"You want me to do what..?'
Blood spills onto the marbled floor, coating it a deep red. The King is witnessed on the floor, scampering in fear as he stared at the eyes of his own daughter who had just returned from a tough war against the creatures of the night.
Still on her golden breastplate, crusted by the blood of a thousand foes, she stood high and still— her sword Navalia in her hand— it's blade directed to the very man who she had once called her Father. Her blonde hair now bleached permanently in red and coal swept on her back. Her glowing hazel to silver eyes menacingly never blinking. They flashed wide, bearing animosity and contempt.
At the end of the warrior's blade was a trembling, bleeding hand of the current King of Navair. His face was pale and his expression brimmed with terror of the fact that his very own daughter was able to make such a bold move. Imagine raising a blade on a king! Had she been ordinary, nay' despite being a princess— he would have beheaded her already.
But the feats his daughter achieved made her more of a Queen than he, and the nation knew that.
"Amaraeia, listen..." the king croaked.
"I shall listen to you no further. Lies have been spilling from your mouth since the day I was born. Nothing believable spurs from your lips, now, Father." she clenched her jaw in fury. "Who told you to make decisions for me?!"
"The High Heavens did!" he blurted out loud, his forehead drenched in cold sweat. Another wrong answer that may upset his daughter and he will surely find himself in a deep grave. "The High Heavens gave the command."
"There is no such thing as the High Heavens." was his daughter's only reply.
"But it is the truth, sweetheart!" the King continued to plead.
A light snicker could be heard echoing the room. The Kingsguards flinched and became pale at the sinister gesture of their own princess. They didn't understand how they came upon that situation- them, pointing their spears against their own lady they've sworn to protect. However what more that instilled fear for them was the fact that their own princess was more than capable of cutting their throats even after sixteen of them were surrounding her.
Her Highness, the Princess Amaraeia von Kranel is the only child of King Tiberyon and the heiress to the throne. Born surrounded by warriors and without the guidance of a mother figure, the Princess had divulged her self in the works of men at war. Now, she has garnered attention for her tactics in the art of conquest and because of her recently bloody performance at the Battle of Henshire, she has been lauded amongst her enemies as the Knight of Lunacy for her grotesque suggestions of administering retribution to her foes.
The Princess has been in more expeditions than her own father, the King. The King has heard of his daughter's feat and exhibits the slightest respect for her. He thought she would be understanding enough to agree to this.
This issue of marrying her off to the Dragon Lord.
"You have to understand, Rai." the King implored. "This is the heaven's will for us all."
"Everyday my respect for you weakens, Father. What kind of Father would sell his children to a beast?"
She then snickered while caressing her forehead in distress. "Ah, yes. How could I forget? You were never a father to me."
The King stands up, and manages to slap his daughter in the face. Her head slowly rattled to the side, and the woman loosened her hardened jaw.
"Hah..." she caressed the area. "...you've grown weak, Father. Your palms can do much better than this. Or could it be..? Could it be that you're growing so weak you rely on the premonitions of the Heavens?" She sneered, then spat: "The Heavens who had never been there for this godforsaken kingdom?"
"You watch your mouth!Since when have you learned to spout such blasphemy?!"
"It is I who win wars for this kingdom. It is I who lead a battalion of men to slay Hydra. it is I who spilled the blood of enemies so you and the rest of the people could lie in your beds and pleasure yourselves with a wink of sleep."
She stepped closer to him, eyes devoid of mercy. "The gods have done nothing for this kingdom and you blindly sold your daughter to a divine being who absolutely has no involvement to my home?"
"We cannot sustain them anymore. Our alliances have backed out from us." was his father's remark causing Amaraeia's cold eyes to broaden. "The Dragonlord has personally sought for your hand in exchange for a peace treaty. They will close their fires only when you agree."
"What ..?"
"Now you understand why I had no other options. He demanded for your hand a long time ago and I only struck his fury more hence the attacks. I've checked onto our resources. We cannot handle one more." the King lamented.
But Amaraeia could not accept this.
"I have successfully killed that bastard's dragons again and again! My body is slowly becoming corrupted with draconic miasm because of this! I have been fighting my entire life to defend this country against that imbecile and you—!"
Amaraeia's blade was risen high into the air. Her fingers were itching to kill the man who had taken advantage of her strength all her life.
"You yield me to a man I've been fending this castle against..?"
"I am sorry, Rai." the King pleaded her. "But with power comes responsibility. I too share the same sacrifices in my youth. As my daughter, you are doomed to share my fate because of our position."
"I can't believe you sold me to him."
Amaraeia was not weakened by anything in her life. But this betrayal from her own Father... she realized all her efforts amounted to nothing.
"I will never forgive you. I will never marry Desalogia!"