Lina could hear the approaching footsteps behind her. She could hear his heavy panting, the panic in his behavior, and the inability to move on. She didn't care when the steps stopped right at the entrance. She wanted him to know. Wanted him to see. She looked right at King Kade in the eyes and said nothing.
The painting that started it all. The one drawing that ruined everything, but also fixed her future. Lina sometimes wanted to laugh. She wanted to take a knife and stab it through the portrait, to erase all traces of him. But that was impossible.
The Second King of Ritan, founder of the land, merger of kingdoms, warlord of the century, Seventh Prince Kade, unfavored by his father, but beloved by the entire kingdom and world.
"What did I get?" Lina said to herself quietly, in a voice that she could barely hear.
