The Royal Witch

Chapter 1 - The Unbound Child

Princess Soraya ran barefooted through the halls of the palace. She carried streaks of mud and grass from the outside, dirtying the normally spotless marble floor. Well, the floor was usually immaculate before and after the energetic princess had made her daily run. Servants were quick to sweep off the evidence of her adventures.

The hem of the princess’ purple silk gown was in tatters. Her lady-in-waiting, Therese, ran after her in vain, red-faced and panting. Because the princess was too fast, however, she ended up colliding with something hard and big.

“Well, Soraya? What is this again? Why can’t you behave like a princess?”

It was her father, King Dante. His hair and beard had completely gone grey. According to some whispers, it was because her mother was sick. Soraya could not understand how those two could be connected.

“Father, stop being too serious! I am a princess. So, a princess behaves like me. Isn’t that a given?”

The king sighed. He loved his daughter very much, even though he was not happy with how she grew up. Soraya was so different from her mother, Queen Thora. However, it might mean that she also inherited his robust health. Thora had always been delicate, even before the binding. King Dante suspected that it was one of the main reasons she even agreed to be absorbed.

It was certainly an absorption. Thora was not a royal. Instead, she was a witch. As a prince, Dante had scoured the kingdom in search of a witch. According to his father, witches are scourges of the land and had to be destroyed or made a slave.

Dante was not sure he agreed. His mother, Queen Annabella, had whispered to him that witches were only thought of as scourges because they were strong women. On the other hand, royal women like her had to sit and obey.

Seeing his son’s discomfort at the idea of killing or enslaving witches, King Simeon told him jokingly that the best way to be powerful over a witch is to be bound to one in marriage.

“And how is that a good thing?” the young Dante asked.

“When you make one fall in love with you enough for her to marry you, you can absorb her power.”

The prince seemed to be taken aback at this. He was silent for some time that his father thought it best to break into his thoughts.

“But Dante, my son, these witches, as I said, are scourges of the earth. More likely, they would be ugly, warts and all.”

King Simeon laughed and laughed until his wife chimed in.

“Not all of them are ugly, Simeon. Didn’t you have a witch ancestress?”

Simeon looked at his wife, surprised and a little annoyed that his fun was interrupted.

“Yes, there were rumors about that. There was binding, but that was several generations ago.”

Prince Dante looked at his father, trying to see if he was still joking.

“Dante, it would be better if you just hunt them. After all, I could not promise that this ancestress was any beauty at all. There were no portraits anywhere of her. Usually, the royals have – even those who come into the family by marriage.

“Father? What are you thinking about?”

Suddenly, Dante was thrown back into the present, for better or for worse. The king looked at his messy child. Soraya was sixteen. It would mean that she would have to marry soon. He married Thora when his bride was only nineteen, and he was a worldly thirty, but Thora was a lot more mature than their daughter, even at a young age. Soraya still behaved like a little child, although she was already taller than her mother. King Dante turned towards the lady-in-waiting.

“Therese, have your charge dressed in time for dinner. We will have some guests.”

“Yes, your majesty,” the lady-in-waiting curtsied.

“I can do it myself, father,” protested the princess.

The sixteen-year-old looked at her father indignantly. She was growing tired of having to be scrubbed by several ladies at a time. The princess felt she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She did not even want Therese to assist her.

“And what? So that you will dress up like a hooligan again? Look at you, right now.”

Soraya looked down at her grimy feet, dirty from a recent run in the gardens. There were even some scratches from the rose bush where she hid away from her younger cousins, Leo and Philippe. She loved her cousins, but her father was never pleased to see the twin boys. They were constant reminders that his wife had never given him any sons.

As an only child of the King and Queen – and being a daughter – Soraya was considered a Vessel. A Vessel was deemed to be empty and must only be filled. The young princess must marry a fellow royal, a prince her equal, and give her place to him. Though playful, Soraya was aware of this. She had read so many of the books in their library to know the rules of Kingspell. The princess did not agree that any prince could be her equal. After all, she was the princess of Kingspell, which ruled minority kingdoms surrounding it in the big continent of Mogochislenia.

Her father had taken her aside a few summers back to tell her about her role in the family. She should marry a prince of her father’s choosing. If not, the kingdom will be handed down to the older of her cousins, Leo. That did not scare the princess that much. After all, she had no desire to rule. There was no freedom in that, only tons of responsibilities. Even if she became queen, she would be subjugated under her husband, someone she had not even met more likely.

But her poor, sick mother had told her to obey.

“Soraya, you must marry.”

Soraya remained uncharacteristically silent.

“The world is a dangerous place for a woman who does not have a p-protector.”

The princess laughed at that. When she saw her mother’s face, however, she placed her hand on her mouth. She did not mean to laugh. Her mother was only in her thirties, but she already looked older, withdrawn, and thin. Her formerly vibrant red hair seemed to have been bleached, a paler version of what it used to be. From afar, somebody who did not know her might mistake her for an older woman. People of their kingdom might no longer recognize her because she had not left her room in years.

“I cannot, mother. I do not like the idea of marrying someone I do not know well. And I know that I will lose my freedom!”

As she said that, the princess unconsciously gesticulated with her arms. She seemed to be gesturing at everything around her. Queen Thora could tell that her daughter knew that her marriage was a lot less than perfect than the world seemed to think it was.

“Do you really want me to marry, mother?” Soraya asked softly this time.

“Your father and I will explain why you must.”

“Then, I can make my own decision?”

Her mother closed her eyes as if in pain. Then, she opened them, looking straight into Soraya’s green eyes.

“Yes.”

Soraya felt that for the first time, her mother had lied to her. Perhaps it was the truth Queen Thora would like to believe in at that given moment.