8

I snuck into the passage way and stayed as quiet as I could.

"I can't except those terms." My father said.

"Fine then, I will revive them for the last time. I will forgive the empress, she only wished to protect her children. Her son will lose all rights to inherit the throne and will be moved to nothing more than a commoner title. He will never come in contact with any of you again. The only way the Empress shall ever see him is if she relinquishes her position and is moved down to the same status as him. Either way all of her children must relinquish any claim to the throne. However I cannot forgive Olivia. She will be executed by burning at the stake tomorrow night. That is my final offer." Thomas said.

"Doesn't that seem a bit harsh? My daughter begged for us to speak to give mercy, is that mercy to you?" My father asked.

"Yes I am allowing your son and wife to live. I'm not only allowing him to keep his head but also his hands. I'm also giving the empress and her other daughter a chance to remain with there brother. That is mercy. If you don't wish to agree on this then I will take my wife and troops and leave. We will no longer participate in your war and will give her siblings and mother a chance to leave with us and no longer remain a members of your empire." Thomas said. We both knew it was an offer and a threat that my father couldn't refuse. He had no choice, the only way to win the war was to have there help and they would likely help the other side. It was a sacrifice he would have to make if he wanted to win the war and continue to rule. He was helpless in his current situation, he had two choices. Save his favorite children and lose his empire or lose his favored children forever but rule an empire.

"I see. Now that you explain I see your point. I will agree to these terms." My father said. He had been backed into a wall. He choose the exact way I thought he would.

"Then we shall draw up a contract right now and we shall sign it." Thomas said.

With that I quietly got out of my hiding place and decided to go change my clothes and wait for the announcement.

It didn't take long. Within the hour an imperial decree was announced. All of the people who had once stood by the empress now realized they were on the losing side. Even if the empress and princess didn't step down they no longer had any power or right to be a ruler in our empire. All of her children lost the right to the throne. They would also have to watch there sister burn before being given the option to leave the palace all together.

All the nobles and commoners also were now gossiping about the angelic crown princess and about how lucky the Khista empire was to have me as the future empress.

With that I prepared my outfit. I was going to wear a plain black dress with lace and have my hair up with a black veil. To she my mourning for the loss of my sister. It was tradition to wear that land to not wear jewelry. I also had already begun to prepare flowers for her.

With that night fell and the sun came up again. I spent most of the day getting ready. Then I went to go visit my sister Olivia before her death. I made sure that others saw me going to visit her, I carried a bible with me so I could read her last rights to her. In the contract it said they wouldn't have priest to do it. Everyone also knew that.

It made everyone in the palace talk about how kind I was and it spreed to the other nobles and commoners who had begun to prepare for the public display speak kindly of me as well. I was making sure the saint rumors continued to sink in.

I went to the cell she was being held in and entered.

She was shackled to the wall. She wore a brown sack instead of a dress, her hair was all over the place. I could see tears She had been crying and there was cloth covering her mouth so she couldn't speak. It looked as if she had been beat while being restrained, there were bruises all over her arms and legs. She looked pitiful.

"Please leave us, I wish to read her last rights to her and pray with her in private." I said. With that the guards left and we were completely alone.

I slapped her across the face 4 times leaving red hand prints on both sides of her face and made her lip bleed. Then I grabbed her chin and made her look at me.

"You look so pitiful. I always knew you were easy and couldn't control your temper, but you made it to easy. You reacted better than I could of imagined. Your brother and mother followed along to a T as if it had all been rehearsed. I couldn't of planned it better. I expected more of fight from them, but they followed you and made my life so much easier. I had been planning on removing all of from the line of succession. I just thought it would take more than a few words to do so." I whispered into her ear. I saw the fear in her eyes as she realized she had played right into my hand that night and cause her brother and mother to do the same. I turned them into pawns. I spoke so quietly that even if anyone else are there they wouldn't of heard a thing and simply thought we were praying.

She pulled at the shackles trying to get out of her restraints. The guards heard it and came running, she head butted me, when the guards were in sight of it all and I allowed myself to fall backwards. The ran to me to see if I was alright.

"Your majesty, are you ok?" The guard asked

"Yes, my head just hurts a little that all." I said.

"How dare you attack her majesty after she shows you such kindness as to read you rights, so you might have a chance at forgiveness." The second guard said. Then he slammed her against the wall.

"Grab the whip she need to be taught a lesson on where he place is." The third guard who was crouched down next to me said. The second guard went and grabbed in while the fourth went started to remove the chains. The first guard went over and helped hold her as they turned her around.

"Let's go get you to the doctor your majesty so they can make sure your alright. You don't need to see this or worry about that wretched woman anymore." The 3rd guard said, as helped me off the ground and out of the prison. I turned as we walked out of her cell and saw her bag off her back. I heard her mumbled cries and smiled while my head was down.

I exited the prison with dirt on my dress and a red forehead. The guard explained what happened, and all of the people saw Olivia as a horrible person and me as a saint. I was the one who showed kindness even though she was cruel. I was the victim of the story while she was the villain in everyone's eyes.

I changed my dress as night fell and I brought the flowers I had prepared. I choose black and red roses. Roses stood for love, the outside of the roses were red while the inside was black. You wouldn't see the black unless you were up close looking. The black rose symbolizes death and hatred.

I placed them down at her feet before they lit the fire. She saw the black and she understood. She was the only one who knew the truth. Thomas and I had planned this from the start. From the first moment he said he would marry me and protect me, and put my brothers on the throne. The plan was created and set into motion.

Olivia died helpless and in pain. She was to naive for her own good and walked right into a trap. It caused the downfall of her family. She was simply a young child who was taken advantage of so I could look like a victim and like a saintly person. A person who cared for all and believed all should be forgiven no matter what had happened, it was simply to help boost my image. It also would make it so there was no more real competition. It was a warning to the others in my family and looked like a noble act to those who looked upon it from outside our home.

Some of our people believed I was simply a naive 14 year old child who simply didn't understand. Those in my family knew better than that. I simply was willing to do whatever it takes to protect my family.

The true victim that nobody would remember or think foundry of was my 13 year old sister who now burned to death at the stake. Without her last rights, with no last words, and nobody to pray that her soul would go to a good place. Simply because the only ones who could remember her fondly or would pray for her to find peace were to busy worrying about how they would survive.