1. The Beginning
1
THE BEGINNING
A lonesome sigh fell from Luella’s lips as she twiddled the end of her quill between her fingers. The steady motion of the tip pricked the very end of her littlest finger, like a constant reminder of the mantra that pounded within her head: I hate it here.
Here, being the four walls of the tower which kept her caged like a bird that desperately wished to fly free.
The tutoring room in which she sat and tried, in vain, to drown out the sound of her ill-tempered tutor droning on and on. Where the stout and pinched-faced female spoke of wifely duties and regal obligations, Luella’s mind stayed preoccupied with the vast world outside the stone walls of her gilded cage.
Thoughts of the war brewing in the far reaches of the continents stirred within her brain.
She had been safe for most of her life, thank the gods. But with every passing day and every battle growing closer and closer, closing in on either side of her kingdom with growing fervor, Luella knelt on her knees each night, beseeching the gods to keep her safe. Even if they were fictitious gods, as her mother would claim.
In times of trial and tribulation, sometimes all it would take is the thought of some omnipotent and omniscient presence to soothe the soul and bring peace. Nonetheless, some small, niggling voice in the furthest spaces of her mind wondered what it would be like if everything was, in fact, upended. Changed.
Would it be for the better or the worse?
Luella was jolted from her thoughts by the thick thump of a heavy tome slamming against her desk.
"Princess Luella." The stern voice caused her to inwardly cringe away.
Far too many times, that voice had been the precursor to swats against the backs of her hands. Or even worse, a word to her parents, the King and Queen of Solis. The King, known for his ruthlessness in his rule, was an even more stern and tempestuous father.
And her mother…
Luella didn’t even want to begin to sift through the feelings she had for the female.
The Queen of Solis was always cold and harsh, staying out of the light Luella imagined she rightfully should have stepped into as the Queen. The female had always preferred to defer to Luella’s father in all things. Even going so far as to teach her daughter the same—to live a deferential life in subservience to her future husband.
Never mind that Luella’s parents wouldn’t even allow her to pursue anyone. They had threatened her away from the notion on more than one occasion.
Recalling her father’s white-knuckled grip on his fork many years ago, Luella thought of the time she had brought up the son of one of her fae lineage tutors. A kind, young male, who at the time, she revered with a starry-eyed gaze and blossoming hopes—hopes which were quickly dashed when her father called the tutor into the dining room and drove the prongs of his fork into the back of the male’s hands. The sound of his startled scream still followed Luella into her dreams some nights.
However, she admitted she had much worse materials for her nightmares than that particular instance.
Luella cleared her throat to dispel the thoughts inside her mind, her spine straightening and shoulders rolling back, just as she had learned in her etiquette lessons.
Her tutor pursed her thin lips, a line between her brows showcasing her displeasure as she said, "I expect you to pay heed in these lessons. Or else your father will have to get involved."
The rasping lilt of her words caused Luella’s stomach to clench with anxiety and fear.
"Yes, Saga," Luella replied, lowering her head, eyes downcast as she took care to refer to the female just as any heirus would, with the title of respect for her gender.
It mattered little that Luella was the Princess of Solis; as an herius, her body was not hers, and her every word and action should be for the pleasure of those around her.
The fae were immortal—just as every other being besides the humans—and with some living up to a millennium, titles of reverence were held very dear to the fae, not at all alike the other creatures. Like shifters or demons, who didn’t place quite as much import on titles and propriety.
The fae were an old and orderly species, adhering closely to a strict set of rules. With their temples devoted to the gods, most fae were deeply religious, and the religion had been forced upon Luella from the very moment of her birth, just as all the political games and court meetings. She sometimes longed for the wild and untempered nature of the shifters. She had read stories that they freely mingled with the humans, and some even mated with them.
The strict nature of the fae was wholly at odds with the other species, and Luella was unable to flee from the cage in which she was trapped.
"Very well." The tutor sniffed, turning her back to Luella as she once more prowled across the length of the study, the quiet tapping of the soles of her shoes against the stone floor the only sound to break up the otherwise somber aura of the room.
