The morning sun shone, Bird sang, pearlescent droplets clung to the velvet of the crimson petals, catching the morning sun like tiny diamond. The rushing footsteps of people echoed throughout the kingdom Emberfall. The maids scurried around the palace making sure everything was ready before the king's family wakes up. Once the sun engulfed the dark shadows, illuminating the castle ground, sound of children playing would fill the castle walls. children's laughter, sound if little footsteps running around the court yards, and destruction were ever they go.
Plates fell to the ground, shattering as they hit the floor, the loud clatter made by the armor in the palace halls would sound the castle. they would trail mud from their boots, shrieking with laughter, flinging half eaten pastries at the maids, raising their pans, sheltering their faces from the flying food. " Why can't you lot be more like your older sister," miss Emilly would scald the children as they run through the halls. " Sorry miss Emilly" the boys would chant as they run through the halls. The sound of the children's laughter mingles with the distant, rhythmic clang of a blacksmith's hammer. The sound of Emberfall, a familiar rhythm. A kingdom nested at the edge of the mountain were the dragon slept.
" Why can't these boys act a little like their older sister, "she said out loud. The girl she was referring to was five-year-old Lilly, who would only go out of her room when summoned by the king or queen. they Maids would admire her for being neat and tidy. she would only step in to the castle halls when the maids had finished their duty in cleaning. Lilly would appear in public gathering and focus solely in pleasing the eyes of the castle visitors
Though her face was known throughout the kingdom of Emberfall, no one knew her actual personality. she would isolate herself in her room all day and only show herself around people in public event. Her cold demeanor always kept people at arm's length. Children would play around her and her body would stand still like a statue in the park. The only person who would be shown a smile from her face is her mother, the queen, the first wife to the king, Monica. People would watch from afar as they would play alone in the court yards. her shining smile lighting the sky, her gentle fingers picking up pebbles from the garden as she would show them to her mother.
Her room was a sight to see, the definition of a room in the palace. The maids would stan at the door their faces pale, their hands clinging to themselves, and their hearts pumping. They would find the room spotless. Gleaming floors, nicely placed clothes, neatly maid bed, and her toys all in their place. The queen would continuously tell the maids to never let her clean her own room. Even tried to convince her daughter to stop cleaning her room, but she never listened. The queen would punish the maids continuously, for letting the princess dirty her hands. They would plead for compliance from Lilly, would go to her room early in the morning but the moment they would open the door, blinding light, the scent of lavender, would hit their faces like a punch.
Five years had passed since Lilly woke up in this new world. Her new identity as the princess felt like a burden, the expectances that came from her mother and father were like a chain holding her back. The gaze that constantly followed her, the hushed whispers of the maids as the followed behind, the atmosphere would suddenly become still if she walked into a room. She notices a guard's shadows lingering across the courtyard, their gaze positioned on her for a bit too long. her steps in the palace would be perfectly practiced, her head held up high, her steps precisely placed as she walks through the halls, and her movement fluid. Her footsteps would be muffled as she walked, silence was the only thing the people around her would hear, silent yet loud to the senses, fluid yet rigid to the eyes, and her presence, head turning. hushed whispers about her, mother forcing actions on her mother forcing a child to convince the king would swear around as the maids would gossip.
The atmosphere in a room would change as she steps in. A sudden hush would envelope the room, Guars straightened as she walked by, maids froze mid motion, their eyes fixed on her, their whispers ceasing abruptly. The fear of being excommunicated if she heard about the talks in the palace. Her eyes would look out the castle windows, watch as her brothers played in the yards around the palace.
She would envision herself running around alone with the children, her face holding glowing with a smile. She would run ahead the others then trip and fall into a pool of blood. The thick, dark colored, blood, sticking to her like glue. The taste of death filling her mouth, covered in blood, her face expressionless as she looks around for her brothers. Their faces would flash around her mind, the eyes lifeless, their heart pierced, blood oozing from their chests. she would look down to her arms to see the familiar diamond edge dagger stained with blood of her brothers. Her mothers face, horrified as she glances at the dead bodies surrounding Lilly. Her voice cracked, trembling in her clothes
" Y... You're a murderer, you're not my daughter, you could never be my daughter," her mother would say, as she quavers at the sight of the dead children. Lilly, head staring at the ground, would only think of one thing, " Only the strong survive, the weak are rumpled, used, and thrown away," The words of a mentor she would rather forget. chains would wrap her; a familiar shadow would engulf her, " I hope you had fun," a voice coming from behind would state. " Lets back, we've missed you, " she would hear as she would slowly rotate her face to see the huge figure behind her. " Did you miss me, " Beatris would say as she pulls Lilly away.
