The Jewel of the Five Kingdoms

John Arthur Williams

My eyes follow the princess as she departs from my bed chambers. The sleeve on her violent dress slips and she tugs it up mindlessly, making my heart skip a beat. She leaves without looking back, and everything in my being wished she would.

She was so similar to my Grace, not in a way that made her the spitting image, but in subtle things like her full pink lips and the curve of her neck. Her hazel eyes held the same glowing light that Grace's held. A mischievous look that made my head spin and my vision tunnel in until all I could see was those eyes.

But now my Grace is gone.

She was taken from me and I couldn't do anything but watch as the guards left to take her life. 

Then the king took me and. . . I cringe, thinking back to the half conscious beating I received. One strike after the other, the crack was still fresh in my mind. The guards held me in place, and even against my weak struggling the pain did not stop.

Suddenly, my father walks through the doors, and my shoulders tense on instinct, causing a wave of pain to shutter through my broken body.

He towers over the bed like a bear about to grab its prey from a river below. For a moment I wonder if he is going to knock me out again, but instead he just stares at me. A mad light dancing in his eyes. He needs me awake.

The king twists the many rings on his fingers. "The girl is not stupid. . ." He says slowly, as if he was only now discovering the Jewel of the Five Kingdoms is not only beautiful but smart as well. Whispers of her potential are around every corner. I thought my father smarter than to underestimate a young woman know to all as the Jewel.

I push myself up as much as I can, every slight move sent a wave of nausea throughout me, but I tried to hide my discomfort from him. I hold tight to this last strand of dignity. "She is not just a girl. She is the princess," I respond, the hatred is something I do not try to keep out of my eyes.

  The old monster needs to have respect for our royals. Especially the crown princess.

King John nods, strangely calm. "She knows about her kingdom... And she knows that your mother's name was not Grace," he says with a snarl.

I feel my eyes grow wide. "I-" The king rolls his eyes. "Of course. You didn't mean to," he spits, coming closer and closer to me.

I try to stand up, my muscles screaming in protest as I do, but the king pushes me back down. My head hits the headrest of the bed and the world spins around me as black spots appear in my vision.

I lay back down, too weak to stand or even sit up again. I clench my teeth, ashamed of my own weakness.

"Do not mention that stupid girl again!" He spits at me. My mind becomes fuzzy with rage. "SHE WAS NOT JUST A GIRL!" I roar, my voice sounded dangerously similar to my father's and I pull back, lowering my tone. "I loved her and you took her from me," I murmur, my eyes sting with tears that I don't try to hold back. I let the hot tears fall and burn my face as they streak down my cheeks.

"The princess... She reminds me of her," I say softly as the tears continue to leak from my eyes.

My father raises a hand to slap me. "I would have gotten rid of you a long time ago if it weren't for your chances of marrying the princess!" He yells. "That dumb girl's curiosity is getting in the way," he hisses.

"She is not a dumb girl," I growl in response.

The king pins me to the bed so quickly I gasp for air, the force in his actions making my chest ache. "You are my property! You will win the contest and marry the princess!" He hisses.

"Then I will dispose of her," he adds, his cold smile sent a chill down my spine. I shake my head. "No," I murmur, then push against his hold. "No!" I yell, but I was too weak and he was too strong.

"You are going to rule this kingdom," he responds in a whisper. "Once we get the girl out of the way."

My vision was beginning to blur in and out. Why does he want to hurt the princess? Are his actions an attempt to start a world war?

"Why are you doing this?" I rasp, watching as he drawls back and smooths out his expensive pants.

"Because once the daughter of Raymond is out of the way. . . We will rule the kingdom," he responds, the distant look in his eyes danced with a greedy light.

  "You mean you will rule the kingdom," I spit. "I will just be the puppet of a master. A puppet king who doesn't rule his own kingdom."

  The king doesn't deny this. He just smiles darkly towards me, his eyes cold. He wasn't really seeing me. He was just seeing a stepping stone to achieving what he has always desired.

I never asked to be the prince of the First Clan, and I certainly never asked to be the king of the Five Kingdoms.

  "There is much to be done," king John says, his voice had returned to calming tones. "Rest," he says with too much force in his voice to make it sound like he actually cares about my health.

"Because you will win this contest. One way or another."

  With that final note he was gone, and I am left to my own spinning thoughts. All the energy that helped me to oppose my father was gone, leaving me with a churning stomach and splitting headache.

The world begins to go dark and my last thought was of my beautiful Grace.