Chapter 2 : The Prince Has Arrived

I had no other option. "My sister. I can't leave her. She's in Sablestone." I rushed my words hoping to get them all out before she could refute.

She released her hold from my chin and exhaled, "Why didn't you just say so, my dear? We can make sure she's amply taken care of. After all, you'd be a princess and a princess' family should be pampered as well."

It was an intriguing premise....my sister and I could trade the servant's life for one of nobility. However, my father had always instructed me: 'don't take what's not yours.'

I knelt, my forehead touching the ground and I pleaded. "Please forgive me, your Majesty. My sister's still young…"

Once again the cackling emitted from the queen's mouth as she bellowed, "You don't need to apologize to me, my dear, but I'm sure these young ladies will want one after I'm done with them.

The Luna Queen shifted into her wolf form, the shade of dark charcoal. Her emerald eyes bore through the slits of her eyelids. She pivoted her head and sharply turned it at Emma, raising her left paw, slicing with her talons at the innocent girl's throat.

Immediately, Chelsea shrieked at a harrowing decibel and took off running towards the entryway. The queen even taunted, giving her a few seconds' head start, and then darted over the princess' powder-white bedspread, tearing it to shreds with her talons, and lunged over the king sized bed in one leap.

She pinned Chelsea down, the wolf's canines boring down on the girl's collarbone, as Chelsea clawed at the door, leaving scratch marks that remained as an imprint in the wood.

Connie turned towards the window, and as she attempted to open it, the queen had already sliced the back of her neck and blood splattered onto me and the windowpane.

The midnight black wolf rotated its head ninety degrees and focused its eyes slits directly on me. Surely, I was next.

However, before I could close my eyes and say goodbye to the world, the queen shifted back, her body completely naked, except for a few blood-splattered garments of her crimson-colored dress plastered to her skin.

She waltzed forward, her pupils level and her smile flat.

"Now," the Luna Queen tilted her head slightly toward me, "Is that enough to convince you to marry the prince?"

Tremoring with horror, I stared at her, and it felt like my entire being was no longer mine. However, I managed to nod my head.

"Good. Let's get you dressed."

***

"Since you ruined the princess' dress," she paused as she flicked a splotch of blood off her finger, "this'll have to do."

She clapped twice, and her attendant reappeared in the room, holding a platinum diamond-encrusted ball gown with floral lace across the chest line.

"I'll be back to fetch you in thirty minutes. My attendant will fix you up," she commanded as I held the change of clothes brought by her attendant. She pierced her heel into Emma, stepping on top of the maid's lifeless chest as if it was a stepping stool.

Before she exited the room, the queen arched her head back around towards me and declared, "Don't mess this up. Your sister's life depends on it."

I flinched at the click of the door.

Outside the windows, nobles from Hoarfrost were arriving. A cavalcade of black Mclarens rolled up the brick-laded split driveway leading up to the palace's main entrance.

However, there wasn't time to watch the arriving guests. My head would be served on a platter if I was the reason there wasn't a princess at the treaty dinner.

I recollected my strength and ran into the shower. As the hot water ran down my skin, the gory scene finally settled in, and I could no longer hold my dry heave back.

By the time I was done cleaning myself, the queen's attendant had been standing by the vanity, waiting for me.

I sat down on the stool and she ordered, "Close your eyes."

I immediately obeyed her and in no time, she started working on me.

She was an extension of the queen herself and showed no emotion, no compassion, and no concern. Her job was to make me look like a princess. That was it.

I felt her brushing over the scratch on my cheek that was left by Miss Verla, and then she went on to work on the rest of my face. However, it didn't seem to take long for her at all.

Next, she let my waist-length brunette curly hair fall, maybe trying to decide on the best style. I'd always liked my hair. It was naturally beautiful, coffee bean-colored locks that had a satiny finish. I believed for the sake of time, she kept it that way except for sorting out some knots.

When I heard her voice again, she seemed satisfied with her work. "Open now."

In the mirror, I couldn't recognize myself.

My face was only lightly manicured, allowing a natural and healthy glow to radiate off my skin. The scratch mark was cleverly covered, and no one would be able to tell it was ever there.

