Comfort

"Estelle!"

The woman cried out my name and roughly shoved me into the wooden dresser. Her wavy black hair framed her beautiful face. Her panicked silver eyes stared into mine as she grasped my face in her hands. "I'm so sorry my baby, they're coming for me. You need to hide, don't say a word." I felt her trembling hand stroke a piece of my hair before she leaned in and whispered an incantation over me. I heard the shouts of men and the sharp sting of metal swords clashing growing closer to the room. The woman gave me one last look before she closed the dresser drawers, I heard a loud bang as the doors were torn from their hinges. "You will pay for this," I heard the woman speak to the unseen assailant, "The goddess Chandra will never allow your tyranny to rule! Give up now and maybe she will show you mercy."

I peeked through the gap of the dresser doors.

"Chandra is dead Sidra, your reign will fall into ruin." The man took out his sword, "Give me your relic, and I will consider sparing the lives of your people."

I saw the woman, Sidra, start to shake and lift her hand to reveal a knife. "I curse you in her name," she cried as she plunged the knife into her chest. I screamed——-

Suddenly, everything faded into black. I stood in the emptiness. My heart was pounding and I felt tears start to stream down my face. I crumpled to the ground and cried out for relief. I felt a hand stroke my cheek and opened my eyes to be met with soothing green orbs. "Who are you?" I asked. The man went to speak "I am—

I gasped as I felt the cold shock of the water pour over me. This is the third time I've had that nightmare. The woman, Sidra was her name, made my chest ache. However, I have no memory of ever meeting her. The eyes, those piercing green eyes, my only source of warmth and comfort. I was willing to live through a thousand nightmares if it meant I could see those eyes. I felt my body begin to shake as the cold started to prick at my pale skin. I looked up to see Venera, her supple lips and petite face clashed with her cold blue eyes. She threw a ringlet of golden hair over her shoulder and frowned at me.

"Why are you sleeping here, Estelle?" She spoke lowly. I shuddered, seeing the rage in her eyes that contradicted her soft voice.

"I…I fell asleep on accident," I mumbled. "I was cleaning the floors as you asked sister-I swear-."

"Silence yourself!" She hissed. "You know this was the punishment father set for you, how does it make us look when you can't finish a simple task?"

I felt tears start to sting my eyes and willed them to not spill. I knew that I deserved this treatment, I had snuck food from the kitchens and risked my body. Beautiful women shouldn't eat too much or father won't be able to find me a suitable match. However, the exhaustion grew too much after two weeks of no sleep and the occasional piece of moldy bread.

"Please, sister!" I cried, "I promise I won't fall asleep again! I beg you to ask father to end my punishment." Venera grimaced at the sight of my tears, "lucky for you, father has a guest arriving soon. King Castor of Soriv brings important news from the south." I looked up at her in relief, that quickly turned into apprehension. The imperial family of Soriv kept to themselves for the last 10 generations and were usually described as barbarians. Said to be brutal in their rule and beings that worshipped the Sun God, Mihir. The bloodline of their rulers could harness the power of fire and destruction. I had only seen one member of their royal family, the previous king who towered over even the largest in our army and made me submit to his aura from the back of the assembly room. Now the newly crowned King Castor was visiting, who claimed the throne at the young age of 17 and spent the last five years molding the mysterious Soriv into a kingdom that could rival any others. Even our powerful dynasty , the Kingdom of Thesar, was working to earn their favor. There are four great kingdoms, including Thesar and Soriv, each kingdom gained power through one of the four main deities of creation. Thesar: who worshipped the moon goddess Chandra, Soriv: God Mihir of the sun, Kingdom Carius: God of the sky, Azure, and the Kingdom Earies that worshiped the goddess of lands and sea, Dhara. My mind flashed to my nightmare, what did that man mean Chandra was dead? Would that even be possible? My musings were interrupted by Venera.

"I need you to assist me in getting ready," she sneered,"all of the nobles of the great houses will be meeting when King Castor arrives and father needs me looking my best." I glanced at her and saw a gleam of greed flash over her eyes. Father probably intends to introduce Venera and King Castor. I didn't care, as long as I could stay out of it.