Fruit Gems

Prologue

  Roselle swiftly glides through the palace halls, her black cape trailing behind her. Each corner she turns brings her closer to what she is about to do, as well as giving her confidence. She only feels the slightest bit of guilt despite her intention: to kill her brother, the king.

  When he is dead, she will be queen. She will have power over one of the most prosperous and largest kingdoms in the realm. This, and the jealousy she has always felt towards Xavier, motivates her to do the upcoming deed.

  Roselle nods at the guards she passes, meeting their eyes before they look away. They are intimidated by the intensity of her grey eyes and sleek onyx hair that falls past her waist. That, combined with the fact that she insists on always wearing dark colors, is why her presence is feared. She is beautiful yet terrifying,

  Her fingers curl around the golden pouch tied to her belt when she arrives at Xavier's room. The pouch perfectly match the color of her dress. The guard stationed at the king's door murmurs, "Your Highness," and casts his green eyes downward.

  "I would like to see the King," she states.

  "I'm afraid His Majesty is currently busy," he responds, his eyes still downcast. Roselle begins to feel impatient.

  "Doing what? Sleeping? I am well aware that it is 10:00, but it is urgent that I meet with him now," she replies, already annoyed and frustrated with the guard.

  "I'm sorry, Your Highness. He is discussing very important matters with his Advisor and has requested no one to be permitted entrance into his room until they are finished." The guard tells her while still staring downwards.

  Roselle's temper flared. "Are you talking to me or the floor?"

"You, Your Highness," he murmurs n a small voice,

"Then look at me." He raises his eye slowly to meet hers.

  "That's better," Roselle says. "Now, why don't you let me in?"

  "No, Your Highness," the guard says, finding his courage. Although he is at least half a foot taller than her and much more muscular, Roselle intimidates him. She decides this is likely because of the stories he has heard about her; stories about her deadly grace and deceptive beauty.

Realizing that she wasn't satisfied with his answer, the guard rushes to say, "I'm sorry, but the King's orders-'

 He never finishes his sentence. Roselle swiftly kicks his feet out from under him and shoves his head against the wall, knocking him unconscious, He falls on the floor. Roselle kneels beside him and takes his keys. She stands up and mutters, "Who trains these guards? They're all quite pathetic."

 Roselle shifts through the keys until she finds the right one; a silver one with a tiny ruby gem on it. Gently shoving it into the lock and turning it until it clicks, Roselle takes a deep breath and silently open the door.

Slipping inside, she surveys the room, Her brother and his Advisor are deep in conversation. Roselle listens for a moment longer and realizes they are arguing. Since this does not concern her, she shuts the door louder than necessary to catch their attention. It works. Both men turn towards the sound and stare in shock at the uninvited visitor.

  "Roselle," her brother finally says, "How did you get in here? I told Eric to let nobody in. Not even you or Emilia."

  "The guard allowed me to come in, brother, once I described to him how important it was for me to see you right away," she lied. "Unfortunately, I would rather your Advisor not be here for my message, Can you tell him to leave?"

  The king sits on a chair near the window of his large room. "I suppose so. Alexander, would you leave for a moment?"

  "Of course," the Advisor replies and quietly exits the room.

  "So what is it that you must tell me, Roselle?" he asks tiredly. In that moment, her 21 year old brother looked much, much older to Roselle. She pities him, but not enough to change her mind.

  "Nothing. I just wanted to give you a gift." She unties the pouch from her belt, opens it, and pours three pomegranate seeds into her palm. Three would be enough. She holds her hand out to him,

"Thank you," he says, bringing the jewel-like seeds to his mouth. Her brother pauses. "These aren't from the Poisoned Forest, were they?" he asks, meaning it as a joke. Without waiting for an answer, he eats them,

Roselle smiles.

 "They were, my dear brother."

She had poisoned the king.

Please comment and tell me what you think.:)