Chapter two: The forest princess
Two people fought fiercely in the forest. One, dressed in black tunic and pant. The other in red male clothes and they fought with different weapons without mercy. Their faces were wrapped with black veils and the fight looked like it had gone on for a long time yet nobody was defeated and nobody surrendered.
The fighter that wore black turned and strike the sword out of the other's hand but before black can strike red, the fighter in red, rolled on the ground with fast precision and pulled a small blade from the ankle and left a small cut on black's hand, forcing black to drop the sword.
Black pulled out a blade from the ankle too and the fight went on for a while again until Red decided to disarm black and ended with a hilt of the blade slammed into the face. Red staggered again but then stopped. Black stood like a cat waiting for a rabbit and as anticipated, Red came after Black with force, forcing black to pull off the veil covering Red's face but not without Red throwing black on her back, knocking the wind out of her windpipe.
"Stay down" Red yelled.
"Defeat is not an option, Jamie" Black rolled and kicked Jamie's leg and she fell, face first to the ground.
"Ursla that is called cheating!" She cried out as she sat up slowly while she fought a terrible headache.
"No! It's called Winning, Princess Jamie. Don't be a sore loser!" Ursla laughed out loud before she helped the princess up on her feet.
The princess was taller with her feminine physique hidden well underneath the clothes she wore; her hair was cut very short and fell all over her face and back of her neck. She had an oval face with lips as red as blood. She looked like she cared nothing for her physical appearance.
Ursla on the other hand was just a tad shorter than Jamie. Her long hair fell down her back but still in a messy bun just like the way she liked it. She had a round face with slightly pinkish lips and beautiful green eyes that made people stare at her longer than was normal.
"Come on, let's go back to the cottage" Ursla urged her to stand up but Jamie just slipped further to the ground.
"But why? This dirty ground is so comfortable"
"Because I need to turn all these....mess into someone that bore a resemblance to a Princess. Stand up, Jamie. I need to tidy you up into someone the king will recognize and i still need manage to remember to refer to you as your royal highness or milady in front of the king, one slip up and I might lose my arm" Ursla kicked her with her leg but Jamie won't bulge either.
"You know servants don't kick their princess, Ursla!"
"You know, Princesses stay in the castles not in a forest, Jamie. Now, get up before I drag your body to the cottage"
"You are lucky you are my best friend or I would order for your head on a plate"
Princess Jamie and Ursla made their way to the cottage in time to get Princess Jamie into a beautiful peach colored dress and shoes before the king's carriage came for her.
Ursla combed Princess Jamie's hair and proceeded to adding fake hair extensions to make her hair longer. She braided it into a bun since Jamie hated having hair fall down her shoulders.
"You don't look happy, Milady" Ursla observed as she added pins to keep the hair in place.
"I don't know how to be happy, remember? Father says I was born with a temper. He even swears I was making a face at him, right before I pee on him, Ursla. But you are right; I am worried about my sister. Arabella got married to the Devil of Aradale!" Jamie looked herself over in the mirror. Ursla had transformed her into a proper Lady in record time.
"Princess Arabella is Queen over western hemisphere. She is the most powerful Queen in Derkal nations"
"But Bella is not as strong as I am. She is better off with the duke that she loves and that loves her. I am afraid that the devil of Aradale will dominant and my sister will become a shadow of herself" Jamie explained further.
"You are jumping into conclusions again, Milady. Maybe King Alexander of Aradale will be kind to her. Maybe princess Arabella will be happy there"
"Everyone calls him the devil of Aradale. I am sure he is a pot bellied slacker that has a knack for killing people. He will have old man breath and old man smell. Bella will be disgusted" Jamie's face contained a hint of disgust for her sister's husband.
"There is nothing that can be done, Princess Jamie. They are married, remember?" Ursla was done with the hair when they first heard the sound of horses approaching the cottage. As Jamie rode in the carriage back to the castle, she remembered what happened last week when she dashed inside Arabella's room to beg her not to marry the King of Aradale.
She had sprinted to Arabella's room.
Arabella had looked very beautiful in her golden dress and jewelries. She was simply breathtaking. Jamie knew her sister was the most beautiful among the two of the king's daughters but she never realize just how much.
"Jamie! I am so glad you came" Arabella hugged her tightly.
"Bella, you don't have to do this. Don't marry the devil."
"I am guessing father didn't tell you that I am a married woman already, Jamie. The marriage rites were performed yesterday. Today, is just the day I meet my husband for the first time"
"Just say no! You love the black haired duke, right?" Princess tried to convince her sister.
"I do love the duke of Kale but I have a responsibility to keep the peace too. if I don't marry the King of Aradale, he might kill father" Arabella had answered dutifully.
"What are you going to do now, Bella?"
"What shall I do except marry Alexander of Aradale and become the most powerful female monarch in Derkal"