A stream of white light was filtering into her mind, interrupting the safety of her merciful shroud of darkness. She could feel a throbbing ache on the side of her face that was evoking a blurry memory of the troubling events that she couldn't quite make sense of. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking to guard her aching head from a sudden burst of bright light. When she was finally able to keep her eyes open, she looked around the room, daring not to move any other part of her body, so as to not alert anyone that she was awake. Nothing in this room, that she could see from her current position looked familiar. She had not seen any evidence that there were other people in the room with her, so she felt like it was safe to sit up. As she did, her head began to swim, and she got a sudden wave of nausea. She had to sit very still for a moment until she could see straight, and the nausea had settled down. When she felt better, she was careful not to move too quickly so she wouldn't aggravate her condition more than it had to be. Looking around now, she noticed she was in a bare room that was completely made of stone and brick. There was one window that had no glass or covering over it and there was a large doorway with a closed wooden door. She was sitting on some sort of makeshift mattress, that looked as though it was stuffed with straw. None of this made any sense. Where was she and why was she here? She sat for a moment trying to remember. Then slowly, the visions of being violently abducted and carried over a man's shoulders flooded her mind. The memory of the large hand crashing down to her face rose to her consciousness. It didn't give her any reassurance to remember how she came to be here. But at least now remembers partially how she got here but why? She stood up, trying to steady her trembling, weak limbs as she walked to the window. She looked out, and noticed she was several stories up from the ground and the far side of the stone structure was crumbling and in ruins . There were large chunks of the building lying on the brush covered ground below and that side was being overtaken by the forest. She decided this building looked like a castle she would have seen in her history books. She needed to figure out how to get out of here and get home. She walked to the door and carefully pulled on the handle and was surprised to find it unlocked. She very slowly opened it, peering out first and listening intently from a small crack, before feeling sure there was no one nearby. Opening it the rest of the way, she realized the doorway was located directly on a dark stairwell that, from where she could see, had a spiral shape. She had to wait for her eyes to adjust to the darkness and then she deliberately took each step down, moving slowly while her senses were on high alert. It seemed like the stairs would not come to an end, as she made her way down the dark, circling corridor. She finally saw a glimmer of light below her and realized she was almost at the bottom, and the closer she got, she realized the steps ended in a large, empty room. Stepping in, she peered around looking in the far corner for any sign that would allow her to figure out where she was. She turned in the opposite direction and was suddenly startled, to the point that she let out a frightened gasp. It scared her so bad that tears welled up in her eyes and it took a moment for her to catch her breath. In front of her, was standing one of the most beautiful, elegantly dressed women she had ever seen. Her dress looked as though it was from another time period from long ago. On her head was a beautiful jewel covered veil that flowed down the back of her head. The veil was placed over top a thick strand of braided hair that was wrapped along the top of her head. She didn't seem to be surprised at all by Ella's frightened reaction. Actually, there was little emotion on her face. She spoke with a thick French accent, but her English was very good.
"I see you are awake. You rested well I hope." Before Ella could answer, the woman held up her hand and gently ran it across Ella's swollen, bruised face. "He will pay for this" she spoke, but her words did not seem to be directed to Ella but were more like a thought that she had inadvertently spoken out loud.
Still, with the woman's comment, Ella thought she may be more of a friend than foe. If she cared that the man had injured her, she may be willing to help. "My name is Petronella, and I am at your service my dear."
"Can you tell me why I'm here? I think there is some sort of misunderstanding. I need to get home." There was a note of desperation in her voice.
"Are you not Sonya Gabriella Xander?" she questioned while peering down at her, with an inquisitive look on her face.
Ella looked at the woman and opened her mouth to speak but could get no words out for a second. She was baffled as to why they would have her here.
"yes" she stammered..."But there is no reason for me to be here. There has to be a mistake. If you can help me, get in touch with my husband, I know he can help straighten this out."
"Oh, that is right dear, you are newly married"
Ella was confused as to how this woman would know anything about her.
"Is your father Christian Augustus Xander?
Her mouth was halfway opened, and she had a sinking feeling in her stomach with every question that the woman was asking her.
"And your grandmother was Beatrice Genevieve Xander." It was more of a statement than a question.
Ella's heart was pounding fast in her chest, and she had a knot in her throat. This woman obviously knew who she was and, she didn't give any indication that she was going to help her.
"Do you know who you are?" Petronella asked Ella.
