Dear Villa

Chapter 1: Reign of Despair

810

Dear Journal, I am still a slave, a slave with dreams and a father she has no damn idea of, Am I not good enough for people to buy me, what am I saying? I am just 10, who would want a 10-year-old for pleasure but nowadays noblemen want to have their wives fresh and young to bear them children, no one really told me anything, My mother was never there, I mean how could she be there when she's dead and like I said my father is unknown, do I have a future? what am I saying, I am a slave, Slaves don't have future

I-

Rayelle stopped her writing when one of the slaves who has taken care of her ever since she was born brought her up to her feet "What's wrong, Is there a fire?"

Agnes smiled "No, Elle but it's time and we have to go before the ship leaves us, you don't want them to drag you, now do you?"

"No"

"Come on" Agnes took the little girl into her hand and led her out of the cottage that had nothing but a broken bed and a floor made with mud

"Halt!" An aggressive voice was made "Leave the child"

Before they could blink, A Soldier pushed Agnes to the floor holding her down with their boots and a sword closed to her neck "Settle down ink" He sneered

"You don't understand she has to be with me" Agnes complained but they didn't listen they carried her to the ship ignoring both Rayelle and Agnes yells and protest 

"Ma" Rayelle was about to run for her but a hand on her wrist stops her, She was pulled back to a very odd-looking man

Is that silk? She thought

Only Royals wear silk and oh no, Am I going to be a maid? She thought

"W-who are you?" She asked, of course, stuttering

"I am your father, Rayelle, has your mother never told you about me" He bent down a frown present on his face

"No, I'm afraid she passed away," She said looking down still confused on why a royal was talking to her "Um, can I help you" she paused not knowing what else to call him but the next words she said almost made her gag "father"

"Don't be scared, I'm here to make your life better" He smiled

His smile looked so walming but the real question is Should she trust this man?

Don't be stupid Rayelle, he's your father, Her inner Voice scolded her

That I never knew of, She mentally replied to her inner voice making her shut up

"Ok" Her voice was soft there wasn't a hint of hesitation, she really trusted this man's word

Then again, she was 10, who wouldn't want to give up on being a slave

_

"I still don't believe this" Queen Leticia snarled looking at the child in disgust "YOU r***d A BLACK WOMAN"

Rayelle jumped in fear and hid behind her father in fear

"Silence Leticia, Never forget who sits on that throne," He said in a dominant tone making Leticia be quiet

She took deep calming breaths standing up from her throne and walked closer to her husband and of where the so-called child is who was trembling in fear "What is this thing called?"

King Simon turned around to look down at his daughter who buried her head down, she lifted up her head to meet the queen's icy gray eyes staring at her in pure hatred 

"Rayelle" She whispered 

"Rayelle?" Her tone of voice was more of mocking the child 

"Mother named me before she died" She whispered still looking down

"Simon, I do not care, if she is your child or not or if she holds royal blood, I will not take care of a black child, no one in her skin color should ever be in that throne, it's a disgrace" She folded her arms in disapproval taking a sip of her wine

"I am not asking you, Leticia, you will take care of her while I'm at war, do not fight with me Leticia, I assure you that you will not win" His tone was dismissive as if this argument was already ended and no one could question it, his voice was so...cold

Were all royals like this? Always cold-hearted, Rayelle thought 

"Now, FREYA" He called out and then a girl with red hair that looked almost as identical as strawberries  and green eyes came out with a doll and two of her friends, Rayelle glanced from her hiding spot to see the site, She must be the princess

"You called, father?" She might be young but she definitely knew 

"Where is Richard?"

"Oh you know that boy, always training" Leticia answered

"Who is this?" Freya asked glancing at Little Rayelle who was hiding behind her father

Simon slowly pushed Rayelle forward and gave her comforting smile silently telling her it was ok

"Rayelle" She introduced herself looking down, she could feel Leticia's icy grey eyes glaring holes at her back

"She is your sister and I expect that you treat her well, okay princess?" 

"Your Majesty" The family turn their heads to the guard who had blood on the side of his cheek "It's time"

Simon nods at the guard and he bows his head before leaving, Simon turns to his family then went to his wife/queen "I love you, don't forget that" They shared one last kiss that held so much meaning and so much love

"I love you" Leticia whispered looking at him with her once cold grey eyes to soft ones

"I love you all" He declared and before anyone could blink

He left

Leticia looked at the door as if still feeling her husband's presence but then she cleared her throat and looked towards the kids, more specifically, Rayelle she kept silence she just gave her one cold glare before leaving the throne room without uttering a word

Rayelle was still looking down, she thought she would have a better life here but she was wrong

"Elle?" A voice called out for her making Rayelle turn around at the sound of her name and she saw that it was Freya and for some reason, a smile began spreading on her lips

