Hi everybody! This is something I wrote because I was inspired and I felt like procrastinating editing chapter two of "Joke's on you".
Face of the beast
Once upon a time there was a kingdom. A kingdom far unlike its neighbours. A kingdom that arouse from the ashes and grew in strength until it outshined the sun with its glory. A kingdom that once was looked down upon its unusual traditions and now the king and queen ruled the country with an iron fist.
And the kingdom's name was Death City.
Death City and its neighbours blossomed in the time of peace, good health and good harvest. The kingdom was stable and not a threat from the outside world could be spotted.
But their peace would soon come crumbling.
The royal princess hummed delightfully on a lullaby her chamber maiden had sung to her before she fell asleep. Her feet dangled playfully and her pigtails bobbled. Eyebrows drawn together as her quill ran over the parchment.
The double doors shrieked open and the princess whipped around. The queen proudly strolled inside with a large vivid smile playing on her flush lips.
The queen's smile infected the princess and she jumped off her chair. "Mother!" She ran up to the queen and immediately started to tug on her hand. "I want to show you my drawing!"
"Maka darling, were you not supposed to study the fine arts of dining?" The queen's lecture was lacklustre as she let the princess lead her forward.
"I know mother. I suddenly felt inspired and I simply had to draw." The smile immediately melted off her face at the implication. Heart fluttered with happiness for her daughter, but worry for what was about to come.
The two royalties came to a stop in front of the princess's table. The princess excitedly pointed toward the parchment on the wooden surface and the quill thoughtlessly discarded beside it. The queen leaned closer and horror blossomed on her face, hand covering her mouth at the site of the beast on the parchment.
Death City was a kingdom of strange traditions. Every first born of royal blood was destined by Lord Death to find the perfect match to rule the kingdom with. For generations the perfect match had always been found among nobles or high middle-class, people of high intellect and hearts large enough to fit the whole kingdom.
For the first time, the princess was destined to marry a beast.
"I refuse to accept this!" The king of Death City slammed his fist down in the company of the kingdom's wisest men and women. "My daughter will not partner with a beast!" The drawing of the beast crinkled in his hand. Sharp teeth exposed and eyes longing to feed on the princess's soul.
"My king, my queen." A man with pale hair in a suit rose from his chair and bowed deep toward the royal couple. Even the emergency meeting hadn't stopped him from dressing up. "With no disrespect, but how could we possibly disobey destiny? She is five years old and has bonded with her partner in soul. She drew the face of her partner. How could we possibly stop fate?"
"I do not care how!" The king slammed his fist once again on the oak table, the members of the parliament flinched and the queen sobbed with despair. "This has to be stopped at all costs!"
"My king." A woman with golden locks rose beside the man, lowering her head with respect toward the royalty. "Should we not trust destiny to make the right choice of mate for the royal princess? Fate has not failed us yet, maybe it will not fail us now."
"It is a beast." The queen whimpered, holding a handkerchief to her mouth. "It may look human, but it has teeth like a wolf and hungry eyes like a starved one. A monster like that cannot possibly be fit to be my daughter's future mate."
The pale haired man pushed his glasses up further on his nose and nodded understandingly. "I suggest we build a wall around the kingdom."
"A wall?" The woman beside him echoed.
"Yes. A wall. It will control the entering and exiting of citizens and travellers and it will keep this beast away from Death City."
"A wall…" The king rubbed his chin, wondering. "Build it."
The very next day, the workers of Death City started building the wall. As the wall rose higher and higher toward the sky, the young princess Maka grew older and older. The pictures of the beast grew in numbers and in detail. The simple stick figure turned into meaty limbs and skinny cheeks and jaw. Eyes half-lidded as if focusing on its next prey. As the princess unknowingly was more and more intrigued by the beast, the royal couple grew more and more worried for their daughter.
The guards guarding the gate to the kingdom were well aware of the danger that would approach the kingdom. Night and day they guarded the gate to keep the beast away from the princess. The princess completely left in the dark about the bond between the beast she drew and the upcoming fate.
As she grew older, the royal couple began to fear the beast's soon arrival, and her freedom was taken away. The princess only allowed to stroll around the castle's garden supervised once a week.
The walls weren't enough to keep her away from her destiny.
She breathed heavily and fast as she pumped her arms. Her servant's shoes she'd borrowed slapped on the grass. "Princess!" She glanced behind her, seeing silhouettes of horses and guards on their backs with lanterns lighting up the dark night like stars. Quickly she dived into the forest, twigs breaking under her shoes and branches slapping her face.
She couldn't get caught. Not now when she was finally outside of the kingdom's walls and seeing the outside. Not after being locked away in the royal castle for years. The outside was calling for her. She needed to get out.
Her hands covered her face as she ran blindly in the dark forest, hearing hooves galloping. The lanterns were out of sight from the trees and leaves.
She was safe.
The princess came to a stop, resting her palms on her knees and breathed deeply. Relief washed over her and a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Although the guards would look day and night for her and turn every stone in order to find her, she knew her freedom was limited. It was only a matter of time before they found her.
Her back straightened and she continued to move further into the forest, feeling her way forward with her hands. Slowly she moved leaves out of the way and carefully stepped onward. If she'd known she would be wandering in a dark forest, she would've taken the time to grab a lantern. Never before had she experienced such darkness. The royal gardens were always brightly lit and so were the corridors. She could barely see her hand in front of her.
She shrieked with surprise when her foot met air. She fell, crashed on dirt and tumbled down a slope fast. Her world spun around in circles. Her scream overpowered the sound of twigs breaking. Bright orange bounced in and out and around her vision. Finally she collided with warm dirt. The wind was knocked out of her and she gasped for air. A bone fire flickered only three yards in front of her, spinning around in her vision.
A groan sounded from below her and instantly she looked down. Dark eyes of a man stared at her. "Shit lady."
"Oh dear!" Even though she was dizzy beyond belief, she scrambled off him. "I am very sorry, Sir!"
The unknown man rubbed his chest as he slowly sat up. The fire lit up his features. His eyes weren't black, they were a deep red. A colour she hadn't seen anywhere but in the crimson roses in the royal garden. His hair shone a bright white as if the moon had blessed it with its glory. He grimaced in pain, exposing sharp teeth like a wolf's.
Her mouth fell open and without a shred of manner her mother had taught her she stared blatantly at him. "You are the man from my drawings."
He cracked an eye open and cocked his eyebrow at her. "Huh?"
"You look exactly like the character I have been drawing for years!"
"Miss, I think you might have hit your head―"
"Princess!" Her head whipped toward the sound. Oh no. They must've heard her when she fell.
"You are the princess?" His eyebrows disappeared under his bangs as he stared baffled at her.
Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly as she stared into his deep ruby eyes. Eyes more beautiful than she could've ever witness. Her heart tumbled in her chest, tugging toward his direction. She'd been drawing him for a long time. She was intrigued by him. She didn't want to separate herself from him. She needed to be with him.
"Yes…" She whispered to the sound of hooves breaking twigs and the light from countless of lanterns through the leaves and trunks.
The king rode to the bonfire. To his relief saw his daughter in dirty servant's clothing, but no visible wounds. Horror made his blood freeze in his veins when his eyes suddenly stopped at a white haired beast with eyes the colour of blood and sharp teeth that could tear off flesh from the bone.
He looked at his daughter's mate.