Becoming Queen: A War of Two Kingdoms

The Kingdom of Veria

    Bordering the kingdom of Mairian, is the kingdom of Veria. This kingdom was full of magic users called Arcani, the royal family being some of the strongest ones alive. Though with all this magical power, they still had been unable to rescue their princess without starting an outright war with Mairian. The only reason they now knew that the king of Mairian was behind their princess's a*******n was because of a young man named Dorian.

    Dorian Langston came to them when he was only 16 years old. He told them where their princess was and how she was being treated. While it upset the peaceful people of Veria, they couldn't see a way to rescue her. So, vowing to himself and the king and queen that very day, Dorian joined their royal guard and worked to find a way to peacefully get the princess home.

    It had been 12 years since Dorian had come to Veria. He had grown so much in his time here. His dark raven black hair had grown to reach just past his shoulders, his eyes were still a clear crystal blue. With all his training in the royal guard his muscles had grown hard. He had become quite fetching. Even before the king placed a title of Baron on him, the noble ladies fawned over him. He was made a Baron simply to allow him to take the role of Captain of the Royal Guard. With this role, he started to work towards bringing the princess home.

    He was pacing back and forth in his office when a hawk appeared on his window. Immediately he moved towards it and opened the glass pane. The hawk flew in and landed on a perch near the desk. Dorian walked over and pet the hawk before removing the tiny roll of paper from the bird's leg. "Finally." His voice was deep and calm, but he had been waiting on this correspondence for days now.

            "The Princess is still safe for now, but I fear we will need to take action soon, my liege. Prince Marcellus has taken interest in her. Plus, her powers are emerging. She healed her sprained ankle over night." -L

    This was not good. Marcellus had a bad reputation of being a womanizer. If his interests in Princess Rosalina went too far it could cause problems with getting her out of the castle. He was going to need to act sooner rather than later, just as Lenora suggested. The old maid was putting herself in danger for this cause, and Dorian wasn't about to drag this out.

    He quickly jotted down a reply and tied it back to his hawk's leg. "You know what to do, Farin." The hawk took off out the window where he flew straight to the Arcani messenger tower. There he would be transported to the outpost that was nearest the Mairian castle and fly back to Lenora. She would know to have the girl ready in two days.

    Dorian sat down and went over the plan once again. He was going to have himself and small group of knights transported to the outpost, from there, an Arcani would transport them within a days ride of the Mairian castle. He would sneak up to the castle at night by himself while his knights stayed hidden in the forest. Once there, Lenora would bring the girl down through hidden passages, where he would scoop her up, and make haste back to the knights' camp before making the long trip back to the outpost.

    Getting there was the easy part, honestly. Getting back was going to be the real test. The Arcani stationed at the outpost couldn't travel with them to just transport them back, because the Arcani cannot go through their own portals, otherwise it would collapse on them and they would be lost forever or die as their body was cut in two. It was a gruesome fate, and he wasn't about to force a man or woman to face that or the knights of Mairian on their own. So getting back to the outpost was going to have to be on their own, by horseback.

    He looked at some of the copied reports that were stolen from Mairian. There were reports of ogres along the path that was the quickest way back. Dorian pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Going around the ogres would take days, by then people would have taken notice of her missing.

    "Captain Dorian." A young man stood in the doorway.

    "What is it, Sir Silas?"

    "I saw Ferin come and go. Was there good news?" Silas was a decent young man, one of the youngest to ever be knighted in Veria. He had the wit and skills that earned him that title though.

    "I'm afraid it is both good and bad news. The Princess is well, but we need to speed along this mission for the prince has taken an unhealthy interest in her." The matter of fact tone Dorian used showed not much of the emotions he was feeling inside.

    Silas, however, was wearing a scowl in his disapproval. He wasn't aware that the prince Dorian spoke of was his younger brother. "So when are we leaving, Captain?"

    "Within the hour. Gather the rest of the knights that are going with us and meet me at the Arcani travel gate." He was going to make his report to the King and Queen before leaving. They needed to know that Rosalina was still well and that she was coming home soon. He was also going to warn them, that Rosalina doesn't remember that she is a princess.

    That was one of the first cruel things his father did to that poor girl. He told her that her parents were dead and that she should be grateful to be living in the castle. He was only 11 at the time, but Dorian remembered arguing with his father over that cruelty. His father's excuse, so she wouldn't try to run away. She was only a five year old child. Rage still boiled within him when he thought about it.

    If he had only been stronger and more skilled twelve years ago, he would have whisked her away back then. However, a 16 year old trying to travel across two kingdoms with a 10 year old child just wasn't possible. He barely managed to take care of himself. The large scar in his side was proof of that. It was a reminder of when he was attacked by a troll during his journey into Veria.

    He shook the thoughts from his head, he didn't need to feel the regret and relief of not trying to bring her with him back then. He was doing everything he could now, she would be home soon, and she would become his Queen.

    Dorian made his way to the throne room where the king and queen were talking with other officials. A servant announced him, "Your Majesties, Captain Dorian has come with news."

    Queen Eleanore looked up and nodded her head. "Send him in." The lords and ladies that were present quieted down.

    Dorian knelt down in front of the King and Queen. "Your Majesties, word has come from my contact in Mairian, Her Highness is well, but she has emerging Arcani powers and..." He trailed off for a moment.

    "And?" Queen Eleanore asked. Her voice was soft as she spoke, encouraging him to continue with whatever was troubling him in this situation.

    "It seems that the Prince there has taken an unacceptable interest in her. My contact urges that we move quickly with our plan before things get too much more complicated." Dorian finally stood up, a slight look of disgust towards his brother was on his face. In this room, only the King and Queen knew Dorian's true lineage, but they also knew his loyalty to them.

    This time King Phillip spoke, "I see." He stood up from his throne and moved to stand directly in front of Dorian. He placed his hand on his shoulder, "Be safe, and bring her and yourself home."

    Dorian bowed before turning away and leaving the room. When he made it to the travel gate area, Silas and 8 other knights awaited him. They had one cart with supplies and their horses ready. Silas had also made sure to get Dorian's horse for him. He could always count on Silas to get things ready quickly. It hadn't even been an hour yet.

    "Mount up!" Dorian gave the command and the knights mounted their horses or they climbed on the cart. He gave a nod to the Arcani manning the gate. "Open the gate to Mirad Outpost." A s***h in the air appeared and began to widen. Through it they could see the inside of the small outpost. Dorian leading the knights, went through the gate.