Dark Fate The Gathering: Book one

Chapter two

The arctic wind howled, sending swirls of snow off into the blanket of white that covered the land for miles. The Monastery was a dark beacon against the stark white plain, and being the only man-made structure for leagues it had become more like a prison over the passing months than a refuge. The isolation was complete and unyielding. Her father’s punishment had proven most effective.  

A chill went through Sacha and she pulled the heavy, fur-lined cloak around her more tightly. Her gloved hand squeezed harder on the letter she received just a few hours before, so that the strong wind would not steal it away into the frozen void.

Looking down on the thick parchment once again, she studied the artisans rendition of her family crest, Stone Mountain, the capital of Pelos. A castle forged deep within the southern reaches of Mountain Wall. A thousand feet of polished stone that thrust into the never ending sky; an image she longed to see in person again.

Written in her mother’s long flowing hand, the letter held words of both blessing and dire news. Sacha was to return home at last, but for reasons less than joyous. Her older sister, Princess Sloane, was to be married to prince Alexander of Basinia. A man, she’d heard, containing admiral qualities and a kind heart, but this was only hearsay. Sacha never met the man, so had no idea of what he was truly like.

'A means to gain more security for the kingdom', as her father would put it; a way to gain more power for King Hathorn of Pelos was how Sacha reasoned this pairing. Away from the courts for almost two years now Sacha still understood the underlying meaning of political actions and this one was not difficult to discern.

Looking at the letter once more Sacha frowned. Her skin crawled at the thought of being forced into a lifelong relationship with a man she had never met, “Sister... what has father done?” she whispered.

Sloane’s plight seemed quite grim in Sacha’s opinion and she would do what she could to support her older sister, even if that meant helping her escape. They could run together and seek out their own desires and dreams without the restraining bars of responsibility to king and country.

A small, humorless smile played across her features and she snorted softly in self mocking derision. Silly thoughts of a silly girl. The path of defiance would bring nothing but trouble, something she learned through personal experience, most recently in fact.

Regardless of how ludicrous her scheming truly seemed, excitement raced through her veins at the mere thought of attempting such endeavors and brought to mind other things to be gleaned from the letter held in her hand. What a wonderful thing indeed to escape the confines of this icy cage, and to see Renee again.

She warmed at the thought of her lover. Yearning for his strong hands and the passion she always found in his deep blue eyes. They would be reunited, if she could find a way past her father to do so, that was. King Hathorn was a difficult man to get around and harbored no qualms about doling out punishment for disobedience. He banished her, his own daughter, for loving a man out of wedlock.

Her jaw clenched at the thought of her father; a cold man incapable of affection or mercy. He had hunted Renee and herself relentlessly, capturing them in the borderlands of Basinia. So close to freedom, only to have it ripped away by a handmaiden more loyal to her king than to her princess. A bitter ending to Sacha’s dreams most assuredly.

Stomping her feet on the hard stone for warmth Sacha cursed herself for being such a fool; for thinking she could actually get away with her little rebellion. Being the youngest of two sisters did not give her leave to act as she pleased in her father’s eyes.

She was lucky Renee had not been put to death upon their capture. Watching him die would have been the death of her heart as well. She recalled her older brother Galen, blessed Galen, intervening on her behave. Father was furious but would not raise a hand to his most favored child. Instead of giving Renee the executioner's axe, the king sent him to the southern border with her brother to guard against invasion from the savage lands. A sentence better than death, but not by much.