BloodLust

Chapter 1

Nabyra feels the breeze gently blowing through her black as night hair, making it slightly tickle her lower back. She welcomes the breeze as today is hotter than most days. Sepsephet is already warm all year round with 40% of the land ruled by her family being desert. But today, with the sun just lifting in the horizon, Nabyra feels already the temperature rising too fast and making her more and more uncomfortable. With that last thought, she turns around away from the balcony and heads for her dressing room. Soon enough her maids will walk in to open the curtains, wake her up and get everything ready for her to start the day, but this time that will not be necessary.

She tries to ignore the nagging feeling at the back of her head that something big is about to happen. Recently her maids have been dressing her up more, her teachers have been more in a rush to teach her and even more patient with her if she struggled to get something right away. It is like everyone is walking on eggs shells around her and she is dreading every second of it.

She already needs to fake every reaction, every word, every smile because of who she is and who she will be, but the extra attention has been driving her insane. She takes a deep breath as she holds her green linen dress against her chest. She knows what this is. The time has come and she will have to step up and become Queen. There is no other explanation for it. She was raised for this role and she knows she is ready for it, but that does not make the nervous chills go away.

She hears a knock on her door and she lets go of her dress causing it to pool on the floor by her feet. She peaks out of the dressing room to see her five usual maids make their way into her room and ready to go through their daily tasks, only to find some things amiss and out of place. One of the things is Nabyra herself, as she is not in bed as she would be every other day. However, the worry would not go away and she could not rest and stay in bed any longer. She had to get up before the sun did.

“Princess Nabyra?” A hint of fear can be heard in the young maid’s voice. Nabyra cuts that fear right at the root as she steps out of the dressing room to stand in full view to all of the women.

“I decided to wake up early.” the princess states dismissively, “I already opened the curtains and I picked what to wear for today. You can get started with the bed and my bath.” They waste no time, with a shy bow they scramble away following orders.

Not long after she is in her bathroom, her maids cleaning her hair and body with a loofah. She is distracted playing with the lavender buds floating in the bath water. She spins them around and some get stuck in the bubbles which she pops afterwards. The water trails down her hair and then her back, sipping down her shoulders and they reach her chest only to have the water join the rest of the bath water in the tub. The water is warm and it eases the tension in her neck, shoulders and back. It would be nice if it eased the tension in her mind.

She can not help but think about her mother. She always motivated her to be herself, despite of the pressure of her position in this world. She thought her to be a wild spirit, to be kind and to show it, to be humble and always grateful. To be true to herself. Now, as she thinks about that and thinks that today she might get the news that she will become Queen she wonders if her strong will and personality will remain the same or if she will crumble to the role and pressure of ruling. Never once did she think this, maybe because she knew it was not time for her to step up just yet, because she knew she still had time, but now, with it just around the corner she can not help thinking if she will change. She knows she will not be a bad Queen, but what if she is not the Queen her people need her to be? That her people want? Will she make the right decisions and how will she know they are correct? Who will honestly be there to guide her? Her dad loves his kids but puts the kingdom first, her mom did it better though. Never forgetting her role and teaching her kids the power of their uniqueness and how that will influence their role as royals and ruling. And just like that, with that thought in mind she knows she will make it. She as herself, like her mom always told her to be, will do the best for her and her land.

Nabyra stands up from her bath and gets instantly wrapped in the softest cream colored towel. She is guided out of the bathroom across the other side of the bedroom to her vanity, as they start working on her looks for the day. She never dries her hair after her bath as it dries naturally because of how hot it is in her kingdom. They brush her hair gently to avoid pulling and hurting the future Queen. As Nabyra stares back at herself in the mirror adorned with garnet and lapis lazuli she sees them adding gold emerald earrings and a necklace to match on her body. The metal and precious stones feeling cold against her skin and she welcomes the sensation while it lasts. As usual, they only put high liner on her eyes and mascara to enhance her bright green eyes. Then they fetch the dress she picked for herself earlier. They put it on her and just like that she is dressed to rule the world. She takes a peak at herself in the mirror and she can not help admiring how she looks. Royally but simple. The perfect match for her features and beauty.

A knock on the door interrupts her gazing, and causes it to divert her attention to the door. After giving permission for opening, the maid steps towards the door, knocks back as a signal for the guards stantioned outside to open it and so it does. From outside steps the Royal Adviser, in another words, her father’s right hand. He helps him with all matters regarding the kingdom, let it be economy, alliances, trading, meetings, and if we were at war, he would have a saying in that too.

“Good morning Princess Nabyra. I’m sorry to disturb you so early in the morning but you have been summoned to meet with your Father, Your Highness, in the Throne room as soon as possible. I’m supposed to escort you.”

As the final sound comes out of his mouth a shiver runs down her spine. Here we go. With an almost unnoticeable nod to let him know she heard him and will comply to her father’s request, she takes a step forward and he guides her out of the room and into what she thinks is a decision that will change her future.