The sun glared up above, beaming down on the seaside city. Merchants shouted along the street, advertising their wares for all who could hear. Fresh rolls sat in a baker’s stall, the bakery door a mere two steps away. An old woman sat on a stool, squeezing milk into mugs as her cow lazily munched a bale of hay. The sun glistened off silver bands and amulets, blinding the two girls perusing the vendor’s stall. Were it not for their matching baby-blue eyes, one might never guess they sisters.
The first was the fair-skinned fourteen-year-old Princess Adina. Her slender face was beset with large baby-blue eyes, innocent yet intelligent. A few strategic strands of golden hair framed her face. The rest was pulled into a high ponytail to help make up for her lack of height, held back with a light blue ribbon that matched her dress and eyes. The other girl was nearly-seventeen-year-old Princess Lynnette. Golden cords and pearl-topped pins clamped down on her braid in a vain attempt to contain her raven hair. Golden embroidery lined the edges of her plum-colored dress, framing shoulders a bit too square and a neck a bit too small. Atop her head was a thin circlet adorned with delicate scrollwork, the golden band just big enough to fit the pearls set into it. The symbol of the crown princess.
“What say you to this one, Lynnette?” asked the young blonde to her counterpart, holding up a rather shiny piece of jewelry.
Lynnette looked it over, blue eyes scanning with feigned interest. It looked expensive. A silver necklace with red rubies, too clunky for her small neck. She took it from her sister with a chuckle, cautious not to drop it. “I would say no,” she replied as she put the necklace back on its precious silk pillow. “You forget dear sister, that my neck does not frame such things as yours does.”
The blond rolled her eyes with a groan. “You said that about the last fifty things.”
“I meant it with the last fifty things, Adina. Would you have Eladria's future ruler wobbling around like a dressed-up stork?,” Lynnette retorted.
Shouting erupted down the street. A man was being dragged out of a building by the city guards, screaming at the top of his lungs. “I’m an alchemist! I swear, I’m an alchemist!” he cried out as they shoved a burlap sack over his head.
“Yeah, you and every other witch,” a guard sneered. “To the chopping block with this one!” The man’s muffled screams rang out, as the guards dragged him away, his hands shackled in iron. The runes etched into the cuffs were already glowing, the man grunting in pain. They would stop glowing soon enough. Once the runes had stripped him of his magic, there would be nothing to feed the spells imbued into the iron.
Lynnette bit her lip, guilt and concern furrowing her brow. Adina noticed her sister's furrowed brow and sighed. She grabbed Lynnette’s arm, pulling her away from the old woman's jewelry stall. “Come on, we should find something else,” Adina whispered. The two girls wove their way through the busy market street, pausing here and there to view the different wares each vendor had to offer. “You just might be the worst person to shop for, Your Majesty,” the blonde teased.
“Might? I must be losing my touch. Pray tell, Adina, should I be twice or thrice more obnoxious?”
“Depends, are you going to spend twice or thrice more on me?” Adina replied with a playful smirk.
Lynnette gave Adina a raised eyebrow. “And here I thought it was my birthday.”
“Well, should I not have something to play with before father throws us back in the dungeon again?” she replied, looking at another necklace.
“He is not going to throw us in the dungeon again,” Lynnette chuckled.
Adina rolled her eyes. “You said that the last two times,” she said.
“And we have escaped three times thus far. He would not throw us in a fourth.” The unmistakable sound of a man clearing his throat rang out behind the two. The two girls looked at each other, their eyes trailing up to the palace guard behind them.
~
Lynnette glared at the guard as he closed her cell door. “Don’t,” she snapped as Adina opened her mouth from the cell next door. Lynnette’s gaze following the guard as he walked away, her arms threaded between iron bars etched in anti-magic runes. The blonde stared at the ground with a smirk. Both of their cells were extravagantly furnished, a stark contrast to the otherwise empty and dismal dungeon. They had silk curtains, fur blankets, desks, padded chairs, changing screens, everything a girl of their station might need. Adina even had an embroidery in progress sitting on her desk, right next to a stack of history books.
“He is out of earshot now,” Adina said, looking up at her sister.
Lynnette sighed in relief. “Good,” she breathed.
“Also, I told you so.”
“By Vera’s bones, Adina,” Lynnette muttered, rubbing her temple. She had known Adina would say it, and it was still just as annoying as when she was clueless. No, it was more annoying, because Adina knew that she knew it was coming and did it anyway.
“So how long should we wait until we sneak out again?” Adina asked.
