The Princess's Betrayal

Thwack! The satisfying sound of my arrow lodging itself into the straw filled target rang across the sodden field. I smiled victoriously, before I pulled another arrow from my pouch and lined up my sight. Deep breaths. Inhale. I pulled back on the string, feeling the tension roll through my shoulders. Exhale. I released my grip, sending the arrow flying through the air. It embedded itself into the previous one. Another perfect bullseye. I lowered my bow and slung it across my back as I trekked across the wet grass to retrieve my arrows. I should be in class right now learning about all the proper ways to be a princess, but I decided to ditch. Again. A chuckle sounded from behind me and I whipped my head around, my curly scarlett hair flying in all directions. General Anton leaned against the fence, smirking at me. "Nice shot," he complimented. "Better than yours could ever be," I taunted with a wide grin on my face. He shook his head and sauntered over toward me to help pluck my arrows from the targets. "Your dad is going to kill you, you know." I shrugged my shoulders. "Only if he finds out." "You think he doesn't already know?" Anton smirked at me again as he handed me the arrows. "RUBY MADELINE!" My dad shouted across the mind link. I cringed from the ringing in my head his voice had created. "You never saw me!" I shouted to Anton as I packed up my arrows and took off toward the tree line. "You get five minutes to run before I send him out!" he called back. I sprinted toward the trees, pushing my legs to run as fast as I could. My dad was scary when he was angry. "She's heading to the south edge of the forest," Anton relayed. That was barely two minutes! When I reached the trees, I stashed my bow and arrows in an old pine and stripped my clothes off, carefully tucking them away. I didn't want to be dragged back to the palace naked again if my dad caught me. Elise sighed in my mind. For being two halves of the same soul, we sure seemed to be different. My shift was easy and painless. My paws had barely touched the ground before I took off again, heading toward the creek. "When will you learn?" Elise reprimanded. "Oh shush and enjoy your freedom while you can." She sighed but didn't reply. We ran for a few minutes before I heard the sound of running water. If I could douse myself in it's cool embrace, my dad would have a harder time tracking me. Then, I could sneak back into the castle before he could realize it. A twig snapping to my side had me perking my ears and straining to listen. I slunk down low, trying to find cover in the thick under growth. I made my steps as quiet as I could, sacrificing my speed to get away. A blur of black flashed by my side. Forget stealth. Time to run! I took off again toward the my destination, praying that I could outrun him this time. My breathing was heavy and my lungs burned for oxygen but I pushed Elise to go faster and faster. Finally, I could see it! The crystal clear waters were just up ahead. A large furry body rammed into my side, sending me tumbling sideways. I yelped in surprise and turned, baring my fangs. I was met with the bright red eyes of Orion, my father's wolf. He snarled at me, nipping at my front paws to get me to settle. I tipped at him and nipped back as I tried to get back on my feet, but he placed his paws on my ribs. Seeing that I was still going to fight to get away, he resorted to throwing his entire furry body on mine. I struggled for a few minutes more before surrendering with a wine. Orion lifted himself off of me and I caught his eyes changing color from fiery red to icy blue. It must be one hell of a time being in my dad's mind. He looked back and me and sniffed, indicating that I was to follow him back. I dropped my head and obeyed. The walk back to the palace was eerily silent. The only sounds came from the birds and small animals that surrounded us. When we reached the old pine, my dad invaded my mind once more. "Shift and get dressed. We are going to have a talk before your Aunt and Uncle get here." I groaned, but once again followed his command. He copied me, and as soon as I was dressed, I turned to face my dad. His figure towered above me, his muscular arms crossed and a frown etched onto his face. Small lines of silver decorated his once inky hair, and his icy blue eyes, the exact shade of my own, bore into mine. "Dad-" I began but he cut me off. "Not now. Get to your room. I'll be there in a minute." I sighed and reached for my stuff. "No." my dad barked. "I'll take this back. You are not to touch it again until I say so " "But dad!" "Not buts, Ruby! Get inside! Now!" I know