It was another beautiful day in the Hills of Andora. The sun shone brightly in an azure sky, and the cold crisp air of the mountains was invigorating. Azriel, sniffed the air in delight, from her vantage point on the bulwark of the ruined castle. She felt the peace envelop her, as she stared out onto the vista before her. Andora was a small and tiny jewel of a state, nestled in a valley, surrounded by mountains, peaceful and unmolested by the King and his cohorts, thanks to its natural riches. Andora's mines were famous for jewels, from rubies to sapphires. Life was peaceful and happy mostly, and as the third daughter of the Vazir of the state, Azriel still had a few years before she needed to choose trade or marriage for herself.
Staring out onto the pine trees, Azriel felt a twinge when the word marriage came up. Her eldest sister had just gotten married to a High Duke in the neighbouring state and she had written long letters to them all of being blissfully happy. Thinking of her with her husband made Azriel a little envious, but she wasn't sure if marriage was the path for her. She had as always escaped to the ruined castle to run away from the many expectations and lessons mother made her have at the palace. Today's lesson had been foxtrot dancing, which apparently, was the rage at the court. Azriel hated dancing and found it to be a waste of time. She would rather have read a book, or ridden a horse out onto the far plains of Andora, but mother had become increasingly strict with her across the past two years. It was unseemly for a young lady to be gallivanting around on her own.
Right now, Azriel sat on the Bulwark, looking out into the ravine opposite the castle. This particular ledge was always her favourite. It felt like home. She knew of anyone in the family ever got to know that she was out here on her own, they would probably chain her to her bed. Stepping beyond the cordoned off area to the ruined castle was forbidden by law, and not even the Vizier's family could break it. However, in the past two years, Azriel had often found herself slipping away from ridiculous lessons, or dress fittings to spend some time on her own. There was yet another reason for her constant escapes.
She had a dark secret that no one knew about. She felt a shiver run down her spine and knew it was not from the cold air at all. Her secret weighed heavily upon her at such times. She could not share it with anyone and had borne it alone. It had started about two years back one night, on it's own and absolutely for no reason. It had begin with bad dreams, of her chasing a likeness of herself across a darkened plain which had felt full of pain and sorrow. The dreams had become even more vivid with her flying above the ruined castle, and when she had looked where her hands should have been, there had been silver wings instead. Many nights, she had tossed and turned as these dreams took over her complete being. She had never understood them, till one day, her back had begun to itch. That had happened a year ago, till finally she had become tired of the itching and borrowed some ointment for it from the medicine lady in the palace. She had been shocked to see tiny silvery lines on her back where the itching had been. Slowly, but surely, these lines had become more visible and stronger, so much so, that Azriel made sure she was never naked even in the presence of her maid. She had taken to wearing a slip, even when she went for a bath.
The changes had begun to happen gradually and had accelerated in the past few months. This secret was etched across her back right now, two silvery wings, spread out against the sky; her hands had grown long claws, and her senses were heightened. She had screamed the first time the change happened, as it had been just another idle day spent at the ruined castle, as she had genuinely thought she was going to die. Slowly, she had become used to the change, but it always seemed incomplete to her. She had once looked at her reflection in the lake near the ruined castle and seen a monstrosity instead of a pretty young girl. Her nose and mouth had elongated into a beak, her hands had claws and her skin had strange scales on it. The only thing recognisable had been her eyes, staring back at her like two brilliant sapphire jewels from the hideous face. She had shuddered and sobbed alone in her bed for many nights, convinced that she was a changeling and not her parent's daughter. Magic had been forbidden in the Eleveren Kingdom for years to anyone who was not the royal bloodline. They would find her and kill her if they got to know about her secret.
This was what she was worried about right now? Her middle sister was in the process of getting many offers currently, which meant she would soon be next in line. How would she ever be able to hide this from a husband. Even when the wings retracted, there remained a trace of them on her body, in tiny silvery veins on her skin. How would she ever lie with her husband and hide them? She sighed softly and realized that love and marriage were not in her future. Yet, mother and father had been rather insistent lately of stepping up the process for her. Things were not really what they seemed in her own home lately, and she often felt an undercurrent of tension. This was usually what prompted her to escape to the ruined castle and find some peace here. She knew it was just a matter of time before her own future would be decided for her.