“To the Abyss with that! You promised!”
An outraged howl came from the tallest tower of the many spires gracing the magnificent looming castle-like fortress—the only one of its kind throughout Sanobar’s territories. The voice belonged to Sanobar’s one and only crown prince, Adrian Blackrose.
The top-most room of the tower was richly decorated with vibrant tapestries and carpets. It was not a large space—a massive round table dominated the centre of the room, leaving only room for a number of seats and a narrow passage between them and the wall. In a corner was a worn wooden door leading to the spiral staircase that was the only way down the tower. An alcove was dug into the wall just outside the tower room, covered by magenta woollen curtains with golden trim.
Two people stood within the room—a young man with dull blond hair, who stood about a head taller than the wispy woman who stood before him.
“Adrian! You have responsibilities as crown prince!” She said, running her hand through her golden locks, a frown marring her face.
Adrian took a deep breath and replied, “I know, mother! But you and father promised me… that I’d be able to marry the person I love! And now you’re going back on your word—to marry me to this elven princess I don’t even know!”
Queen Elysadora sighed, “I’m sorry, Adrian… the situation is just so bad right now. An alliance with the elves will put everyone at ease-”
“At what cost? Shackling me up for life?!” Adrian interrupted, his displeasure growing by the second.
Liars, the lot of them! He thought, All just for an alliance with elves?!
“Adrian, couldn’t you at least meet her? Try to get to know-”
He stormed away, cutting off her words. Adrian made his way over to the door and opened it roughly, letting it slam into the cold stone wall. The curtain of the alcove shook at the force, as the door blocked it entirely.
Adrian sprinted down the stairs, spitting curses along the way.
The queen shuffled to the door and moved it, revealing the alcove.
She whispered, “Are you alright, dear? I didn’t know he’d react so aggressively…”
The queen sighed, “I was hoping to introduce the two of you, but it looks like we’ll have to give him some time to cool off first.”
A pale hand appeared from behind the curtain and pushed it aside.
The elven princess stepped out and said frostily, “That’s fine. It’s not as if I wanted this any more than he did—though I’d honour my responsibilities, unlike someone…”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
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Blackrose castle stood upon a grassy hill overlooking a massive town—one made prosperous by trade centred around the royal castle. Having grown at a rapid rate during the Golden Age after the demon war, the town lacked structure. Alehouses and brothels stood next to reputable textile stores, and one could end up in the same place throughout the entire town without ever taking the same path. When the town was in its growth phase, buildings sprang up as rapidly as they were torn down, so a street that existed one day could vanish the next. Not even the natives ever truly knew their way around the ‘ever-changing’ town, aptly renamed Sor’othi—‘always changing’. As with any metropolis, where there was light, there were inky shadows. The royal guards patrolled the main streets, but the winding streets of the slums that rarely saw any daylight were home to beggars and thugs and a black market dealer for just about anything, if the price was right.
However, those sides of the city were unknown to the high nobility, who lived their whole lives in the light, too blinded to see beyond their rose tinted realities.
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Adrian was furious. As the firstborn and next in line for the throne, he had known from a young age that he’d have to cast aside his personal feelings for the sake of the kingdom.
A monarch rules not for himself, but for the people.
To have choice in his marriage was like a dream—and something he’d never thought possible. His parents had been lucky in their arrangement, but many others had not been—and he assumed that he’d be one of the unlucky masses, trapped in a loveless marriage until death parted them. That promise had been like a light in the darkness, kindling hope within him and a yearning for the future, though it was cruelly stripped away.
The hot-headed youth stood before a tavern on the outskirts of the city, having gone down to the tavern to ease his anger with drink, a bad habit of his. Fewer guards patrolled and the overall state of the buildings were slightly worse for wear. The tavern itself was a dilapidated building with a creaky wooden sign hanging from rusted iron bars, the name of the establishment spelled out in peeling ink. Any windows were roughly boarded up, the glass long since shattered and the interior was warm and dimly lit in an orange glow. The tavern floor had a questionable sticky feeling to it, as did the tables. Along the back, there was a long bar with stools, where a number of patrons sat. Adrian slipped onto one of the seats and called for a strong drink.
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It had been a few hours and now Adrian was barely coherent. Speech eluded him besides his drunken holler whenever he wanted more drink. His tunic, once clean and nice, although rather plain and unremarkable, was now stained with the ale that spilled when Adrian grew so drunk he had trouble seeing where the mug of drink was. His damp hair was matted with sweat and other unpleasantries. He had taken care to dress in common garb, but no one in town would have recognised the filthy, drunken man that sat there as the crown prince of Sanobar.
“Hey!”
Dimly, he registered an insistent voice.
“Hey. You in the dirty red tunic!” The voice continued, “You’re about to topple out of your seat.”
Adrian peered down at his tunic, convinced it wasn’t him being addressed. Duly, surprise was registered as he slowly came to the realisation that he was, indeed, clad in a red tunic, though one with unpleasant stains down the front. He turned his head towards the voice and his eyes, red-rimmed, saw four identical men approaching him.
“Oy, mate! I think you have had quite enough to drink for tonight," The men spoke in unison, reaching out a hand. That was the last he heard before he tumbled off his seat and slipped into unconsciousness.
The man stared at Adrian’s crumpled form and sighed.
“I told you so,” He muttered.