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The Betrayel
The world was once divided into two countries, Callis to the North and Darna to the South. Callis was a beautiful, peaceful land. Miles and miles of meadow and valleys between the borders and mountains clear to the coast. Its people were happy and prosperous and the Royal Family was looked well upon. The King and Queen were kind and the Prince was learning to be just as good tempered.
Darna however, was a puzzle unto itself. This country was prosperous as well, but in a different way. Originally, Darna was a Kingdom just like Callis with beautiful lands and beautiful people. For some reason though, all the worst kind of people have flocked to the desert locked land for the past 15 years. Murders, thieves, pirates; any and all of the more evil natured ventured to the land in the South. The black market of Darna was so well known that only those still green in the gills actually attempted to trade in its hob like quarters while the more…professional merchants attempting to trade did so in a manner so discreet they were rarely caught.
At first, when faced with this trouble, the King and Queen were hard pressed to decide what to do. Reign supreme and outlaw, judge and hang all wrong doers? Let it pass and slowly weaken the Kingdom? A balance needed to be achieved but they were lost as to how. You see, at heart, the King and Queen were as good-natured as their counterparts in the North. They did not wish to be the Rulers known by their tyranny. Eventually, a solution was found but from the most unlikely of sources.
The King and Queen had a daughter, the Princess of Darna. She was a beautiful young woman by this point, long blond hair with eyes of silver gray. She was trim in an athletic kind of way and had only subtle curves, like her much taller mother. For all intents and purposes, she appeared to be a fragile, slight thing; the perfect damsel in need of rescuing. Intelligence ran through her much as it did her parents but the girl had never before shown an interest in the politics of the country, let alone anything outside her study. So when the day came that the Princess proposed The Games at all of 16 years old, all were astounded. It was the perfect idea really, considering the requirements to participate: one must be at least 18 years of age, have no proved criminal activity for at least a year, they must pass numerous physical tests and lastly, they must have a legal career certificate and Sponsor from said career. Of course, considering most of these requirements meant only the youngest of the young could participate, the Princess also proposed putting the games off for one year to provide enough time for all the criminals who wanted to participate to fulfill these needs.
There was only one fault with the plan so far as the err…pleasant citizens were concerned and it was the raise in taxes but the Princess went on to explain the need for the higher tithe; although there was an entrance fee for the contest, it would go to the winner of the games, therefore a higher tithe was needed to build the arena and provide the weapons and supplies the players would use. Even though this didn’t quite satisfy the uh….good-natured cut-throats, there were appeased with the idea of a legal, entertaining way to continue with their cut-throat ways and win a prize for being the best.
All the while, there were the stirrings of war between the two lands for reasons none quite clearly understood. Some said it was land squabbles and still others said it was because the one kingdom had made threats against the other. So even though there was peace between the two countries for a good long time and goodness within the two kingdoms as well, the threat of war was unfortunately close to the horizon. It was then that the Princess, now 18, appeared with yet another idea.
o.O.o
The Prince of Callis stared down at the letter in his hand and could do naught but shake his head. Once again she managed to astound him, this mysterious Lady that was the Princess to the South. She appeared at times both weak and strong, temperamental and calm. In the year that they had been exchanging letters, Kolin felt he had learned a lot about his neighboring heir apparent. He thought for sure there wasn’t anything he didn’t know about her but now, this letter in his hand in her stark, clear writing stunned him to his toes. Clearly she was not lacking in nerve. Leaning back in his chair, he titled his head back and stared up at the beautifully molded ceiling that his parents had paid a good deal to have designed.
Her reasons for the proposal were obviously well thought out, not just for herself but for her country as well. What she was suggesting would help to quell all manner of potential war between the two countries. But what about their happiness? She didn’t seem so concerned about it but Kolin was unsure. Could he really give himself to a woman who he might not really know at all?
Closing his eyes, he let the chair fall back onto all four feet and tapped his fingers restlessly against the hard wood desk. Would it really be such a hardship? She was beautiful and from the letters he could glean the goodness of her nature, the intelligence. Surely she wouldn’t be so different from her words…
A small smile formed. Decision made, he opened his eyes, leaned forward and began to pen his response.
o.O.o
Karmina, Princess of Darna, leaned over the balcony of her chambers, her arms resting lightly against the warm granite. She was lost in thoughts, contemplating the letter that now sat folded on her desk. The young woman honestly hadn’t expected an answer quite so quickly though she knew the foreign Prince to be quite prompt. His answer alone though was enough to keep her locked in thoughts, planning away.
