Chapter 1 - A Beautiful Princess and A Tragic Death (Prologue)

A young maiden of only fifteensat in a throne room, the walls and floor made of all marble. There werepillars that stood erect against the walls between each of the five windows. Oneach side of the room were chairs and between them a crimson carpet that leadfrom the main doorway to the throne in which she sat.
She sat on the elegant throne, her white and golddress floating around her feet. The dress hung on her shoulders, the sleevescovering her arms and hands. Around her waist was a large lavender bow, flaringout in the back. Placed on her shoulders, sleeves, and bottom of her gown, wereextravagant ruby red jewels. Around her neck was that same jewel, placed on aband of gold.
             She stood up, her long skirts filling outbeneath her. She walked to a window in the throne room, looking out towards thekingdom. The young maiden opened the window, letting the fragrant breeze blowher long brown hair back. She closed her sapphire eyes and leaned out of thewindow, almost loosing her balance.
            Stronghands gripped her waist before she could fall.
            “Becareful highness. We wouldn’t want to loose our beloved princess.”
            Theprincess turned around to see a female warrior of twenty years looking back ather with commanding and gentle green eyes. Her short black hair was placed on astubborn yet gentle face. She wore a gray mail suit, the links small and lightweight, with mail boots and gloves that wrapped around her middle finger. Shehad gold bands across her wrists, shoulders, waist, and across the top of herboots. Just above the center of her chest was the same jewel that the princesswore; a jewel was also placed on each gold band. At her left hip hung a narrowsword with a jeweled handle. Her back was draped with a dark crimson cape.
            “Ramyna,”said the princess, “I need to get out of this palace! I feel so confined. Can’twe go into town for just a little while, please?” The princess had a pleadinglook in her eyes that the warrior just couldn’t resist.
            “PrincessAres,” the warrior sighed, “you know I would love to take you into town, but asyour personal protector, I don’t believe it’s safe. There are many bandits andspies from the other Kingdoms that would want your head.”
            Theprincess was silent for a few seconds. “I know,” she whispered quietly. “Butkeeping me in this forsaken palace is just making me want to run away. Couldn’twe ask my father if I could go?”
            “Yourfather’s away on a trip to the Western Kingdom, remember? We cannot getpermission from him.”
            “Whatif we ask Azshiu if we can go? Maybe he can even come with us.”
            Ramynasmiled. “You really want to go, don’t you princess?” Ares flashed a white smileand nodded her head. “Alright, let’s go ask Azshiu.”
            Aresyipped in glee and hugged her protector. “Thank you Ramyna!” she said joyfully.She let go and, lifting up her skirts so she wouldn’t trip, ran down thehallways toward Azshiu’s chambers.
            Theprincess could hear Ramyna’s cries asking her to wait call after her. Theprincess did not listen to them and kept running.
Down the corridorsshe went, turning left, then right, then right again. She went down a flight ofstairs and turned to the right. She was running so fast, she didn’t realizethat she had collided with a wooden door in front of her. It was beautifullycarved with a gold handle and a jeweled plate going across the center of it.Above the door was written, in the Arasyian language, “Domain of theProtector.”
The door openedto a young man of twenty years in age and about six feet in height, his copperbrown hair cut short and his purple eyes looking down at the princess. He wasdressed in a simple pair of baggy dark blue breeches and a baggy white shirt.Layered black boots were on his feet. He bent down and gave the princess a handto take.
“Are you alrightPrincess Ares?” the man asked. Ares accepted the hand gratefully and rose fromthe ground, standing elegantly and erect in front of him. She was only about upto his shoulders he was so tall.
“Yes. Thank youAzshiu,” she said.
Ramyna boundaround the corner then, skidding to a stop in front of the princess. Both sheand Azshiu looked at her.
“It’s about timeI caught up with you,” she said. Ares giggled slightly.
“As a warrioryou should be able to out run me, who, I might add, is wearing full skirts,”the princess said.
“Very funny,”the warrior responded tartly.
“Anyways,” shesaid turning to Azshiu again, “I was wondering if I could go into town withRamyna. She doesn’t think it’s safe for me to go, so could you go with us?”
“Honestly, Idon’t think it’s any safer if I go with you,” said Azshiu. The princess hadthat pleading look in her eyes that could make anybody’s heart melt. He smileda hearty smile and continued, “but for your sake, of course I will go.”
She yippedgleefully and bobbed up and down before she stopped, laughing at her ownsilliness.
“Alright! Let’sgo!” she said. She turned on her heel and headed down the corridor but stoppedwhen a callused hand rested on her shoulder.
“First, we mightwant to change into slightly less noticeable clothes,” Azshiu said.
“He’s right,”added Ramyna. “We stick out like sore thumbs in these clothes.” She gestured tothe elegant clothes that they were wearing.
The princesssighed and nodded in agreement. They all decided that they would meet in frontof Princess Ares’s room when they were done. So, Azshiu turned around andclosed the door to his room and Ramyna and Ares walked up the stairs. Ramyna’srooms were right by the princess’s, so they separated almost as soon as theygot into their own rooms.
The princessstripped off her clothes and chucked them on her bed in haste. Reaching behindher neck, Ares removed the necklace that showed she was royalty and placed iton her dresser. She was actually going to town! She ran over to her chest andknelt down, opening the top of it. She took out a baggy white shirt that hungoff the shoulders. Placing that on her bed, she also pulled out a blue skirtand black bodice. She slipped the white shirt on and then pulled on the skirt,tucking the shirt in as she did so. She grabbed the bodice from the top of herbed and wrapped it around her.
Closing thechest top with her foot, she tied the lacings in the front. She sighed andlooked at the dress she had crumpled up, which had now found its way to thefloor. She leaned over her bed and grabbed it from the floor. Standing up, shewalked over to an armoire and placed her dress in there.
“‘A responsibleprincess is a neat and tidy one,’” she quoted from her etiquette teacher. Shehad been getting extra lessons in etiquette since she was bound to thepalace-and boy did she hate it!
Bending down,she grabbed a pair of black slippers and slipped them on.
