Chapter 1

It was early morning, the sky was still a bright orange and peach as the birds formed large black silhouettes, migrating south for the winter. Loviana stared at the clouds as she helped her father load the cargo into the carriages. It was a busy morning as they had to ship new products into the capital city of Del Kriste. Fur, leather, and other warm garments had crawled its way back to the interests of nobles and common folk alike. Which meant manufacturers had once again demanded for such materials.

Loviana finished loading the final crates into the back of the carriage. She wipes her sweaty forehead with the towel tucked into her waist band. She shivers as she spots white mist forming as she exhales. The cold had suddenly gotten to her, though it was not a surprise since she was wearing a loose blouse that hid her true figure and brown slacks that went down to her shins. Couple that with the fact she had short raven hair and you wouldn't be surprised seeing her frostbitten during the midday.

"Done here! Sector four!" Loviana shouted at the man doing inventory, she walks away to the main carriage where her father and mother sat. She climbs into the passenger's seat, across from her parents. They were having a casual conversation about the upcoming social events and when Loviana entered, their expressions had suddenly darkened. "What's wrong?" she asked her parents, mildly concerned but not enough to inquire further if they refused to answer.

Her mother's eyes shook a little as she tried to speak, however her father interjected for her. "Before I tell you anything else, I have to apologize Lovi." Her father clasped his gloved hands and Loviana shifts in her seat, more uncomfortable than before. "You see, the royal family has been bothering us more than ever, they've been threatening to cut our suppliers within the kingdom and its allies. It wasn't a problem at first as I had no intention of giving you up for money, however…" He trailed off, looking down trodden and guilty. Loviana's heart ached ever so slightly and decided she would be ready to accept whatever fate had in store for her.

"The king had said he would capture our family as rebels against the kingdom if it came down to it. Prison wouldn't have been that bad, I thought, however he had sworn to send our heads to the guillotine if we refused again." He held his daughter's hands, pleading at her with his eyes. Loviana's father was a strong-willed man but as his greatest strength was family bonds, it was also his greatest weakness. Loviana pressed her lips, gathering the perseverance to face the situation head on.

"What are the conditions?" Loviana asked, tears almost spilling. Her mother, who had been gathering up her nerves, explained the situation to Loviana, as clearly as she could. The king had basically written an informal contract stating that the Blackwood family would hand over their heir as one of the princess' groom, in particular, the seventh princess: Arachne Freuila von Heughford. She was one of the daughters of the third concubine, Freyja Arelia Freuila von Heughford, who had been wedded to the king after his second concubine had passed away.

In exchange for the marriage, the family would have access to the king's treasury, his support for future business exchanges and along with that was a path leading away from hanging. Even with all the expositions the contract had, she never explained the king's ulterior motives. Loviana swallowed a lump that had grown in her throat, she saw a glaring flaw in the contract, they could not possibly offer a groom since Loviana was in fact, the one and only heiress of the family.

"But, I-!", she exclaimed, holding her mother's hand in her shaking palms. Her mother nodded, "We have to sneak you in as a man." Loviana was about to protest however the look on both her mother and father shut her up. She couldn't bear to watch them hurt.

A glint had suddenly sparked up her father's eyes, "I've a plan!" he said, excitedly. She looked at him like a confused puppy with both ears pricked. Her father devised a plan, a shaky one albeit, however it was the only plan they had. She was to wed the princess as a man, while her father would proceed negotiating with the second prince's faction, who were known for being the king's opposing party. He would try establishing connections to people who were merely speculated to be related to the prince. This was of course, an extremely difficult task to accomplish since not many people even knew the second prince's face let alone his comrades.

The entire plan had been barely more than grasping at straws and Loviana couldn't help but feel the tiniest twinge of hopelessness. It looked like both her parents knew as well that there was little they could do. Alas they talked endlessly of the plan and before they knew it, the carriage had already started heading north, to the capital city Del Kriste. They did not talk of the plan to offer concrete solutions to their problems, but to ease the burden of having to deal with such a dilemma. They calmed themselves down, having a close discussion with each other as if that was the last conversation they would ever have.

Still, many rumors had circulated and a lot of common folk and some straight laced merchants started to secretly support him as the king continuously revealed how much of an incompetent tyrant he was. Knowing all this, Loviana did not want to give up her last hope in freedom, but even more so, she didn't want to give up her father's determination. She nodded, finding the resolve to protect her family at all costs.