Thrown Into Fire: The Sacrificed Princess

"She's like some sort of spirit. Honestly, was it that difficult for her to have inherited her father's genes?"

I stopped in my place as I listened to the maids talk around the corner of the hall. They were haphazardly sweeping, dust flying up into the air rather than into their dustpans. I kept my back to the wall, staring up at the ceiling. There was a new crack in the stone that I hadn't noticed before, and it seemed the spider in the corner had made its web bigger. At least one of us was able to upgrade their home.

This wasn't new. In fact, they were being nicer today than they usually were. Most days, they would curse me out. They would say I was the devil's incarnate, and they were better than having to work at my palace.

Working here was a punishment, after all. No one came to the palace looking for a job and find themselves ecstatic to be placed in my palace. My palace was run down, unmaintained, and desolate. This was closer to an abandoned warehouse than it was an imperial palace. Carriages did not come through the route towards my home, meaning anyone who needed to come and go would have to suffer the seven mile walk between my palace and the Crystal Palace, where the King and my siblings usually resided. Even the maids' quarters and the knights' barracks were closer to the main palace.

The maids working for me would be sent here in the name of discipline. They'd made a fatal mistake in front of their master, and needed to be taught perfection was the only acceptable choice. Crimes included, but were not limited to, overfilling a ceramic teacup just by a hair, leaving a streak of water on the glass window, or even organizing their masters' shoes the wrong way. Their stay would never be long. They were brought here to be taught a lesson, one that they would learn quickly if they weren't ignorant of my living conditions. It was a good punishment, I would give them that. Once they served their time or the head maid from their palace started looking for them, they would leave and most likely never return. The maids kept talking, as if I wouldn't punish them if I caught them. Which, true. I could recognize their voices, but I didn't know their names. I didn't want to know their names.

"If she looked like His Majesty just a little bit, perhaps we would have more to eat than the leftovers from the Jade Palace! And with the heat right now..." The maid shuddered in horror. "The food spoils before we even reach it back to this shack!"

"Haven't you noticed the other maids don't eat after they return here? You stupid girl! They eat on the way here, while the food is still fresh enough to stomach," the other maid scolded her.

"If we do that, then how does the princess eat?" Confusion laced her voice. Of course she didn't know. She had only been here for four days. From what I heard, her sentence shouldn't be too long. She did not commit any offense in front of her princess, but the head maid of her palace had disliked her tone of voice.

"She eats what we don't eat, obviously," the maid snickered in response.

I let out a quiet sigh. I would have to pass by them if I wanted to head out towards the Crystal Palace. I'd finished the books I'd taken and desired to exchange them out for new ones. It was the beginning of the rotation, meaning there should be new books that I hadn't read yet. If I was lucky, the maids would scatter at the sight of me. If I wasn't, they would sweep dust into my face and pretend it was an accident.

"She's like a ghost!" The senior maid continued speaking as they began to pick up their cleaning tools to move onto a new area, "Like you said, she does not look like His Majesty at all. The other princesses are beautiful– even the prince is more elegant than she is!"

"You work with the princesses? Have you ever seen the prince?! Is what they say true– their hair shines like the sun?"

"It's as if gold drips from their scalp." The maid was bragging as if she had given birth to these children herself, so proud of their looks. "And yet, our bastard princess... There is no pigment in her hair! I once saw her outside in the middle of the night, and she was creeping around the garden like she was possessed."

"The dead garden?" the other maid gasped in horror, the senior maid humming in response.

"She's bad luck, I tell you. My time here is almost over. Soon, Princess Aurelia should call for me to return to her side. I cannot wait to be able to serve such a benevolent master again."

"Lucky. I have three more weeks in this rat-infested mess."

Their voices began to retreat, and I shut my eyes tightly. I knew my place better than anyone, and understood what it meant for me to be here. My palace didn't even have an official name. I wouldn't be surprised if I was never recorded into this kingdom's history books. I never expected anything more than what was given to me, and I treated what was given to me as if it could be taken from me at any moment. Dresses were always brought to me out of season with imperfections– rejections from the boutiques that they would have thrown out, but instead decided to donate to the forgotten princess. I had only a few jewels that were mine, carefully hidden away. They were gifts from the king to my mother, when she still held his affections. She saved them for me. They were the last keepsakes I had of her. I could no longer remember her face. Any other small jewels I had received out of pity were quickly stolen by whatever maid was tasked with cleaning my room.

I shook my head, pulling myself out of the hole I was digging myself into. If I delayed any longer, the Archives would be closed and I would be unable to get another book for a few days. The librarian was heading out of town on vacation and the doors would be locked and guarded.

I made my way down the hall, careful of anyone that could come the opposite way or down one of the adjacent corridors. I couldn't let anyone spot me, though staying hidden was generally an easy task when there was no one looking for me. In that same regard, the lack of supervision was how I had found one of the many entrances to the underground network of tunnels leading between each palace.

The seven mile walk through trees and other obstructions easily shortened to a brisk thirty minute walk to and from my palace. I had found these tunnels long ago, and once walked around to map out the entire place. The ribbons I tied onto the torches when I was young were still there, different colors detonating which path would lead me in which direction. At this point in my life, I had long memorized each route of the tunnels. There was not a place I had not snuck away to. I found solace in these halls. There was only me in here, and there would only ever be me. There were no maids or knights or any of my siblings here to taunt me and belittle me while I had to bite my tongue and allow them to speak freely unless I felt like being punished.

The only alarming part of the passage was the torches. Their flames never burnt out, and the wood it burned on never got shorter. They would continue to flicker and provide light for my journeys. I experimented one day and poured water over one, only to watch it flicker back to life. After some time with no explanation, I figured to accept it as is and move on.