Walking acrossthe room, she opened the door to see that Azshiu and Ramyna were alreadyoutside. Azshiu was dressed as he was before, only he wore dark green breechesinstead of dark blue ones; he wore brown boots instead of black ones and healso wore brown gloves; he wore a green cape that went half way down his upperbody in the front then went all the way to the floor in the back. Ramyna wore asimple pair of beige breeches and a simple white shirt. Over that, she wore ared tunic with two slits on the side for easy movement. On her feet were blackboots and, of course, her sword hung from her left hip.
“It’s about timeyou’ve changed,” said Ramyna. “We’ve been waiting for a while.” She handed Aresa string, suggesting that she braided her hair so she looked more like acommoner. When Ares finished braiding her hair, Azshiu stared.
“Even dressed asa commoner, you’re still the most beautiful girl of all,” he commented quietly.
Ares blushed.She knew that Azshiu cared for her deeply; some could almost call it love; andnot the kind of love friends and guardians shared, but the kind that a man anda woman shared. She felt the same way, too.
“Thank youAzshiu,” she said just as quietly.
Ramyna clearedher throat to get their attention. They both turned towards her and blushed.
“Either we cango into town, or we can stay here and I can watch you two flirt,” she saidshortly. They both blushed even deeper. Ramyna wanted them to be happy: toexpress their love and get married, but she knew that it could never happen.Her princess had to enchant a prince- which she could do easily- on hersixteenth birthday and marry one on her seventeenth. It was her job to keep allsuitors, besides princes, away from her- even if it was Azshiu.
“She’s right,”said the princess, her blush still showing slightly on her cheeks. “Let’s go.”They all turned towards the main door and walked off.
They went outthe extravagant doors of the palace and walked down the stairs to the main gatethat separated the palace from the town.
Two guards stoodat the gate, dressed in red tunics and silver mail. They had a sword on each oftheir left hips and held a spear in the right hands. They stood in front of thegate, reminding the princess that she wasn’t allowed outside the palace. Shetold them that they were going into town for a little while and would be backbefore the sunset. Hesitantly, they let Ares and her companions pass, openingthe gates for them and closing them soon after.
Ares dancedaround the cobble streets, Azshiu and Ramyna close behind. She spun around anddid a traditional jig. She almost lost her balance before Azshiu gripped herand straightened her up. She took the hint and walked the rest of the way intotown.
When they gotthere, all that the town had to offer fascinated the princess. There werestands full of cloths and food, jewels and books, and more. She gaped happilyat all the sites, rushing to each one and looking over all the items. Shewalked over to a clothing stand first, picking up an extraordinary piece ofcloth. It was a piece of red fabric, gold thread embroidered into it to formdesigns of birds and vines. She held it up against her chest, letting the longfabric drape down to her feet.
“Oh, Azshiu!Look at this fabric! Even some of the fabric at the palace isn’t thisbeautiful,” she said, admiring the embroidery work by running her hand over thestitching. Azshiu came over, placing a pair of leather gloves in a pouchattached to his waist; Ramyna was behind him at a stand, looking at a widevariety of daggers.
“Yes,” he said,running a hand over the fabric himself. “You’re right. The stitching is veryneatly done.”
“The fineststitching in the land of Arasya.” Azshiu and Ares turned around and looked atthe young woman behind the stand. She had long black hair that tumbled to herwaist and wore a dark blue tunic-wrap dress over a white and light blue cottondress; matching slippers were on her feet. Her hazel brown eyes looked at themkindly. “I did it myself,” she continued, referring to the cloth that theprincess held up and the rest of the fabric that was at her stand.
“You did all thestitching yourself?” the princess asked, aghast.
“Yes, miss. Mymother taught me how. She said that I was a better embroiderer than she was. Ofcourse, I don’t believe so.”
Ares folded thefabric up carefully and placed it back on the stand. Behind the stand owner wasa beautiful lavender colored fabric; below that was a fabric of a darker shade.The stand owner noticed her customer’s stare and took the two fabrics frombehind her, splaying them out on the stand in front of them. Like the lastfabric, Ares ran a delicate hand over the fabric, admiring the weaving.
“You may or maynot be able to see, miss and sir,” she said politely, “but there are smallthreads of silver in the lavender. It shines and glistens when it moves. Thisis a personal favorite of mine.” As if to see if what the stand owner said was true,Ares unfolded the fabric and placed it up against her body, moving slightly andlooking in admiration as she saw the sun light dance on the silver strings ofthe fabric. She smiled and folded this piece of fabric too, placing it on topof the red fabric; she also placed the dark lavender fabric on top of it.
“I’ll take themall,” she said. She took a silk pouch from her waist and gave the stand ownerten pieces of gold. The stand owner looked at the gold with embarrassment andshock.
“Miss,” shesaid, “this is too much for my work. The most it’s worth is five gold.”
Ares shook herhead politely. “Good quality work should be paid for properly.” She took thestand owner’s hand and placed the gold firmly yet gently into her palm, closingthe girl’s fingers around it.
“She’s right,you know,” said Azshiu; the girls had forgotten that he was there. “Do you makedresses, young miss?”
The young standowner nodded. “I was hoping to be hired as a weaver and seamstress for theprincess herself, but I highly doubt that will ever happen,” she said. “But, ifyou like, I could make a dress for you out of the fabrics you bought; the extragold that you gave me would cover the cost for a dress.”
The princesssmiled at the offer. “I would be delighted,” she said. “Come by my housetomorrow at noon. You can bring all your materials, and we can do measurements.My house is down the cobble road and behind a set of giant gates.” The standowner smiled and nodded.
“Okay. I’ll bethere at noon. Thank you for your service, miss.”
“Wait,” Azshiusaid. “Before we leave, could you tell us your name? We’ve been talking forquite a while and yet we don’t even know your name.”
The stand ownergrew wide-eyed. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “Where are my manners? My name is TrisariaArimaria. But, I’m Trisa for short.”
“Well, TrisariaArimaria, we’ll see you tomorrow,” said Azshiu walking away.
“Bye Trisa!” theprincess said, waving a goodbye. Trisa waved back and smiled.