Ella was confused by her question. "What do you mean? I don't understand why you would ask me that."
"Have you ever heard of the Earth Planet Losslurse, dear?"
"No" the confusion still apparent in her eyes.
"Come with me and I will help you understand." She started walking and Ella hesitantly followed. "To explain what is happening, you must first understand a little of the history of the Planet Losslurse and the Planet Warbrotum which is the planet you are on now. Many years ago, there was a battle...well, I don't know if you could call it a battle. It was actually an invasion. It started when the Warbrotum people had exhausted their supply of female citizens. I'm sure you could see how that would be a problem. So, there was a decision made by the elders of Warbrotum to go to Losslurse and take their women. The losslurse people had no weapons, other than common house tools, and it was an easy win for the Warbrotums. Unfortunately, for the Losslurse, it had been many years since the Warbrotums had battled anyone. It is in their blood, and they were restless, and they took no mercy on the citizens of the small planet. When the invasion was complete, all of Losslurse were killed, except for of course, the women. They were needed for a much greater purpose. They were taken back to Warbrotum and used to repopulate the planet."
Ella was horrified to hear about the massacre, and she couldn't imagine being one of the women that had been enslaved, but still she had never heard of these places. What did all of that have to do with her.
They came to another heavy wooden door, like the one in the room she had awoken in. The woman opened the door and held it for Ella, motioning for her to enter. She did so with great reluctance and once she was inside, the door was closed behind her. She stood there looking around and she was now more perplexed than before. The room was sparsely furnished, but what was the most baffling was a wooden tub of steaming water in the room and a long white dress hanging in the corner.
Ella turned and looked at her captor, her brows drawn together showing her obvious puzzlement. "I still don't understand." She felt as if she wanted to run, but she knew she wouldn't get far, because her legs were threatening to give out. Besides, she didn't know anything about this planet or how to get back home. She was having such a hard time comprehending everything that this woman had just finished telling her and she couldn't understand how any of it would involve her.
The door opened again and the same large man that abducted her came in and after closing it, he stood there, like he was guarding the door.
This caused a sense of panic to rise up in her. "Why is he here?" Her entire body was shaking.
The man, ignoring her question, spoke to the woman in a gruff voice. "I was told I could have for her before Ansgar as part of my prize for retrieving her."
"You just about killed her you fool! Because of you, she has an ugly mark on her face! You will have to talk to Ansgar about your prize. Right now, we need to prepare her for the ceremony."
The man had an angry scowl on his face and was obviously unhappy with Petronella's answer, but he did as she said, without arguing.
As she finished talking, Ella saw the man start moving toward her. She let out a shrill scream before he got to her, but it did nothing to help her situation. He picked her up and carried her closer to the tub of water. He had her in a firm grip and she was horrified when she realized he was undressing her. She tried fighting him, but her strength was gone from the events of the past day. Soon she was completely naked, and he lifted her up and plopped her down into the warm water. The door opened again, and another older lady came in with some tattered rags and larger, heavier towels and a block in her hand, which Ella soon realized was soap. She said nothing but bent down beside the tub and after wetting a rag and rubbing it on the soap, she started to wash Ella. She soon had Ella's hair soaked and had her soapy hands running through the thick, wet locks. Ella was not even fighting. She sat there silently but the tears were steadily flowing down her face. When she was done and Ella was rinsed clear of the soap, she dried her off and then her hair was brushed out. She sat there, like she was in a trance. She noticed out of the corner of her eye the younger woman was retrieving the white dress that was hanging in the corner. It was an elegant long gown made of a very fine delicate material.
She spoke to Ella, in a stern voice and told her to raise her arms so she could put the gown on her. Ella did as she was told. "Stand up." Using the same sternness, she gave Ella her instructions and Ella complied with them all, until she was dressed in the garment. "Do you want me to finish explaining to you why you are here?" the woman had a coolness to her voice. There was no reply from Ella, but the she continued anyway. "Do you know who you are?" she asked Ella again. Ella gave no indication in answering or asking any further questions this time. "You see Ella, you are a queen."
Ella looked up at the lady with a shocked expression on her face. She slowly shook her head as the words came from her..."No...I am not a queen. You are mistaken." Her voice was weak, but there was a pleading look in her eyes.
The woman spoke her next words in a slow, deliberate manner with the same coolness. "Ella, you are the daughter of Christian Xander, and he was the son of Beatrice Xander, who was the queen at the time of the invasion on Losslurse. You are the queen of Losslurse."