A slightly glittery eyeshadow could be seen above my long eyelashes, highlighting my turquoise eyes, and my pink lips looked healthy and soft with the colorless lipstick giving it a natural shine. My brunette curls cascaded down like waterfalls. But, most importantly, I looked like a princess.

Elegant, radiant, and chic.

I was stunned by the beauty in the mirror. The makeup was minimal: some foundation, eyeshadow, mascara, and blush. But otherwise, this face was mine. I'd never taken the time to appreciate it before.

"Now put this on," the queen's attendant instructed.

I stepped into the platinum evening gown that the queen had previously picked out as a replacement. It fit me perfectly. It was as if it had been personally tailored just for me.

The sound of knuckles violently rapped on the door. Time was up and the queen had returned. She was dressed in a fresh blood-orange gown reminiscent of the massacre here.

She approached the vanity leisurely, taking her time to survey me. Her fingernails bore into my chin as she grabbed at my jawline to rotate my face so she could see every detail, every angle.

"You know why I picked you?" Queen Regina questioned, as she whispered into my lobe, making contact with my eyes through the vanity mirror. It looked like she was ready to gnaw off my ear.

I vigorously shook my head 'no.'

"Because you know not to disappoint me," she praised as she straightened her body. "Now let's go."

The queen yanked my wrist, nearly pulling my shoulder out of its socket. This time she lunged over the bodies of Emma and Chelsea like they were minor inconveniences, careful not to get her feet bloody. I followed her motion without direction.

"You learn quickly, my dear," she commended, seemingly pleased with my progress to follow orders. I tilted my head back to look at my fellow maids on the ground, but the queen sensed my motion and declared, "You're a princess now, remember? You don't concern yourself with lowlifes anymore. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," I responded hastily.

She looked at her personal attendant and ordered, "Clean this all up and find a new head maid. Someone less bothersome."

She paused and continued with a tone that was icy cold, "Also, make sure everyone in the palace keeps their mouth shut. I don't want to hear a word about rumors of Iris or Amber. Understand?"

Her attendant nodded as we left the room, closing the door behind us.

As I approached the base of the grand entryway, the queen released her constricted grasp on my forearm and subtly pushed me in front of her.

I noticed a few maids dressed in navy blue skirts and white blouses, with long, draping indigo bow ties around their necks, presumably accompanying Hoarfrost's nobility.

They all straightened and remained silent as the queen and I passed. They bowed their respects, and the queen gave them a steely glare.

The queen, still shadowing my every step, muttered, "I hate enemies in my home," and grumbled in displeasure.

We turned the corner towards the hall of mirrors, and at the end was the main dining hall with two fortress-like golden doors held open by a couple of servants waiting for our entrance.

The hall was otherwise empty but it felt like an echo chamber. I quickly glanced at the mirrors to see my appearance, but each reflection looked like an abstract hallucination, like this wasn't my reality.

Reaching the floor-to-ceiling golden entryway, chandeliers blinded me as the crystals reflected the light into my pupils. The scent of the finest cuts of meat and aged wines filled my nose, twisting my intestines.

At this moment, the last thing I wanted to do was eat. A haze filled the air with steam rising off of the silver platters, however, my eyes still were scarred from the sight of dead bodies.

Two empty wood-carved chairs, that resembled thrones, glared back at me, one for me, and one for Prince August of Hoarfrost. I bowed gently as I passed the Hoarfrost nobles and high-ranking officers and they returned a muted smile as I cascaded by. Their expressions were confident and seemingly pleased at the spread in front of them.

As I tucked myself into my throne, it was obvious there was someone missing from the table.

The prince.

However, I was physically and emotionally too exhausted to be worried about anything else other than not making mistakes.

This day was a horrendous nightmare and all I wanted was for it to end.

All of a sudden, the mumbles and chatter at the table quieted down and everyone at the table, mostly elite Hoarfrost and Sablestone high-ranking officials, shifted their position towards the door as surely the prince was near.

Someone gulped as the clicking sounds from the heels of dress shoes gradually loudened, and the chandelier flickered as the doors began opening.

A rush of frigid air entered the room and my nose inhaled a scent of evergreen, like from the forests in the northern part of our continent, Astana.

The cold air halted and everyone waited to release their breath. I saw a shadow cast over the table as light entered from the hallway. A vivid outline of a defined face entered into my view.

Prince August had arrived.