The curse

By Suzette Drake

Chapter One
The loss

The princess, dressed in her white gowns that were layer upon layer of silken gauze paced her bedchambers, wings, invisible to everyone but herself and perchance her old nurse maid, trailing behind her. The unicorns had long left the land and she was betrothed to the prince of a kingdom that had been warring with hers for many years. The only way, (it was decided by her father) to end this war was to proclaim his daughter as love struck by the enemy prince. She did not want to marry him. To her he seemed as a demon, worse then the ones her nurse had told her of in her rhymes. Before the war, over simple politics ravaged the land it was forever spring, the unicorns ruled; she used to watch them from the windows of her bed chamber. Every now and again they would poke their heads out of the woods and look at her, invite her, yet to her it seemed that no one else saw these beautiful beasts. They had probably abandoned the faith that the dragons of the land rested in the hills protecting all whom inhibited. Alas when the people of the land abandoned the friendship of the dragon, the dragon abandoned protecting them. Who would want to protect someone who did not respect them? The unicorns were more patient though, but when they lost the forests to the wars, they too fled to the realm where men could not see them, nor harm them.


Charlotte paused from her monotonous pacing to gaze out her window. She began to cry again. She loathed what was asked of her. The enemy was not like her; they were a fierce race. Most of their desires and thoughts sickened her. Neither race was human, this was the time before humans were the ones who controlled the earth; this was the time the kingdoms fought for the earth. Charlotte was of the Kacines, the watchers. Motzelar, the one she was [secretly] being forced to marry was of the Undranes. The Undranes to Charlotte were as hell spawn, (though hell did not yet exist) and compared to the Undranes the Kacines seemed as an angelic race. (Though heaven and its angels did not yet exist)


A voice stirred Charlotte from her weeping. It was a messenger girl, clad in a short, dark blue gauze dress. “I have come baring word from your father, princess.” The girl kneeled before the strawberry-blond princess with sapphire eyes and soft, feminine features and held out a scroll with the Kacine seal. “Thank you,” Charlotte addressed her with a stern voice. “Violet, you may go now. If I need to send word to the king I will call for you.” With a small gesture of her eyes she dismissed the girl. With no enthusiasm she broke the seal and read the scroll.


My dearest daughter, I know that you already know the fate that the councils have set for you, though who told you I do not know. Knowing your gifts you probably knew before we had even had to make this grave decision. You must understand my dearest that it is the only way for peace. A union to end destruction. Our people are supposed to be so intuitive but in the past dozen generations we, as a whole have not shown any of these signs. I am beginning to believe that we are not children of the gods but fearing that we might be as human as the peasants are. You were brought up with the stories that the Undranes are evil creatures and are the opposite of what we are. My dearest Charlotte, I have met with them and they seem as human as we are and we all agree that a union is the only way. You are my only daughter who is yet not wed and the house of Undrane has no daughters to marry my son. I am sorry my dearest.

On a graver note my dearest I am sad to say, even in such event the Undranes have policies toward marriage, though to us they may seem a tad barbaric, you must abide by them or too many of our people will die. I know you will not like them, as loosing your innocence is enough, I know that is why you always turned away suitors; so you can continue to be visited by your unicorn friends. But my dear, they are not real… only wild white mares to which you imagine to be enchanted.
The rules of engagement are not too complicated or barbaric as all that. Actually they are quite simple. You must live in their kingdom with the prince and prove yourself a worthy wife until you are with child, then and only then can you be wed to him and the war will stop, but until that time they will continue to be our enemy.


Charlotte looked up from the words and instead of sorrow, anger crossed her face and the colour of her eyes became ruby red. Whipping the scroll to the floor she marched out of her bedchambers and into the halls of the palace.


It was almost like a storm cloud when she entered the council chamber of the elders. “What is this that a lady of the court does not even knock at the doors of this the royal chamber?” Said a strong warrior’s voice. To this the enraged princess replied with the most noble and steady voice, “I will damn do as I please as this is my kingdom as well.” She looked around the room, ”Whom are you to say what I will and will not do? You bastard traitors to the land!”
Her father, King Aranos now spoke. “Hush child of the Kacines Forget now that you are child to Gemma and Aranos. What is asked of you is for the kingdom's benefit. Child, you have been born to great lineage and with that comes responsibility. Among all the people of the land those of our blood are among the least free. You must understand that by the enemy law you cannot be wed unless you love-“
“Oh, but father,” Charlotte cut in “You know I do not love him. They know that I do not love him, so why then must I do this?” He went on with what he was saying as if she had not even spoken then, only to answer her concerns as he continued.
“An agreement was reached that to prove to both kingdoms that your love to one another is true, a child must be conceived before the engagement. This is the only way to stop the war, it is the only way our race may live on.”
“By mixing our blood with theirs?” She argued. “How can we even consider such a thing? And I ask you this: What if our bloods do not mix? This will be as difficult as making a tiger breed with a wolf!”
“My dearest, that is the exact reason the wedding will not happen if no child is brought from your unions” The king said with a calm voice. “What? More then one unholy union?” She was disgusted.
“It’s just my dear, children do not always come about after only once. You will keep trying until a child is brought forth.” “Then I am to be a whore? You sell your daughter as a whore to demons to keep your land!” She was enraged at this, but went on to press other matters that had disturbed her.
“And to say that we are as mundane as those people who live in caves, how do you dare consider that? I do believe that you males are idiots! You do not even realize what powers you posses, the keen abilities of are race have been forgotten to your minds, but I’ll tell you this, they are not forgotten to your bones! If you would have only used these abilities when first the enemy attacked we would not be now- such a barren land.”


Charlotte fell now to her knees, letting out incomprehensive protests. Then she simply gave up, falling to the ground, weeping. Everyone now stood, quiet, looking at the girl, then to her father, then to the girl again. The king only sighed and bowed his head, then gestured to the servants to take his child from the council chamber of the elders. She was removed with little protest, though still weeping for her losses and disappointments.
This day had brought too many disappointments, both from the council and from her father.
She so missed the sight of the unicorns. How could her father have denied their existence? Perhaps, she though, if my mother were still alive… then maybe, he would see this so differently. Men, She decided, know nothing at all of the mysteries. It is their fault there is war. It is their fault the dragons have abandoned us. It is their fault that we no longer live in a land that is forever in the most beautiful part of spring.
She looked out of her bedchamber’s windows, then retired to sleep. In her dreams, perhaps, she could escape from the nightmare of her waking moments.

Chapter two, The nightmares

Chapter three, Strength

Chapter four, In the arms of the dreamer

Chapter five, The day the whole world went away

Back
Mail me

Before you go don't forget to sign
Sign New Guestbook
View New Guestbook
Leave your mark in my realm