Chapter 1

Chapter One

     I wake up with a gasp. Wait.....What happened to me? All of a sudden, I am hit with the flashback of the sword running me through. I scream and strike out blindly in the dark. It is dark! Where am I? I cannot see. The smell of blood wrecks my nerves. The metallic  taste of it in my mouth makes my stomach turn. I am going to die soon if this sword does not get out of me! I do not want to die. My people need me. The Kingdom needs me. What if-

     "Hey! Calm down!" Someone shouts. It is a male voice. Could it be the guy from earlierI Of course he would come back to make sure I am dead. 

     Blindly, I continue to throw punches. Anything to get away from him. The swinging motions causes me so much pain, I feel vomit come up. The guy grabs my wrists and pins me to the ground. I continue to struggle until a sharp pain shoots up from my middle. I scream and try to break free.

     "I'm sorry for this." He says and something smelly goes into my nose and everything goes dark.

     I wake up to the soft crackle of a campfire. Slowly, I open my eyes and see a little girl with her back to me in front of it, warming her hands. Pain shoots up from my middle and the flashback hits me again. That is right. I am supposed to be dead right now. Yet, here I am. Still alive. My eyes water up. Just a few moments ago, there was not a doubt in my mind that I was going to die. That was all that was on my mind. All I can remember. Thank goodness, I have another chance. I look down and see that my middle is bandaged up. But, how? 

     "Oh good! You're awake!"

     The girl that was at the fire is suddenly in front of me and starts undoing my bandages. I flinch and scoot away, but only manage a few centimeters.

     "Who are you? Where am I? How did I get here? What happened? Did-"

     "Calm down your Highness," the girl laughs and pours a liquid into my gaping wound. I hiss and scoot away from her. She sighs and presses a towel to my wound. "And please, stop squirming. You don't want that thing to get infected with some unknown disease. It's pretty common out here."

     I'm about to say some more stuff, but she really does look like she knows what she is doing. And I need to heal quickly to find my way back home. Maybe it is best I just comply. I let her finish and bandage me up before asking my questions again.

     "Can you please tell me what happened? And who you are and how in the world I got here."

     "Sure. I'll explain it as I set your broken leg."

     "Broken!" I exclaim. "What the heck happened?" She laughs and puts my leg in her lap roughly, sending a sharp pain through my whole body causing me to scream.

      "Sorry. I shifted the bone so I can set it. You'll be right as rain before you know it."

     I sigh as the pain becomes a dull throb and she continues. My memory is so blurry. I remember setting battle plans with my generals in the Kingdom, and I remember hearing Winter up for war. What happened afterward?

     "So, my name is Fallyn," the girl interrupts my thoughts. She looks really young. Maybe a Pre-teen at most. Her blonde hair shimmers in the camp fire light as she sweeps it behind her neck.      "I woke up and saw a girl with a sword in her middle laying in the middle of my tent. Before I could ask my cousin what happened, he took off. So I set to work. That's all I know." She looks me in the eyes, her face full of concern and her eyes dark. "You were…dying. Was there a battle or something?"

     "Yeah," I recall, holding my hand to my head, which I feel is also bandaged. Memories start flooding into me after her last words. 

     "We were waging war against the rebels. It was supposed to be the last battle. I was leading the charge and…I got separated from my army. And I was stabbed and everything fades from there on out."

     The flashback of me getting ran through keeps playing through my head. I feel my body get cold and I grit my teeth. I could have died then. Yet, here I am. Alive. I look at my hands and turn them into fists. They will pay for this. I swear!

     "You look so mad," the girl says, all of a sudden in my face. I gasp and back away a little. "All of that anger isn't going to help you heal."

     "I'm not mad," I say and roll my eyes. "I just need to exact vengeance on the ones who have hurt me the most."

     "Whatever you say," she dismisses and walks over to the other side of the tent. She begins to mash up some leaves and some other herbs inside a cup. It is just me and her in the tent. Maybe, if I could overcome pain for just a minute, I could choke her out and run away. Wait a minute. She said someone brought me here.

     "So," I speak up, "earlier you mentioned your cousin. Is he the one who saved me?"

     "Yeah. He's-"

     Just then, a person walks in, carrying wood. He's wearing all black with a cloak covering him. She nods her head at him before turning back to making whatever mess she is making. 

     "The Queen is awake, cousin," she says, keeping her eyes on her work. 

     The person sets the wood down at one side of the tent and turns around. He takes off his hood, revealing red hair like fire and the same color of eyes. A blazing fire. A reddish orange. He has lightly tanned skin, a sharp jaw and high cheek bones, making him look…well…breath taking.

     "Are you feeling okay?" He asks. "You seem faint."

     I blush and quickly look away. Keep it together, Snow. They still could be the enemy for all I know.

