Death Vengeance

Chapter 1

  I always heard that torturing someone for information was simple, if you knew how to do it. As an only child and heir to the throne, my father- now deceased- had some of the most experienced torturers train me, or, as Vallon later told me, “Made you into a demeaning princess.”

             We made that our inside joke.

             Now I understand things that had left me uncertain before, and I don’t find such humor in such a topic anymore.

             Tendrils of orange, red, and purple decorated the vibrant sunrise, the air cold against my exposed skin as I stepped outside. For a moment, I wished for my parents; I wished that they weren’t dead, and that they were by my side to guide me. God knows I could use it, I thought to myself irritably, removing a stray lock of red hair that had fallen into my eyes. Things are getting so complicated lately.

             Approaching footsteps heaved me from my musings. Neither a smile nor a frown reached my lips, for I knew that it was Vallon, my knight in shining armor. It was obvious that he had come to my room-and out onto the veranda- to check on me.

             “You saw me half an hour ago, Vallon,” I whispered, my voice still hoarse from crying.

             “I needed to make sure you were okay,” he replied softly. “That was a horrific night you endured; it’s not something you can forgive and forget easily.”

             “Don’t underestimate me.”

             I knew his intentions, and his quest to protect me, even from myself. Ever since the night of my parents’ murder, I have been having nightmares that have tested my sanity. Normally I blocked it out with the torture sessions for spies found within the kingdom; my kingdom now. Vallon aided me whenever he could, and helped to quell the side effects of the nightmares. He was my best friend; he was my loved one.

             Today was a different matter, however. Vallon had believed that these sessions were the reason for my nightmares, and had banned me from setting foot inside the chambers. It hadn’t made me happy, to say the least.

             “I know I don’t have to check on you all the time, but I can’t afford to lose you.” His eyes softened as they swept over me. “I don’t know how I would manage without you.”

             “You’ll never have to know. I still don’t know how you put up with me when my parents died, let alone kept me sane.”

             He arched an eyebrow. “How can I keep you sane when you’re suffering from nightmares?”

             “Your presence, I guess,” I replied with a shrug.

             “Glad I could be of service.”

             Suddenly- to my utter dismay- warm arms wrapped around me, pressing me against a chiseled chest. The surprise died away when I realized it was only Vallon. I relaxed into his embrace.