Ares and Azshiuwalked around for a while, looking at the other stands. They met up with Ramynaand they compared purchases.
They were at thejewelry stand when Ramyna caught something out of the corner of her eye. Sheglanced and saw that there were two cloaked figures watching the princess. Shestood behind the princess, blocking their view of her.
Whispering inher ear she said, “Ares, we must be careful. There are two people watching you.We should leave soon.” Ares looked at Ramyna and then out into the crowd- shesaw no one.
“We’re fine,Ramyna,” she said. “We can stay a little longer.” They soon moved on and Azshiufelt the presence of the cloaked figures as well. He glanced at Ramyna who waslooking at him; her look confirmed his suspicions.
“Princess, Imust caution you that there are people following us. We must return to thepalace,” he whispered.
“Azshiu, Ramynasaid the same thing; I don’t feel or see that someone is following us. We canstay a little longer.”
Azshiu grippedher by the shoulders and made her face him. Ramyna stopped next to Ares, hereyes wide with surprise at the sudden gesture.
“Ares!” he saidin a harsh whisper. “We must head back to the palace. Your life is in highjeopardy right now!”
As if to confirmhis words, a small silver object spun towards the princess. Azshiu caught itbetween his two fingers as Ares flinched. He held the small blade justcentimeters from her neck.
“Azshiu! Lookout!” shouted Ramyna, drawing her sword. Balls of liquid blue fire shot at himand Ares from a roof. Thrusting out his left hand, he produced a shield ofwhite and copper magic, absorbing the blue fire. Ramyna jumped up and thrusther sword at the assassin on the roof. He fell to the ground, dead. She grabbedher sword from his chest and charged as another assassin shot liquid fire atAzshiu and Ares. She killed him too, but wasn’t quick enough to stop him fromproducing the fire.
The protectorpicked up his princess and jumped out of the way before any damage could bedone. He ran through the crowd, which was now in a state of panic, while Aresclutched to his shirt. He stopped at the end of the street and placed Aresbehind him. Casting his arms out palms forward, he produced six threads ofmagic that wove through the crowd, killing the assassins on the ground.
Ramyna was on aroof close by. A group of three assassins were in front of her. She charged andthrust her sword out, slicing and killing an opponent. She did a crescent swingas another opponent charged at her with a dagger. Once he fell, she grabbed thedagger to kill the last assassin who was charging her. But she was a second toolate and cried out in pain as his dagger blade left a deep gash in her arm,tearing her shirt. Her arm dripping in blood, she stabbed her attacker fast andhard in the chest, watching him drop lifelessly on the roof, then rolling offand falling onto the cobble street below. Tearing a strip of cloth from heralready torn sleeve, she wrapped her wound tightly to stop the loss of any moreblood. She removed her sword from the body of the other assassin and wiped iton her torn sleeve. Sheathing it, she jumped down to the ground where a groupof onlookers were staring at the body.
“Alright!” sheshouted, the attention on the crowd now focused on her instead of the body.“Everybody, step back and go home! There’s nothing to see here!” Murmuring, thecrowd slowly disappeared until the only people on the street were the princess,her protectors, and the stand owners who were quickly collecting theirbelongings and heading for their own homes.
Ramyna bent downand removed the assassin’s face cloth as Azshiu and Ares walked up. Disgusted,she turned him over with her foot and spat by his head.
“Ramyna!” theprincess exclaimed, appalled. “You should respect the dead! No matter who itis!”
“This assassin doesn’tdeserve my respect, nor does he yours,” she said, glancing at the corpse behindher. “He’s a paid assassin sent by the Eastern Kingdom to kill you.”
Ares gasped.“It’s not surprising,” said Azshiu. “They know that if they kill the successorto the most powerful Kingdom of Arasya, then their heir will take over thethrone. What puzzles me is why it took so long for them to figure that out.”
“Does it matter!”exclaimed Ramyna. “They figured it out and they’re going to do all it takes tokill her.”
“Then whyhaven’t they gone after Ypae?” asked Ares, referring to her younger sister.
“Because Ypae istoo young to take over the throne as princess. She must be fifteen years of ageto pose a threat. She still has two years to go before the other Kingdoms comeafter her,” said Azshiu.
“Wouldn’t itjust be easier for them to just have the heirs to the Kingdoms ask for mybetrothal? It would save them their hired assassins.”
“Yes, it wouldbe, but it seems that killing you is more fun to them.”
“Now weshould head back,” said Ramyna. “There’s nothing left for us here.” The othersagreed and walked off. Ramyna looked back at the assassin one more time andlooked away in disgust, catching up to the princess and Azshiu.
 
When they got to the main gates,the palace guards said that Ares’s sister, Ypae, had urgent news to tell her.Bewildered, Ares and her companions hurried to the palace. They pushed open thedoors and went to the throne room.
            Infront of the throne was a young girl, wearing a white and lavender dresssimilar to Ares’s. She had a gold band around her waist, where a dark lavenderbow hung. She had two blue jewels on the gold band and one on the top center ofher dress. Her coal colored hair was cut short on top but it went to about herknee in the back; it was tied with a dark lavender bow.
            Sheturned around when she heard the footsteps of Ares, Azshiu, and Ramyna.
            “Sister,what’s the matter?” said Ares.   
Princess Ypaelooked at her sister and friends with tears in her crystal blue eyes. She was aspitting image of her mother, the queen, and had a blue jewel on the middle ofher forehead.
Rising from herposition from the floor, Ypae ran to her sister, tripping and almost falling tothe floor before her sister caught her and hugged her tightly. Ares cooed toher gently and stroked her hair. Ypae’s tears dripped off her cheeks and restedon her sister’s dress.
“Ypae, what’sthe matter?” asked Ares again.
Ypae was silentfor a while, choking only on her tears, before she spoke. “Father’s dead,” shewhispered silently. “He was killed by an assassin from one of the Kingdoms.”Ares took in a sharp breath, and then rested her head on her sister’s shoulder,her eyes brimming with tears. I have to be strong, she thought, forYpae’s sake. She bit her lip to hold back her tears.