     "Well, I did get knocked in the head and all," I say quickly and pick at the edge of the blanket covering my legs. I see that I am also in different clothes. Please tell me Fallyn changed me and not this strange, handsome, but still strange guy.

     He walks over and sits down in front of me. I look up into his fiery eyes. 

     "Umm…thank you," I say softly. It is best I am nice to them for now. If they turn out not to be my enemies, having allies in a foreign area can benefit me greatly. "For saving my life, and all."

     "You're welcome," he says, and continues looking at me, which starts to make me uncomforable. No one has ever held my gaze for more than 3 seconds because I am royalty. Yet, here is, not breaking it. I do not see why he is staring at me. There is not much to look at here. I have an average size body. Weight and height. Short silver hair that drapes my neck. My bang hangs in front of my right eye. I push some of it behind my ear.

Anyways, his voice sounds so familiar. I bounce it around in my mind, trying to remember where I have heard it before. Like, when I woke up before...All of a sudden, realization dawns on me.

     "I'm so sorry!" I burst out. He raises his brow questionably. 

     "I'm sorry," I mumble again ,"I just remembered I fought you though you were trying to save me." He rolls his eyes, amusingly.

     "So, what were you doing with a sword sticking out of your body in the middle of the forest?"

     "That's so polite to ask," Fallyn says saracastically from across the tent, causing him to cast a glare at her. I smile at that. They must be really close family.

     "I don't remember much. I just remember that I was at war."

     "She got hit pretty hard to," his cousin interrupts once again and sits down next to me, pushing the guy out of the way in the process. She is stirring a cup of some mixture. I get a whiff of it through my nostrils and quickly cover it in disgust.

     "What is that?" I ask. She smiles.

     "A sleeping potion. It will knock that pain right out."

     "And whatever sense you have left," her cousin mutters, covering his nose and stands. He is really tall, and quite muscled. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you when you wake up."

     "Wait! I still have questions though. Are you a reb-"

     The words never come out. His cousin shoves the cup under my nose and I pass out.

      The next time I wake up, I have a pounding headache. I moan and sit up, but I feel myself being pushed back down.

     "Wha-?" I say dizzily and see the guy from earlier. "Oh. Good morning."

     "Actually, it's the middle of the night."

     I take a look around, and sure enough, the tent is darker with a campfire in the middle of the tent. His cousin, Fallyn, is lying down with her back to it. My head pulses with pain, and I groan as I lay back down and close my eyes, hoping it goes away. 

     I hear movement in the tent and then a cold, refreshing towel is placed on my forehead. I sigh with relief as the pain starts to subside. Opening my eyes again, I see him staring back. What is with the staring?

     "Were you watching me all night?" I ask uncomfortably. I try to shift my weight to scoot away, but pain flashes in my middle and I just lay there. He gives a small chuckle.

     "No," he says softly, which I appreciate. The last thing I need is loud talking, or some creep watching me while sleep. "You were murmuring things in your sleep."

     I try and remember what I was dreaming about and instantly regret it. A wave of sadness floods my heart and my eyes tear up.

     "Yeah. It was just…some bad memories," I choke up, turning my head slightly to try to hide the tears.

     "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

     "No!" I cut him off, quickly wiping away my tears. Why am I still so weak when it comes to this? "It's okay. You didn't do it and you didn't cause it."

     We sit in a moment of silence. I shift uncomfortably under the hot, stuffy covers. He clears his throat.

     "You know, my parents used to tell me that if you hold in something, especially something that constantly hurts you, it will tear you apart from the inside out. So it's best to let it out. So, if you want, I'm here to listen."

     I wipe my eyes again and give him a look and he shrugs. 

     "I'm a complete stranger, so it's not like I'm going to hold anything against you. Or judge you either."

     Here it is. I am severely wounded. Out in the middle of territory I do not even know. With people who took me in, but I do not know if I can trust them. I look up into his eyes and am shocked when I actually feel a sense of comfort. 

     I never relied on my own concious before. More so my instincts than my feelings. But literally from my whole situation, what do I have to lose? If I leave, I will probably bleed out in the middle of nowhere. Or the rebels will find me and kill me to end this war. And deep down, I really do want to trust him and his cousin. They were so nice to me when they could have left me for dead...

     "Okay," I whisper. I do not have that many people to talk to at the palace. I have never actually told anyone about my parents death. I just held it in over the years. But, for some reason, I feel like this guy will just get it. He will somehow understand the emotions flowing through me right now.

     "Well, a long time ago, I lost my mother. And then a few years later, my father passed away too. And I guess...it still bothers me so much so many years later," I whisper as some tears drop down my cheeks. Where did they come from? I wipe at them furiously. "If I had known my mother was going to be taken away from me that night, I would have spent every single second of that day with her. I would of asked her how to feel. How to be a better Queen. How to be a woman. Her favorite food. Her whole life story so at least I could have something to remember her by. But that chance was taken away from me. Looking back, I think that was when I lost control of making decisions for my own life. As evil had another path planned for me."

