Chapter 1: Escape
Ryia was sitting on her Princess’s throne next to the Queen. She was sitting sideways in it, which completely bothered the Queen. Ryia wanted that reaction of course, she hated her stepmother. Ever since her father got married to her, it has been a nonstop war between the two.
“Ryia-“
“Sit up straight,” Ryia interrupted the queen in an annoying voice. “Bite me.”
“Ryia I know you don’t like me, but this is getting ridiculous,” the queen said.
“Maybe you should of thought of that before you tried to replace my parents,” Ryia said.
The Queen looked at her, “I didn’t replace them, they died.”
Ryia clenched her fists and walked away, tears in her eyes. She went up to her room and sat on her bed. She looked at a portrait of her mother, father and her. Her mother died first, and then her father passed a month ago. She felt like a scar had been opened again. She looked up when she heard a knock on the door, “Ryia are you alright?”
It was her uncle, Noble Derek.
“No,” Ryia answered.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“My parents died,” Ryia answered.
Her uncle came in he looked at his niece’s watering purple eyes, her blonde wavy hair up into a ponytail. Her skin was a fare tan, she wore a blue shirt, brown pants which were tucked into tan boots. She was athletic and fit.
Ryia looked at her uncle, he was fit and had flowing brown hair down his back and a shorter beard. He wore black and red robes and had the softest blue eyes, just like her father.
“Why do bad things always happen to me, my older brother died in war, my mother died of a miscarriage and my father died a month ago,” Ryia said.
“These things happen,” Derek said. “You have to push past this for your country, for the sake of the Illias blood line.”
Ryia looked up at him and nodded.
“Come we have a lot of training to cover today,” he said.
Ryia nodded and went over to her dresser and grabbed her black steel sword. She put on the sheathe belt and went downstairs and into the court yard. As she walked out her griffon, Brant, came up to her.
“Hey boy,” she said.
He was taller than her and large enough to ride. He lowered his head and Ryia rubbed the side of his feathery face. She then walked and he followed on her heels. She found her uncle in an open area talking with the captain of the guard. Derek took one look at Ryia and dismissed the captain.
“Let us begin Ryia,” Derek said.
He drew his blade and so did Ryia. Ryia got in her ready stance and waited for her uncle to make the first move. He ran at her and swung. Ryia blocked him and he swung again. She then countered on him and slashed at him stomach. He luckily moved back in time and she swung again keeping him off balance. When he left himself open Ryia came up on him and hit him across the face with her elbow and then tripped him. He fell onto the ground and she held a sword to his throat.
“My brother was the one knocking me down when I was young, now his daughter is knocking me down,” Derek said. “You will be a fine Queen.”
“I hope so,” Ryia replied.
Derek knew that the wound on her heart was deep and fresh. He knew that she wanted to see her parents again, and he knew that she thought her stepmother had killed him. Her anger was misplaced in his mind.
