Radiance

==Radiance==
My retelling of Snow White.
==Warning==
There will be mentions of violence, self-abuse, some mature content, and mild/censored swearing.
==~ Rykata ~==
I first saw him when I was sixteen.
I'd been serving at a banquet, helper to my older sister, Mathilde, who worked at the palace. I knew it was only a matter of time before they fired me, but I couldn't care less.
I clumsily tipped the jar into a mug, and the noble receiving it slapped me hard across the face. I steadied the wine even as I fell, my fingers struggling to regain a hold.
Half of the court quieted. I remember seeing the King, only nineteen then, rising from his throne with an expression of curiosity and nonchalance on his face.
"What is going on here?" he asked.
The noble threw a look in my direction. "I do not wish to trouble you, Your Majesty. It is nothing of concern. Simply a fool servant girl."
"Oh?" The King beckoned to me with one hand, rings glittering on his fingers. They were slender and nimble, still the hands of a boy's, even though he was barely an adult. 
I walked towards him, trembling at what he might do. Would he beat me or reprimand me? Would there be punishment?
"You are a beautiful maiden," the King said thoughtfully. "It is a shame to see you bearing cups for the court."
"Your Majesty!" the noble from earlier shouted. I later learned his name was Lord Rion. "You - but you do not know anything of this girl!"
"Certainly not," the King said, though it sounded like he was just humoring Lord Rion. "We shall see."
__
I saw him many times after that encounter.
Lord Rion had convinced the court I was trouble, and so I avoided those nobles particularly. I waited on Lady Thora, a lady of the court. She was, unfortunately, married to Lord Rion, but we made do.
"Do not make a fool of yourself," Mathilde told me on one occasion. "Our position in the palace is already as fragile as it is. Why pique their interest when you could stay invisible, safe?" Her eyes softened. "You know I only want your safety, Rykata."
"I understand, Mathilde," I said, though I wasn't exactly sure what I was agreeing to.
But I was tempted to ignore that rule when I saw the King again, six months later.
He was sitting at the swan fountain - just thinking, an expression of thoughtful contemplating on his face. I set down a jug of water I was supposed to be bringing for Lady Thora, and didn't dare to meet the King's eyes as I dipped my hands delicately into the fountain.
When he saw me, I flinched.
The look on his face was of genuine disappointment and hurt. "Do not feel that you can't let me see you without reprimand," he said. 
"I am sorry, Your Highness." Still, I stared at the ground and bent in a curtsy. "To have troubled you."
The corners of his mouth twitched. "A punishable offense, perhaps?"
I gasped, startled, then laughed out loud.
"You see, it is not that hard," the King teased. He looked into my eyes, full of understanding and hope. "My name is Devon. What is yours?"
"Rykata, Your Highness."
He smiled and dipped his head. "Rykata. A name fit for a princess."
"I am a mere servant, Your Highness," I said meekly. "But that is very kind of you."
"You needn't have said so," the King assured me. "And please, call me Devon."
My lips curved upward. "I will, Your Highness."
He shook his head, amusement dancing across his features. "Perhaps next time...Rykata."
==~ Aella ~==
Impossible.
I swept past him, my poise as regal as the rest of me, my gown made of rich red silk and embroidered with serpentine golden dragons. On the outside, I appeared calm, but inside, my heart burned in fury.
How dare he love someone else.
How dare he.
The King was betrothed to me. To me - Princess of Astoria, secondborn heir to my throne. Our marriage would produce an alliance more powerful than any of our others.
But here he was - walking hand in hand with some...servant.
How dare he!
He was mine.
And this girl would not get in my way.
"King Devon," I said, finally unable to take it any more. "I believe you offered to give me a tour of the castle?"
He frowned, but kept his discomfort hidden. "Yes, Princess. I'll be along shortly."
"Good," I said, shooting the servant girl a glare before I glided out of the palace. 
Elegant. Beautiful.
Every inch the princess that I am.
==~ Rykata ~==
As soon as she left, Devon glanced at me, pained.
"I am sorry our afternoon was cut so short." He looked genuinely apologetic. I clasped his hand tighter. "I will make it up to you, I promise."
I smiled and agreed that it was all right, and let him go on his way. But as soon as he left, I bolted up to my servant's quarters and buried my head in my hands.
How could I be so foolish? I could never marry a King. I would always be the servant, nothing more, looking on as this beautiful princess took over his kingdom and ruled far more spectacularly than I ever could.
"To hell with it, Rykata." I smeared my tears across the back of my hand. "You are a fool."
Mathilde entered the room as soon as I spoke those words. An air of disappointment hang between us like a veil.
"Language, Rykata," she said peaceably, then dipped her hands into our basin of water - carefully, not dripping any on the carpet at all.
I wished I could be as beautiful or graceful or elegant as my sister. But it wouldn't work - my dark hair refused to stay back and was rarely tamed, my hands were callused from work, and my skin was the color of copper. Yet why did the prince seek me when he could have his beautiful, betrothed princess?
Stop feeling sorry for yourself, I thought. You still have work to do, anyway. 
I set myself on that belief and wordlessly headed out, keeping my head down. My hair was covered with a patterned scarf Mathilde had made me for my fifteenth birthday last year. I slipped through the servants' entrance and started down the path.
Everyone knew that the castle grounds led straight to the marketplace, but no one ever commented on it. It was only spoken hurriedly among Mathilde and I - "I'd better use the castle entrance, I must be to the market or else Lady Dena will have my head." "The normal entrances aren't available, I'll meet you at the garden" - that sort.
I skipped past the rest, smoothing out my skirts as I approached. Merchants called out their wares as I passed, trying to seduce me into buying. But all I needed were some ribbons for Lady Thora's hair - there was going to be an extravagant ball tonight, celebrating the arrival of the princess who'd taken Devon away. 
I located a man selling accessories and bought some brightly colored ribbons. They would suit Lady Thora's fine features and her thick blonde hair. I touched my own, then paid for the ribbons.
Lady Thora had a residence just outside of the castle. It was walking distance, about an hour or two's time, but today, I swallowed my complaints and went on with my business.
Lady Thora also had a room at the palace, but she hadn't used it in years. The rumor was that she had lain with the Caiac prince when he'd come to visit the court, but when he was assassinated three years ago, she moved out and never came back into that room again.
"You. Servant girl. Finally." The door flew open before I even knock or ask to come in. "I've been waiting for you. Do you have my ribbons?"
Lady Thora was one of the greater beauties of our generation. She had blonde hair, untied and swept neatly around her shoulders. She was wearing a fine silken dressing gown, showing off the fine curves of her body.
"Lady Thora," I said, and bowed.
She waved a hand dismissively. "Off with that bowing nonsense, girl. The ball is a mere few hours away. Get started!"
And so, I found myself in front of a mirror, braiding Lady Thora's hair into elegant twists, pushing in jeweled pins and trying not to grimace when I pricked myself on one of them.
"What have we said about that bowing business?" Lady Thora barked, and let me in.
Category:Literature
Category:Fiction
Category:Original Stories
Category:Original Stories (Unfinished)
Category:Stories
Category:Fantasy
Category:Pride Month Story