Behind them, Ramynaclenched her teeth and punched the wall closest to her, cursing as the wallcracked slightly. Cradling her throbbing hand, Azshiu calmed her down. He knewhow upset she was- he felt the same way. However, he controlled his temper alot better than Ramyna did.
Ares pulled awayfrom her sister and stroked her cheek lovingly, forcing a sad smile. PlacingYpae’s hands in hers, they rose from the floor; Ypae went to Ares’s chin.
Turning toRamyna, Ares said, “Ramyna, calm down. I know you’re upset like the rest of us,but you need to control your temper.” Ramyna bowed her head and noddedsolemnly, embarrassed. Turning back to Ypae, Ares continued, “How did you findout about the death of our father?”
“The HeadCouncilman told me. They said that they had received the body after you leftfor town,” answered Ypae. “They said we could go see him when you got back.”
“Then that’swhat we’ll do. Come on, let’s go see our father.”
The princesseswalked out of the throne room, the warrior and mage following behind. Ramynaand Azshiu knew what to do whenever royalty died; they were taught what to do:they would wait until immediate family had visited with their lost loved one,then, if permitted, they would be allowed to go in.
They all walkedto their rooms and changed silently. When they emerged, the princesses woreidentical outfits: dark silk dresses with embroidered black bodices. Thedresses went to the floor and flowed elegantly, covering matching slippers; thesleeves clung to their arms and went slightly past their wrists. They each woreslender black bands around their heads and black veils hung from them, coveringtheir faces.
Ares looked atRamyna and Azshiu sadly. Ramyna was dressed in her mail and cape, her sword, asalways, at her hip. Azshiu was dressed the most simply of the group: he wore ablack cape and breeches, as well as black boots; he wore a simple gray shirt aswell.
Silently theywalked down the halls to where the king’s body was. The hallways seemed darkerin those few minutes, the sadness of the Royal Family filling every corner.Finally, they arrived at a dark wooden door. Two guards, dressed like the onesat the gate, stood in front of the door. They opened the door and bowed at thewaist as the princesses walked in.
Ares bit her lipat the sight she saw. Her father, who was handsome in life, looked like a ghostin death. His skin was paper-thin and ghost white. He had several holes in hischest where arrows had been; on his throat was a thin slit where a knife haddealt the final blow.
Behind him was abeautiful figure, shrouded in darkness. The woman wore a dress of silk andlace, the skirts flowing from her minute waist. Her blonde hair was tied in aloose bun and a black veil covered it; it also covered her face. She rose fromher seat and lifted up her veil. She, the queen, was beautiful. She had agentle face and full red lips. Her eyes, though filled with tears, shined likegreen gems.
She walkedaround the dead body of her husband, her long skirts dragging on the floorbehind her. She stood in front of her daughters, her posture elegantly erect.The queen smiled weakly at them. In respect, her daughters bowed their headsslightly and lifted up their veils. Ypae’s jewel, which changed a differentcolor for each emotion, was black.
The queenembraced her daughters and held them close. She was the most heart broken ofthem all; being only thirty-four, she had been married to the king for half ofher life. She sobbed quietly, Ypae joining her, and even though she tried notto with all her might, Ares cried too. For a while, they cried silently, untilthe queen pulled away from her daughters and looked at them.
“How are youdoing?” she asked silently.
“We’re doingfine,” said Ares.
“Yes, mother.How about you? Will you be okay?” said Ypae.
The queen, Saryawas her name, looked away from her daughters. She whispered, “I’ll be fine,eventually.” She walked back to her seat slowly and sat down. “It’s just that,”she continued, “it happened so suddenly.” She placed her hand to her heart as anew flood of tears came from her eyes. She looked at her daughters and choked,“But I will never be able to overcome the grief and pain that my heart nowholds.” She removed a cloth from her sleeve and wiped her eyes. Ypae walkedover and sat down next to her mother, whispering words of comfort to her.
While her sisterdid that, Ares walked towards her father’s body. The king, Nicholas, lookedpeaceful, his strong and gentle face calm; Ares stroked it gently, and thenkissed his forehead. Straightening up, she walked to the door.
“I’m going tolet Azshiu and Ramyna in,” she said. Opening the doors, she summoned them in tothe room. They bowed respectfully to Sarya, who bowed her head in return, andwalked over to the king. They both studied the body for a while before Azshiustraightened up and walked to the queen.
Bowing again, hesaid, “Your Highness, I will be able to find out which Kingdom killed the king.All you have to do is-.”
“No!” the queeninterrupted, standing up abruptly. “I will not let you use magic on myhusband!”
“Mother,” saidYpae, “you can trust Azshiu. His way is probably-.”
“I’ve spoken!”she said. “Not a whisper of magic will touch my husband.”
“As her Highnesswishes,” Azshiu said, bowing again slightly.
“If I may be sobold,” said Ramyna, “I can find out which of the Kingdoms killed his Highness.If you permit it of course, your Highness.”
Queen Saryanodded solemnly and walked pass the others; Ypae rose from her seat. “If youdon’t mind,” Sarya said, “I would prefer not to watch this. Please excuse me.”She walked to the doors and opened them, the guards outside bowing.
“I’ll go withmother,” Ypae told Ares. She nodded and Ypae followed her mother out the doors.
As the guardsshut the door, Ramyna ran her hands over the king’s chest. She felt each holein his chest slowly and carefully then traced her finger over the line on histhroat. After doing the same process again, she bowed respectfully to the body.
“Well?” askedAres anxiously. “What did you find out?”
Ramyna was silentfor a while before responding, thinking over what she had just recentlydiscovered carefully. “I may not be completely correct,” she said, “but I’mpretty sure about what I’ve found out.” She waited again before continuing,“These holes in his chest are definitely the effect of arrows. I know for afact that they’re not from the Eastern Kingdom- they prefer to use blades anddaggers. The Southern and Western Kingdoms are known for using their arrows,but the slit on his throat means that he was attacked at close range, which islike the Northern Kingdom; but the only way that slit could’ve been caused wasby a blade or magic, which the Northern Kingdom uses.” She began pacing infront of the body, thinking intently.