She wasn’t quite as oblivious as those in the castle seemed to think she was, nor as cold. She loved to laugh and Karmina always tried to keep the best interests of her people in mind whenever she did anything that would affect the country even remotely. The girl was actually a very nice person she was just what her best friend called socially awkward. If she were to be faced with a person who she didn’t personally know at all, she often times came off sounding cold, her voice clipped and her words short. She just didn’t know how to act around other people, especially those she wasn’t close to.
It was part of the reason she was so stunned to receive an answer from the Prince so quickly. What would he say, now that he’d agreed to the marriage, and he met her and she was nothing like the person in the letters she spent so much time composing. The thought terrified her almost to the point of calling the whole thing off…but it would be so good for the country…and he was charming, so very good. Never one to deny her feelings, not to herself at least, Karmina willingly admitted she was besotted with the man; a man she’d never before set eyes on.
Her father was going to be spitting mad….
o.O.o
As soon as the Princess left the room, another woman entered. After just a moment’s hesitation, she went straight to the desk and picked up the folded letter. Her hands were small, her fingers straight and narrow, the nails tipped in bright red. As her pale gray eyes scanned the missive, a small smirk formed on petal shaped lip; she tilted her head back as the smirk evolved into laughter. Everything was going according to plan.
Slowly, the laughter died off and she brushed blond curls out of her face as she carefully folded the letter and placed it precisely where it belonged. Oh, this was just wonderful. Everything was finally falling into place and the Princess…well, the brat was going to get exactly what she deserved.
o.O.o
“It would help prevent war if both nations saw a happy alliance between our two nations. Papa, Mama, please, listen to me. I’m only trying to do what’s best for our two countries.” Karmina leaned forward on the table, her palms flat against the cold marble.
The King frowned, absently caressing his growing beard in thought even as the Queen studied their daughter. Being a woman, she could see the light of romance in her daughters eyes, the hint of a blush on already rosy cheeks. For her young Princess it wasn’t just about politics, the country or what was right. There was desire there as well and the Queen couldn’t help but wonder from whence it had come. Still, knowing love when she saw it, she smiled. “You may go, so long as your father approves. You will hold a wedding in both Kingdoms I trust.”
Her father closed his eyes, knowing it was out of his hands then and simply nodded his approval. “Very well. You will come back here though if anything happens or goes wrong. I will not have you wedded to a monster.” He smiled at Karmina, the very image of her mother if it weren’t for the short stature, with her blond hair, grey eyes and dimpled smile.
“Yes!” Laughing now, she launched herself around the table and into her parents arms gleefully. “You won’t regret this, I promise you! Everything is going to be perfect now!”
In the corner of the room, a young woman stood, her resemblance to the Princess striking. There was a demure smile on her lips and her hands were crossed in front of her. For all appearances she was happy for her mistress, glad the other young woman was going to marry the man she was infatuated with.
o.O.o
She hadn’t realized how long the journey would be and if it wasn’t for the fact that she’d spend her entire life in the dry heat of the sandy deserts, she would have melted under the intense sunlight. Even now the young Princess itched for just a trickle of water down her parched throat but she understood the necessity of rations in the harsh landscape. It would be a while yet before they reached the next oasis and eventually they would all but disappear between the two borders.
Karmina sighed and glanced at her friend out of the corner of her eye. Demari had been silent most of the trip, which was unlikely for the other girl. Usually the maid was talking a mile a minute but the young woman had spoken hardly a word since they had left the palace. Worried now, Karmina nudged the horse closer to her friend and companion. “Demari…are you alright?”
Demari glanced at the Princess and after only a minute hesitation, one the Princess didn’t catch, smiled brightly. “Of course Karmina! Why do you ask?”
It was the Princess’ turn to pause but she decided to take Demari’s word. “Alright, I suppose. You’ve just been awful quite; I was worried.”
Grey eyes met grey head on, filled with warmth and gratitude. “You musn’t worry about me, dear friend! I was merely thinking about what exciting new things await us upon our arrival in Callis. And you! Marrying the Prince! You should be so excited!!!” She giggled and nudged the Princess good heartedly.
Karmina smiled brightly in return, unable to contain herself. “I am, really! I can’t wait to finally meet him!”
Up ahead, two of the guards paused. Further along the nearly invisible trail an indecipherable object was prone in the sand. There was a horse on the ground beside it and even with the distance between them they could see the tell tale color of blood between the two. The question was whether it was coming from the horse or whatever it was on the ground. As the two young women behind them chatted happily, the Head Guard motioned to the rest to stay behind and the one beside him to follow. Carefully they approached the scene.
