Women in the small kingdom of Aeriana are disappearing.
Iris Daniels, a budding painter in the East Territory, is trying to keep her head down. In a kingdom filled with abilities, music, and Destined love, Iris is determined to build a career out of...
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"What if greatness is nothing but / a series of letters etched on a headstone / What am I striving for? / if greatness feels / just like this."
—Katherine Slater, Just Like This, prod. by Nora Davis
The study at the Williams home had a wealth of books. A small dark desk with a monitor sat in the corner, a deep green chair in front of it. Bookshelves lined most of the walls all the way around, stacked to the brim with everything from what looked like romance novels to Aerianan Sign Language books. On the other side of the room, a large potted fern brought a pop of color to the already color filled room.
She booted the computer up, took a deep breath, and started simple.
Princess Driana Antonov.
It wasn't like she'd never heard of or learned about the Antonov family before. She had. They'd had enough units on the current ruling family throughout grade school and high school. She'd watched the news. But she'd never done more than learn information for the sake of a test.
The first thing that came up was a general article about Princess Driana's lineage. Who she was related to, and how she fit into the line of successors. Iris only skimmed it. Instead, she put her focus on another article two links down.
FIRST PALACE CONSUMED IN FIRE.
Something about the article had her palms sweating. She clicked it anyway.
"... late this afternoon, fire department was called out to the First Palace for an emergency. Upon arrival, witnesses say there was a loud explosion heard before flames consumed the place. Most of the staff onsite was able to get out. The royal family has not been located. At this time, the fire department has put out about 90% of the flames, and is working to clear the area. At least four are suspected dead.
Although left unconfirmed, a contact with the fire department has suggested the initial explosion was related to an issue with the boiler..."
She read through the article, unable to explain why her hands shook the further she got through it. The shaking only increased in the next article.
ROYAL FAMILY KILLED IN FIRE.
"Today, the kingdom is in mourning after the announcement that the royal family has been killed in the fire that swallowed the palace two days ago. Many Aces have already placed candles, flowers, and other trinkets outside the palace gates, where, just beyond, the wreckage has not yet been cleared. This morning was perhaps the quietest in Aerianan history as Aces all over the country watched Prince Demitri's emotional announcement of his loss.
As of posting this article, we're unable to get confirmation of any suspected foul play..."
Some articles were easier than others, but at least half of them focused on the tragedy that was the death of the royal family rather than who they were when they lived. Anything she found about Driana, it only mentioned when she passed and what happened that led to her passing.