     I sniffle and wipe my eyes again, the tears now flowing freely. Sadness that I had buried down for years come pouring out. He lets out a deep breath, clearly moved. His fists clench and at his sides.

     "I didn't even come to terms with her death by time my Father showed up at the gates, dead. The Royal Guards found his body with burnt marks all over his skin. He was charred to a crisp. Dead," I say in a whisper. "I still remember every detail because I couldn't stop looking. I just...couldn't look away. His eyes were untouched and I remember just staring at his eyelids, waiting for them to open with there usual light and for him to wrap me in a big hug that he usually gave, telling me that everything is okay. Everything is going to be alright. It never happened. All because the Forbidden Ones have  these, powers and they used it to kill my father."

     I continue to cry and he hands me a towel to dry my tears. I murmur a thanks and pat my eyes.

     "So that is why you fight. Because you believe the Rebels were the ones that killed him."

     "I don't believe," I whisper bitterly, staring at the towel he has given me. "I KNOW," I half yell. "I just need to prove it so that my father and mother can rest in peace. Also, so I can keep my rightful place as heir to the throne."

     "Wait a minute," he says, holding his hand up, his face in confusion. "So, you're saying that you're not the Queen?"

     "Well, I'm still too young to become Queen."

     "Really?"

     "Yeah," I say, like it is obvious. "I'm still seventeen. Even when I do become eighteen, I won't be able to become queen." I say and my cheeks begin to burn.

     "Why not? You have to be a guy? Or-"

     "Um…no one has asked for my hand in marriage yet," I say shyly. "Apparently, I can't rule without a King."

     "I see," he nods, his eyes holding mines. This whole time, he has not broke eye contact. Before, it was driving me up a wall, but now, I actually feel comfortable with it. It feels like he is treating me as an equal. "I'm sure a lady like yourself won't have to wait too long for that."

     I blush fiercely and tilt my head so my silver hair covers half of my face, hiding my blush. Though I do not socialize with people my age, I am not dumb. That was definitely a flirtatious comment. Right?

     "Thank you," I say, recollecting myself and take the towel off of my head. "I'm feeling much better now."

     "No problem." He smiles and looks upwards for a bit before turning his red eyes back to me. "My parents, too, are gone from this world."

     A weird feeling tugs at my chest. I do not even know what to call it. Just, I want to help despite not knowing him. Help heal that pain, as it is a pain that no one should have to suffer from. A pain that should not exist in this world. That of losing the ones that have loved you first in your life. Despite this, I keep my mouth shut and let him continue. His expression is very grim.

     "Everyday, I still wonder what my life would be like had they still been here by my side. What type of man I would have turned into," he laughs and quickly stops, his face getting dark again.      "Thoughts like those fills me with such a rage. Because this anger should not exist. Had my parents cared about themselves more than me, they probably could have been alive today. I could have still known what the word family even means. But precious things like this has also been snatched away from me too. But...I have decided to stop dwelling on stuff like that."

     "Wait. What? Why?" I ask, so confused. O why relating with everything he was just saying up until that part. Why just give those feelings up? Doesn't he want to fight back? He smiles a little.

     "I was so absorbed in my anger and guilt, that one day, my one and only family member left was almost taken from this world too." He looks over at Fallyn's sleeping form near us. He sighs and turns back to me. 

     "What happened to me also happened to her, and she was even younger than I was. She was suffering too, but I didn't care. I was too busy being angry, as...I thought my anger could blot out my sadness. Could hide my depression. I did not want to grieve as it would make it even more real that I lost everything. Fallyn didn't know how to grieve either. She was just a little girl. And the pain was so much, she did not want to live anymore. And that, almost losing her, woke me up." 

     We sit some more in silence. I do not even know what to say. His words start making me think of things I have never thought of before. What will I do once I succeed in my vengeance? Will I be happy? Will it have been worth it? All those years of training. Breaking the innocent girl I used to be, to become who I am now.

     "By you still being seventeen, you still have some youth left. Shouldn't you enjoy it?"

     "Not until I get my revenge," I mutter halfheartedly. I do not want those thoughts to shake me now. I do not want his words to move me. Too many people have died on my behalf, trying to help my goal. And I will not let them be in vain. He rolls his eyes and lets out a small laugh.

    "Not like I'm your teacher or anything, seeing we just met and all."

     We sit in a uncomfortable silence. Clearly we have different viewpoints, but still... I look back up at him and he has his head leaned back with his eyes close, leaning back on his hands. He looks to be around my age, maybe older from the way he talks

     "Um…what's your name?" I ask. He holds out his hand and I take it and he gives it a firm shake. His beautiful red hair turns orange in the moonlight filtering in through the tent cloth.