Revenge of a Duchess

Chapter 2

I was standing in my old room, the red velvet bed soft and cozy. What was going on?! I heard children's laughter float in from outside and Katrina's grumpy voice coming from down the hall. But I was dead. Was this the afterlife?! I grabbed a small mirror from my bedside table and stared into it. A pale face and a tumble of red hair stared back at me. My green eyes were wide with fear and the small scar I'd gotten from smashing Lucas's favourite cup was gone. The skin of my cheek was smooth and clear. The door opened with a bang and I jumped.

"Yasmine! What are you doing up at this time? It's only 7 in the morning," Katrina said and I gasped. Katrina had left years ago to serve my father on his war campaign and she'd never made it home. Just like him. She was an older woman with a face hardened by years of bossing servants around and living in the more dangerous parts of the city of Pire. But now she gave me a curt smile.

"Did you have a nightmare, girl?" she asked. "I'll bring you some fruit tea and that should chase it away."

"W-what are you doing here? You died..."

She stared at me as if I was going mad. Maybe I was.

"You really did have a nightmare. It's alright, some tea will sort it out. Your father wants to have breakfast with you in the dining room. He has some interesting news. Prince Lucas has been sniffing around, asking about you." She gave me a wink and walked out of the room, leaving me in shock.

I threw myself onto the bed and closed my eyes. I remembered this day. This was the day when my father told me about Lucas's intentions to marry me. I had agreed enthusuastically, because I was already half in love with him. But now...had I been given a second chance?

"God or gods, are you giving me another chance? I can say no, I-I....I can stop everything bad from happening." My words hung in the air as if they were a magical spell. I could ditch Lucas, avoid the death sentence, stop my father from going to war...I could change everything.

By the time Katrina returned with fruit tea, I was grinning to myself.

"Are you okay?" she asked, raising a brow. "You look a tad crazy."

"I'm amazing, Katrina! It's a beautiful day and I'm alive! This tea tastes divine."

"Ah ha," she said. "Maybe you should go back to bed. But your friend, Miss Melanie, wants to spend the afternoon with you."

The mention of Melanie ruined my high-on-life moment. That snake! She was one of my oldest friends, daughter of an unimportant lord in the countryside of Ellea. My father had been friends with her family and that was how we met. And she'd wormed her way into my life, spending time with Lucas and me, until she'd finally gotten what she wanted. No. Melanie would never be Princess of Ellea. She would never even meet Lucas if I could help it.

"I'm too busy to meet Melanie today," I replied coldly. "In fact, I'll be too busy to see her for a while. Please let her know that."

Katrina's mouth twitched as if she wanted to laugh.

"I'll be sure to let her know," Katrina said, her eyes bright with mischief. "Might do that girl some good to not always be here. You'd think she was the Duke's daughter as well."

Yes, Melanie had all but lived here. That was how she got access to Lucas and other important people who ended up fawning over her. I was the i***t who thought she was my best friend. I sipped my tea thoughtfully, planning my next few steps. The first one was to see my father and reject Lucas. I imagined my new future as the reigning Duchess of Pire, lounging in one of our estates miles away from the palace and whatever poor girl Lucas would hoodwink into marrying him. I didn't want anything to do with him again. A flicker of hurt pierced my happy thoughts and the image of Melanie on top of him flashed into my mind. No. I'd never let him near me again.

I walked into the dining room, amazed at the familiar smell of pastries and a tear pricked my eye when I saw my father. He was on the bigger side, with short red hair and a warm smile. He was sitting on one end of the great table, a pain au chocolat held casually in one hand.

"Yasmine! I tried to wait until you got here to eat, but I couldn't help myself," he said. "Sit down and eat a pastry. You look famished!"

"I-I..." My voice cracked as I stared at him. I hadn't seen him for over three years. He had died when a rogue band of mercenaries attacked at the border. I cried for months. Suddenly, I threw deocrum out the window and rushed over to him, throwing my arms around him.

"What's going on?" he asked, bewildered. I breathed in the woodsy smell of him, overjoyed that he was back.

"I just missed you, that's all," I replied, holding back tears.

"Okay," he said, patting me on the back. I forced myself to sit beside him and munched a pastry to keep my mouth from trembling.

"I have some good news for you," he said softly as if afraid of upsetting me. "This will perk you up! The prince has been asking about you."

He waited for my explosion of joy. It didn't come. The smile died on my father's lips.

"Are you not happy, Yasmine? I know you've had feelings for the prince for years. He wants to marry you! That was the big news."

I sighed, remembering how happy I was. How my heart fluttered as I imagined our years together. Now the thought of seeing him made me feel sick. I could still see the gleaming axe.

"I don't want to marry him," I said softly and my father inhaled loudly. "He's not the one for me, father."

"I'm...shocked, Yasmine. I thought this was what you wanted. That's why I entertained Prince Lucas at all! You could be Queen of the country. I thought you were in love with him."

I placed the remains of a pastry onto my plate. I breathed in deeply before answering, the pleasant scent of lavender drifting in from the open window. I could have all of this and never see Lucas again. This was how I changed my fate.

"I don't love him and I know he's interested in someone else," I replied. "I'm not interested in being the Queen. I'm happy being the Duchess of Pire. Y-you won't force me to do this, will you?"

My father shook his head quickly, spraying crumbs everywhere.

"If you don't want to marry him then I would never force you! Your mother's spirit would haunt me in my sleep. Still, I was so convinced he was in love with you. He asks about you all the time, Yas. He talks about seeing you last year constantly. Interested in someone else! I can't imagine someone better than you."

Lucas must've thought Melanie was better than me. With her long dark hair and perfect polite snakey smile. He loved her so much he threw me to the dogs. Asshole. I smiled at the word, knowing I would never say it in front of my father.

"I don't want to marry him," I said firmly, sadness and relief mingling inside of me. My father nodded, accepting the decision.

"Well then, I'll have to find someone you want to marry," he said with a wink. "What d'you think of our warmongering neighbours? A cousin of their king has arrived to make peace. He's a handsome chap, I saw him myself."

I scowled at the mention of Scylla, the country beside Ellea. It was Scylla's soldiers who had killed my father after they alleged that we'd killed one of their nobles.

"No," I muttered, but my father tucked into another pastry, a smile on his face.