"These are my friends" She pointed at her friends that were behind her "Eda" she pointed at a girl who had white hair almost close to snow itself with blue eyes "And Alba" She pointed at a girl with long black hair and brown eyes that you could almost get lost on by staring too long

"Nice to meet you" She brought out her hand for a shake, Rayelle looked down at the hand almost completely lost at what to do

"What's that?" She whispered pointing at Freya's hand

"It's called a handshake, some people do it to be respectful, all you have to do is..." She grabbed her hand into hers "shake" then she began to shake "see look how easy it is" she chuckled

Rayelle let out a low laugh at that

"Do you want to join us for tea?" Alba offered, she could feel Eda's glares but decided to ignore that

"Yeah, we should get to know each other" Freya agreed 

"Ok" Rayelle's voice was so soft and so calming it sounded like a bell ringing and is slowly fading away

_

"You are such an i***t, Alba" Eda facepalmed as she watched Alba clean off the tea from her dress 

"It was just an accident" She defended herself though it would be no use for Eda

"The princess's lady shouldn't be having such accidents" She retorted

"Oh be quiet" Alba dropped the cloth down the ground and a maid come up quickly and took the trash going to dispose of it

"So, Elle" Freya called her sister making her lookup

"Hmm?"

"If you're my sister how come I didn't know about you"

Rayelle chuckled looking down as she played with the hem of her shirt that looked like a ripped rag, she was still in her slave cloth "To be fair, I didn't quite know about you either, it was just about now"

"Oh, well I'm happy to have you as a sister" Freya declared and Rayelle just smiled in response

"I'm sorry but I have to say this, If you are Freya's sister then why are you a slave, there's no such thing called a slave princess-"

"Hold your tongue, Eda" Freya snapped and Eda kept quiet remembering that Freya was her superior "Mind what you say to her"

"I said I couldn't help it" She shrugged innocently 

"Can't blame her there, Eda has a case of mouth diarrhea" A voice behind them made Freya jump up from her seat with a smile plastered on her face

"Hammond" Rayelle turned her head to see two gorgeous looking men

They were both wearing armor

"Richard, how was sword fighting today, did you get your arse kicked again" Alba joked 

"I couldn't really finish sword fighting when I heard a rumor across town, what is this about father having another child," He asked his eyes violet eyes darkening a little 

"She's right here" Freya stepped away showcasing Rayelle who was playing with her fingers not looking up she was still embarrassed, all of this was quite new to her

"Why is she black?" Hammond asked glancing at her

"Her mother was a slave and all slaves are black, can you believe how unfit this is for Graxigia, imagine a slave princess" Eda answered glaring at Rayelle

"That pride is still eating you up, I see" Richard sneered, Eda kept quiet not knowing what to reply for that "Uh? Hello, I'm Richard" He walked closer to her "Prince Richard, you are?" 

She looked up to look up at his eyes, it held determination and... sincerity? "Rayelle" She whispered

"Rayelle?"

"Yes" She confirmed looking up

"Hello love, I am Hammond, this little rascal's friend" Hammond went over to her and brought out his hand for a shake, she smiled and did what Freya taught her and shook his hand

They all laughed and Rayelle joined in at that, a source of letting louse and being happy coming over her body

"Children?" They turned their heads to Queen Leticia "Dining room, now" She commanded

_

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am glad you all joined for a dining feast as for my husband as returned to war and will restore the Graxigia throne" She paused to grab her glass of wine "MUSIC"

And just like that, There was music

Everyone was dancing as the music played, some were eating, some were asking for the Queen's blessings and some were gossiping about the black princess and were not even subtle about it, they were pointing fingers at her making her feel something was wrong with her

"Queen Leticia" A voice filled with venom and hate was made making everyone turn their attention to what that was and Leticia let out a gasp as she saw the person

It was someone she knows, it was someone who she did wrong

"What? why stop the music" He asked spontaneously looking around with his hands wide and his right hand holding onto his sword 

"What are you doing here Gorm?" Leticia asked looking at him with so much hate as he did for her

"Oh, I'm sorry, your majesty" He bowed down with so much arrogance

"I just came here to say, you all are f****d, there is no saving for Graxigia and you wanna know one of the reasons?" He asked  "because of your so-called Queen"

Leticia opened her mouth to say something but he cut her into it "But don't worry, I got my revenge" He nodded at one of them that came with him and he brought something from behind his back

The King's Head

Everyone gasps at that in pure shock, Leticia let out a cry of pain, Freya cried as she held onto her brother who was soothing her, Rayelle, on the other hand, was still baffled on what was going 

"I killed your love just like you killed and crushed my heart" He sent a wink their way

Leticia slammed her fist on the table and wiped off her tear "GUARDS"

