Thread: Can the darkest of hearts love? :: Pretty/Relix

In the most beautiful kingdom of Vovani, everything was perfect. People were happy, the crops flourished, the wicked punished accordingly. The Gods seemed to favor Vovani above all others. Their borders had not seen an attack in nearly five decades. Only the oldest remembered the time of war before King Delaunay took the throne, bringing peace over the land for many years. All seemed perfect in this lush an vibrant land. But, as all things are wont to be, this beauty and perfection was only skin deep. The public saw only seemingly happy Royal family the most noble and courageous King Delaunay, the pious and loving Queen Elwen, and their only daughter, beautiful and spirited Princess Meredith. Those in the capital city remember still when the young Princess would run and laugh through the streets, causing mischief with the urchins who dwelt in the city. None worried for her safety, since every citizen loved their young future queen, and looked after the girl. It was not until that pretty child grew into a beautiful young woman, that her father sensed the need to become concerned with his daughter's reputation. She spent all of her free time with a young man whom she had known since childhood. It all seemed innocent. They were so young after all. But the old King was constantly reminded that while Nobles did not wed until seventeen at least, the common folk married as young as twelve. As soon as a girl was able to get with child, she was considered a woman eligible for marriage. The King could not bare the thought of her innocent little girl to be tainted by those commoners . It was not long that he sent guards to follow his daughter discreetly while she wandered through the city. Scandal. Outrage. His own daughter had been caught shamefully with the commoner, his breeches around his ankles. Although the girl had pleaded and begged with her father, he turned a deaf ear on her. He sentenced the boy to banishment for the attempted rape of the daughter-heir of Vovani. The Royal family could breath a sigh of relief. Their daughter's reputation was safe still and their bloodline untainted. It was clear that the girl could not be trusted to be out and about by herself. She was far too impressionable and naive for her own good. And thus the Princess was made a prisoner of her own home. Limited to her time outside the Palace with a dozen or so guards and a decoy. And none thought to question why at times, the young noblewoman looked as though her heart had been ripped asunder. Seven years since her imprisonment, Meredith had learned to cope and adjust to her role as Princess. She learned to smile and to laugh while in the public eye. No one must know that inside, the Princess's heart was dead. Not once, in those seven years had her smile reached the golden hues of her eyes. Even though, legally, she had become an adult when she received her marque at eighteen, she remained unmarried, dwelling within the Palace, confined to her rooms when she was not attending balls and taking her weekly stroll through the city. Though, none realized that it was really a handmaiden that resembled her highness. She was completely safe on her walks, though, she sometimes wished to make a run for it, but the guards knew who she really was, and would haul her back unceremoniously over the pommel of their horse. It was nearly seven years to the day. Nearly seven years of undisturbed strolls and hiding her identity, walking behind her handmaiden as though she herself were a servant. She never imagined that someone would slip through her guards and run a warm hand down her back, murmuring dark words in her ear. The group was rushed back into the Palace, the Princess left to herself in her rooms. She stood alone, trembling and staring out of her large windows down at the city below. The sun was setting, casting a fiery glow across her pale skin. In her hands she clasped the small blue stone to her heart, the matching stone to the one she wore forever around her neck. The thin silver chain was barely noticeable against the pallor of her skin, and between her breasts the same blue stone rested. It weighed upon her chest now, as though eager to be rejoined with the stone she held in her hands. She had made her decision when she had discovered the stone upon her person. She waited only for nightfall. She had excused her servants, telling them that she did not feel well after the fiasco in the city. They left her alone, knowing all too well that when the Princess wished to be alone. She meant completely and totally alone, and any who interrupted that solitude would witness the woman's temper. It would be simple to get out of the Palace. She needed only tell them that she was Phedre! Goddess bless that girl for looking so similar to herself. The tremble that stole through her lithe frame was both from anticipation and fear. If they were to be caught.... She pushed the thought away. The chance of seeing her childhood love was more than she could pass up. She closed her eyes and again, heard his voice in her mind and the feel of his hand on her. Another shiver passed through her, though completely unrelated to her earlier feelings. She opened her eyes and looked down over the city. The sun had set. It was time. She pulled the light blue cloak over her mass of ebony locks and left her room with naught but a faint rustle of silk to mark her passing. listulistulistu