For Love

[ 00 ] prologue.

Seven hundred and thirty days.

It had been two years since the death of late Queen Hester, a regent whose health had declined over the years prior. Her marriage to the King had been one that was arranged, her hailing from a distant kingdom to bring peace and good relations to Aegard. The King and Queen had ultimately fallen in love and everything was prosperous – a princess had been born, relationships between the kingdoms were peaceful, and Aegard was in a time of prosperity and peace.

That is... until the Queen had passed. The King shut everyone out, sealing the doors of the palace from the watchful eyes of the outsiders. He locked the princess away, unable to stand looking at the Queen's lookalike as he withdrew from anything and everything. Aegard's political climate shifted, the common folk pushing for the King to step down and a popular Lord to take over after deeming the King unfit to rule. In short, the kingdom descended into a mess.

After the King closed the palace doors, riots had begun to break out on the streets. The wealthy, prosperous kingdom of Aegard became a laughing stock. Their King had shut everyone out and was no longer involved in kingdom affairs – what were they to do? Aegard was on the verge of falling without their patriarch.

It wasn't until one morning when a golden-eyed girl had managed to escape her room, spirits blazing as she sought refuge outside of a crumbling tower. Remia, a girl as stubborn as her late mother, decided things needed to change, and change they did. Panic had overwhelmed the King at the missing status of his daughter, only for relief to spread throughout him as she showed up on the doorstep of the castle a day later, covered in minor scrapes from her escapades and clutching something to her chest.

In her arms was a rabbit, its fur as ebony as a starless sky; bringing forth so many truths to be believed and whispered promises of newfound prosperity. How strange that faith could come in the form of a scraped up girl and a young rabbit. Through her visible determination however, the girl had caused a change in the King's heart.

His eyes, darkened by sorrow, seemed to brighten. He had locked away the key to his heart after the Queen died, but she had left something for him. A seedling. A daughter as stubborn and brave as the late Queen was — a daughter whose fire blazed when everyone else's seemed to burn. The King was determined to show her how to blossom, how to grow despite the rigid rules around them.

The time of ruin was over. Aegard had suffered too long without the royals present, so now they would make their return. Wrongs would be righted.

. . . . .

if you notice any spelling/grammar errors, feel free to let me know!

i have intended to write this story for a while, but depression has made it very difficult, so i'm excited to start working on it as best i can! i hope you enjoy the journey.