“Do you thinkthat the Kingdoms are forming an alliance?” asked Ares, sitting down. Azshiuand Ramyna looked at her.
“It could bepossible,” said Azshiu. “Even though our army is large and powerful, theKingdoms know that if they join forces, they’re more powerful.”
“But what doesthat have to do with killing my father?”
Ramyna strokedher chin thoughtfully, an idea forming in her head. “I think they’re trying tokill off the Royal Family,” she said finally. “The Eastern Kingdom tried tokill Ares today, another Kingdom killed the king a few days ago…”
“One Kingdom foreach member of the family,” Azshiu interrupted. Ares and Ramyna looked him inbewilderment. “Don’t you see? Each Kingdom is aiming to kill one memberof the Royal Family. So, we know that the Eastern Kingdom is aiming to kill Ares,so that eliminates them from the list of suspects. That leaves the Southern,Western, and Northern Kingdoms.”
“Then,” saidAres, “if what you suspect is true, that eliminates the Northern Kingdom for mymother. The Northern Kingdom has formed a peace treaty with the country mymother’s from. They wouldn’t try to kill her.”
“That’s right,”said Ramyna. “I’d completely forgotten about that.”
Azshiu tracedthe slit on the king’s throat with his finger then pulled away. “It’s not theNorthern Kingdom,” he concluded. “I don’t sense any magic on him.” Calculatingthe facts in his head, he said, “That means that the Northern Kingdom will comeafter Ypae, leaving the Southern or Western Kingdom aiming to kill the queen.”
They all weresilent, deep in thought, until Ares rose from her seat. Her protectors lookedat her. “I think I know which Kingdom killed my father,” she said silently. Shelooked at Ramyna. “Ramyna, didn’t you say that my father was on a trip to theWestern Kingdom?” The warrior nodded. “Maybe,” she continued, “the SouthernKingdom was afraid that we were forming an alliance with the Western Kingdomand that we would attack them.”
“Yes,” saidAzshiu. “That makes sense. The Eastern Kingdom is aiming for Princess Ares; theWestern Kingdom, Queen Sarya; the Northern Kingdom, Princess Ypae; and theSouthern Kingdom, King Nicholas.”
They all agreedthat they should tell the queen and went out to find her. When they told her,she was angry, but she did nothing. She was too overcome by grief to doanything.
 
The next day, the guards came toPrincess Ares with news that a visitor had come to see her. Puzzled, Ares wentto the throne room where her visitor was. The visitor turned around andcurtsied.
            “Howare you, your Highness?” she said.
            Areswalked towards her guest. “Oh my goodness! Trisa, I’m so sorry. With all thathas happened, I completely forgot that we had a meeting today. Please forgiveme.”
            TrisariaArimaria, or Trisa for short, shook her head. “Nothing to forgive, yourHighness. I’m terribly sorry about your father, the king. May he rest in peace.Would you like me to come back another day? It would be no trouble at all forme.”
            “Oh,no! You’re already here. Shall we get started?” Trisa nodded and they walkedoff to Ares’s room for the fitting.
 
A week later was King Nicholas’sfuneral. The Royal Family as well as the town attended the ceremony. Below thepalace was the Tombs of Royalty, where only the Royal Family was allowed.There, the king was buried, and the Kingdom went into mourning for two months;some, even longer.
For months afterthe funeral the queen went in to seclusion. She didn’t eat or drink anything;she only stayed alive due to the persistence of her daughters. Everyday, she’donly accept one meal of water, bread, and some fruit.
            Shewould sit in the room where her husband’s body had been, cloaked in darkness.There was no light in the room except for the sun that came from the only openwindow. Her eyes could no longer adjust to the light of the outdoors; she couldno longer eat three meals a day; and she could hardly even talk. The WesternKingdom gave up on trying to kill her because she was already so close todeath.
            Whileher mother was in seclusion, Princess Ares had to take over all the tasks andresponsibilities. She dealt with all the affairs as if she was queen;the only thing she couldn’t do was leave the palace for meetings and such.
            Eightmonths after the funeral, she was still playing the role as queen. It was onlytwo months until her sixteenth birthday, and she was nervous. She knew thatwith so many people at her birthday celebration, assassins from the EasternKingdom would be able to disguise themselves. Even though Azshiu and Ramynanever left her side, she still felt that they would not be able to protect her.
            Onemonth before her birthday, her suspicions were confirmed. Each night she wouldhave the same nightmare of her death, always waking up in a cold sweat. Sheknew that she was going to die soon after her sixteenth birthday. So, she didthe only thing she could do: she prepared for her death.
 
It was the night of PrincessAres’s sixteenth birthday. In her room, she looked at herself in the mirrornervously. She was wearing the dress that Trisa had designed and made for her.The light lavender silk was a strapless dress and flowed elegantly to thefloor; it had a low back with a dark lavender jewel at the end; a sliver bandwas connected to that and went to the front where it ended with two morejewels; another silver band went across the top of the dress, a dark lavenderjewel hanging from the center. Hanging from the top silver band were longlayered sleeves of the dark lavender fabric; long layers of the fabric hungfrom the silver band on the waist and went all the way to the back, forming atrain.
            Placingher hands on her stomach, Ares walked over to her dresser where a manikin headheld her crown. It was a silver band that went around her head and almostconnected in the front; two dark lavender jewels were placed on the sides ofher head on the band. Taking the crown from the manikin, she walked back overto the mirror. Slowly, she put it on her head. Looking at her reflection in themirror, a nervous lump formed in her throat. She swallowed it hard and gaspedfor air; she was having difficulty breathing.
            “Princess,are you ready?” Ramyna had come into the room. She was a strange beauty in adress, although you could still tell she was a warrior by the sword at her hip.The top part of the dress was light mail and armor of silver and gold. A goldband was placed on of her upper arms, long crimson sleeves hanging from them; along slit went from the top to the bottom of the sleeves, showing armoredgloves with a red jewel on the top of them. A gold belt was on her waist,another red jewel placed where the buckle should have been; an elegant crimsonskirt flowed from her waist.
