Sea of Glass ✔️

Chapter 1 - The Strongest Sister

200 years before Myranian unification 

Myrania was not the only island to rule the Glass Sea. She had her four sisters to contend with, each a formidable political opponent armed with resources that the other did not have. Her greatest threat was Orpau, a nation rich with glittering gold and happy peasants. Their people loved their king, a young man whom their bards insisted was kind and honorable. Quite frankly, I think the bards only say that because he was homely. But despite how ugly he was, he was still well-loved sitting on his gold throne. He only needed to raise a finger to have his island become a fierce army, ready to give their lives at a moment's notice. I called him Cadmus the Commander for his military experience.

Father reminds me to keep him an ally. He was not that much older than me. One day, when Myrania no longer has a king, I would be the one who would have to appease our golden sister.

Personally, I believe greater troubles brew on the horizon where the twin suns set. Cinervel, Myrania's fiery sister, had a wicked prince that neither the king nor the queen could control. He was Elio the Womanizer because he was handsome and charming. His angelic looks paid for his cruelty, luring innocent servants and maids to his room as well as the occasional royal. They were all smitten with him, basking in the attention that he so rarely gave. But once those doors closed, the real pleasure for the prince began.

You may wonder how I know this when the bards sing nothing but praise for him. I can assure you that I did not experience his vile behavior firsthand as I believe seduction requires more than a pretty face and a well-meaning look. But my fair cousins, the ones who shared the same softness as my late mother, were unfortunately caught in his sweet trap.

He had a double affair, charming both of my cousins behind the other's back. For sweet Vera, he showered her with charming trinkets and bouquets, bribing her maids to pass along secret notes where they exchanged romantic nothings inked on her perfumed stationery. For elegant Dahlia, he had dresses made of the finest silks and sparkling gems that any lady at the court would die for delivered to the palace along with doves armed with poems that would make even the most cynical writer weep. He urged the women to keep their trysts a secret, claiming that he wanted to protect them from jealous ex-lovers, scorned women who would ruin them if they found out who the new objects of his affections were.

They listened, none the wiser to his schemes. Elio slowly built their trust, luring them in with the vague promise that he would make them queens and show them off to the world when he was ready. He only required a small favor from each of them, something to the effect of giving up their innocence to him through a sexual act that violated all sense of human decency.

They refused to give me the exact details of the act, sparing me from the disgrace of his requests. What I did know was that it was enough to make the both of them break off their respective affairs and beg my father to ban him from our island. I've heard rumors about the bloodshed in his room and I pray that they are only that: rumors. But in case any of them are true, I know he is more than capable of committing atrocities against my island if he should ever feel like it.

Or maybe I should worry more about that upstart in Sanviar. The name of their newly crowned peasant queen escapes me, but her deeds are the talk of my father's council. The island is known for its fresh fruits, namely its ripe bananas and juicy mangoes. King Milton had a trade agreement with us where we'd exchange our abundance of large, meaty fish for his crops. But his new queen has pushed him to raise the price of the fruit, stating that our fish were worthless because we were all surrounded by the vast expanse of the sea. According to her, there was enough fish for everyone, but only one island that could grow fruit as sweet as theirs. As anyone could imagine, the proceedings were quite frustrating for my father and the Minister of Trade.