The Queen Trials

Chapter One

Fuck me.

Fuck my life.

Fuck this country.

Fuck the prince.

Because of this dumb contest, I have to leave my whole family behind, and I won't make it back. My family will have to suffer, all because of a decree.

A decree that will wind up killing and butchering many innocent, defenseless young women. Like me. I'm only nineteen years old and suddenly, everything is going to be ripped away from me.

My family, my life, my friends.

Of course, our lives are hard but at least we are happy, we may be the peasants of our village, but my father always find a way to keep our spirits alive. To keep fighting, always with a smile.

I have always had a hard time with that last part. "Smile", he'd say. And I would always stretch my lips as far as I could, to give him the smile he longed for. But it was all for him, anything to make him happy.

I have always provided for my family, and would do anything for them. My father, my younger sister, and my younger brother. They were everything to me. Everything.

Now, they'll have to find a way to live without me. My father too old and fragile to work, but my younger sister, only 14, could possibly find a job somewhere, an apprenticeship maybe, that could possibly provide them enough to get by. And my little brother, my sunshine in a place that's full of a dull grey. He's only 8, but he has such a sweet face with round cheeks, curly brown hair, and striking blue eyes. With a face like that he could probably sit in the middle of town and work some money out of some naive older women, who can't say no to such a sweet, innocent face.

Yes. That would be enough. Hopefully.

Since a young age, practically since my mother left, I have been taking up jobs around town, anything I can, in order to scrounge up enough money to provide for my family. I worked in a bakery when I first started, then I worked in a dress shop sewing dresses, I could only dream that I could afford. I even sold paintings on the side, some to people around the village, but mainly to lords and duchesses. My work truly was unique, and many of them praised my work. That money I would receive would last us a while, but never long enough. However, recently, none of my art has caught the eye of anyone, my work no longer had that life that it used to.

But none of that mattered now. Not my life or my family. I won't even be alive in a couple of weeks.

The Prince, is looking for a wife. A future Queen. In order to find someone "worthy" every eldest daughter in the household must come and compete for his affection. Sounds nice right? Wrong. This is no fairytale, or dream come true. If you get cut, you die. There is no farewells and sent home. Thats it. If you don't receive a token from the prince during any of the levels of the competition.

You're out.

Tomorrow, I get sent to the palace, along with every other eldest daughter in my village, and all surrounding villages.

Only one girl will come out a winner.

A Queen.