            Aresswallowed again and shook her head. “No. I’ll never be ready for this,” shesaid. Obviously uncomfortable, she changed the subject. “You look really nicein a dress, Ramyna.” The warrior blinked then blushed.
            “Maybe,but not as nice as you. I couldn’t stand wearing one of these every day,” shesaid jokingly. Noticing the distracted look on Ares’s face, she asked, “Issomething the matter?”
            Ares,who was looking at the floor, looked up at her friend. “Hmm?”
            “Isaid, is something the matter?” she repeated.
            “Ramyna,you know as well as I do why I’m nervous.”
            Ramynawalked over to her princess. Placing her strong hands on her friend’sshoulders, she said, “I know. But I will never let any harm come to you. Ipromise.”
            Areslooked at her friend smiling. “Thanks Ramyna,” she whispered.
            Someoneknocked on the door then opened it; it was Azshiu. Although simply dressed, hehad an air of authority about him. He wore a red tunic, a black belt pinnedwith a jewel on his waist, over white breeches and a gold shirt; he wore ablack cape, boots, and gloves; the boots and gloves had red jewels on top ofthem. On his head was a crown like the princess’s, except that a white cloth hungfrom it, covering the back of his head; these jewels were also red. 
            “Couldone of you tell me why women take so long to get ready?” he asked jokingly.Ramyna smirked and walked over towards Azshiu. Friendly punching him on theshoulder, she left the room saying that she would give the two love birds aminute alone. Of course, both Azshiu and the princess blushed at that.
            Shuttingthe door behind him, he walked over to the princess. Taking her hands in his,Azshiu kissed them both and then her forehead. “You look extremely stunningtonight, Princess Ares,” he said. Ares was not surprised by the compliment butshe still blushed. She thanked him and looked down at the floor. Concerned,although it was natural behavior, Azshiu lifted her chin up and looked at her;she wouldn’t look him in the eye. “Why won’t you look me in the eye?” he asked.“That’s not like you.”
            Shepaused before answering. “Do you know how nervous I am?” she whispered. “Do youknow that I will never be able to see you or Ramyna or Ypae ever again?”
            Azshiugently grabbed her faced, turning it towards him, and looked at herquizzically; she had no choice but to look him in the eye. “What nonsense areyou speaking of?”
            Aresexplained to him about her dreams recently. When she was finished, he sighed.“Ares, dreams are only dreams. It doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen.”
            “Thesearen’t dreams Azshiu. Every time I wake up, I’m short of breath, like somebodywas trying to strangle me in my sleep. And why would I dream of my death? In caseyou don’t remember, you’ve been the one who’s been teaching me about themeanings of dreams. And you were also the one who said I had the Sight. Or haveyou forgotten?”
            Azshiusighed again. “No, I haven’t,” he whispered.
            “Thenwhy don’t you think my dreams aren’t going to happen?” Now it was Azshiu wholooked away. A few seconds passed before he answered.
            “BecauseI don’t want to believe that they’re going to happen,” he said looking back ather. Ares blinked, shocked by his answer. She looked into his eyes and saw fearin them.
            “W-what?”she stuttered. Azshiu was never scared and to see that he was scared Ares.Again, a few seconds passed between them. Looking at him in somewhat disbelief,she said, “You’re scared, aren’t you?”
            Nowit was Azshiu who looked at her in disbelief. “Of course I’m scared!” he saidin a harsh whisper. “I’m scared, because I don’t want to think of loosing you.”
            Aresplaced a delicate hand on his cheek. “Azshiu, you’ll never loose me. I’llalways be in your memories and” -she blushed at this- “in your heart.” Azshiublushed at this too and smiled.
A silent momentpassed between them. However, that moment ended when Azshiu leaned in gingerlyand placed his tender lips gently the princess’s. Ares blinked but then closedher eyes as the sensation of his kiss swept through her body and filled it.When he removed his lips from hers, the sensation stayed in her body. Henuzzled against her ear as she placed her hand on his shoulder.
“How was thatfor a first kiss?” he whispered into her ear. He began to kiss her necktenderly.
She leaned herhead against his and whispered in his ear, “Don’t you ever stop.” He didn’t; hekissed her lips again repeatedly, each time the same sensation sweeping throughAres’s body. Azshiu ran his hands down her back, making her arch her spine.
When Azshiufreed his lips from Ares’s, she said, “I wish that my party was over andeverybody had left. Then we could be alone.” They both blushed at that thought,but they also smiled.
“So do I,” hewhispered. “So do I.”
Ramyna’s voicefrom outside the room shouted, “Do I have to split you two up in there? Or doyou think you’re capable of making it out on your own?”
The two loverslaughed and blushed at Ramyna’s comment. Offering his arm, Azshiu smiled downat Ares; she placed her hand on it and smiled at him too. Together they walkedoutside her room.
Ramyna had beenleaning against the wall the whole time. “I didn’t think you guys would evercome out!” she said sarcastically. “Are you about ready to go to the party?”The two nodded and they walked down the hallway to the Grand Ballroom.
 
The Grand Ballroom was filledwith nobles and suitors, all dressed in their finest clothes. The Ballroom waslarge with four massive marble pillars at each corner of the room. Red and golddrapes were hung between each of the pillars; they glistened in the light thatthe massive chandelier in the center of the room produced. At the front of theroom was a hallway, a red rug draped on it. Paintings of the Royal Family hungon the wall behind a grand staircase, which protruded from the hallway. On theleft side of the Ballroom was a large glass door that led out to the gardens. Alarge glass arch was above the doors. Across from the staircase was a thronewith four chairs: two smaller chairs sat on each side of two larger ones. Onthe marble floors of the Ballroom were tables, draped with red cloths, filledwith delicate foods.
            Theroom silenced as the princess and her companions reached the top of thestaircase. Ares let go of Azshiu’s arm as both he and Ramyna stepped aside,leaving her the center of attention.
            Lookingat the crowd, Azshiu spoke loud and clearly. “May I present to you, her RoyalHighness, Princess and heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Arasya, PrincessAres Shyra Sarya.” A loud cheer came from the nobles and suitors in the crowdbelow. Ares smiled a white smile and walked elegantly down the stairs.Following behind her was Ramyna, then Azshiu.
