Chapter One

"What! You've barely noticed me for the past seventeen years, then when you finally realise that you actually have no use for me, you send me away! How is that going to help? I've learned everything that I need to know here, if you actually paid any attention to someone other than yourself you'd-"

"Enough! I will not tolerate this insolence anymore. You are my daughter, and I am a king, if I choose to lock you up, you say 'In which room?', if I choose to send you away for further teaching, you say 'Where father?' Am I understood?"

"But what is there to learn that I cannot learn here?"

"Am I understood?"

Serenity frowned. "Yes your majesty."

"Your Majesty?"

"That is your title is it not?"

"Yes, but I'm your father."

"So?"

The king started to look exasperated. "Normally, children call their fathers 'Father' or some such. You didn't."

Her frown grew deeper. "I never have…I thought you didn't like me call…well we've never…Can I go?" She shook her head "Err…May I retire?"

"Of course."

Serenity rushed out of the room, and didn't stop until she had reached her room. She closed the door, and slid down to the ground, resting her head on her knees. She had known that something like this would happen eventually; her father would finally take notice his youngest daughter, and they would all be a happy family. She did not expect to finally be seen, and then sent away. To say that this was a blow, would be understating the matter. She didn't even know where she was being sent, all she knew was that she was to pack her bags, and on the morrow, a coach would be sent to pick her up and take her to where ever her destiny lay. It didn't seem fair that in all of Fíona, the one girl who was least likely to change anything, or make a mark on anything, the one girl who had no future, nothing to speak of, would be sent away. On one hand, she could start fresh. Serenity could become someone else, she would have a new page on which she could write on, but on the other hand, Serenity would be leaving everything she knew. The Lys Kingdom was a very beautiful place, where the weather was warm, and it was very close to the Forest. What if she was sent to the arctic north, with the cold winds and the lack of daylight? No, she would not think of that.

As Serenity say there, the day grew long, until it finally merged into night, and as Serenity sat there and thought, she fell asleep.

Before she knew it, the new day had come and Serenity's room was a flurry of action. There were maids underfoot, and runners sending messages to hundreds of different places in the castle. A light green traveling dress was shoved onto her, making Serenity's longs black hair seen darker than the night, and her creamy skin look paler than ever. To call her pleased would be understating the matter, yet she had no choice, so she simply let the tide around her flow.

"So you're finally leaving us?" Serenity turned around.

"Saeko, I'm not leaving I'm just…"

"Leaving?"

The two sisters laughed. Saeko and Serenity weren't very close, in fact, if they weren't sisters one would only call them acquaintances, but as far as relationships went, Saeko was the closest thing Serenity had to a friend.

"D'you know where you're going"

"No" she said annoyed "And nobody will tell me either. Upon the gods, it's like they are packing away my life into boxes and trunks, sticking me in with all my dresses, and then waiting to see where I end up. I for one don't think it's fair."

"Oh…so you don't know…"

Serenity looked suspicious "Sister dear, do tell me what you know."

"Thor-er…Serenity, if you don't know, maybe you're not supposed to."

"Hmmm…I hadn't thought of that, now tell me."

"Stop whining, it's unattractive." Saeko reprimanded. "And I don't think that I should tell you. It'll become apparent enough when you get there."

Serenity begged. "Please Saeko, please, please, please. You're not the one who's being sent off to who-knows-where, not knowing when you'll return."

"It is for the best little sister." And she left.

"Stupid sisters" she muttered while stomping out of her room towards the courtyard, "always thinking that they know what's best for you. I'm seventeen now, and I do know what's best for myself. It's not like she looked out for me when I was younger," she paused "it's not like she ever looked out for me-oh! I'm sorry!"

"Do you always have a habit of bumping into people especially me?" a young man smirked, getting up from his bum in the middle of the hallway.

"I think I'm not so sorry anymore." She said quietly

"What's that Thorny? I didn't hear you." She muttered the statement again. "Really, you are talking to the crown heir you know, it's probably best if you talk up, and those lions will just eat you up if you're too timid." He sneered.

"What was that you said?"

"To late, now move along, I don't need this now."

"Oh well excuse me your majesty." Looking affronted, she marched away. "Bloody siblings"

After that with little, to no incidents, Serenity managed to make it to the courtyard where the activity in her room was multiplied tenfold. Before there were maids underfoot, but in the courtyard there were grooms readying the horses, and there were men waiting to put her trunks into the carriage. It felt to Serenity that she was leaving forever, rather than just for the meagre sum of time her father had implied.

