Prologue

"Little witch, look carefully around you," he drawled, lazily sprawled on his throne like a monarch in his domain. "Do you see them? Each of the bodies lying by your feet?" She shakily let her eyes scan the room. Mangled corpses of the people of her court are on the floor, not a single soul alive but the two of them.

"All of them are your sin to bear. You killed them." His eyes drooped into crescent moons as his lips stretched wide in a grin. Red, viscous liquid splattered on his cheeks and soaked his once-white dress shirt. His tongue slid out to lick his bloody finger as he continued to look at her with vile amusement.

"What are you saying?" She stepped back in disbelief. The two of them know who was responsible for the killing. It was clear on their appearances. She stood baffled in her clean white dress, and he giggles in mirth while he bathed in blood. It all happened in a blink of an eye--too fast for her head to keep up with. With a single gesture of the Prince's hand, all creatures in the room erupted in a bloody fountain.

"What are you spouting?! You... you killed them!" He cackled at her outburst.

"Did I, now?" Sitting upright, he fixed the circlet on his brow. "Do you deny it? Are you saying that you are innocent? That you have committed not a single sin in my presence? Do you swear that on your name?"

"I did not a single thing to contribute to this." She clenched her jaw as her sense of smell was overwhelmed by the metallic scent of blood. She can almost taste it on the tip of her tongue.

"Ah, you dare lie to my face?" His face turned grim. The prince stood up from the throne, stepped down on the dais, and stopped before her. He held a goblet of wine between them and lifted it to her lips. He elegantly swished the wine around the goblet for dramatics.

"If you are truly innocent, then drink." She froze and stared at him with wide eyes. He was looking down at her with a mocking expression. "Have a taste of your own poison." She gasped in shock.

"I did not do whatever you are accusing me of doing." Her face hardened as she held his gaze.

"Alright," He shrugged. "Then drink." His lips stretched in a smirk, taunting her to do his bidding.

"How would I know that you have not poisoned this yourself?" She pushed the goblet away and stepped back, but with his fast reflexes, he pulled her by her waist and forced the goblet on her lips. Choking on the wine, she quickly struggled free from his embrace and swatted the goblet off his hands, the contents spilling on the floor and mixed with the crimson blood. Black matter alarmingly spread on the blood as it made contact with the wine.

"I was right." The prince chuckled, eyes wide in disbelief and amusement as he stepped away from her swaying form. Her vision was starting to blur, and her legs were losing strength. The poison was spreading, and the only thing she could do was glare at him in fury as her body dropped on the floor. Her knees ached as she fell on her hands and knees.

"You invited a prince, and so brazenly tried to poison his cup. I think it is only fitting to pay with your life and those of your subjects. Although considering the number of dead bodies here, the debt should be considered half-paid." He grinned at her and squatted to her level.

"What can you say, hmm?"

"You didn't have to kill them," she rasped. Her breathing was ragged, and her complexion was visibly turning blue.

"Oh, but I did, I needed to kill them. You see, I had to teach you a lesson." His voice turned mellow as he patted her head adoringly. She fought the urge to spit on his face to erase the smirk on his lips.

"Well then, little witch. I will give you some choices." He rose and stood at his full height, making her feel so small compared to him.

"Shall I continue watching you die a slow, painful death? Or gut you like the other pests on the floor? We can also have your head displayed on a spike outside this manor." Her body completely slumped on the floor when she finally lost the ability to support herself with her arms. He looked at her and doubled over in laughter when he saw her eyes start to well with tears.

"You don't like them?" He was still catching his breath from his obnoxious cackling. Straightening his stance, he then cleared his throat.

"Alright, my last offer, the best one on the table." She didn't like the way his red eyes glinted ominously. It was as if he was already seeing her doom and reveling in every second of it.

"Surrender your claim to the throne." Her mind reeled. Whether it was because of the poison, or the error in trying to understand his statement, she doesn't really know. Renounce her claim to the throne?

"What do you mean?" She stuttered.

"An oath, little witch. Swear an oath to bind yourself to me and then relinquish your hold to the throne."

She took a slow painful breath and looked at him in the eye. The world will be torn asunder if she doesn't become queen. But it's either she surrender her claim now or give up her life entirely. She can't die. She realized that she has no other choice. She has to live for the mission she must accomplish at all costs, because the consequences of her failure would be far greater than the loss of her life. Her only hope was the possibility of a loophole in the contract. She will find it, and she will turn the tables in her favor again. For now, the only thing she must focus on is making sure she is alive to make that happen.

"Fine, I accept." The grin on his face couldn't possibly stretch further. With a skip to his steps, he retrieved the goblet from the floor. He returned in front of her immobilized body, and with his sharp black nail from his index finger, he cut both of their wrists. She watched as their blood swirled and mixed in the cup. Filling the goblet halfway, the prince yanked her up in a sitting position.

With her shaking hands, she cupped the goblet and brought it closer to her lips. She hesitated for a moment, looking back and forth at the cup and the prince. "Go on," he said, grinning with malice. She blew on it and saw how wisps of blue light came from her mouth.

"I, Asheneila Alula Altaris, blood and daughter of Astaria, swear an oath. Let it be known that from this moment forth, my body shall be your shield, my hands, your sword. My soul is yours to command, and if the world chooses to turn against you, I vow to stand by your side, to conquer all your enemies, and to be the ultimate servant to your victory." She was about to drink on the goblet when he stopped her with his hand.

"There's one thing you forgot, little witch. The most important part," he smirked.

"And if I shall be slain, " he purred on her ear. "Let your life be forfeit." She closed her eyes in frustration and gripped the goblet tight. That was the one condition she wanted to avoid. She doesn't have a choice, does she?

"And if you shall be slain, let my life be forfeit." With finality, she drank the contents of the goblet till the last drop of blood.