The horse looked to be high bred and of good stock; upon closer inspection, the blood was coming from the creature. Dismounting, they approached the indistinguishable blob in the sand. Bryon, the Master Guard, knelt beside it and pulled back what he knew to be a cloak. What he assumed to be the rider of the horse was an old woman, small, fragile and still breathing. Checking her over for injuries, he found none but a small bump on the back of her head which accounted for her current lack of wakefulness.
Before he realized it, the Princess was kneeling beside him, the guards standing awkwardly around. Clearly the Princess had outmaneuvered them. “You should have stayed behind, Your Highness,” he said.
Karmina brushed that off by not even acknowledging it and instead focused on the old woman. With gentle hands, she brushed hair out of the way and examined the old woman. She wasn’t a healer by any means but the Princess knew the basics and that would really be all that was necessary. The woman shouldn’t be asleep, not with the bump on her head. “We have to wake her up,” she said, glancing up at the guard as she laid the woman’s head back down in the sand. That said, she began to shake the old woman’s shoulder.
Startlingly clear green eyes opened slowly after several minutes and they froze Karmina on the spot for the smallest of seconds. Shaking her head to clear it, the Princess focused once more and raised a hand in front of the dark green pools and held up three fingers. “How many fingers do you see?” she demanded, completely ignoring the intensity with which her guards had gathered around her and the hesitant humming of Demari.
The crone rolled her eyes and pushed the girls hand out of her face and struggled to sit up. “Get your hand out of this one’s face, girl. I am no fool!”
Surprising, Karmina raised a brow in question but willingly sat back and allowed the woman her room. “Very well then. How do you feel?”
Green eyes closed and the hag considered this quietly for several seconds before smirking. “A bump on the head is nothing to worry about, child. Now, are you going to help me up or am I to sit here all afternoon?”
Karmina blinked, completely unused to the manner in which the crone was speaking to her, before nodding slowly. “Of course,” she said, backing up and pushing herself to her feet. By now her guards were a tad bit more relaxed and were allowing her to handle the situation though a few of them still watched the crone warily. Reaching out a hand, the Princess was caught off guard as it took more strength than it should have to heave the woman to her feet. She did not let the shock show though as everyone took a step back. “Do you remember what happened?”
The woman snorted and took a careful step back from the Princess, even as she glanced wearily over at her dead horse. Her face screwed up in thought, her pale wrinkled skin warping even more and making her uglier than she actually was. She actually didn’t remember much of anything but that wasn’t much different from any other day as usually she couldn’t remember anything at all. Shaking her head, she grinned toothily at the girl, the first pleasant expression she’d showed the entire time. “Nope. I haven’t an idea what happened. I just know I was headed to Darna.”
The Princess sighed and ran a hand through her hair, pushing a few errant strands back into place where they belonged. “Then you’ll take one of my guards with you as an escort. And you will go to the palace to have your injury looked at. My mother and father employ the best healers in the kingdom.” There was a slight objection behind her but Karmina silenced it with merely a look and the Master Guard, well used to her immovable decisions, let out an exasperated sigh.
The Crone, with suddenly apt attention, focused long and hard on the kind Princess. After several minutes of silence passed and Karmina was still coolly calm under her gaze, the Crone smiled. “I appreciate your help, young Princess and would ask but one favor instead of what you offered.”
It was the Princess’s turn to study the Crone and she did so carefully and much more quickly, before nodding slowly. “Very well. What might I do?”
The Crone motioned to the horse still several feet behind the Princess and guards. “I would borrow your horse to return me to your Kingdom. He looks strong and fleet of feet; he will carry me home quickly and safely and you needs not risk your protection for my sake.”
There was stunned silent after that statement before everyone began speaking at once. Both the guards and Demari doomed it as a horrible idea, begging the Princess to give another horse but Karmina was too busy studying the Crone again to pay any heed to what any of them were saying. There was more to this woman than met the eye, she was sure but as to what the Princess was hard pressed to say. She had always been a good judge of character though and trusted her instincts about the hag. Finally, she nodded. “I will grant that request. You may take my horse to the capital; I trust you will keep him safe, yes?”
“Yes, of course, My Lady,” said she, a wide smile growing over her crookedly old features. “It is a promise I will gladly keep for you.”
