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Chapter 2 (Cora)

As the man slowly emerged from the trees, I saw I was no match for him. The sword on his side looked to be about the same size as me. He continued to walk closer, with an almost predatory amount of stealth. His hand went up in front of him as he bent his knees as if trying to show a terrified animal that he would not hurt them.

“Woah there miss, if you don't want to hurt yourself, I would slowly take that hand off that hilt.” he eyed my hand, gesturing with a tilt of his head to remove my hand from the hilt of my sword. He began talking again, his tone low and soothing as if I was a hurt animal; he was trying to help before I could respond to him.

“I won't hurt you; I was just looking for some game meat to return to my camp with. Why don't we call this an odd encounter and leave it at that.” he winked at me. He stopped in front of the embankment on the other side of the river.

Paralyzed in fear, all I could do was nod. Slowly taking my hand off the sword, I was thankful for the river between us. Who knows what would have happened to me if it wasn't. It wouldn’t have been hard for him to kill me or, far worse, take me back to that camp he had just mentioned. Getting up slowly like I was facing off with a predator, I slowly began backing up, never taking my eyes off the man till I was far enough away to run back to the annex.

A little shaken but unharmed, I rushed into the bedroom where my mother was awake and waiting. I threw the hand-knitted shoulder bag onto the bed near my mother's feet and plopped myself beside the bed, trying to catch my breath. The sword made a heavy metal sound as I hit the floor, waking my mother.

“Are you alright, dear?” my mother asked, her voice's concern and alarm evident.

Not wanting to concern her more than she already was, I slowed my breath and calmed myself down.

“Yea, Mum, I just thought I saw a huge black bear in the forest this morning,” I told her. The animals were far less concerning and dangerous than any man would be in such a setting.

Nodding her head, unsure if she should believe me, she settled back into bed, mumbling for me to be careful and that the herbs weren’t worth the risk.

Brushing myself off as I stood, I tutted at her, knowing she wouldn't go easy on me if I said I was okay. Quickly gathering the herbs, I hung them to dry above the small desk piled high with books my mother and I loved to read. Giving Mother a quick kiss on the forehead, I quickly dressed and headed to the kitchen to start the day.

The palace began to buzz the next few days with news of the Duke and first princess' marriage and an impending threat sitting on the border of our kingdom. The King of Andal was demanding a peace treaty between our two kingdoms or for us to go to war with them.

While preparing the Princess's breakfast that morning, the kitchen staff gossiped about everything they had heard from the delivery boys.

Some of the older staff who had fought for their kingdom seemed to be concerned with the threat of war again, while the younger maids chatted about what dress the first princess would wear to her wedding.

But as a messenger boy from the main palace entered the kitchen to deliver news for the Princess to me, all the staff fell into a hush. Everyone seemed interested in the rumors of the bloodthirsty warmonger, the King of Andal himself, who would visit the palace soon. When asked by one of the newer maids, the boy told the stories he had heard at the central court.

The boy told us what he had heard from some nobles. The country of Andal had been in a civil war that lasted for four years. An ex-slave led the citizens by the name of Tarak and successfully overpowered the monarchy there. Since then, he has been slowly trying to expand his borders. He was cutting down all and nobility who dared defy him. He was a cold-blooded man who killed for sport hanging his victims up along his camp like decorations, and his greed for power knew no end. Some said he stood eight feet tall and cut a man down with a flick of his wrist. And the kingdom's nobles were waiting in bated breath to hear the King's decision on whether we would sign a peace treaty or go to war.

The boy went on to say the rumors of him ranged from being a deranged power-seeking psychopath to a God of war hungry for death. Whatever rumor was true about him, that same man had been camped outside the border of Befriel for the last couple of weeks. Just his name struck fear into the nobles within the palace walls to the point even a mere messenger boy knew this much.

Befriel was once a mighty and prosperous country that had even invaded and expanded its borders into my mother's homeland. But with recent droughts and famine plaguing the citizens, the civil unrest was too much for the palace to handle before this threat came to our border.

If we went to war now, Befriel would be easily overpowered by the sheer amount of soldiers Andal had. I had heard from some of the other servants who worked within the palace that Tarak was now targeting Befriel for a while on his campaign to expand his borders. Instead of developing south towards the fertile land of Driola or to the west towards Ucaros, where it would be more advantageous for him, he came north past the monster-infested forest to the dying country of Befriel.

Once I was done with breakfast preparations, I carried the tray to the Princess's room, hoping that none of the rumors had reached her yet. Silently letting myself into her room, I put the tray down near her bed and walked over to the curtains to let the morning sun in. Elanora was nestled in her bed under the covers.

I knew better than to wake her. It would only lead to being slapped. Instead, I went to the bathroom to draw her a bath and pick out a gown for the day. A message from the palace that required the young princesses' attendance before the King came this morning. This was rare; the King usually only called Elanora once a year for his birthday feast, which included both his children.

Today I had to make sure Elanora looked her best, so not only was she pleased, but so was the King. Every year for her audience with him, we had the time to put together a splendid gown, but with such short notice, I would only be able to work with what we had, and she would not be happy about wearing an old dress in front of her father today.

As I pulled the dress from the closet, I could hear Elanora stirring from her slumber.

"Good morning, your Highness, today, your father has called for an audience with you." Belaying the message from this morning.

Her eyes widened. I could see the excitement on her face from the prospect of seeing her father. Then as the realization hits, her face wilts with suspicion.

" It's not my father's birthday. Tell me, why has he called for me today?" The messenger boy had not told me a reason for this unexpected visit.

" I'm not sure, your highness." I stuttered, knowing that my answer was going to get me punished.

I could see her coming before she had done anything, but reacting would only anger her more. I was yanking my hair up so I was face to-face with her. Her 5’8 slim figure towered over my 5’4 skinny body. Going up on the tip of my toes so my hair would not rip out of the scalp, the tears started to form in my eyes, but I didn’t dare cry out; it only gave her satisfaction.

“My father calls for me, and you don’t know why! Why, why are you so useless!!” she screeched at me. Elanora tossed me around like a rag doll by my hair. Finally, she let me go, and I plummeted to the floor, landing with a hard thud. I knew my knees were bruised, and I was bleeding somewhere under my dress. Stepping over me, she made her way toward the bathroom, looking over her shoulder, her long brown hair cascading down her back.

“Cora, come! We don't have much time to get ready.” she barked at me.

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