Bad Blood

Chapter 17: Today's the day

In comparison to Amelia, Felicity's life was going great. In fact, she had been wearing the biggest smile all day. And when the bird arrived, delivering a nice message from Amelia, Felicity's smile only increased.

Felicity looked at herself in the mirror. She had made it her mission to look absolutely spot on tonight. She had to impress Amelia, now more than ever. Tonight was her night. She had been thinking about it a lot lately, but now she finally made up her mind: she was going to propose to Amelia tonight. Sure, they're young, but in their traditions, they were the perfect age to get married.

Felicity was so happy, too happy to wonder about Amelia. She wouldn't think Amelia would decline her proposal. She knew  Amelia was going to accept it.

And so here she was, adjusting her outfit for the last time when suddenly her parents entered her room.

Louisa and Alden didn't expect to see their daughter dressed like that. Felicity looked ready to meet important people, or to attend an important meeting or dinner.

"Fe," Louisa started, gaining Felicity's attention. "Where are you going?"

Felicity sighed, realizing she couldn't hide it anymore. And she didn't want to hide it anymore. "I'm meeting up with Amelia," She smiled. "I'm going to propose to her."

The reaction of her parents was a mixture of happiness and worries, exactly what Felicity had expected.

"I really love her," She went on, trying to convince her parents. "And I know she loves me too. So I don't want to wait any longer," She then took a bouquet of roses. "Tonight, I'm going to ask her to be my wife."

Louisa slowly smiled and nodded. Alden, on the other hand, was taken back. He didn't know what to think or say to this.

"I'll be home later." Felicity said as she left the room.

"We have to stop her." Alden said, finally able to muster words.

"No," Louisa smiled. "Let her."

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Amelia stayed in her room the whole day. She didn't want to see anyone. She just wanted to be alone, with her mother. Now that she was ruling, she truly saw the life her mother had led. What if her mother had lost the one she loved because of these stupid rules? What if her mother was terribly unhappy and all alone every day? What if seeing Amelia was making her remember the lover she lost?

Amelia closed her eyes while she tried to push those thoughts out of her mind. She didn't know what her mother went through, so she shouldn't be assuming.

Amelia got up and walked to her closet. She was about to get changed for her date with Felicity when suddenly there was a knock on the door.

She sighed. "Enter."

Two soldiers entered the room, they bowed to her to pay their respects. Then they got up and looked at her.

Amelia wasn't sure if she had forgotten about a meeting or if this was a weird intervention, so she asked: "What are you two doing here?"

"We were told to go to the border with you, princess." The male soldier said.

The female soldier nodded. "The Crown wants you to see how border control could be beneficial for our kingdom."

She rolled her eyes. Why couldn't they give up? She's the ruler, they should listen to her. "Tell them I'm not interested." She said as she motioned them to leave.

"We'd like to show you the borders," The male soldier said. "It's important."

Amelia, knowing they wouldn't leave her alone unless she'd go with them, finally agreed. "Lead the way."

The male soldier walked up front, Amelia after him and the female soldier after Amelia. It was the soldiers' way to protect the ruler.

When they arrived at the border, Amelia looked around. There was no sign of a border whatsoever. 

She suddenly had an uneasy feeling in her gut. She looked at the soldiers. "There are no borders," She then gulped, feeling worried. "What is this?"

Suddenly the two soldiers raised their swords and stood in an attacking pose.

Amelia's eyes widened, she started running away. She ran towards the only spot she knew, the Middledes Woods.

She ran as fast as she could, though the soldiers were able to keep up with her. They had had proper training, unlike her.

Amelia ran into the forest, thinking that that was her best shot. She figured if she could hide, she'd be able to come up with a plan.

And so she did. She took a few left turns, a few right turns, and lost them. She hid behind a tree and took a moment to collect her thoughts. What was she supposed to do now? Those two soldiers would kill her if they found her, she was sure of that.

She shouldn't go home, not yet. Maybe she'd be safe with Felicity? But then what?

Suddenly she heard a twig break near her. She kept quiet, she held in her breath, hoping that they'd leave.

Then she heard another twig, though this time at the other side of her. Were they closing in on her?

She tried her best to listen for more noises, but heard none. She heard nothing, there was only dead silence.

She looked at her left: her kingdom. Then she looked at her right: Felicity's kingdom. She should choose, she should run.

She sprinted away from the tree and towards Felicity's kingdom, thinking she'd be safer there.

Though when she ran away, she noticed the two soldiers were indeed right next to her. And now, they had caught up to her.

The female soldier, surprisingly, got a hold of Amelia and held her tightly in her arms.

Amelia started breathing in and out heavily, she was scared for her life. "Please," She started choking up. "Don't hurt me."

The female soldier looked at the male soldier, who nodded. He put away his sword, which relieved Amelia a lot.

"Listen kid," The male soldier said. "We've got nothing against you, but we've been paid very well to do this."

Amelia's heart rate went up again. "Who paid you?" She gulped. "I'll pay you more."

The male soldier huffed. "You? With what money?"

Amelia blinked a few times.

"Just do it already." The female soldier said as she held Amelia even tighter.

The male soldier took out a tiny but sharp knife. The sight of it made Amelia retreat as best as she could while she was whimpering and choking up more. She was trying to fight for her life as best as she could, but to no avail.

The female soldier held her steady while the male soldier knifed her down.

Amelia fell to the ground immediately, she was bleeding immensely. She wasn't dead yet, but the soldiers knew it'd be a matter of time before she'd be with her mother again.