The Uninvited Princess ✔

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Travelling with two guards had been a tense journey but this tower didn't appear to be a welcoming place to rest.

Pranee looked at the building towering over her, waiting for her to enter inside. It was nothing like the other towers that reside closer to the palace. Stone with intricate carvings acted as the wall to the circular building leaving Pranee uneasy. She was used to the more square and wooden buildings that decorated the capital. What worried her most was the flat roof it had instead of a curved one.

"What's wrong, girl?" The guard barked at her, snapping her out of her daze. She pursed her lips in annoyance. She had nearly forgotten she was being escorted by two impatient guards.

"I may be taken to this tower as a sort of punishment but I'm still royalty," she muttered.

"What was that?" The guard glowered down at her and she flinched slightly.

She paused for a moment, carefully making sure her word choice wouldn't offend the guard. "Why does it not have a curved roof?"

His eyes narrowed and she could feel his grip tighten on her arm. "Why does it matter?"

"The roof... it won't deflect spirits like the curved ones." Her voice became quieter by the word as she noticed the guard's expression contort and transform.

A fit of laughter erupted from the second guard. "You shouldn't be worrying about that, princess."

The party of three trudged towards the building and the princess' heartbeat only sped up by the minute.

If she were to be harmed in this area, no one would see it.

Sweat slowly coated the back of her neck and she staggered more with each step she took. Strands of her black hair blocked her vision, making it harder to see where she was going. She couldn't fix it either since her arms were tied and being held by the guards.

"Come on, we're almost there." The second guard reached to remove the strand but she jerked her head back before he could.

The other guard grunted. "Don't waste your time trying to be nice to her. Let's just hurry up so we can leave faster."

The second guard took out the keys from his belt and began to unlock the door to the tower. After a few minutes of fumbling, the door opened with a creak. It was dark and Pranee could barely see the faint outline of stairs.

"After you, princess." The first guard gestured towards the entrance with a smug smile.

Pranee took a shaky breath before entering the tower blindly. The cold air chilled her overheated body instantaneously. The sudden change in temperature made her lose focus for a second, causing her to stumble slightly.

"Do you think she'll be able to climb to the top of the tower?" The voice of the second guard echoed through the hall.

"It's none of our concern," answered the first.

Pranee gritted her teeth at their comments but continued to move forward. She didn't have the energy to fight but even if she did, she didn't have a plan to escape them with ease.

When they had finally reached the top of the tower, Pranee was breathless and in desperate need of water. She had collapsed on the small bed that resided in the room without getting a proper look around the room.

"Essentials you can figure out yourself. Be glad that the king had mercy on you and put you in a tower with magic accommodations. Maybe if you're lucky, your hair will grow so long that you can escape by climbing down it." The first guard laughed before slamming the door shut behind her.

Pranee's face scrunched in repulsion and anger. She staggered towards the door and kicked it while a garbled shriek escaped her throat. She was only met with a low humming sound from the door and quietness. The guards must've left already.

She sat on the ground in front of the door, trying to figure out the source of the sound. That was when she saw a loose piece of paper stuck to the bottom of the door. It was a magic seal placed there so she couldn't get out. She groaned in frustration and began to look around her surroundings.

It was a claustrophobic room with one large window. A bookshelf and a table sat on the right of the window, but something about it caught Pranee's eye. There were no planks on the top of the bookshelf, leaving it barren while the lower half of the shelf had planks stacked with books and jars.

The books looked strange. Symbols that decorated the spines were unfamiliar to her and the jars looked like they were made of some other material than the usual ceramic jars she was used to. They were transparent and she could see the contents inside each one. Her hand slowly reached out towards the books and the words for one of them began to glow softly, making her curiosity grow larger.

There was a loud noise from outside the window, causing Pranee to whip her head towards the sound of the noise.

A figure stood at the window. Glowing gold eyes concentrated on the princess behind the layers of cloth wrapped around its head and torso. She noticed the figure didn't have any arms and she could only gawk and stare. Her superstitions had turned into reality.

This tower wasn't abandoned at all and the spirit that lived there had returned.