The most noticeable feature about her was her red, fiery hair, no, it was her shining jade-green eyes, no no, it should be her voluptuous, curvy body. Let's face it, every feature of hers was bound to be noticed by anyone who dared to lay a glance at her.
She marched down the hall of the magnificent castle of South-Mairak Kingdom with irritation written on every part of her oval shaped face. She was in the middle of a very heated combat between one of the very best men in the army, the Crown Princess and General of the South-Mairak Kingdom got a little bored and decided to have a brawl with one of her best men.
In between the combat, a royal guard came to her to inform her of her summoning in the royal chamber of the great Queen of South-Mairak Vampire Kingdom. The only reason she left was because knew her stepmother could be a little annoying if something wasn't done the way she wanted.
So, our dear Crown Princess left the exciting fight to the castle after promising the lad that it will be continued. She straightened out her white fighting attire, smoothed the creases on her red hair which was in two French braids and cleaned off the dirt, she didn't want another lecture of how to be a proper princess.
"Crown Princess Tashina has arrived, Your Majesty" A voice called and the doors of the royal chamber was opened for the princess to step in.
Queen Sania of South-Mairak Vampire Kingdom was a very elegant lady, her long blonde locks were always in a sophisticated bun to show how beautiful her diamond shaped face was, she possessed deep brown almond eyes in which any man could fall in love with and Regor, Tashina's father fell under her spell.
Tashina's birth mother, late Queen Madia, fell terribly ill when Tashina was just ten years old, she didn't last long and quickly kicked the bucket, King Regor fell into deep depression after his wife's demise so the council had no other choice but to bring in a new Queen so the kingdom wouldn't fall apart.
King Regor once again fell in love with Vampiress Sania and they ruled happily ever after or so, but unfortunately two decades ago, the king was assassinated by a yet unconvicted individual and the council had no other choice but to appoint King Luther as the head of the kingdom.
Because the kingdom could never be ruled by a sole individual, as per the traditions.
Little Tashina who was devastated over her mother's death, regained happiness one more time with Queen Sania, her new mother but when her father was brutally murdered and her stepmother got married to another Vampire, she succumbed into a darkness in which no one could pull her out. She was no longer the cheerful or gentle princess, she became cold and menacing, always with a scowl on her face and took her frustration of the world out on her sword.
Over a span of two decades, she became tbe first female general of the army of vampires and one of the best fighters in the kingdom. Though, her success in swordsmanship wasn't taken lightly with her stepmother, the Queen.
The Queen insisted that no lady of this kingdom should be wielding a sword nor even touching one. She made sure Tashina dresses as a proper princess should and go to balls and tea parties but the princess never obeyed a single command of hers.
"Greetings, your Majesty. I was told you demanded my presence" Tashina bowed her head in respect.
"Yes, my darling princess. Dear mother called you over to ask you for something" Queen Sania said, her long, green, silk dress flowed down the length of her luxurious throne.
"As long as I am able to, I will fulfill whatever you ask of me, Mother"
The eye roll which the Queen gave went unnoticed by everyone in the chamber as their heads were all bowed.
"Chief Loman is throwing a ball tonight but sadly I won't be able to attend, as the crown princess I want you to go and represent me there, alongside Master Kelv"
Tashina's right eye twitched at the mention of the young lad she has come to despise, not only is he clingy but he is also arrogant not to mention, unnecessarily flirtatious. The urge to punch his sickly, pale face was increasing the more she spent time with him.
"Apologies, your Majesty. I am unable to attend the ball that will be held tonight because the army will be going out on a patrol and I will have to lead them" Tashina said, in a very unapologetic manner.
"Can't somebody else lead the patrol?" the Queen asked.
"I am afraid not, mother"
The patience in which Queen Sania has been portraying broke as she stood up and balled her fist in anger.
"You will be attending that ball with Master Kelv tonight!" her voice rang across the chamber.
"I believe not, your Majesty and I certainly won't be going with that sleaze of a bag who has nothing better to do than to follow young Vampire out to have some fun when he should be serving his kingdom" Tashina spat.
"Mind your language, have you forgotten who you are speaking to?"
The heat in the room went a degree higher as the royal ladies were having a disagreement, the guards in the room didn't dare to raise up their heads in fear of intruding. Crown Prince Lane, the son of Queen Sania happened to step in the room during this heated moment.
"The man you so shamelessly insult is that one I chose for you to marry and rule over the kingdom" the Queen bellowed.
"That man is incompetent to be a good ruler of the kingdom and I will not be getting married to him, not even in a million years! I am capable of ruling on my own" The princess finally raised her head to look the Queen in the eye.
Prince Lane knew where this conversation was heading to when his sister showed a sign of disrespect towards his mother so he leaned on the wall, waiting for the appropriate time to intervene.
"No Queen can ever rule on her own, that is the tradition of this land!"
"Traditions can always be broken, mother"
"Just the way you broke the tradition by being the first female general?" The Queen scoffed and Tashina grimaced.