Lilly would scratch the ground, trying to get grip, her bloody fingers marking the ground. 'No! no, no, no, I'll never go back to that place again,". images of her of the torture she had to go through with Beatris, the pain that felt like thousands of termites eating away at her muscles. She would forever feel the pain near like a bright fire blazing at the back of her mind, coming closer and closer...
"Screech!" the sound of Lilies bedroom door opening as her mother walks in. Her footsteps like rhythm to the ears. She straight to the window where she would find Lily staring at the window. " When will you finally go and play with them, you know they would like that," Monica said as she walked closer to Lilly, and hugging her. her mother's embrace felt heavenly to her, the sheer softness of her skin, the worm pulse coming from her skin, and the aroma of lavender she loved. She loved the smell of lavender so much that she even scented her room in it, but nothing smelled better than her sweat mother.
" You know I don't really get alone with them mother, "Lilly said as she gazed into the far distant mountains. the vast green fields in the distance, the tall mountains touching the skies, the sun shining in the streams on the mountain sides. A shadow suddenly engulfed them, wind blew, a huge figure landing in the castle grounds. Dragons, huge and mighty landed bowing, letting off knights.
Miss Emilly was out cleaning the windows when she spotted the dragons descending. her cleaning becket tipped over, forgetting, as she sprinted away in awe. The guard were marching to the palace gates weapons held high. The sound of their feet shook the castle walls, the armor loud, damping out the sounds of the city. " All hail king Mcdannold, ruler of Emberfall," their voices echoed throughout the palace. They all then stood in order leaving a path to the castle gate from the dragons. One dragon armored in shiny, clean, and polished golden armor, its dominance recognized even among the other dragons as they bowed. a man dress in golden armor, his sword gleaming from the morning light, his head held up high, and his actions commanding, got off the golden dragon. Mcdannold, the king of Emberfall and Lilly's father walk within the path laid out for him.
"Your father's home, why don't you go great him," said Monica her complex changed. " Yes mother," Lilly replied. At the castle grounds, maids flooded out of the palace in an orderly fashion. they stood in the sides of the path leading to the palace from the gate. The path was out lined with black and white bowing maids.
The gates opened as the king entered the palace ground." Welcome back my lord," the maids chanted with beautifully harmonies voices, all of them on the same speech length. He walked by them with his head held high on his way to the palace doors.
As the doors opened, he was met with Miss Emily's face, " May I take your armor my lord," she says with her face facing the ground. " Yes, you may," the king replied, as he stood straight and rose his arms to let cottage; take off his armor. Silent footsteps could be heard from a distance, his face turned grim as he saw the figure coming from the distance. A refined silent footstep that could be mistaken for the clock on the wall. Lilly was walking toward the room from the halls; she silently walked in and face the king and did a curtsy. " Welcome back father, I hope your trip went well" Lilly greeted her father with her face expressionless. " It went well," he said," Make sure you prepare for this evening, we're having visitors," he continued, his eyes not even taking a glance at his own daughter. Lilly was used to this; he wouldn't even take a look at her when they talked, the smile would disappear, his eyes would turn lifeless, and his eyebrows would straighten. He craved a son, an heir to the throne, a legacy that would not be tainted by his first wife child.
" I've taken the armor to the to the royal armory my lord" Emilly said with her face facing the floor again, her body stiff and her face with a neutral expression. He walked out of the room and Lily followed behind. " Some time I fill sorry for that child," she thought to herself, " her own father would never pay an attention to her, let alone complement her."
Emilly was one of the maids that lived in the palace at the times when the king was still unmarried. He would stay in the castles dining room al alone and drink strong alcohol. He'd go to his room wasted every night until he saw a young lady from the countryside. His attitude finally changed, he stated eating more, stopped drinking too much and even had a smile on his face. The castle dwellers were happy to see their once gloomy king look a little better. The maids started making sure that he's diet changed, and Emily was the head Maid looking after the whole palace.
