25 || Viviana The Forsaken
Princess Viviana climbed onto the plush stool before the dressing table, grinning from ear to ear. Her legs swung in the air as she watched her mother pick up a hairbrush, spinning the handle around her fingers.
"We've got to be quick, Vivi. The council will hunt me down if I'm even a minute late," Queen Oleress laughed.
She brushed her own dark hair behind her ears, the fabric weaved into it curling at the nape of her neck.
She always had something adorning the strands — whether it was feathers from a rare bird, beads imported from a distant kingdom or, Viviana's favourite, the infamous ribbon.
"Can I have a purple ribbon like yours?" the young girl asked with rounded eyes. With her lower lip stuck out in a pout, it was impossible to refuse her plea.
"I'll see what I have." She rummaged through a jewellery box propped open on the table overflowing with various accessories and searched through the drawer built into the dresser, but all she produced was a frown. "I can't do purple, but I have pink or blue," her mother offered.
Viviana watched as the two substitutes sparkled in the setting sun that streamed through the bedroom window.
Her sister always professed how she adored the azure shade, how it reminded her of a warm summer's sky or the ocean waves that she loved to play in.
Ilyana even had a blue necklace that matched now.
"Pink!" The princess reached out for the ribbon, holding it while the queen returned the other to its home.
"Alright. Now, keep still. I'll make this the fanciest braid you've ever seen!" Oleress' beam matched her daughters as she got to work, tugging through knots and separating the strands of blonde hair into equal parts.
Viviana tried her hardest to fulfil her mother's request, her hands clasping around the oversized necklace she wore.
Her sister always outshone her. Supposedly, both of the twins were blessed by the Gods and possessed a magical power of some sort which was incredibly rare for humans.
An ability to wield the elements or manipulate your surroundings usually belonged to the other races — like the scary Sirens who lurked in the deep waters of the Molten Sea.
It was warned that theirs wouldn't manifest until they were older, but Ilyana had already discovered hers.
She had the power to heal people.
All the stuffy nobles had swathed her with praise after she mended a graze that Cloven had gotten while falling out of a tree. You're the kingdom's saviour, little one! Their applause echoed in Viviana's mind. Imagine what you could do when you grow up!
The young princess had never felt so left out. She tried to heal something too — a bird that had slipped from its nest before it was able to fly. Only, the feathered fiend had pecked at her before it became limp in her hands.
She was useless. They had gotten their prophecies wrong. Her twin was the blessed one, not her.
This necklace was a promise of something more — a hope for the future. Queen Oleress insisted that there was something lurking inside of her waiting to come out too, but she struggled to believe it.
"Do you have a necklace too?" she asked, turning to show her mother the violet crystal between her fingers.
"Unfortunately not," she began, turning the young girl's head back so she could continue the braid. "Those gemstones link to the powers that you and your sister have. Even with my spells, I don't have it naturally like you do."
"Then where did they come from?" Her eyes landed on the locked case that the twins had been presented with earlier that day. Inside were crystals of several shades and they had chosen which one called to them more.
"They belonged to another set of twins a very long time ago. I like to think those two girls were just like you, picking the necklaces that resonated with them more." Oleress pulled on Viviana's head as she twisted a section of hair into a crown, securing it with a pin.
Out of the corner of her eye, a shadowed figure appeared in the reflection of the mirror. It loomed at the far edge of the room, hunched over so its tall frame could fit underneath the arched ceiling. A spindly arm reached out towards them, beckoning them closer.
The princess spun around, her necklace roaring to life as she faced the danger that shook her body. However, when she searched the area, nothing was there.
"What's the matter, Vivi?" Her mother picked up the brush that had been knocked onto the carpeted floor, her brow lined with concern.
"I saw something." Her lips twisted into a frown, her heart thudding in her chest.
"Perhaps it was a trick of the light," she suggested. With a soothing pat on her shoulder, the queen convinced her to turn back around.
Viviana did so with a shrug, unsure of what her mother's explanation meant. There had been something there, she wasn't imagining it. No other shadows lingered in that corner and a faint pulse from her necklace told her she was correct.
As her eyes met the surface of the mirror again, the creature of darkness returned even closer than before.
Now, she could feel its putrid breath as it curved toward her.
She could see the sharpened teeth forged from night that guarded its wide jaw, the claws honed and ready to claim its prey, and the long spikes that trailed down its back.
