The Royal Rivalry

chapter two

I walked into Prince Noah's grand bedroom, carrying his breakfast tray. 

I saw him sleeping on his bed beside this pretty redhead. She looked like a princess straight out of a fairytale. Her long eyelashes lay on her cheek and her resting expression was angelic.

I rolled my eyes. Another one of Noah's playthings, I suppose. The way he slept, sound and vulnerable, I wondered if anyone could've just stabbed him in his slumber, and gotten away.

Normally, I would've pulled back the heavy velvet curtains that barricaded the sunlight, but just this once, I thought otherwise. His new girlfriend wouldn't be too pleased.

Pushing my thoughts away, I quietly sat down the tray on the nightstand, and made my way back towards the oak door. Just as I was about to exit, a firm hand gripped my shoulder. Instinctively, my hand went to the hilt of the dagger that I kept tucked in my skirt. I grabbed it, and spun around.

I found myself mere inches away from Noah's face. I would've gasped, but I wasn't about to give him the pleasure of shocking me.

Feeling my legs crumble as my eyes traced the beauty of the plains of his face, I tried to push these bizarre feelings afar. Even though he had just woken up, he took my breath away. My stomach knotted when I looked up into his twinkling eyes. 

Noah leaned in closer, and tucked a stand of loose hair behind my ear. He raised a single finger and gingerly caressed my cheek, a mischievous smile hinting at the corners of his lips. I almost flinched at his touch, yet somehow managed to remain still.

My heart pounded against my chest.

"Don't you wish it was you instead of that girl, in my bed?", he whispered, a sly tone to his words.

It was at that moment that I pulled away, "Never", With that, I turned on my heel and walked out, echoing Noah's words in my brain, and wishing I had stabbed him instead.

~The closest I had been to the prince was when he rendered me unconscious and kidnapped me. He and his friends brought me to the tip of a waterfall, an elevated drop-off of the river Calidys. Noah took off my blindfold as we stood at the very edge of the jagged rocks.
As I faced the churning waters, he crept up to my ear and said menacingly; "How does it feel to be helpless? Bound by ropes and standing at the very edge of danger, scared & unable to flee? Tell me."

Saying that, he sliced through the ropes that bound my arms and shoved me into the dark, icy water. Underwater, my legs still tied, I could hear the cackling laughter of Noah and his minions. They were all beautiful. But they were shrewd and heartless.

They were everything I'd never be.~

The flashback, quite literally, flooded my mind as I continued striding through the corridors of the palace.
I hated being here. Hated being helpless and unable to defend myself against the prince.
And the disgusting way Noah had just flirted with me, furthermore fueled my resentment.

Of course, he had the nerve to do such a thing.

Queen Melissa and King Frederick were his parents, and although I worked in their palace, I never saw much of them. The king was almost always managing the court's proceedings, and Queen Melissa was never to leave her room.

She had received a prophecy from the royal astrologer, Senichen, after bearing her youngest child, prince Noah. The prophecy foreshadowed her death, and she was so haunted by it, that she locked herself up in her chamber.
Nowadays, she agrees to a servant bringing her 3 meals a day, but straight up refuses everything else.

This was my second week in the palace, and the past few days had been horrendous. Today, I was heading to the training grounds. Sure, it was broad daytime, but I didn't really care if anyone saw me there. The ground was open to anyone who resided within the palace, and technically, I did too.

I was given a small room as a place to stay in the huge palace, and though the room was cramped and dusty, I had cleaned it up as best as i could and even spared some decor. It was my home- or at least it was for the duration of my stay.

I went to my room and opened the chest that I kept locked beneath my bed.

My sword.

It glimmered in the dust, and I gingerly picked it up, holding it in my hands.

My mother had given this to me. She told me that it once belonged to my father.

I never knew my dad, and my mom refused to talk about him.

My sword's name was Bloodbane. 

And it was the only thing I truly prized. I changed out of my maid's attire into a black leather top with a pair of dark jeggings. I tied my long brown hair back into a high ponytail, and slung my bow and quiver across my back.

This palace had a hundred servants.

Surely, no one would notice one less.

I covered my head with a dark hoodie and headed out, Bloodbane at my waist. I walked through a secret passage I had discovered which connected the servants quarters to the training arena. How convenient.

I'd never know why this tunnel was built, but at the moment, it was of utmost importance to me.

I entered the ground and deeply inhaled. The fresh scent of rain filled my lungs as a smile crept across my face. I glanced up at the dark clouds.

My kind of weather.

I adored the rain.

As far as I could see, there was no one in sight. Just me and my weapons.

I stepped into the sandy arena and docked an arrow. I took aim at an apple set on a stand about 10 meters away. I pulled the string back, staring at the fruit intently for a moment, and then released.

I watched as the arrow flew rapidly in a relatively straight line, and in the next split second, half of the apple fell to the ground with a thud. I smiled to myself, and went to inspect. A clean cut.

Satisfied, I returned to my standing point, and moved to the next target board. Consecutively, arrow after arrow hit bullseye.

And that's when the rain started pouring.

I was drenched in a matter of seconds, but persistent. A little water could not deter me.

I continued shooting arrows till my arms felt sore.

As I pulled out the last arrow from my quiver, I suddenly heard a rustle from the bushes behind. I looked back. Nothing.

I nocked my arrow, and held my bow low, pointing it towards the ground.

I spun around, aiming for the bushes.

As a figure emerged, I held my breath.

And when I saw their face, I froze in my tracks.

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