Just like that, a fight was made in a dining room, this was a night they were supposed to enjoy, tonight was the night they feast on the king's return to the war

She watched the fight unfolding in front of her and stood up from her seat and stole a sword from one of her guards making them get killed from being unarmed

"I broke your heart because I had to" She went over to Gorm as she picked a sword fight with him "not because I wanted to"

"Doesn't matter because you still did it" Their swords came together making an 'X' before he pushed her back "A scar was left by you and now you will suffer it"

Leticia scrunched her face up in confusion looking at him to understand what he meant before she could blink he brought out his much smaller sword and threw it direct the dining table

It felt like slow motion watching it unfold but it stopped once it hit Freya on the arm

A scar that will leave a mark, forever

"NO" Leticia cried and ran to her daughter nursing her injured arm "GET THE HEALER"

_

Rayelle hid from the door watching as Freya sleeps, She wanted to be there for her sister as the healer came to Freya's aid but Leticia didn't like the sound of it, she wanted Rayelle to be as far away as possible from her children

 "Are you okay?" She asked as she got into Freya's room

"Get out" She heard a faint voice

"What?"

"Get. Out" Freya said slowly

"What? what do you mean?"

"I mean GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM" She yelled making Rayelle flinch at her tone, the only time she was yelled at was when the guards asked her to do something, so when she was a slave and that tone Freya used made her have flashbacks on her slavery days

"But you're my sister"

"Not anymore, all bad things have happened today ever since you came here, you proved yourself to be walking bad luck" Freya hissed in venom

Rayelle wiped off a tear that fell and left Freya's room without uttering a word as she got out, she bumped into Queen Leticia

"I'm sorry" She whispered

"You rat" Leticia sneered and grabbed Rayelle's hand dragging her somewhere ignoring her protests of no then she opened a dusty door with the lights not completely working "Rats will stay with rats" She slammed the door shut

Rayelle went to the door and began hitting it repeatedly but it was locked, tears draining from her face as she stood up and went to the mirror and looked at herself

Is this going to be my life? She thought

_

8 years later

"Wake up, RAT!" She heard her step mother's ratchet voice as she banged on the door, Rayelle only turned her body to the other side not wanting to wake up "Make Breakfast, we're hungry"

She didn't get up till she slowly heard Leticia's fading footsteps

Staying in the palace might be a dream for some people but definitely, not for Rayelle, she is treated more like a slave than anything else and to be quite honest she was grateful at anything, she would've been sold if they really did move her but she wasn't, she's staying in a place where she was born even if it holds bitter memories

"Another day Another pain" She muttered packing her hair as she looked at herself in the mirror "8 years? Wow, you really did it, Rayelle, you're not so much of a disappointment"

Leaving her room, she bumps into a slim figure, she looks up to see Freya, it didn't take long before Freya rolled her eyes pushing against her leaving Rayelle stunned

She still hasn't changed, she thought 

"Morning" She greeted everyone as she entered the kitchen

"Hi, how are you doing? do you still have back problems?" Diot, Rayelle's friend also known as a maid 

She was a spitfire, well that's what Rayelle thinks of her, Diot was never afraid to say her mind even if it hurts people but it was only to help

"It's okay, It's better than sleeping on a floo-"

"Are you paid to chat, If you work in the palace, you are expected to be professional, be the peasants you are but never forget you're superior" Ah. Eda, oh Eda, she hasn't changed much in eight years still the same old bitch

"Never forget you're a bit-" Rayelle placed a hand on Diot's mouth silencing her from saying anything that will get her in trouble

"What was that?" Eda asked glaring at Diot

"Nothing, Lady Eda, breakfast will be ready soon" Rayelle answered for Dior before she says something that she'll later on regret

Giving one final look of disapproval, Eda finally leaves the kitchen

"Why are you so nice to her, Ugh! I want to rip her bullocks off" Diot groaned her green eyes darken in anger

"Because it's always good to go with kindness, you should never fight evil with evil, it never wins, Look at the war for example" Rayelle explained to her

"God, you're so nice and they threat you like s**t"

"It is what it is"

_

Aldous kicked the ReNfiti in the throat as it tried to use its paws to touch his pendant "Ahhhhh"

"Just Give Up" Aldous growled as he brought his sword up hit it's under stomach that was freakishly huge but couldn't kill him, he needed to get the heart

"Not gonna happen," The creature said in a deep monstrous voice as he circled around Aldous "Look at you, all high and mighty because you lost your humanity, just wait till you something that drags you back into it"

Aldous let out a deep laugh as he looked at the three eyes creature "That's not gonna happen, mate" Before anyone could blink he brought up his sword and drove it into the heart that he could now see by his once trainer thought his about monsters like a Renfiti

No one could ever bring him down, no one