I carefully listened on the other side of the secret door, ensuring I could hear no footsteps or voices before I pushed it open. The entrance into the Archives was hidden by a bookshelf that slid into the wall beside it, then seamlessly blended back into place. I snuck around towards the open doors of the library, taking a quick glance around before I walked in normally towards the librarian's office.

"Your Highness," the librarian, Pierce, greeted me with a smile. The scholar stood from his desk, removing the glasses off of his face. An older man, his hair black mixed with the graying of time. Wrinkles grew on his face, earned from all his hard work of late night studying. He wore Valeris' colors– silver and navy blue– on the sash over his suit, marking him as someone of importance. Pierce was also one of the few people that treated me with respect. He was my teacher for everything other than etiquette. "How can I help you today?"

"Returning these. Are you deciphering another tome?"

"Ah, yes." Pierce's hands slid over the aged papers before him. "I received this from a colleague. Says it is from the time when dragons walked the skies and ruled our people."

I raised an eyebrow at him as I took out the three thick books out of the sling bag I carried with me. Pierce took the text from me, and led me out his office to place them on the cart with other returned books. "You truly believe the myths?"

"So skeptical, Princess Astridya. Don't you know His Highness has set out on an expedition to the Pryos Basin?" he asked, glancing over at me with a particular glint in his eyes as I took a book from the cart. The two of us began to shelve the books together.

"And you truly believe that the Pryos Basin was the home of dragons?" I sighed, shaking my head.

"You did, long ago."

"Stories like that are for children, Pierce."

"Perhaps I am young-minded then," the librarian laughed happily. The sound was infectious and I couldn't help but smile in return. "I only hope there are more tomes within the treasure Prince Orion uncovers."

I'd listened to the meeting that led up to the expedition from behind one of the hidden doors. A scouting knight had returned from over the mountain, stating they could see treasure from the top of the summit. He would have investigated closer if he had the means, but by himself with only a horse and a few provisions, it was not a wise choice for him to continue alone.

Orion ordered for a team to head out first before him to secure the basin and ensure its safety before the main team that included him went down to check out what was going on. They had departed over a month ago, and a messenger had come to the palace to announce Prince Orion and his squad would be returning within the next week with many treasures. The palace was buzzing with excitement. The maids talked about all the merchants they saw coming through the gates as they prepared for the celebration ball for the crown prince.

Naturally, I was not invited to such a joyous occasion.

"I always appreciate your help, Your Highness," Pierce said with a smile as we cleared off the books. "Not even the apprentices like to catalogue the returned books. They rather go back to translating or writing their own research."

"I don't mind it." I offered him a smile in return.

"Let me get those books you requested. I kept them hidden in my office so that no one else would be able to take them before you got your hands on them."

Warmth filled my heart as I watched the old man rush to his office. Despite his age, he was quick on his feet when it came to these books. I'd never met anyone else that was more enthusiastic about reading than he was. He carried out the four books, helping me stuff them in my bag.

"Will you be alright heading home at this time? The sun is setting, and it will more than likely be dark by the time you are within sight of your palace." Worry was etched onto his face. "I could call for a guard to escort you, or lend my carriage–"

"If you did that, you would not get home until much later than I will, Pierce." I patted his arm comfortingly. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll get home safe, just as I always have."

The scholar before me sighed before shaking his head. His shoulders slumped just a little bit, but once again, he respected me. He would not argue with me once I have said my word. "Get home safely, Your Highness."

"You as well, Pierce."

From my room, I could see the lights of the Crystal Palace shining brightly as the celebration ball was held in full swing. Earlier, I watched as fancy carriages pulled by noble steeds pulled through the gates and watched as men and women stepped out in dresses that I could never imagine myself being able to wear. I daydreamed of myself in one of those carriages, being able to wear a fancy dress, spin around and twirl as the skirt fanned out.

"Delusions will be my own death," I whispered to myself as I pulled my curtains shut. I picked up one of the books given to me by Pierce, dropping into my lumpy mattress with a huff. At least the distance from the palace allowed me the gift of silence.

I let myself get entranced in the words. It was the first fictional book I had read in a long time. The other books I borrowed were of business and wealth, survival and basic living. All things I would need once I left these palace walls and never returned. I was halfway through the book when I heard frantic footsteps thud down the hall, getting closer and closer to my room. I didn't tear my eyes off of the pages as the doors slammed open. Another regular occurrence, though this was the first time the maids had hit the wall with the door this loud. I was certain there would be a dent in the wall where the handles had hit.

"What is it?" I asked with a sigh, turning to the next page. "I've been here all day, so there's no possible way I could have sabotaged Aurelia's dress–"

"You need to come to the Crystal Palace now," the maid cut me off, grabbing my wrist with a grip so tight I feared she would cut my circulation off. I wanted to shout at her for the blatant disrespect, but paused at the sight of her. When I looked at her face, I realized I had never seen her within my grounds before. Her hair was done too nicely, even though she had strands that were pulled out of the tight bun she wore. The uniform she wore was not the same one issued by the maids of my palace. She was not my maid, and she was deathly pale. I could see beads of sweat dripping down the sides of her face and neck as hauled me away, my book abandoned on the ground.

"What's going on?" I demanded as she dragged me outside. There was a carriage waiting for me, along with horses and a driver who looked just as nervous. I was pushed into the carriage roughly, the maid following inside behind me. She hadn't even closed the door before the horses took off in a sprint, making the two of us jolt in surprise. I grabbed the maid by her shoulders, forcing her to look me in the eyes. She was trembling in my hands, her eyes wide as she began to stammer. "I asked you a question. Speak."

"The Crown Prince has been taken hostage," she choked out.