            Whenshe got to the bottom step, the crowd split in two, making a pathway for theirprincess. Taking a deep breath, she walked down the pathway as each lord andlady bowed and curtsied to her. In respect, she bowed her head slightly to eachof them. She looked to her right at a large balcony. On it was the Royal CourtAdvisers, the Head Council, and all her teachers. They were looking down ather, seeing if she would mess up. They knew that if she ruined this, it wouldbring shame to their reputation. Perfect, thought Ares to herself, justwhat I need right now. She looked away and continued walking down thepathway until she got to the throne.
            Turningaround, she looked again at the crowd. Again, she took a deep breath and began,“My fellow lords and ladies, welcome to the celebration of my sixteenthbirthday. I would like to say that even though King Nicholas, my father and ourking, has passed on, I, as well as the rest of the Kingdom, have worked hard tomake the Central Kingdom of Arasya a better place for all of us.” She smiledand continued, “Now, without further ado, let the celebration begin!” Anothercheer erupted from the crowd as each lord and lady found their partner to dancewith. Soon after that, a line of suitors came up to Ares and asked for her todance. She accepted and danced with each one of them in the classic ballad ofArasya.
            Whileshe was dancing, she was brought into familiar arms. Looking up at her suitorshe was happy and a little shocked. “Only suitors can dance with me you know,”she said. Azshiu smiled down at her. Together, they spun around the marblefloor.
            “AmI not a suitor?” he asked, laughing slightly.
            “Theonly suitors that can dance with me are princes.”
            “Well,how do you know I’m not a prince?” Ares looked at him, disbelief in her eyes,as they continued to dance.
            “Howdo I know that you aren’t?” she replied, laughing herself.
            Hesmiled back at her. “Ah, I guess you’ll have to wait until our wedding day tofind out,” he said as they were separated again. Ares was now dancing withanother suitor as Azshiu, to his surprise, was dancing with Ramyna. For a whilethey were silent, dancing around the room; Ramyna was dancing quite well for awarrior.
            “Whatdid you tell her?” asked Ramyna, breaking the silence.
            Azshiusaid in response, “You know, you dance quite well for a warrior.”
            “Thankyou, but don’t avoid the subject. Now, what did you tell Ares?”
            “Itold her nothing.” Ramyna glared at him. “Okay, okay! I was just talking to herabout our wedding day.”
            Ramynalaughed at that. “Your wedding day? Why would you be talking to her about thatwhen you know you two wouldn’t be able to marry?”
            Azshiugrinned at her. “Ah, that’s what you think.” Leaning in towards her, hewhispered in her ear. When he pulled away, Ramyna looked shocked.
            “Isthat true?” she whispered. Azshiu nodded. “When are you going to tell Ares?”
            “Soon,”he replied. “Very soon.”
 
That night, Ares lie in her bedpanting heavily. She was having the same nightmare of her death, but this timethe feeling was stronger. She jolted up in her bed in a heavy sweat, clutching herthroat. She looked across her bed and saw a dark figure there. Lifting up hercovers, she slid over to the side of her bed.
            “Azshiu?”she whispered into the darkness.
The figureturned around and looked at her with cold eyes. Grinning wickedly, he said,“Not tonight princess.” He lifted up his sword, already in mid swing. Aresscreamed, closing her eyes as she awaited her fate. But after a few seconds,Ares was still alive. Opening her eyes, she gasped at the sight she saw. Theattacker had stopped his attack, the blade only a few inches from her neck. Thecause of that was the slender blade in his gut. The wielder of the blade wasRamyna, dressed in breeches and a baggy shirt.
“Not tonight,”she said through gritted teeth. Pulling out the blade, she sliced off his head.It fell on to the bed and rolled off, making Ares place a hand over her mouthto stop the vomit rising in her throat. Ares got up from her bed and ran toRamyna, hugging her tightly. Ramyna pulled her away and grabbed a robe from herarmoire. “Put this on,” she said, thrusting the robe at Ares hastily. “It’scold.”
Doing as she wastold, Ares put on the red silk robe and tied it. “What’s going on?” she askedas Ramyna led her to the door.
“The palace isunder attack,” she replied, peering through a crack in the door; the hallwaywas clear. Leading Ares out, she continued, “It turns out that the EasternKingdom wanted to launch a surprise attack on the palace. They didn’t expectthat we would be ready for them.” They walked quickly down the hallway, goingdown flights of stairs and turned left. The princess recognized the hallwaysthey were now walking in. Arriving at a door, Ramyna opened it and dragged theprincess in. Ramyna barred the door behind them.
“Azshiu!” criedAres happily, as she ran to embrace him. Azshiu returned the embrace quicklythen pulled away.
“Ramyna, did youhide Princess Ypae and the queen?” he asked. Ramyna nodded.
“They’re hiddenin one of the secret chambers below the palace. They’re safe until the raidwill be over,” she responded. She walked over to a statue by the wall andturned it, opening up a secret passage way. “Come Ares. We have to get you outof harm’s way.” Ares looked at Azshiu sadly and leaned up to kiss him. “Ares!”Ramyna shouted from the passage. Ares looked at Ramyna reluctantly, then leanedup and kissed Azshiu tenderly. She hugged him again and he returned theembrace, hugging her tightly.
“I love youAzshiu,” she whispered.
“And I you,” hesaid.
Ramyna,frustrated, grabbed the princess by the arm. “We have to go now!” she hissed.“I promise you that you’ll see Azshiu again.” Pulling her away from Azshiu,Ares looked at him. As the door to the passage way closed, Ares knew that thatwould be the last time she would see him.
The warriorbarred the door and pushed the princess forward down the dark passageway. Alight emanated from the jewel on Ramyna’s sword. The warrior explained that shehad magic of her own, but it wasn’t as powerful as Azshiu’s.