With the tutor’s back to her as she scribbled notes on the black expanse of writing board tacked to the roughened stone walls, Luella quickly glanced outside, eyes roving over the dreary overcast. From the barest cracks of the tall, arched windows in the room, the long, thick, velvet curtains fluttered from the force of the winds. The insignia of Solis—a perfect circle with a small dot in the middle—was etched into the fabric of each curtain. Luella pulled the sleeves of her white knit coat over her hands. The material was thicker for the colder months quickly approaching, but it still did little to stave off the bitter chill seeping into the castle.
It had been like that for almost a month now. Not even were they at the start of winter, and Solis was already seeing some of the worst weather that had been documented in almost a century.
Luella didn’t mind it. She didn’t mind much, really. So long as she had her books and at least one plush fur to wrap around herself at night, she was okay. Luella found herself longing to crawl into her bed for the evening and steal away, but she knew it would be many more hours of teaching before she could even begin to entertain the idea.
Shifting on the wooden bench, she traced her fingers on the oak surface of the desk. She allowed the tutor’s words to wash over her, mind anywhere but there.
"It’s been not quite two decades since Luna was overthrown." At the name of the kingdom on the opposing side of the continent to Solis, Luella’s head perked up, and she paid closer attention to the tutor’s words.
"No one knows how, exactly, the current King of Luna so easily overthrew the prior monarchy, but, as you know, the power shift has taken a great toll on the trading and economy. At least three-quarters of the world’s silver originates from the mountains of Luna, and with Solis now having propriety on the precious metal demand with our gold, we control the majority of income and outcome flow to the remaining fae kingdoms, as well as Medius… And why is that?" The tutor snapped the end of her teaching stick against the board with a sharp thwack .
The answer came easily to Luella. It was not as though she had anything other to do than study or read. She often studied for pleasure, soaking up every word of the world with voracious focus.
Luella cleared her throat, fearful to answer, even though she knew she held the correct one. "It is… because Medius has the highest population density of humans in all the lands, comprised of over ninety percent, and they use the metals for w-weapons crafting and smithery." She stumbled over her words under the intense weight of her tutor’s attention, flinching back when the female started forward as if to swat the back of Luella’s hands.
The tutor weighed the quill tip of a writing instrument in her hands, corners of her mouth downturned as she regarded Luella, almost as though she were begrudgingly accepting her answer. Trying to find a flaw somewhere tucked between the words but unable to find one error, she settled merely on huffing under her breath, once more turning her back to Luella as she wrote furiously on the board. Her blonde hair flowed down her back, swaying slightly from the force of her intense writing.
A sharp knock on the door interrupted the tutor, and she turned, scowl etched even deeper into the sets of her cheeks. "What is it?" The tutor huffed.
The door creaked open, and Luella curiously watched as one of her lady’s maids peeked her head inside, a soft crown of blonde hair curling around her temples and falling over her slim shoulders.
"Saga, the King requested I ready the Princess for dinner."
Luella felt herself tense at the maid’s words. She wasn’t ready to face her parents yet. She was often called to dinners when her father wanted to punish her for some reason. While Luella’s mother just sat there, a complacent look on her face as she pretended nothing was amiss in her perfect little bubble.
She waited for the Saga’s dismissal before she stood. Luella had learned her lesson far too many times to act out of turn now.
"Very well, you’re dismissed." The tutor placed the quill back on her oak desk, barely looking at Luella as she started to stack books and put away empty scrolls. "I want you to write a script on the political advantages of the current King of Luna and his overtaking of the monarchy and the effects on trading. Due by tomorrow’s eve. If it is not on my desk, I’ll be having a word with your father."
Luella stood. Her long, maroon skirt fell over her thighs and fluttered about her ankles from the crispness of the wind gusting into the room.
"Yes, Saga." Luella bowed her head, feeling the terse weight of the tutor’s beady eyes boring into the top of her skull.
"Come." The lady’s maid beckoned her forward with the wave of her hand.
And Luella had no choice but to follow. Never, did she have a choice.