The most hated

The war was bloody. Everyone I knew was dead. My precious family. My warrior brother who was head of the army, strung up dead in the town square. My two younger sisters killed in their beds while they slept. My Mum and Dad, tortured, apparently kept barely alive for days, on display in the town square were left to be mutilated by the rebels. Then there was me, the princess, on the run, my designer clothes ripped and bloody. My arm broken from a fall and healed the wrong position so it’s almost unusable. How I’ve fallen. I escaped the rebels, I was up late reading in the library upstairs when they entered the palace. I heard the commotion, I walked out to demand silence. Who would dare disturb the peace of the royal family. That’s when I saw them, dressed in rags, covered in blood, I could see a figure on the ground, obviously dead, they kicked it, I could then see his face. My Uncle, the head of the treasury, a large gash across his face. Standing frozen, not sure what to do, I watched more men enter the palace and searching rooms. I ran up to the next floor and into a secret room. I used to hide here from my sisters when we played hide and go seek. I would wait here until help came. But help didn’t come, I used a secret passage that took me deep into the forest. I was spotted almost instantly, I ran and hid in a creek bed. I needed a disguise, I was striking, a symbol of beauty for the people. I also carried the mark of the royal family, a thick band of silver hair amongst the other pitch black strands. I had purple eyes, we all did. It’s what stood us apart from the rest, it showed the pure blood of the royals. I stayed put until they left, I covered my hair in mud from the creek to cover the silver. I would need a whole day at the salon to clean this when it’s over. Then I ran, I passed what appeared to be a village but it was run down, buildings falling apart. I’d never left the palace before, I would find a town and seek refuge until the rebels were dealt with. I ran for days, hiding near villages so I could here what was going on. I was starving, the villagers all looked malnourished, all wearing rags. I tried to steal food but got spotted. I ran again, I fell, the pain was extreme, I think my elbows broken. Exhausted and in pain I continued on. I could hear a large crowd of people, they were listening to someone talking. I got as close as I could. I could make out a tall man addressing the crowd. “It’s done, the royal family are dead!” he shouted. I stifled a gasp, tears running down my cheeks. “Our times of debilitating taxes that fund their lavish lifestyle are done” The crowd cheered, “Our families being thrown in prison or publicly executed for not obeying their ridiculous rules are done” The crowd cheered again. “Their tyranny is over, our people have taken the palace, the treasury will be opened, no one will go hungry again!” The crowd cheered more loudly. Hunger, public executions, taxes, I’d never heard about any of these things. We were peaceful, loving rulers, I was constantly told how I was adored by the people and how they were the most fortunate in the land. Surely this cannot be true. I heard a villager speak up, “is it true that one of the princesses escaped “ he asked. “Yes” the tall man addressing the crowd said. “She will be found, she’s got no where to go, all of her family are dead. I don’t expect a spoiled princess to last long out here” he said. “If you do find her she can be killed on sight, if you able capture her alive and we’ll make a public spectacle of her death” this was met by cheers. Publicly execute me, why do they hate me so much, what have I ever done to harm them. I couldn’t believe that my family were dead, this was too much to bear. I dug myself a hideout under a tree and sobbed quietly. What if everything they said was true, had I been living a life of luxury while they suffered. I guess if I was them, I’d want me dead to.