Demari stepped forward at this point and set a hand gently on Karmina’s arm. “Karmina…think this through carefully before you act too rashly. We’re still several days from Callis and you’re giving up one of the fastest horses. Not to mention the state of her own horse; are you really going to risk your own steed for such an unworthy cause?”
Karmina shook her head and gently loosed her arm from Demari’s grasp. “He is mine to do with as I wish and I wish to trust this woman. She will take fine care of him.”
The hag stepped forward at this point and without warning, grabbed the Princess’s hand and dragged her away from the group until they were standing before the aforementioned steed. “You will help me mount, young Princess.”
The Princess was stunned yet again at the brash treatment from the woman but could do naught more than shake her head in amusement. It was certainly the first time she had ever been so crudely spoken to but Karmina had a feeling it certainly wouldn’t be the last. “As you wish,” she answered and bent forward to toss the woman up into the saddle.
The Crone grabbed her by the neck though and held her still, whispering quickly into her ear. “Listen now and listen carefully girl to what I have to say. Not all in that group wish to guard you and one especially means you harm. Be careful whom you trust, even among those sworn to your loyalty!” She didn’t give the girl a chance to answer and instead finished pushing herself up into the saddle. “Thank you for your help, your Highness. When next I see you again the debt will be repaid.”
o.O.o
It was all a dream, it had to be; the pain all through her body but especially in her head, the rope around her hands and feet. Something was wrong with the picture, as if she was missing half the pieces. Blearily, she opened her eyes into the semi-darkness of her surroundings and could see nothing except dark shapes moving in the shadows. Her whole body hurt and she couldn’t for the life of her remember what had happened. Carefully, she closed her eyes and tried to put it all together.
After the woman had left, she and Demari had shared a horse, well used to riding double since they’d taken lessons together as children. For a while, things had been fine. There had been no attacks from bandits or creatures and with each day, they were closer and closer to Callis. But Karmina could feel the tension building in their small group and she was hard pressed to understand what it was all about.
Two more days in the desert passed before her small traveling group reached the border between the two lands. It was an odd site, desert fading slowly into vegetation, entering an area more with more shadow than light. It unnerved Karmina and to calm herself, she spoke of her fears to Demari.
They were another day into the forest when something happened. She’d seen the movement out of the corner of her eye and at first hadn’t thought anything about it. After all, they were best friends. Demari would never do anything to hurt her; but then the rock had come crashing down into the back of her head and Karmina descended into bleak darkness.
Even as she struggled into full consciousness now, she could hardly believe that her best friend would do such a thing to her. They had grown up together, finished each other’s sentences, talked of first crushes. To believe that her almost sister had hurt her was to believe she had hurt herself. Still, there was no denying the fact as she was suddenly face to face with the other girl; the hatred in her dark grey eyes was all too real.
“So the little Princess is awake, she is. It’s about time. I thought maybe I’d actually done you in with that rock. You would have made things all the easier if you had gone.” She sneered and yanked Karmina up to lean back against a tree, forcing her head back as she studied what could have been her twin. “I’ve always hated you, you know.”
Karmina closed her eyes and tried to duck her head, unwilling to believe what was happening but Demari’s grasp held her stiff. Unable to stop the few first trembling tears from sliding down her cheeks, she said, “You are my best friend. What are you doing?!”
Demari snorted and let the Princess’ head drop as she stood fully and looked around their surroundings. Just a few feet away she could see all the guards asleep on the ground, bewitched into restfulness by the potion she’d bought. So far, everything was going according to plan. “I couldn’t decide what would be more fun. Killing you myself or letting you try to survive on your own in the wilderness.” She glanced back down at the bound girl. “We were never friends, girl. You saw only what you wanted to see, what you’ve always seen.”
A hiccup escaped as Karmina fought full on sobs, her body shaking with the effort. Whoever this person was, it wasn’t the girl she had grown up with anymore. “I don’t understand why you’re doing this! What did I do to you to deserve being treated like this!?”
The other blond laughed; it was a wicked laugh, the amusement of one not quite all there any longer. “You were born, little girl. The moment you came into the world, things changed. All the magic I’d weaved around your parents faded with the magic you unknowingly possessed. I thought to make all the evil in the world come to your Kingdom and your parents would be forced into a civil war and destroy the Kingdom in the process.” She leaned forward suddenly and slapped the Princess, hard enough that her already injured head knocked back into the bark of the tree. “Of course, you ruined that just as you have everything else!”
It took a moment for Demari’s words to sink in, for Karmina to hear the madness in the speech and to understand what it meant. Slowly regaining control of herself, she asked another question. “That doesn’t answer the why. What does my birth have to do with this?!”