Through the years, Serenity had slowly forgotten that she was a princess, and she had also forgotten the impact a royal could have. Seeing that she had not been out of the north wing for so long had also impacted on this, so when she walked out in to the courtyard, she did not realise that her mere presence alone would stop all the work she had noticed before. All the eyes in that space turned to her and simply stopped and stared.

Serenity never was in the public eye because her family tucked her away after her mother died, but when she was younger, and did socialize, she was known in the palace. Now after her self-imposed confinement of about a decade the palace got to see the woman she had grown into. They saw the way she stood tall, and held herself gracefully. They saw the delicateness of her face, and the way her stark colouring gave her an exoticness that they had only seen in foreigners. What they failed to see was the sadness in her eyes, and the way she seemed to carry a burden much too large for herself. What they did not see was the pride, and the anger she carried. By alienating this girl, not only did they make a stranger, but they made someone who, if driven to it, would bring all her anger, and sadness onto the world, and would change it by her force of will.

What they also did not realise was that in alienating Serenity, they made a wall against her, which then created then created a fear of her. A fear which was in the heart of every single man and woman in the courtyard, except for one little girl, who, due to her innocence, only saw the angel in Serenity.

"Miss, are you an angel? My ma said that angels are so beautiful that they come from another world. So d'you come from another world? 'Cause you look really pretty."

Serenity stood there gaping at the girl, and the silence stretched until Serenity burst out laughing.

"No sweetling, I'm not an angel, I'm just a normal person like you." She then crouched down in front of the girl "What's your name little one?"

"Sara miss."

"Well Sara, I am not an angel, but if you really believe that you'll see one, then one day you will. I promise. You just have to be a good little girl for your mummy."

"I will, but miss who are you? I ain't never seen you here before…"

"Sara!" a heavy woman interrupted scandalised, "You can't ask princesses things like that. It's rude."

"But Maaaaaa..."

"Sara-"

"It's fine madam, the little one's right, I'm never around, and now that I am leaving, she will not see me at all. Sara" she said addressing the girl, "Do you know of the stories of the little princess who was locked away?"

"Yes miss."

"Well I'm the little princess."

"But you're not a monster!"

"So they're saying now" Serenity said wryly. "And it depends on who you ask little one. Now, I should be going, I have a destiny to meet…has the carriage been readied?"

"Aye, your highness."

"Then I should be leaving. Good bye Sara. Maybe I'll see you in another life." No one knew how true these words would become, in what seemed like the very distant future.

After sitting in the carriage which rocked and bounced to no end, for what seemed like hours, Serenity knew that they were drawing close to their final destination. The driver had seemed to speed up, which in Serenity's mind only meant two things; either there were bandits chasing them, or the drives knew that they were close to their homes and families, and they wanted to get there all the faster. What felt like an eternity only was about ten minutes, and by a quarter past the hour, Serenity could feel the bump of cobblestones under the carriage wheels. Serenity looked out the window, and saw a sight, that in many ways astonished her. The city they were drawing up to was at the very least two times bigger than Ehlanna, and the people she saw were of so many different colourings, that Serenity was rather shocked. Growing up as sheltered as she was, Serenity had only met those who bore the colourings of her people, the blond and fair skin of her family, but here…here were people from all over Fíona. People from across the Colourless Seas, and some even as far away as the Dragon Isles.

"Driver, what city may this be?" Serenity called out.

"Well yer majesty, this be the port city o'Karrin, the jewel of the Lyon cities."

"And who is the ruling family?"

The driver looked astonished, "Miss, I figured that you'd know that, seein' as yous had the royal upbringin' and what not…Also yer majesty, I told you before. We're in Lyons' territory now."

She grimaced "Ah, I remember now, Alan Lyon, and his son Markus Lyon are what make up the royal family here. Hmmm…that may present a problem."

"Aye, if yer majesty says so, but beggin' yer pardon miss, but what about her majesty?"

"Who?"

"Her majesty, the princess…Kiera or summat like that?"

"And who may that be good sir?"

The driver snorted, "Well majesty, she's the prince's younger sister. I suppose that you'll be spendin' lots of time with her."

Serenity looked intrigued "Hmmm…I guess I will…"

Authors Note: Hmmmm I was hoping that it would be longer, but apparently I decided that stoping here would be good...wow, I was just talking about myself weridly...yeah, don't mind me. Anyways, hope you liked the chapter, once again with the review, don't flame yadda, yadda, yah ummm...and I'm sorta looking for a beta, I do go over the chapter, but as you could see with the last chapter, and probably this one, I do miss things, which is sad on my end, but yeah. If anyone wants to do a quick beta now and then I would love you forever. Ciao everyone!