Princess Audrey's eyes snapped open as she took in a deep breath and sat on her bed. She had dreamed about her father being killed by the dark fae that took place ten years ago. She could still see it all. Every detail — the sword, what her father looked like before his body went still and landed next to her, the dark fae that plunged the sword into his chest-
Every single damn detail.
She shook away the upsetting vision and began gradually moving out of her bed. She looked at the brilliant clock that hung over her storeroom and saw that it was half-past nine. That made her bounce directly up and into the restroom.
Audrey remembered that her mother was having a couple of guests over from around the world and that she had to attend. The only reason her mother wanted the guests here was to show off how well the Kingdom of Orland had been developing.
Audrey turned the brass knob of the shower spigot. The steam of hot water filled the room, making the air heavy as she breathed it in. Stripping off her robe, she ventured into the water. The warmth of it calmed her fair skin. A relaxed moan escaped her lips as she looked into the steady fall of the water above her.
~
After her shower, Audrey dressed in a green silk gown with golden lace embroidered on the sleeves and collar. Audrey ran her hands over her soft, silk emerald fabric. She traced her finger over the golden lace. Green and gold, the colors of her kingdom. It was not the type of gown she would have chosen for herself, but her mother had insisted.
Audrey pulled her long blond hair back in a ponytail, away from her face. Pulling it up was always how Audrey preferred it, even if her mother was most likely to comment on it later. And even though her mother had not specified how she should present her hair, she had given Audrey strict instructions on what to wear from the gown to her make-up. Even her shoes had been selected for her. It was mostly because the Queen did not trust Audrey to show up with the proper attire on her own accord.
Audrey carefully applied red tint onto her lips and slipped on the black heels that had been laid out of her. Glancing at herself in the mirror to make sure nothing was amiss, she looked every bit the royal princess she was expected to be.
She opened her door and walked out. She started making her way down to the dining hall, glancing at the soldiers placed on either side of her door. One of the soldiers nodded at her, and she returned it with a smile. She continued making her way down the hall and made another right turn. She saw her mother sitting on a golden throne, waiting for her.
Oh shoot.
"You're late." Her mother's cold, harsh voice echoed through the chamber as Audrey advanced towards her mother, the numbing words biting into Audrey's spirit.
Audrey rolled her eyes and groaned, "Yes, I know."
Her mother simply demanded, "Why?"
"Because Jennifer forgot to wake me up at eight. I told her to wake me up but... I guess she was busy with some other very important task." Audrey shrugged.
Jennifer Hammond was Audrey's maid and best friend. After Audrey's father died, Jennifer had served Audrey ever since.
"Your maid is slow and unhelpful." Audrey's mother criticized.
Audrey wanted to say that Jennifer was the best thing she'd had since dad. But instead, she replied with, "I disagree."
The sovereign raised one of her brows and got off her throne. She advanced toward her child and stopped when she was a couple of feet from Audrey. The queen inspected Audrey and a small smile appeared on her face.
"Good... you've followed my rule of the green and gold gown with black heels. Perfect." Audrey mentally rolled her eyes.
As if her mother could see Audrey's internal reaction, she turned around and walked towards her throne.
"I will go to Harmstead and grab some supplies needed for our guests," Audrey said, as if she knew exactly what her mother wanted.
The queen nodded and waved her hand in dismissal. Audrey nodded and strolled away from the chamber.
After her daughter left, Sovereign Marioth walked around her honored position, and grasped the main thing that reminded her of her beloved. Constantly she would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, her hands shaking from the nightmare. She would constantly battle her inner anxieties, doing everything in her power not to let the horrors of the night take hold of her, twist her up in a corner, stop her from functioning.
Since the day her one and only was killed, Marioth has become unfeeling with her king being the main thing in her reality — excluding Audrey — that made life worth living for.
She had even had the thought of plunging the knife her father had given her into her own uncovered chest, just to be with her confidante.
Her first stop was not the town yet, but rather her room. Audrey transformed from her uncomfortable green outfit into a white pullover and tight Levis. She kept her hair as it was and exchanged the dark heels with earthy colored calfskin boots. Audrey put on some silver armbands and contemplated her reflection in the mirror. She saw a pale, shiny-faced woman with bright green eyes and white-blond hair gazing directly back at her.
Gods... I look so much like my mother.
Audrey snickered and turned to leave, only to face her maid.
Jennifer was wearing a white cover with gold trim around her midsection as well as black shorts and a white shirt. Her red hair was positioned in a bun. She had earthy, tan skin which resonated streams of daylight gleaming from the window over Audrey's bureau.
"I am soo sorry that I didn't wake you up," Jennifer said.
"It's fine... I really didn't want to be woken up." A lie.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
"Okay..." An answer that wasn't really reassuring.
Audrey asked, "If I may, why were you late?"
"Of course!" Jennifer smiled. "I met this cute boy, Justin, and we hung out and oh my god... he's so funny!"
"How did you meet him?" Audrey questioned.
"Well," Jennifer started, "I was told to clean out someone's room, and when I finished, I left the room, bumping into the cute boy. I talked to him and we have so much in common!"
Audrey raised one of her brows and smirked.
"What?" Jennifer asked.
"Nothing." Audrey smiled and shook her head.
Jennifer shrugged and walked over to Audrey's bed to start organizing the sheets and pillows. Audrey watched as Jennifer went through her meticulous process, making sure everything was just right.
Even though Jen was Audrey's best and only friend, she had never really seen the girl outside of her maiden's uniform. As an employee of the royal palace, Jen had to abide by strict rules. Her hair was always carefully twisted into a bun at the nape of her neck. Her makeup, though minimal as it was, was always done. She always wore black and white clothes and her apron was rarely absent from her waist.