No one actually knew the young lady, but they were glad that the Mcdannald was happy. On the day he brought the young lady, Monica to the palace. His face was briming with joy as he walked her through the palace halls. Her body would stiffen as she walked through the palace halls. She felt the gaze of the maids as the passed through the banquet halls, the gaze of the guard as she walked through the courtyards, and the gaze of the towns people as they strolled through town. She would hear the tiny whispers coming from the town's women " look at her, she thinks she can take advantage of the king." Monica felt uncomfortable walking around the kingdom. The constant judgement from the town folk made her feel unwelcome. When she walked in the kingdom, the venom in their eyes was a physical thing, a cold hand on her skin. Each glance, each whisper, was a blow. Walking through the town, she felt as though she were wading through a sea of hatred, the bloodlust of the other women a tangible threat.
when the king finally confessed his feelings to her, the faces of the women in the streets flooded her mind. " Who does she think she is, she thinks she could become the queen of Emberfall" their voices echoed around her, " Your no one! no one! no one!" her face became pale, her breathing unstable and her, and he legs felt numb.
" Monica.... Monica...Monica!" Mcdannold's voice snapped her out of the trance. " I... I can't, it's not going to work," then she ran out of the palace without looking back. Mcdannold stood there frozen, the word Monica let out echoed in his mind, his face crumbled. The world seemed to tilt, he retreated, the silence of the castle swallowed him. The drinks returned, but now it was desperate, hallow ritual. The castle, once his domain became a prison.
Emilly, her heart heavy with the king's despair knew that she had to do something. the maids whispered of Monica's disappearance, and Emilly, fuelled by a sense of duty and perhaps a touch of empathy, decided to act. She started searching in blustering marketplaces, her voice hoarse sore from asking every merchant, every baker every passerby if they had seen the young lady. At her door, she saw Monica drawing water, her face a canvas of exhaustion and fear. Bruises, like angry flowers, blooming on her, arms. Her body, once vibrant, seemed to shrink within her worn clothes.
Monica's life had turned for the worse after she rejected the king. Though the king never ordered any one to harass her, she was being targeted by the kingdom's people. men in the allies beat her, women pelted her with rotten tomatoes, and the children threw rocks.
When she saw Emilly, she was terrified, she threw down the backet she had and ran away. Emilly followed her to a broken old beat-up cottage; she slammed the door shut with a bang that almost broke the door frame. The house shuddered, dust raining from the cracked ceiling, the whole structure seemed on the verge of collapse. She got closer to the doorstep knocked on the door and told Monica everything that the king was going through. She also said that the king was indeed in love with her and wanted her as the queen, but Monica never answered the door. she leaned on the door, she felt the loose hinges move, opening the door.
She walked in, floors creaked, dust fell from the ceiling, the heavy breathing from Monica could be heard from the doorstep. She walked to the kitchen, the air hungry with the stench of iron. a rat scurried across the floorboards, its claws scratching against the wood. Then, a chilling sight, a pool of crimson spread across the kitchen floor, a glint of steel embedded in Monica's abdomen. Her eyes, wide and vacant, stared up at the ceiling. The blood, thick and viscous, a glistened under the dim light, a macabre testament to the violence she had endured. A knife plunged in Monica's stomach, her blood oozing to the floor, her eyes fading away, her skin turning blue. She was taken to the palace to a healer and was saved just in time.
When she woke up, her view cleared as the unfamiliar scenery unfolded. Her heart pumping, her eyes wondered around the room as they fell in a still figure, sleeping on the chair beside him. It was Mcdannald, he slept by her all night.
"Emily... Emilly... Emilly, would you snap out of it! " Monica called out to the daydreaming maid. would you go and tend to our guest. lost in thought, Emilly nearly jumped when the queen's voice startled her. The guest's arrival had completely slipped through her mind. " Yes, my queen, I'll be right on it," she said as she harried to the kitchen to check on the others.
Lilly was in her room at that time, the sound of punches hitting the walls, heavy panting, and the smell of sweat filed the room. Each punch was a controlled, explosion of rage and grief. her fists hammered against the wall, leaving crimson blossoms where knuckles concocted. The air throbbed with the impact, the scent of blood thick in the air. Sweat streamed down her face, mingling with the blood trickled from wounds. Her muscles screaming in protest, yet she pressed on, driven by an indomitable spirit. " I will never be another person's stepping stone ever again," those words running through her mind.