“Give them a few minutes. Make them think we've seen the error of our ways, whatever those are,” Lynnette muttered. She grabbed a book off her desk and drew the curtains closed over her bed, settling into the furs and silks.
The curtains were thrown back open as Lynnette shot up. She checked the other books on her desk, much to the curiosity of her sister. “My bookmarks are gone,” she stated, mortified.
Adina shrugged, “Well, father had to punish you somehow, seeing as whipping Sara doesn't seem to be doing the trick."
“Beating children is a barbaric practice anyways," Lynnette shot back, her scowl marred with guilt. She'd lost track how many times Sara had received the cane because of her, but that was the role of a whipping girl. Besides, it didn't seem to matter what Lynnette did, she was always in trouble. She shook the guilt from her head, concentrating on the crime perpetrated against her. "Regardless, what kind of monster steals bookmarks?” she demanded.
“I cannot argue with your line of thinking,” Adina said, fiddling with a necklace in her lap. “I would, however, expect father to extract more creative punishments for the time being. From what I overheard, Sara and one of the maids are currently sleeping in our rooms, for some ungodly reason.”
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“Well, I cannot say that the girl does not deserve some rest and relaxation,” Lynnette muttered. She moved to the wall of bars between her and Adina, sliding her arms through. Adina handed her the necklace and turned around, letting the gold chain rest on her chest as Lynnette did the clasp. “I guess I could be a bit better for her. I did try for a while, not that it made a difference. Seems that no matter what I do or don't do, poor Sara is destined for the cane.”
Adina let out a sigh. “Look," she whispered, "I know father is hard on you sometimes, but it's not without reason. You are the heir to his throne. There is a lot riding on your shoulders.”
"I know, I know," Lynnette relented. "Just...sometimes, it feels like a lot more than that, you know?"
"Well, it might feel a little less like that if you got the cotton out of your ears and listened once in a while," Adina teased. She gave Lynnette's hand a comforting squeeze.
Lynnette scoffed, “And what of your whipping girl? It is not like you’ve been entirely innocent in all of this, otherwise why would you be here in the dungeon with me?”
“Oh, I am the good child.”
“You do realize you are in this dungeon with me, right? You are literally in the cell next to mine.”
“Yes, but we do not have to be in here,” Adina replied, batting her eyes at Lynnette. Lynnette raised her eyebrow. “It has been a few minutes, and I do not know how aware you are of this, but it smells horrendous down here. Like, cleaning the latrines bad. I emptied an entire bottle of perfume just trying to sleep last night.”
Lynnette rolled her eyes. “At this rate, it will be a miracle if father even hosts a party at all,” she muttered, reaching down her bodice for an iron key.
“Oh, he will still host it. Parties are good for morale. Though I will say, our names have probably been purged from the guest list by now.”
Lynnette shook her head. “Uninvited from my own birthday feast. What is the world coming to?” She twisted her hand through the bars, sliding the key into the lock of her cell, wiggling it and twisting it. Finally the lock clicked, and the cell door opened. She stepped out and went to Adina’s door, repeating the process with her cell door.
"You know," Adina mused, "You're going to be in for quite a bad time if father ever calls a locksmith in."
"He already did," Lynnette grunted, twisting the key some more. "This is the old key, the one that doesn't work as well. When the locksmith came in, all he could do was reforge the key. Something about the bars losing their spells if they tried to change the locks. Luckily, the guards were storing it as a spare in a drawer in the Captain's quarters."
The cell door clicked open. She shoved the key back into her cleavage and marched out of the dungeon. Adina shrugged and followed suit, walking past a snoring guard propped up in a chair by the dungeon door. Lynnette paused to lift the guard’s key ring off the wall, quietly moving it to the floor. She then pulled out a flask on her hip and tipped a few drops of the contents into the guard’s drink. Adina stifled a laugh as they crept up the stairs.
The two girls tip-toed down winding stone hallways, hugging walls and darting behind archways. There were a ton of guards about, but some of the guards looked odd. For one, their uniforms were more pressed and clean, almost like they were never worn. Then there was their stance. Guards usually stood at attention, ready for anything, but these guys were slouching. She even caught a few leaning against their weapons. Finally, guards usually had maybe one or two scars, fights rarely made it to the castle for good reason. Getting to the castle was quite difficult. The castle was surrounded by a moat filled with flesh-eating fish and tall, thick walls. You had to pass through two portculli just to get to the courtyard. These men were covered in scars, like they spent every hour of the day fighting. They were no guards. They were, however, very easy to sneak past.