They continueddown the hallway, the light from the sword showing the way. They turned leftinto another passageway with stairs. Briskly, they walked down them, followingthe stairs as it spiraled. When it came to an end, they turned right downanother passageway. They continued to go down passageways for what seemed likehours. Finally, they came to a hallway with doors. Opening one, they walkedinto the room. It was completely bare except for a few furnishings.
Turning to thedoor, Ramyna placed her hands on it. As she concentrated, green threads, Ramyna’smagic, came out of her hands. It flowed to each side and went through thewalls. Green magic began to go around the border of the door. When she liftedher hands, the green light remained around the door. Turning towards Ares, thewarrior wiped the sweat off her face. She walked past her and opened up anotherdoor. Ares, who knew what would happen if she didn’t follow, walked behindRamyna through the doorway as the warrior barred the door.
Following Ramynadown the passageway, the princess asked, “What was that?”
Ramyna, gaspingfor air, said, “It was a spell to lock all the doors in that last corridor wewere in. If they have a mage powerful enough to uncover that spell, all thedoors will be outlined with green, making them think about which door they willhave to choose to find us. The only mages powerful enough to undo the spellcompletely are Azshiu and a few others, so we have a fair chance that theywon’t find it.”
After thispassageway they came to another door. Opening that, they came to a room withstone walls and floors. A large stone platform was in one corner of the room, ashort pile of steps leading up to it. Torches on the walls and a candlechandelier on the ceiling were the only sources of light.
 Ramyna closed the door that led into thisroom, barred it, and took in a deep breath. Smiling weakly at her princess, shesaid, “I haven’t completely mastered that last spell. I didn’t think it’d takethis much out of me.” She wiped a new layer of sweat off her face and sat downon the platform. Ares sat down next to her.
“Are we justresting here or is this where we’re hiding?” she asked.
“Both,” shesaid. “They won’t be able to find us down here.”
Together, theysat down there in silence, listening to what they could hear of the battle. Afterabout an hour, they heard footsteps coming down the passageway. Ramyna and Aressprang up as the warrior instantly drew her sword.
“Hide,” shewhispered harshly. Ares nodded and looked frantically for a place to hide. Shesaw a dark corner and hid there, not moving an inch. She had hidden just intime; by the time she had gotten to her hiding spot, the door smashed open.
Ramyna instantlycharged at the first person to come in the door. The assassin, caught bysurprise, didn’t have time to bring up his sword; he was brought down in amatter of seconds. The other assassin already had his sword drawn and swung itdown hard on Ramyna. She lifted up her sword and blocked, gripping her handlewith both hands for more support. Pulling away, she stepped back and chargedagain. He blocked and pressed down hard on the sword. Ramyna gritted her teethto hold back a scream of pain. Pulling back, the assassin circled her, eyeinghis opponent. Spinning, she did a half crescent swing and came down hard on hisshoulder that held his sword. He, unlike Ramyna, cried out in pain. Switchingthe sword to his other hand, he slashed at Ramyna, leaving a gash in herstomach. She stumbled back and gasped for air.
During thebattle, Ares looked on in her hiding spot. Suddenly, she bent over, clutchingat her chest. Some force was trying to drain her life force from her; it wasworking. White threads of hair were starting to appear in her brown tresses.She was turning ghost white as she fell on her knees, grabbing the stone under herhands.
Ramyna lookedover and cried, “Ares!” She ran to her aid, completely forgetting about thebattle she was in.
The assassinlaughed wickedly. “Ah!” he said, “It seems as if Master Sarmin’s spell hastaken its effect.” He walked towards them, his blade gleaming in the light.
Ramyna awokefrom her concern of Ares when she felt a sharp pain sweep through her back andstomach. She cried out in pain as the sword was pulled from her back; it hadgone all the way through her body, leaving a deep wound in her stomach.Clutching her stomach, she fell to the ground, her blood coming out of her bodyheavily. Ramyna would normally be able to get up, but she was so weak fromusing her magic and fighting the assassin, she just couldn’t.
The assassinturned the warrior over with his foot and kicked her in the rib cage, makingher gasp for air. Smirking, he said, “I’ll let you die a slow, painful death.”Turning to the princess, he looked at her with an evil grin on his face. “Asfor you, princess, a beauty such as yourself should not die a slow death. So, Iwill ease your passing.”
Gripping hisblood soaked blade, he walked over to Ares. Ares was still clutching at theground, her hair almost completely white now. Leveling his sword with her neck,he laughed. Bringing up his sword, he was stopped, like the other assassin,from killing Princess Ares. However, this time it wasn’t Ramyna’s sword thatstopped him, but her remaining magic. She was propped up on her elbow, herright hand pointing at the assassin. Green threads of magic were coming out ofher fingers, going right into his head.
Dropping hissword, he put his hands to his head, crying out in pain as the green magic wovethrew his skull. Blood with tints of green was dripping from his mouth as hescreamed, his eyes rolling back. Seconds later, he burst into flames of greenmagic and disappeared, the only thing remaining of him was the sword he haddropped.
Ramyna collapsedon the floor, a few silver strands in her black hair; almost all of her lifeforce was spent with that last bit of magic she used; the warrior was dying,and she knew it. Ares looked at her fallen friend. All her brown hair wascompletely white, her skin ghostly pale, and her lips, cracked. She crawledover to the warrior and held her strong hand in her delicate ones. Kneeling,Ares closed her eyes.
A sapphire glowformed around her and a green glow formed around Ramyna as she spoke. “By allthe power of Arasya,” she said in a hoarse whisper, “I, Princess Ares ShyraSarya of the Kingdom of Arasya, give you the life force of Ramyna, the Warriorof Arasya and Protector, and my own life force, to call to this land the peoplewho have a part of our souls in their hearts. Bring them here, to the Kingdomof Arasya!” Spirals of sapphire and green magic shot up from the princess andwarrior. White magic, their life forces, wound around their magic and broughtthem together, forming a crystallized sphere.
Ares collapsednext to Ramyna, whose hair had now turned completely white, and smiled. She hadsaved the Kingdom of Arasya, her Kingdom. With that final thought, she,Princess Ares, and Ramyna, the Warrior of Arasya and Protector, died.

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