I do not own Odin Sphere or any of the characters depicted in this story (with few exceptions). That should be self-explanitory.

Chapter 1: A Princess in Exile

The drops of water that rained down from the sky mixed with the tears on Velvet's cheek as she sprinted through Elrit Forest. The memories of her exile were fresh in her mind, events that came suddenly and without warning, shattering the 17 years of peace in her life. Now, with nowhere to go and her only home taken away, she took refuge in the distant forest, a place she often came to think to herself. And this time in particular, the princess of Valentine had quite a bit on her mind.

Growing tired from so much running, the scarlet-clad princess sat against a large oak tree, small birds and other critters finding shelter from the stormy weather in similar places around the forest. As she caught her breath, her mind began reeling once again, the painful events of her past threatening to squeeze more tears from her eyes.

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King Valentine burst through the palace doors, a furious expression on his face. He threw off his heavy coat, a sign that he had been visiting Winterhorn Ridge, the coldest place on Erion, most likely to visit with the prophet dragon Hindel. The Valentinian king was routinely welcomed home by his only true grandson, Virgil, next in line to ascend the throne by the king's request. Velvet, as she always had, remained terrified of the domineering glint in her grandfather's eyes.

"Where is Ariel, that damned wench!!" Valentine screamed, carrying himself like a bull ready to trample all who got in his way. Velvet shrunk into the nearest corner, dreading what abuse might result from Valentine's latest tirade. Her stepbrother Virgil remained composed, chasing after the furious king as if believing he could somehow curb his lust for causing pain to others. Velvet peeked around the corner silently as Ariel, her mother, was brought before Valentine, who promptly struck her across the face.

"Do you know what Hindel told me?" he hissed at her, grasping tightly at her neck. Velvet remained rooted to the spot, despite wanting to do something to help.

"You gave your body to the enemy, you stupid whore!" Valentine answered for her, slapping her again. Ariel could do nothing but cry, she was trapped against the palace walls. Virgil couldn't help but look away each time he heard Valentine's palm connect with his mother's face, apparently knowing just as well as Velvet that there was little that could be done to quell the king's rage.

"Velvet and Ingway are ODIN'S CHILDREN!!" King Valentine bellowed with fury, his face becoming nearly as red as his royal wardrobe. "What's more, Hindel prophesied that Velvet is destined to rule my land! Can you believe this filth?!"

Ariel said nothing, but Virgil seemed interested by this news. Unfortunately, he could not stop himself from glancing over in Velvet's direction. Noticing this, Valentine spotted his granddaughter immediately, stormed over, and gripped her by the collar of her vest.

Velvet couldn't escape her grandfather's grip, and braced herself for whatever torment Valentine had for her. The king glared at her icily before grinning widely revealing his misshapen teeth, many of which were replaced by solid gold. His grin turned into a maniacal and twisted laugh.

"You, the ruler of Valentine?!" he cackled with jest. "It would be a tragedy for this kingdom for a spawn of the Demon Lord to even touch my throne!"

With those words, he forced Velvet backwards, sending her crashing into the bookshelves that lined the main hall. Virgil coughed in the background, getting Valentine's attention as Velvet uneasily got to her feet, the Valentinian servants working quickly to clean up the mess that had been created. Virgil's eyes pleaded with Valentine to be a bit more civil, but no words were exchanged. He turned back to Velvet with the same look of bitter hatred on his face.

"I want you out," he whispered venomously. "Out of my palace, out of my kingdom! Do you hear me, girl?! I'm BANISHING you from Valentine!! Set foot in this land again and I swear I'll make you wish you were never born as the daughter of the damned Demon Lord!! OUT!"

Velvet only had a moment to see her mother's tear-filled eyes as she was forced out of the palace doors by the king's guards and made to leave the country. Exiled by her own family, and her mother left to be subjected to King Valentine's boundless wrath, Velvet had everything taken from her in one horrendous moment.

She had only one place where she hoped she might find the tiniest moment of peace. With no other friends or family to turn to, Princess Velvet headed for the Forest of Elrit to clear her mind, although her eyes were already stinging with despair.

The faint feeling of raindrops seeping through her hair snapped Velvet out of her traumatic reminiscing. Her cloak's hood had apparently been blown off by the wind. Pulling the silky cloth back over her head, she curled up against the tree behind her, pulling her knees up to her chest. Her violet eyes looked down at the rain-soaked grass and then up at the black sky, not even a sliver of moonlight revealing itself through the thick rainclouds.

"Mother... please be alright..." Velvet prayed quietly, wiping away the tears from her face. A flash of lightning startled her, followed up by the thunderous roar of the storm. The princess took a deep breath as her eyes slowly fluttered closed, doubting that sleep would provide her any comfort from the nightmares that tormented her while awake.

As her head nodded off, a final thought escaped her lips, the words drowned out completely by the deafening rain.

"Ingway... where are you...?"