The Baker's Daughter
Long ago, in a beautiful kingdom, in a beautiful city, a child was born. She was the King's daughter yet was not born in the palace. The heir to the throne, but was not the child of the Queen.
The child, or as the royal fortune-teller had prophesized, Illiasen, was born to the loveliest courtesan in the land in a dark, dingy corner of town in a dark, dingy house in a dimly lit room. Her mother, unfortunately, passed away soon after giving birth to the child that she and the King had so lovingly conceived, and Illiasen was whisked away into the care of the courtesan's brother but not before receiving a special pendant. A pendant engraved with the ancient royal crest, a golden bird with its wings outstretched upon a crystalline blue stone. She was not delivered to her true father because his wife, the Queen was a frightening and powerful sorceress who seemed to have more control over the kingdom by use of fear then her husband had by winning his subjects affections. (Needless to say they did NOT choose to marry one another.)
Illiasen was now a baker's daughter, hidden from the Queen's magical eyes, and it was the King's wish that that was what she remained.
Many years passed…
"Papa!" The silken voice of a 16-year-old called as she entered the small, humble house that she had lived in since before she could remember. She was lovely and had the shimmering raven hair of her mother and he brilliantly blue eyes of her father, His Highness, the King. Unfortunately, she also inherited the temper that her mother had been so famous for so, betraying her kind and serene exterior, she had a short fuse and was very quick to anger. Otherwise though, the girl was sweet and secretive and hardly ever told a lie, unless she had been instructed to.
"Yes, my child!" called the baker from his bedchamber, "Just a moment!" not two seconds later he emerged, a broad smile on his thin, rosy face. "What is it my dear, Aeowyn?"
The kingdom had fallen on dark times. The King, the only reason that the land hadn't succumbed to the darkness that surrounded Her Majesty, the Queen, had died in battle not two months before the Queen ascended the throne but she had taken over so quickly and masterfully that it seemed to make no difference. The once beautiful city had fallen into a thick smog-like cloud of misfortune. Disease and crime began to run rampant through its formerly glittering streets and the people had lost hope in ever finding the light that they had become oh-so accustomed to. No one was allowed in, or out of the city unless it was for commercial reasons and strange beings had begun to lurk in the corners.
Aeowyn set the basket of bread she had been carrying down on the table, "I'm back!" she squeaked happily. She had an infectious smile and contagious good mood, one that could spread to anyone or anything and it always did. Her father nodded and then addressed her about the basket that was seemingly still full. "Was no one out today?"
She sighed and nodded, "Everyone is too scared to leave their homes now, since the demons began to appear."
"Why then… are you not afraid, dear child?" the Baker asked almost innocently. Aeowyn smiled again and picked up the basket, then began moving towards the shop, "They do not harm me, father."
And that was that.
As this day was o different from any other, Her Highness wasted away the hours brooding. The Queen sat in the throne room, lazily searching the dark sky with her amber eyes. "Any headway in finding the girl?" she asked one of her attendants sharply.
"No." the frail-looking woman said feebly.
The Queen glanced over at her, her piercing eyes penetrating the woman's consciousness. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NO'!?" she erupted, shoving the woman to the ground. The unfortunate attendant fell on to the steps and, being the weak, older woman that she was, she was killed immediately when her grey head hit the marble stairs.
"Get this thing OUT OF HERE!" Her Highness screeched, and the orcs at the door obeyed. "And call in the Captain of the Guards!"
Moments later a handsome, young, brown-haired man entered the room. Erous, as was his name, was the skilled, respected Captain of the Guards and the Queen trusted him above every other of her subjects. "Erous…" the silver-headed woman groaned as she returned to her seat on the throne, "I need you to do something for me…"
"What is it, You Majesty?" He asked gruffly. Oh how he hated answering to this woman. She was a witch, literally and metaphorically, a cruel, heartless, insensitive witch. Not to mention that she killed off nearly every single one of her attendants since she took over, five years ago. She subjected them to mental torture as well as intense emotional strain with her insults and magic. Nearly half of them had killed themselves! And half of them had been under the influence of hallucinogenic magic at the time.
The Queen looked at the young man that stood before her, she knew hw mch he wished to defy her but he wouldn't. She knew he wouldn't. "I need you to find the Princess Illiasen and bring her to me."
"The… Princess, Your Majesty?"
"Don't pretend that you don't know, Erous. The illegitimate child my dear, sweet, late husband conceived with that tramp Umathryl, I had her poisoned 16 years ago, meaning that the damned baby should have died too. But I was too late in my doings and she died after giving birth to it.
Now perhaps you've been wondering why I've increased the village raids recently. The answer is simple. That wicked fortune-teller's prophecy."
"Prophecy?" Erous asked. He knew the story. He knew it all, but making the Queen believe he was a dimwit was more important then showing off his superb memory.
"Yes. Before the child was born, Renalthy, the royal seer foretold that my husband would conceive a child and that child was to be named Illiasen. Which, as you know, means 'In the Darkness, Light Springs Eternal' in the old tongue. She prophesized that a great evil would befall this land that that this princess would absolve it before she turned 18.
Now I can't have that, can I?"
"I do believe not, You Highness." The young Captain said, half-heartedly.
"Right, so now go find her. I want her, alive."
END CH1