Chapter 1

The Alliance

It had been a dreadful few minutes since king Roland had asked for an audience with princess Sofia and to now when she was standing outside the throne room. She had been thinking this would happen soon due to the state of the kingdom, but when the door opened the fear of what was lying ahead became more real and her heart started beating faster. Nevertheless, she walked forwards into the room, where her stepfather was waiting for her. The room looked its usual old self, but the tension Sofia felt between the king and herself, made it seem smaller. When she had walk half the length of the room, she stopped and looked up at Roland. There was a short silence where nothing could be heard except the echo of Sofia's footsteps, then Rolend spoke:

"You probably already know why i summoned you hear, Sofia." Said Roland. "I know that you are a smart girl, so I hope that you also are able to see that I only do this because I have to." He looked at her awaiting her answer, but she only looked back at him, knowing what she really wanted to say wouldn't make the situation easier, or change the king's mind.

"Well, Sofia I hope you understand that in times of war I have to think of what is best for the kingdom, and that sometimes mean that you have to do things that you don't want to," he gave her an awaiting stare, but when she only nodded he continued, "and when you are king, that can also mean you have to make others do those kind of things." He said, now giving her an almost guilty look. And now she spoke for the first time since she had arrived in the throne room: "I understand, and i accept." She had said the words looking down at her feet, but when she again looked up, she saw the king's face looking pleased. "I am very happy you feel that way, but maybe you would still like to know who you are going to marry?" His whole body showed that telling her this had been weighing on his shoulders, and he now looked at her with an excitement like he was about to give her a present. Only Sofia didn't really care wich prince it was, the only one she wanted to marry, was the one that she could never marry. But Roland didn't notice the frown on Sofia's face. "It's prince Jin from the Wai-Ling Empire. Emperor Quon will be a very important ally in this war. His army is a lot larger than ours, and we are going to need all the help we can get. But of course that doesn't interest you, but still it's exciting Sofia, we haven't had a wedding since your mother and I got married all those years ago. I expect that two days will more than enough for you to gather your thoughts and pick out a dress." But sofia wasn't listening, she was concentrating hard on suppressing the urge to cry. And right when she was about to give in to the feeling of unhappiness, that was filling her body, someone else spoke:

"Father, you cannot do this," princess Amber had emerged from the corridor on the other side of the throne room doors,"you cannot marry Sofia Away for the purpose of the war when Sofia is in love with somebody else." If Sofia had felt bad before, it was nothing compared to what she felt now. She had planned it out, that she was going to do this and never tell the king what she really wanted to do. And now not only was Amber involved, but the king also knew that Sofia had had duats. If the king was about to find out that the very same prince Sofia was in love with, was the son of the king he was fighting a war with, all Sofia's plans of stopping the war, using her close relationship with the king, was sure to stay in her head. "Amber, I told you to never tell that to anyone," Sofia whispered to Amber when she was close enough, bet she wasn't sure that Roland didn't hear it. Amber looked at Sofia in Surprise, "but Sofia, he was going to marry you of to some prince." Amber said waving a hand in the direction of king Roland. "Yes, and nothing you say is going to change that." Sofia said looking from the now both confused and furious Amber to the king. "Is that true, Father?" Amber said looking up at the king, with a indignant look on her face, like the one she use to give him as a kid when he told her no to get a new tiara, but this time there was a hint abandonment, Sofia noticed, like she already knew what was coming. The king however didn't look torn between telling the ugly truth or not, to his favorite daughter, he didn't even seem to pay much attention to conversation. And after a few seconds when he finally spoke it sounded like it was just word without any meaning to him whatsoever, that came out of his mouth. "Amber you have to understand, that we need to go to extreme measures to win this war." He didn't even look at her as he spoke. "When you are a princess, duty comes before love." He sounded very automatic, like it was some kind of rhime he had known since he was a kid. In Amber's frustration she didn't notice this and was about to go on, but Sofia stopped her: "This i why he chose me to do this and not you." Said Sofia, hoping that this would make her understand. Amber stared from the king to Sofia and back again, looking utterly bewildered. Maybe it hadn't occurred to her, that it could have been herself about to be married of. But then it seemed to hit her, the reality that was the hideousness of the kings plan. She now look like anger and hatred was boiling insider her.

"You didn't choose me because, knew that I would never agree to do it," she said and now her expression changed completely, she look back a Sofia with tears in her eyes which looked altogether helpless.
"It would end up being you in any case, because…. you would never say no, knowing that it would then have to be me," she said on the edge of tears. "And you," she said now with a stronger voice turning to face Roland, "you thought it would be easier to choose Sofia in the first place."

Amber couldn't hold the tears any longer, and the king seemed to have been touched by this for a brief moment, before his expression hardened again. Sofia sensed that Amber was ready to leave without any more questions, and was happy that Amber didn't have to suffer any more.

"Amber," Sofia walk over to her, and put an arm around her shoulder, "please leave now, this is a matter between our father and I." Amber looked at her in surprise, but without any outbursts or objections, she left the throne room.

"Was it part of your plan," Sofia said looking up at the king, trying to supress an angry tone. "To have her listen by the door, to have her object, so that you would be sure that i couldn't say no?"

Roland didn't say anything, he only sended a guilty look to the floor.
"Very well, then I can tell you, that you didn't have to hurt her like this," the king looked up at her, his eyes suddenly appeared old and wounded, and Sofia almost couldn't bring herself to say: "I would have done it anyway."

And with an empty feeling in her stomach and the inability to forget the face of the old man that was sitting on the throne behind her, she too left the throne room.