When they were younger, Jennifer had to obey far more rules than that. She had a specific uniform back then. The two were always being scolded for the informal way Jennifer behaved around the princess. Now that the old head of the household had retired, the new mistress over the servants was much more relaxed. Audrey knew that Jennifer liked her far more than the last one.
"Marioth, get Audrey to safety. I will deal with the dark fae and return to you as soon as I can," King Herbert whispered to his wife who stood in front of a younger girl, Audrey.
Teardrops ran down the queen's cheek as she nodded slowly. She bent down and picked up Audrey as she started to run away from the village of Orland. She had only run a few yards before she heard a blade rip through flesh she had known for years. The sound of breaking bones and a blade tearing through fresh skin sent new teardrops down her cheek as she tried not to look back at the body she would never see again.
"I want to see daddy!" Audrey whined.
"No... we have to get to safety..."
Audrey escaped Marioth's grasp and rushed to where her father was. Marioth turned around and stifled her scream at the scene before her.
The blade was still plunged into King Herbert's chest. The dark fae gripped the collar of the king's green and gold robes, lifting him up to stare into his blank, lifeless eyes.
"No... Daddy!" Audrey sobbed as she ran towards the dark fae.
"Audrey!" Marioth shouted after her daughter but Audrey was already next to the fae.
"I want my daddy back!" Audrey kicked the dark fae in the knee repeatedly.
The fae chuckled. "Pity." He looked down at Audrey.
"What... What did you do?" Marioth sobbed.
"King Herbert was weak... like your kingdom," the dark fae snarled at Marioth. He removed the sword from Herbert's chest. Marioth cringed at the sound of the sword releasing from pierced flesh. The fae then dropped the king's corpse down by his foot. Audrey ran towards her father and sobbed into his chest, still not completely believing what had just happened.
"Your majesty." A voice interrupted Marioth's memory, distilling her vision.
"What?" Marioth barked with an annoyed tone.
"Maverick's back." The soldier replied and stepped back into his spot by the entrance of the chamber.
A black-furred wolf stood at the entrance. His earthy colored eyes frowned at Marioth's. The queen nodded and Maverick started to walk towards her. The queen noticed her soldiers tense up as Maverick passed them.
"What have you found?" Marioth asked.
I found dead bodies in Westhold, the wolf responded telepathically.
"The same marks?"
The wolf nodded.
"Show me," Marioth demanded.
~
After arriving at the center of Harmstead, Audrey looked around and smiled. The town was packed with citizens and tourists all around. Music could be heard through speakers that hung from poles of light. Audrey walked around, searching for things to buy for her mother's guests.
Harmstead was one of the cities where The Great War of Orland had taken place. Orland armies had moved from Westhold to Harmstead and then to the last place where King Herbert was killed, Jedburgh. Jedburgh received the brunt of the battle. Many citizens died all around the land of Orland but Jedburgh had lost a million citizens and was now a rural city.
Life in Harmstead was simple: you got a house or an apartment, you bought knick-knacks that you could purchase, and you raised a family. But there was a catch. There lived a creature known as the Ketran that roamed the lake near the city. The Ketran would visit the city once every four years and would take many people with him underneath the seas to devour. Many people had been afraid of this monster and tried to kill it... but it never worked. The Ketran was always stronger than the citizens of Orland.
The lake nearby Harmstead was called Lake of Herbert. Lake of Herbert was named after the king since the king himself loved the lake very much as a child. Herbert would visit it every day to fish or just play in it for hours and hours.
Audrey took a left off a busy intersection and saw a store that she had been tempted to visit ever since she was in Harmstead five years ago with her mother. It was a jewelry shop filled with the rarest substances in Orland made into bracelets, earrings, and other trinkets or bobbles. Audrey made her way to the store and saw their selections of earrings.
Wow! Those are beautiful!
"Good morning. What can I help you with?" The woman inside the store asked.
"I'm just looking," Audrey replied, her eyes darting everywhere. After looking in every nook and cranny, they landed on a set of emerald earrings with diamond specks glittering inside of them. "Beautiful," Audrey breathed as she admired the craftsmanship of each item on display.
"Of course! Take all the time you need."
Audrey smiled at the worker and looked around again. She noticed a gold and blue necklace that hung from the corner of the store.
"How much is this?" Audrey asked, holding up the necklace.
"590 gold pieces." The woman replied back.
"Thank you..." Audrey looked at her pouch that she had brought with her and counted out 590 gold pieces. She laid them down on the grey countertop and said, "I'll take it."
The worker put the necklace into a white leather box and wrapped it in brown paper. She smiled as she handed the package to Audrey who carefully placed the small package into her pouch.
"Thank you so much!"
"Come back anytime!" The woman replied.
Audrey had not walked far before she took out the little box. She carefully unwrapped it. As she looked down at the necklace, it was as if the jewels were looking right back at her. She smiled as she ran her finger over the smooth, cold surface. She began to remove it from the box and-
Someone bumped into her. Audrey fell to the ground, the necklace smashing on the cobblestone street, shattering into a million pieces. Audrey's heart dropped when she saw the remains of the beautiful necklace. Audrey was ready to tear into whoever had run into her, but she gasped as she looked up to see the most beautiful man she had ever laid eyes on towering over her. The man smiled kindly, and reaching down, offered her a hand.
Thank you so much for reading the first chapter of House of Ash and Fire!!!! Please make sure to vote, comment, and share [https://em.wattpad.com/0740052a46497ce49f983159f0868711cace45e5/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4c5237625459616d59356d726d673d3d2d3837393638363034302e313630666539376565356161393333353333303239383932383835342e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Thank you so much for reading the first chapter of House of Ash and Fire!!!! Please make sure to vote, comment, and share. Your comment is what makes me write more and just makes my day!!!
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