Lynnette and Adina reached a grand wooden door, with carved fleur-de-lis and gold inlays. Lynnette held her finger to her lips, but Adina shook her head, whispering in protest. “No!” Adina whispered again, but Lynnette was already through the door. Adina rolled her eyes and peeked through the crack as Lynnette took refuge behind a stone pillar.
The crowd in front of the castle gates was starting to get rowdy. The castle guards were searching people, confiscating weapons both magical and mundane. While the peasantry might be used to such treatment, the nobles certainly weren't. Nor were the nobles afraid to voice their displeasure, as many were being turned away for their disobedience.
One young man sighed at the sight, lowering the hood of his cloak to reveal blonde locks, a chiseled jaw and dashing blue eyes. He wove through the crowd to the front of the line, easing people out of the way with his tall build and broad shoulders. One of the guards bowed to him. “Hail, Prince Hector,” the guard called out, “We did not expect you to be arriving so soon.”
Prince Hector let out a little laugh. “What kind of man would I be if I did not come early for my betrothed-to-be’s birthday?" he mused. He spread out his arms, revealing more of the silk tunic hiding underneath his cloak. "Now, if you would?” He asked, watching the color drain from the guard’s face. Hector gave him one of his perfect charming smiles. “I believe your orders were to search everyone, correct?” Hector asked. The guard nodded mutely. “And am I correct in assuming that the King made no exception for me?”
“But-but surely he meant to!”
“I’ll not complain if it means my princess is safe. Now come, let us get this over with. We both have pressing matters to attend to.”
The guard begrudgingly obeyed, patting down Hector’s tunic. “Any magic items, Your Majesty?” he whimpered.
“Yes, one,” Hector replied, tapping the hilt of his sword.
The guard shook his head. “The King made an exception for Elautha specifically," he informed Hector. "If that is all you carry, you may go through.” Hector nodded, proceeding inside.
Torches and suits of armor lined the throne room. Sunlight seeped in through the stained glass windows. Nobles and regents stood on either side of the red carpet rolled out across the floor. Hector could feel a pair of familiar eyes peeking out from behind one of the pillars lining the room, though he dared not look. He had enough problems on his plate without adding outing his betrothed-to-be to the list. “King Frederick," Hector bowed, his voice deep and smooth, "I have come on behalf of my parents. The Southern Isles of Elchor send their regards."
King Frederick raised his eyebrow. The Queen shot a seething sideways glance to her husband. The King sighed, composing himself once more. “I welcome you to our humble kingdom, Prince Hector. Though, it saddens me to hear that your parents will not be joining us," the King said, glancing over at his queen. She gave a small nod of approval, allowing him to continue, "I was quite looking forward to speaking with them. When, pray tell, will they grace us with their presence?”
Hector didn’t flinch. Poised and calm, he answered, “They shall arrive next month, Your Majesty. Until then, they send you their best wishes and myself as their ambassador.”
King Frederick glared. One of the guards entered the hall from a side passage, whispering into the king’s ear. The color drained from His Majesty’s face. Lynnette peered out from around the suit of armor, trying desperately to hear. The king pointed to the court wizard, an old man in lightning blue robes, and motioned him over. “How soon can you depart?” he whispered.
“I can leave within the hour,” the wizard replied.
King Frederick nodded. “Good man, Augustus. Take some soldiers with you.” Augustus bowed and left, saving his grimace for when his back was turned to the king. “Captain Reginald?” A man to the king's left stood at attention. “Double the guards. Hire more mercenaries as you must.” The Captain bowed and left as well. The king then turned back to Hector. “I had hoped one of Lynnette's birthday presents could be officially making her your betrothed, but alas, that will have to wait. Such negotiations cannot proceed when one side is absent, as your parents well know."
"Speaking of Lynnette, where is she? I cannot wait to gaze upon the visage of my beloved."
"Alas, Princess Lynnette will not be attending the festivities. She has fallen ill, but she sends her best wishes."
"Ill?" Hector gasped, his composure falling momentarily. "I'm sorry to hear that. Is she alright?"
King Frederick smiled. "She is expected to make a full recovery, but for now, she must rest. I am sure she will be glad to hear of your concern for her."
“And what of Princess Adina?” Hector asked. Lynnette felt her heart stop.
The king simply smiled. “She is no longer your betrothed, Prince Hector. Adina’s place is elsewhere.”
“As you wish, Your Majesty,” Hector said with a bow. He left out the door as the other two had, glancing at the pillar as he passed.
Lynnette shriveled out of sight, holding her breath and her tears as he left. She crept back out the door, finding Adina once more. And a guard, standing beside her with crossed arms. "Yeah, okay," Lynnette whispered. "Take me back."