“Because with your birth mother married your father!” she screeched, leaning forward until they were nose to nose. “If you hadn’t been born then mother would have been trapped in the slums and she would have had to acknowledge me! It isn’t fair that you’ve gotten everything, always!”
For several minutes, aside from Demari’s heavy, angry breathing, nothing could be heard in the small dark clearing. It was all slowly clicking into place for Karmina; how she and her now friend looked so much alike, how the girl had always seemed to know more about her mother’s past than she had herself. The way, every so often, she would catch just the slightest bit of jealously in her best friends gaze. Naïve to think it came from wanting her position, vain even. Closing her eyes once again, Karmina could say nothing as the shock of it rode deeper and deeper inside of her.
Demari smirked and grabbed the Princess by the chin. “So I’m going to take the one thing you want most now. It seems only fair after all that I get some of the glory.” She could see that the Princess still didn’t understand and so she shook the girls head back and forth, again and again as she laughed. “You’re so slow right now, darling. Don’t you understand? I’m going to leave you out here in the woods to die and take your place as the future Queen of Callis. Once I’ve done that I’ll weave a tragic tale to my husband about how horrible Darna is and we’ll wage war on our neighbor, destroying the entire Kingdom!”
Even as the words left her mouth, Karmina could see the transformation taking place. The two of them already looked a good deal alike so there wasn’t really much to improve upon but what minor difference there once were, were no longer there. Before she realized what Demari was about, the other woman already had the knife to her hair and was hacking it all off. She thought to struggle but stopped at the look in the other woman’s eyes. A quick movement had the knife at her throat and Demari glowering.
Now, only a day later and completely by herself in the odd surroundings, Karmina was still completely confused and hurt. The betrayal, the information about her mother, what she might be losing if she couldn’t get the guts up to get up and go, to save both herself and her Prince.
That Demari would betray her so harshly, so quickly…it twisted something that had once been pure inside of the other woman. She wanted nothing more at this point than to never see her best friend ever again but she wasn’t willing to sacrifice everything she had for one small petty wish. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and did what she’d always done to calm herself and push away every unimportant thought so she could focus on what was really important; she sang. She was as tone deaf as a bat and couldn’t sing for much of anything. It didn’t have to be pretty or sound good though to sooth her ruffled nerves. It calmed her in a way not much else did.
It was only then that she began to plan.
o.O.o
Somehow, she’d managed to cut the bindings on her wrists and ankles. It was probably luck and a little bit of magic but Karmina wasn’t sure she wanted to acknowledge either, especially when she had other, important things to think about. Like the fact that she didn’t actually know how to get Callis or even where she was. There was also the fact that aside from her cloak, she was ill prepared for what she knew was going to be cold weather. She had no weapons and didn’t know how to craft any nor did she know how to build a fire without a candle or some kind of starter, none of which Demari had been kind enough to leave her.
Just when it was finally beginning to hit home how unprepared she was to face the literal jungle on her own, Karmina felt rather than heard the horse approach. It was only when she saw the cranky old woman atop it that she relaxed, even if it was only a little. “I’m so glad to see you, Old woman,” she said, taking a step closer.
The Crone just smiled and with a few quick, indecipherable words, before Karmina sat a beautiful young woman with burning red hair and startling green eyes, so clear and honest that Karmina found herself lost in them. It was only when the woman cleared her throat that the Princess was able to jerk her attention back to the Lady.
“It is good to see you as well, dear Princess. I see you are in quite a bind.”
“I didn’t take your advice seriously,” she Karmina, blushing a little at her own arrogance. “Even if I had though I never would have thought it would be her.”
The Lady smiled sadly and shook her head. “That is quite alright. We often see only what we want to see, not what is actually before us.” Gracefully, she climbed off the horse and approached the Princess. “Come, my dear. We have much to speak about.”
o.O.o
To say that Kolin was disconcerted would be an understatement. The Princess was beautiful yes, but that seemed to be the only likeness to the person in her letters that he could find. She was ill-mannered, cruel and apparently lacked whatever intelligence she’d shown him via their correspondence and though he would never admit this to her, he could sense the wickedness in her within the first few hours of being in her company.
For the past week since her arrival, Kolin would freely admit to being in hiding; from her! She was clingy and loud, disturbing him at every opportunity and his guards reportedly had stopped her from beating several of the servants already. He could not imagine how such a woman managed to pull the wool over his eyes so thoroughly through those cursed letters. In order to avoid her, he’d been locked in the war room with his advisors for the past several hours, attempting to find a way out of the marriage and send her back on her home peacefully. Even as the thought crossed his mind there was a sudden banging on the door to the room and he could hear her harsh voice through the thick wood.