The princess' necklace glowed with a vibrant hue and floated above her abdomen, forcing her to turn around once more and this time, the monster remained in place.
Her mother turned to see it too, standing in front of her daughter to protect her from the demon that had crawled out of the depths of a nightmare.
Queen Oleress' eyes fluttered shut, her mouth moving with quick, smooth movements as she chanted a spell in an unknown language. Her fingers inched towards her spell book which rested on another nearby dresser, but it was too far for her to grab.
Shadows reached out to claim her mother, wisps and tendrils spreading to coil around her body. It wasn't going to work. Her spell would be too late. The monster of darkness was going to consume her.
Viviana's necklace pulled against her skin until it broke free, the chain shattering as it soared towards the queen to help her. However, it missed its target, piercing her throat until the crystal lodged in the other side.
Her mother fell to her knees, the resonating thud echoing in the princess' mind and sealing the moment forever in her memories. The shadow figure dispersed as she collapsed completely, its job finished.
"Mama?" Fear gripped her with searing shackles yet she lowered herself off the dressing table stool. She knew it was bad from the crimson seeping into the carpet to the twitching of her mother's hand, still reaching for her spell book.
Tears welled in her eyes as she knelt beside her mother, shaking her to wake her up. "The monster is gone now."
Viviana swallowed thickly when she saw her necklace wedged in her neck, but her attempt wasn't enough to bury the wail that fought its way out of her chest. Reaching for the gemstone, she tugged it out and held it against her chest, hoping it would fix the problem.
Hoping with all of her heart that it would wake her up.
The doors burst open as King Mortas rushed in, the sound of her cries summoning him. "Viviana? What's wrong? Where is-" The question died on his lips as he found his answer.
"It tried to help. I tried to help but..." the princess couldn't finish her explanation, sobs making it difficult for her to breathe. She ran to her father, hugging his legs tight.
Mortas crouched down, pulling his daughter close. "Vivi, I need you to be a big girl, just for a moment, okay?" When she nodded, letting her father brush away her tears, he continued. "What happened here?"
"Mama was doing my hair and then... then there was a shadow monster. It was so scary. Then my necklace tried to help but it hit Mama." She presented the remains of the crystal in her palm, the purple exterior coated in a violent scarlet.
The king couldn't form a response, his once comforting embrace turning slack around the princess. "You did this?"
Viviana shook her head. "No. No, it was an accident.
It wasn't me." Her gaze found the gemstone-shaped hole in her mother's throat and returned to her father to find a pair of cold eyes.
They were almost as lifeless as Queen Oleress'.
Gone was the love he had for her, his hatred taking her by surprise.
"We should have known keeping twins was a bad idea," he spoke to Oleress as he secured his wife in his arms, resting her head on his knees. Mortas' jaw clenched and his mouth pressed into a thin line as he moved her dark hair out of her eyes. "She's dead because of you."
"No. It was the necklace. The shadow monster," she begged. "I didn't- I didn't kill her."
"You're cursed. The Gods have cursed you because of the Necromancer Queens all those years ago."
Viviana struggled to see with the tears that blurred her vision. "Please."
"I need to finish this before it gets out of hand, before you kill the rest of the island too." The princess backed away as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a dagger. It was small enough to be concealed with ease, but it was still a weapon nonetheless.
"It wasn't me!" she yelled. Why would he do this? Why wouldn't he listen to her?
Perhaps he was right. It was her necklace that had hit her. This whole time she was waiting for a blessing like her sister had received but she had been gifted with the opposite. She was cursed after all.
Before she could run, King Mortas secured the princess with an arm around her torso. "You were never part of this family, you monster," the words were less of a threat and more of a plea, as if he was trying to convince himself it was true.
Viviana screamed and attempted to break free, but he was too strong. The blade pushed into her flesh, burning with each movement it made. It slipped between her ribs until it pierced her heart.
At first, there was nothing. Only a hollow betrayal filled her last thoughts. Then, an explosion of pain ricocheted through her body as she gasped for air. She was set free from her father's hold, leaving her to fall to the ground, unable to keep herself upright.
As light and darkness waged a battle in her waning sight, she saw the door open again and her sister peering into the chaos that had unfolded in the room.
Ilyana rushed to her side, calling her name over and over.
A blue surge of light spilt above her before an endless cold seeped into Viviana's skin, haunting her forever.
The princess would never be like her twin. She was the perfect heir for Wyrith, already adored by the people they would one day rule over.
Viviana was cursed and she always would be.