Chapter Two
535 Words
I blinked my golden eyes towards the sun; it was going to rain soon. I was under my favorite apple tree and stared at the beautiful white palace on the next hill. It had been twenty years since I died in that palace from the painful heartbreak of my parent’s rejection. Okay, yes, I was the little princess; my heart still ached and had never fully healed after the fear and rejection from my parents. I still choose to ignore it, but past memories push to flood into my thoughts.
After I was given the elixir, the land had been plunged into the blight. Animals had died, crops withered, and happiness was a story in the past. The villagers suffered for eight of the ten blight years before the invasion came. Men came from the eastern shores and attacked, and my parents had no army or defense to protect their land. I had watched from under my apple tree as the land I once loved was torn apart under the invasion.
The s.laughter had ended faster than it began. I had shaken with anger at the sight of the new King stabbing his flag into the center of our village. He claimed the land through rights of conquest, even though he met no resistance. His army cheered and rejoiced. I screamed and stepped out from under my tree; I couldn’t stay there and watch them taint the land of my ancestors, my land. My kingdom. It was too much. I had only realized my mistake after my ears met silence. The army heard me and turned to watch me where I stood and I had returned their gaze. The new King turned his horse to face me and spoke to his general next to him. Anger coursed through me as the General cautiously road his horse to me.
In those eight years I had been a milkmaid, servant to local lords, or a sheepherder. The entire time I had been waiting for the blight to pass before I would return to my parents. I had hoped they would accept me for what I was when the strain on the land was gone. Life had been hard, but I learned to defend myself and survive. Hidden and waiting for the day to see my parents look upon me again with love, not fear.
The General had stopped several yards from me and asked if I belonged to the village below. I had just glared at him, only devastation remained of my village. He shifted in his saddle and asked again. I tilted my chin up and raised my golden eyes to his; remaining silent. The General had then looked back at his King and shrugged a shoulder. My eyes met the new Kings eyes, rage and loss had whipped through my soul. The General swung his head back to look at me; they widened as he backed his horse away and witnessed the flames flickering on my skin. I looked into the Generals eyes as I once again burned to ashes, “I’m the Princess”. I had then died for the second time in only fourteen years of life.
- Writer
