Haste Marriage With The Enemy

Sweat covers my forehead as I twist and turn, getting entangled in the thin blanket I am covering my body with. Here I am again. I know that I am dreaming, it is a nightmare and I want to wake up, but I can't. I witness my parents screaming in pain as they are stubbed repeatedly by men in black masks. The men turn to look at me and my twin brother on the front door where we lie helplessly, our hands and feet tied. I can't make out the faces but I can clearly see the look of satisfaction in the eyes of the biggest man. He laughs eerily and raises his bloody knife, running towards me and my brother threateningly. I panic and scream louder, shaking my body to wake myself up. When I do wake up, I am covered in sweat all over and my heart is pounding like I am just from running a race. I tell my heart to calm down. It was just a dream. Although it seemed vivid, it was still a dream. A nightmare. That was how King Luis and Queen Belle, my parents, were killed, and I keep visiting that day again and again in my dreams. I sit up on the shrunken mattress I sleep on every night and hug my knees, letting the tears fall freely from my eyes. This is how most of my days begin. I cry my sadness away in the morning in order to be strong the rest of the day. I was ten when my parents and brother were killed right outside this very palace. My parents, brother, and I had come back from a trip around the village where we had gone to give out food and clothes to the less privileged families. When we arrived at the palace, we'd been surprised by men in black clothes and masks coming out of every corner of the yard. They were after the king and Queen's lives as they wasted no time tying me and my brother, Gilbert was his name, up and Ruthlessly stabbing both of our parents with long knives until they died. My brother had somehow broken loose from the ropes they used to tie us up using his penknife and ran furiously at the men with a vengeful and heartbroken cry. Aiming for the biggest man who had seemed to take pleasure in killing our parents, Gilbert had tried to stab him in the face with the penknife, but he was too young and small compared to the man, who grabbed Gilbert's hand and used the same knife he had used when killing the king to stab Gilbert in the stomach. That had been too much for me to watch. I had screamed louder as I watched my twin brother fall to the ground in slow motion. Then I had gotten consumed by darkness. When I came to about two hours later, everything had calmed down like nothing had happened. My father's younger brother, Uncle Roland, who used to live in a city far away from us, had taken my father's place as king after a few days since there was no one else apart from him in the line of succession. My brother had also died. I wasn't even allowed to attend the funeral because I was already traumatized from witnessing the death of my entire family. I had gotten numb from the pain and constantly slipped into episodes of derealization over the years. But that is not even half of my problems. When Roland moved into the palace with his family, hell began for me. As a princess, I was used to having the best of everything since I was born. Fancy bedroom, clothes, food and a lot of other things. That all changed with the coming of the new Royal family. I was kicked out of my fancy bedroom and given a room in the servants' quarters. I was told I was no longer a princess, that I would serve food and polish the furniture with the servants. I used to be a spoiled princess and now I am a servant. I would not have predicted this. I had nowhere to go so I had to yield to my new family's demands, no matter how unfair they were. But I had pleaded for Roland to at least allow me to continue going to school, which he fortunately did. He even agreed to take me to university where I studied English Literature after high school. I only graduated last year with a degree. On the day of graduation, I had missed my family even more, especially my twin brother. I had spent most of the day sad and depressed. He should have been there with me. He should have graduated along with me... I always put up a strong façade around everyone, except Lucea, my friend since when we were babies. She is the only one I allow to see the weak side of me that never healed from the traumas of my past. She is two years older than me and a sister I never had. I get to my feet when I hear hurried footsteps approach my small room. Quickly wiping my eyes on the sleeve of my dress to remove any evidence of crying, I turn to the door to see Letitia, the Queen of West Templeton, entering the room, her haughty face raised in distaste. I don't know if it is because of her entering this small room or the sight of me that has caused this expression on her face. It could be both. I fall to my knees on the ground, greeting, "Good morning, Your Majesty!" Ever since Roland and his family came to take our place here, I have been forced to kneel every time I encounter one of the members of the 'Royal family'. I always dress in many layers of clothing to prevent my knees from bruising, as I have to kneel many times each day, even though I try to avoid the members of the Royal family as often as I can. This morning I haven't yet changed from my nightdress into my usual layers of clothing and the impact from hastily kneeling down on the cold, hard floor at the sight of the Queen has hurt my knees. Wincing slightly in pain, I look up to search her face for clues of what she wants since she is not saying anything. To my surprise, I see a smirk playing maliciously on her lips. She guides my gaze with hers to her hand where I notice she is holding something grey in her right hand. I suddenly feel my heart drop to my stomach as I realize what she is holding. It is Trust, the gray squirrel that belonged to my twin brother before he died. I have taken good care of him together with his brother, Lucky. Gilbert and I had found them abandoned in a bush one afternoon as we explored the forest. They were so little and unhealthy looking that we felt pity for them and took them for pets, one for each of us. Since Gilbert's death, I have treasured Trust, the only remembrance I have of my beloved twin brother who left me without saying goodbye. Now Trust is dangling, lifeless, in Letitia's hand, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. In the time that I have lived with this family, I have always tried to act according to their will just to make my life easier. I am actually fierce and daring, and I have bidden my time all the ten years I lived without my family. However, seeing my brother's pet dead, at the Queen's command, probably, has made me lose my composure. Springing to my feet, I move swiftly and stand right in front of the Queen, something I have never dared to do before. Hands balled in fists, I stare in anger and sadness at Trust's limp body. "Letitia, you did not do that," I say in a low voice. The Queen blinks in surprise, then narrows her already small eyes. "I am afraid I didn't get you properly. What did you say?" She finally talks. I am too angry to care about the threat in her voice. I am faintly amused how the death of Trust has made me so fearless. "Did you just kill my brother's pet, Letitia? What has he done to you?" My voice is almost choking from the anger and sadness. "Well, it seems it was a punishment in advance for the way you are behaving right now. Need I remind you that I am the Queen of West Templeton?" As I suspected, she has killed Trust for no reason at all, other than to feed her twisted desire to give me a miserable time every day. But this time she has gone too far. The squirrel meant so much to me and I am hurt beyond words. " Lady, you have made me pass through a lot since the death of the real king and queen, but now I think you have gone too far. You do all this because you want me to leave the kingdom, don't you? Well, I want you to know that I am not going anywhere! I am going to find a way to get back at you for this! You will pay dearly, and then you will be sorry for living!" "DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, YOUNG LADY!" She shrieks. "I will talk to you however I want!" With that, I grab Trust's body from her and storm out of the room, leaving the Queen standing with her mouth slightly open, probably unable to believe I talked back at her for the first time. But I think the time has come for me to leave my home. It is not healthy to stay any longer. But where do I go? I have no idea. I just want to go away from this place.