"I am an intelligent, educated, independent Vampiress, I have presided over the kingdom matters with father since I was just fifteen. I am more than capable of ruling South-Mairak on my own, without any dick behind me. I have proven that countless of times" Crown Princess spat, the anger inside slowing releasing her fangs and turning her eyes into a darker shade of green.
"Having intellect and knowing a few things about the kingdom is not enough to be a ruler. You must bring valid proof that you are worthy of the Throne"
"How do I prove myself?"
The Queen smirked because what she has finally been waiting for has arrived.
"Get me the head of the North-Eastern Alpha" the statement of the Queen left bonechilling silence all over the chamber. The slightest movement as delicate as a drop of a pin could undoubtedly be heard.
"That is a suicide mission, mother" Prince Lane broke the silence after deciding to finally intervene in the debate.
"Nobody gave you permission to speak when I wasn't talking to you, Lane" The Queen glared at her son who she considered to be weakling.
"I accept your challenge, your Majesty" The answer Tashina gave to her stepmother was even more shocking than the offer itself.
The North-Eastern Alpha was known to be the most fearful and powerful Werewolf that ever existed, no enemy has ever been left unconquered under him and for the Crown Princess to readily take an offer to bring his head just to prove her worth for the throne was indeed a suicide mission as Prince Lane stated.
The Queen in all her glory, stood up and glided down the stairs elegantly to meet her stepdaughter, she started to circle Tashina as she spoke.
"The Alpha is the most powerful wolf in the entire realm and since you claim you are a tremendous swordswoman, I demand you to get me his head in two weeks. After which, the throne and the entire kingdom will be yours" she smirked, the evil glint darting in and out of her eyes.
"I will get you the Alpha's head" Princess Tashina said with all certainty.
Prince Lane's worried eyes darted nervously between his mother and sister. Stuck in the middle and not knowing what to do, the Prince trembled from fear for his sister's life.
"That's my brave princess" The mother lovingly stroked her daughter's red braids with a soft smile plastered on her pink, plump lips.
"Dismissed"
The Prince followed his sister out of the chamber to her private chamber which was situated at the left wing of the castle. The concerned brother kept trying to talk his sister out of this outrageous mission but to no avail.
The stubbornness of the princess knew no boundaries as she could anything in order to get what she wanted. If it was to take down the great Alpha, how hard could that be? After all, she was the greatest fighter in her kingdom so it should be a piece of cake.
Or so, thought the naive princess.
"Sister, you don't understand, your unnecessary foolhardy would only end up in your demise, why can't you see that?" The Prince pleaded with his sister who was busy packing her backpack for her trip.
She took out two of her favorite armor and debated which to take while frowning her brows, she then shrugged and picked the one on her right hand and put it on.
Prince Lane was a lot younger than he appears to be. The constant stress and anxiety from the two most beloved females in his life took a huge toll on his youthful appearance.
Tashina put her hand in her brother's shoulder to ease his worries.
"I have to do this to prove I am worth of ruling without a male leading me. You know this has been my dream ever since I took up the sword and swore to protect my kingdom" her resonating voice didn't perform its usual magic of soothing her brother's anxiety.
"But this is too dangerous. Only you going against the Alpha, it won't end up in your favour"
"Come here, Lane" she took his hand and took him to the royal library which was on the next floor. A set of painting were hanged to display sorrow, agony and misery of the Vampires.
In the year 1805, the slave trade was heightened all over the world and Werewolves blamed the Vampires for initiating the trade. So in order to avenge the lives of the wolves which were taken as slaves by Vampires, the leader of the Werewolves attacked them during a peace treaty between both realms.
The plan was never to actually sign a peaceful treaty, instead it was to lead a deadly massacre which hundreds and thousands of Vampires were murdered in cold blood.
Since that unfortunate day, the Vampires swore never to trust the Werewolves again and that day was now called the Vampire Massacre. A famous artist painted this beautiful yet painful day to appease the dead.
The royal siblings stood and bowed their head in respect of the souls who were innocently killed at the expense of a fabricated truth.
"Do you see these people on the painting? it's only a picture yet it looks so gory, imagine how it would have looked like that day" the princess glanced sadly at the piece of art.
"I am not only doing this because of the throne but also to avenge the lives of the innocent which the Werewolves didn't think twice before taking. If, no, when I capture the greatest Alpha of them all. We will be revered as the strongest being on planet and then we can rule over those dumb dogs"
"Promise me you will come back alive and not in pieces" Prince Lane whispered as though he was scared of uttering those words.
"Have a little faith in your sister, honey" she smiled and gave him a hug in which he embraced her openly and shook off the feeling that this would be the last hug he would ever share with his one and only sister.
The Princess packed some of her belongings, food and water which would last for a few days until she finds shelter, hopefully and left for the adventure that awaited her, wielding her Python Blade.
From far above in the Queen's private chamber, she gazed down at her stepdaughter, leaving the castle to embark on a losing battle and scoffed maniacally.
"Bring me her head by the end of the day"
The guard jumped and left the room at the command of the Queen.
The Crown Princess turned back and gazed longingly at her home, she put on her usual mask of indifference and strode out of the castle without a single glance back.