he didn't meant to, but he released his royal aura fully. The submissive side of me that said this was my father battled with the royal blood in my veins for dominance. I grit my teeth and lowered my eyes, showing him that I didn't want to challenge him. This time. I turned on my heel and sprinted back to the castle before I did something stupid. Storming through the door and down the hallways, I nearly plowed into Maddox, my twin brother. "Hey!" he shouted as I passed him by. I didn't bother stopping to apologize, adding yet another infraction to my long list. But I was too hurt to care. I yanked the door to my room open and slammed it shut before collapsing into a heap on my bed. Why couldn't dad understand me? Why was it so hard to get that I wasn't cut out to be prim and proper? I wasn't like Maddox. I couldn't hold my tongue and keep my temper under control even on the best days. Studies didn't come easy to me, and I sure as hell couldn't manipulate the elements like him and my mother. I was nothing special. I was just plain old Ruby. And I just wanted to be good enough. A light tap sounded at my door. "Go away!" "Ruby, let me in," my mom's gentle voice responded. "No." I heard her sigh before the lock clicked and the door swung open. "Seriously? Is this some new power that I wasn't blessed enough to have too?" I growled at her. She smiled and held up an old iron key ring. "Just the power of being a mother." I rolled my eyes and plopped back down, burying my head under my pillows. I felt the mattress dip as she came to site by me. "Ruby," she gently cooed as she stroked my hair, picking leaves and stay twigs from my unmanageable curls. She waited patiently for me to emerge from my hiding place. I thought I could wait her out, but patience was not one of my strong suits. "Mom, just stop. I know you're going to yell at me. Just get it over with," I sighed as I raised into a sitting position next to her. Instead of yelling, she wrapped her arms around me, taking me completely by surprise. "You remind me a lot of myself when I was your age," she murmured. "Yeah, right," I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Maddox might as well be your twin. I'm just the screw up." She growled lightly and pulled away from me, holding me by my shoulders and forcing me to look into her violet eyes. "You are not a screw up, Ruby." I rolled my eyes again and her grip on me tightened. "You and your brother have unique strengths, but that doesn't make you any less important than him." "Save it, mom. Maddox has always gotten the better end of the stick. He gets all of these specialized classes and advanced training. And I'm stuck here learning how to properly hold a tea cup and lace up a corset! That's now who I am! I don't want to be a posh princess! I just want to be...me." My voice had trickled down to a whisper and hot tears streamed down my face. I looked down at my hands, ashamed of my emotional outburst. She pushed my hair behind my ears and lifted my chin with her delicate fingers that bore her signature purple satin gloves. "My daughter, you can be whoever you want to be. Being a ruler doesn't mean you have to always play by the book. It's important to know these things, despite how boring and mundane they may seem. Your father and I will always support you and your decisions, but we have to do what's best for you. Do you understand, my sweet gem?" I nodded my head and buried my face into the crook of her neck like I did when I was a pup. She wrapped her arms around me once more and I sighed into her warm embrace. "Thank you, mom. I love you." "I love you, too. Forever and always. Now dry those tears, brush that hair, put some nice clothes on, and meet me downstairs. Auntie Artemis is here with Uncle Von and Juliette." I laughed but got up regardless. That was my mother for you. The gentle queen who could melt a heart of stone and still be presentable for dinner. I ran a comb through my curls and grabbed a simple brown gown out of my closet. It was just a family dinner, no need to go overboard. As I finished washing up, the hair on the back of my neck began to stand up and a ripple ran across my skin. I spun around and darted toward the bay window, straining my eyesight to see into the dark below. "Do you feel that?" I asked Elise. "I do. Someone was watching us." "Ruby! Dinner!" I sighed and glanced one more time out the window, seeing nothing but shadows and trees. Maybe I had just imagined it and the events of the day had put me on edge. I pulled the drapes shut anyway and descended the stairs to the dining room, not quite able to shake the feeling that something was wrong.