Ella was having a hard time digesting everything that she had been told today. Her mind was racing as she was trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together that she had been suddenly caught up in. Was it true? Why had she never been told this? Did anyone else know? Did Mother Christina know? Did Nicholas know? Did her grandmother escape the invasion? She must have or otherwise, she never would have delivered a baby at the convent. She had been told the story of Beatrice delivering her son at the convent. But she had always been told that no one knew where her grandmother had come from or how she got there. It had always been a mystery, as far as she had been told.
It was as if this woman was reading her mind. "You see now, how it is not only possible, but you know it is true."
"But if Losslurse has no one left on the planet, why does it matter if I am queen? The title means nothing."
"Well, it is a funny story. The irony is incredible, actually. You see, the warriors of Warbrotum did bring the women back to the planet and they bred with them. They populated the land with many children, that grew into strong young men and even woman that were different from their fathers. Of course, the women were in charge of raising the children and teaching them the ways of life, while their fathers were out hunting and working on the land. It's something no one ever considered that the children would grow up to resent what their fathers and grandfathers had done to their mothers and their planet. There were many that, when they were old enough, rebelled against their own fathers. This has split our planet now. The men that were at the invasion, are all much older now and unable to fight and many have already died. Our entire way of life here on Warbrotum is threatened. Our elders are losing power and they are unhappy about this. There are some young people that have been loyal, but we are outnumbered.
"How am I going to change any of that?"
"Do you know what a sorcerer is?"
"I think it is a magic person, but I'm not completely sure." Ella answered hesitantly.
"You are close. See dear, we have a sorcerer on our planet that is very interested in getting things back to the old ways. The Newarbrotums, as we call them now, have taken much power away from him, as well. They have threatened to put him away in the dungeon, for some, um...unfortunate events, that they blame on him. So, when we found out you were alive, he came up with a solution to all of our problems.
During the invasion, Beatrice Xander was seen leaving Losslurse through a portal. When we sent a messenger to find her, we were told by him that she and the baby had both died in childbirth. He told us he had seen the bodies of both the queen and her baby. We discovered later that he had lied to us. It was at your birth that Ansgar saw you in a dream. We sent a spy, and he discovered you and your father, both alive and well. We had been tricked. Now we had two generations that were in line for the throne of Losslurse. It wasn't long after that we started to see the beginning of what is now, a strong resistance. We knew something had to be done. We couldn't wait any longer, but we couldn't trust anyone with such a crucial and delicate undertaking. Ansgar decided it would be best for him to take care of the problem himself. He placed a spell, that we hoped would rid us of your father and you both. After some time, and after we got your father away from his home, where he had the most protection, we got the news that you had both been killed, in an accident. Ansgar's spell had worked. Even though it took time, he was successful in his endeavor, or so we thought.
Imagine our surprise, when not long ago, Ansgar's brother arrived and told us you were alive and now married on the planet Spirotest. We were baffled how this could be. It seems you had been well hidden. We had to act to find you quickly. We could not chance having a living heir to the throne and with that, another heir of Losslurse being born. Imagine how pleased we were when you were located. If the resistance were to find out about you, there would be no hope for our beloved Warbrotum.
"What is going to happen to me?"
"That is the beautiful part of this. We have found a way to use you to our advantage. It is wonderful that you survived the accident. Without you, we would not be able to carry out such a glorious plan. There is a spell that when executed in the proper manner, will allow us to get the allegiance of our people. They will be loyal to us and only us. We will have all control over them. It is complicated though, and it will not work, unless you have some very rare components. One component just happens to come from a princess, but we think a queen will work even better, since before your father died, you were indeed a princess.
She knew her life was in danger, and there was not a thing that she could do about it. She wasn't sure that she wanted to know what her part was in the spell, but she knew it was only a matter of time before she found out.
"At midnight tonight, Ella, you will be part of a beautiful ceremony. You should feel honored that you could be chosen to hold such a high place in this ritual. The spell that Ansgar is casting, will need the heart of a princess, or in our case, a queen."
It took a second for the reality of what she meant to reveal itself in her mind. Ella could say nothing. All she could think of was her husband and her family at the convent and how she would never see them again. After everything she had been through and all of the narrow escapes she had had, and how her husband had saved her from certain death more than once. She knew that wouldn't happen this time though. Finally, the tears started flowing.