to bettering our homeland.
'So, why?' I question myself. 'Why would we be the target of invasion?'
It came out of nowhere. Tonight was just like every other night, until my mother and father came pounding on my door, a look of fear I've never seen in their eyes before.
Tonight, my world shattered into a million pieces.
I close my eyes, attempting to sleep, though the sounds of the night plagued my nightmares.
———
A/N: Severely unedited.
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Destructive Enchantment
Romance[𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞!𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐱 𝐟!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫] The plan was simple. Don't make a fool of yourself, and don't draw any unnecessary attention to yourself. So, how did I manage to do both in front of the Emperor? (artwork is not mine, all credits...