His advisors looked at each other abysmally, uncertain what to do. Before anyone could make any suggestions though, the pounding stopped, the door swung carefully inward and three women entered the room. One was tall and statuesque, breath takingly beautiful with a waterfall of deep red hair and stunning grey eyes. The second was his fiancé, her cheeks red with anger and though her lips moved to form words, none escaped her mouth. The third looked to be a mouse of a woman, filthy and bedraggled but wearing a cloak that was clearly too high for her station. Her hair was cut jaggedly short and a bruise covered the whole right side of her face; he could not tell what her eyes looked like.
Sighing, he stood and approached the three though he was careful to keep his distance. “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded of the red head for clearly she was the one in charge.
The Lady made a small motion with her hand and his fiancé floated a few feet closer to him, her toes barely scraping the ground. “This one is to be your wife, yes? She is quite beautiful, is she not?”
Kolin frowned; an itch formed at the back of his neck. Something was going on but the woman wished to speak in circles. Glancing at his bride-to-be, he could see little red circles of anger growing larger and larger on her cheeks as she tried to speak through whatever spell was holding her tongue. He almost hoped it lasted forever as that would be one less thing to worry about if he decided to wed her. He sighed. “Yes, to both counts.” He glanced at the Princess again and could not contain himself. “But there is not much else about her that is desirable.”
Behind the Lady, Karmina flinched and wanted nothing more than to bury her head in the sand. How could his opinion of her change so quickly in such a short amount of time?
The Lady smiled at him, a benevolent one that had Kolin forgetting almost all of his troubles. “Very good, Young Lordling. You see that she is not as pure of heart as she is thought to be. Would you wed with her yet?”
Kolin closed his eyes, disliking his own answer. “I would, if only to honor the contract signed between our two countries.”
Once again, she smiled at him. “There will be no need of making yourself miserable, dear Prince. You see, this one has tried to trick you. She is not the Princess at all.”
The girl before him stopped her attempt at speaking and glared daggers at the Lady before turning quickly to Kolin, a pleading look in her eyes as she tried to speak to him.
Kolin was paying no attention to the girl though and had instead focused his attention fully on the Lady. She smiled at him and began to explain, but was stopped by a gentle touch on her arm.
Karmina took a deep breath and presented herself to the Prince. “Your liege, my name is Karmina, Princess of Darna.” She paused for a moment to see his reaction and catching the doubt in his eyes as he looked her over, hurried on. Pointing to Demari, she continued. “This is Demari, who I thought to be my best friend our entire lives. We’d grown up together. Maybe I was too vain, too conceited to see it, but I never saw the hatred she harbored for me and my family, or the ambitions she attained.” Quickly, she reached inside her destroyed bodice and pulled out a thin silver chain. On it was a slim ring, designed for a small hand with a yellow stone set in the center. “You sent me this, in your last letter with your answer. I don’t know why you didn’t mention the ring in the letter but I did not tell anyone either and possibly because of this, she did not get it.”
Kolin moved to interrupt, but the Princess continued; too much was at stake to stop now. “I, Karmina, Princess of Darna, do offer you, Kolin, Prince of Callis, the chance to break the engagement between our two countries on the basis that you were lied to and almost wedded to an imposter.”
Before she could utter another word, Kolin stepped forward and set a hand gently over her lips, even as his other hand softly caressed her bruised cheek. Maybe it was the innocence with which she spoke, perhaps it was the way she was so utterly calm and precise, as he’d come to know her in their letters. Whatever it was, he knew this girl with her mangled hair and bruised skin was the one he was to marry. “There will be no need to break the engagement. You are here and you are the woman I wish to marry.” He settled a soft kiss on her forehead and pulled her closer into the protection of his arms before looking to the Lady again. “What will happen to her?” he said, pointing to Demari, who at this point was screaming angry, silent invectives and glaring daggers at both the Prince and Princess. If it was weren’t for whatever spell the Lady seemed to have on her, Kolin was sure she would have attacked by now.
The Lady smiled and for the first time since seeing her, Karmina was scared of the woman. There was a glint in those elegant green eyes that was not at all pleasant. “She is going to come with me. I will teach her what it means to be so betraying to those who loved her.”
After the Lady left, Demari transformed into a small bird and taken with her, the Prince and Princess were wed. They lived happily ever after.
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