The Dagger's Wrath (BOOK 1)

Chapter One

A/N: Queen Arnaressa's turn for her stand in the spotlight. She's a crazy one, this queen. So much journeying ahead of her. Book Two shows a lot of her personality and growth whilst this one... well, she's just insane. Enjoy! (Sorry for the shortness in this. Just wait until the second half of the book. Wowza, big chapters there.)

Queen Arnaressa, City of Arrea, Gramsion Island, the Darklands

"Your Majesty, there is a rumour—" The Captain of the Guard, Butch, was in the middle of his sentence when Queen Arnaressa, seventeen of age, wed to King Darren, suddenly interrupted him.

"I have no time for rumours."

"Fine, my lady. A non-rumour has been heard of: an assassin is prowling the Darklands Kingdom," Butch replied. His voice was ragged, jagged, as if it was a jigsaw puzzle ready to be fixed.

His brown hair was long, swayed delicately to both sides of his head, shadowing dark movements as the sun blocked his own view of the Queen. The only thing he could see relating to her was her silhouette, and outline of her beauty. Her golden hair, blending in with the sun, was absolutely gorgeous, swaying back and forth as the wind blew, her buttocks placed firmly on her claimed throne.

Too bad her son, the prince, would be here in the open courtyard soon.

"What?"

She sounded too shocked to be unnoticed by anyone. Everyone had their eyes on her, even the children playing in the grass down below her throne.

"I said—"

"I heard what you said, fool. Wherever this assassin is, I want you and an army of twenty other guards to hunt him down. Do whatever you can." Her voice was not delicate anymore, as anger rose from her.

"But that's not enough! He's an assassin. You need at least a thousand guards!"

"Fine. A thousand, two, three. Do whatever you can to stop the assassin! I want to be safe!" The Queen's hair was fragile, and soon it would rip, strand by strand. Her anger would make her explode from too much of it. She needed to relax, to be calm and free. This was nothing of that.

"But, the children. The guards. Me—"

"DID I SAY I CARE FOR YOUR SAFETY? No! Damn fool! EXECUTION! EXECUTION!" She screamed it loud as she could, rattling the throne beneath her, but she soon stood up and started to yell and scream. She was nothing but a queen, and the fool's head would be beneath her, rolling on the grass, blood trailing behind.

"What? No, no, no, please, Your Majesty!"

"Seize him. Kill him. Take off his head. I need patience, and I need a dagger in the assassin's heart." Those were the last words she said before the Captain of the Guard went to the execution platform, other guards surrounding his presence.

He would die.

The assassin would die.

And she would be safe on her throne.