Chapter Text
Prologue
War. Fighting. Blood. Yelling. Gunshots. Tears. All I’ve ever known.
The war started when I was just three years old. The king and queen, my parents, couldn’t defend their small kingdom for long. We were the smallest of all the kingdoms, Voathiel, the easiest to attack. Our army only lasted for a few months on their own, as we were attacked by the biggest of the kingdoms, Miradot. Though they were the biggest, they were the most hated. And so the other kingdoms sent in their armies. So many soldiers were filing through our kingdom. It’s one of my earliest memories, waves and waves of soldiers.
The war went on for fourteen more years. Fourteen years of agony, wrecking our kingdom. Soldiers coming from every direction. Towns being burned. And, at the end of it all… we were defeated.
The enemy soldiers got to our castle. They burned it down, and they trapped my parents in the blaze. They kidnapped me. I had tried to save my parents, but they dragged me away. I was seventeen, I fought them. It was a useless battle, six soldiers against one princess who just watched her parents burn alive.
They took me to their castle. Voathiel was gone. They put me in the dungeon until further instruction from their king and queen. And… that’s where the story starts. With me, former princess Joanne of Voathiel, whose unknown fate lies ahead of her.
Chapter One
I woke up in the dungeon, where they left me for the night. I looked out the window. A perfect view of my still burning kingdom. I sighed, rolling over. Going back to sleep sounded much better than being alive in this hell of a world.
Just when I started to doze off, I heard loud footsteps march into the room. I huffed, sitting up. Great. More soldiers and their dumb fancy armor.
“The king and queen want to see you,” the one in the front tells me in a monotone voice.
I just glared at him in response.
“It’s at the end of the hall on the sixth floor. Don’t go exploring,” he continues, ignoring my glare.
I say nothing, waiting until they leave. After that, I stood up, looking at myself in the window’s reflection. I had none of my belongings left, they were all burned. Just the dress I was wearing, which was torn and covered in burn marks. I lost my shoes somewhere in the scuffle, and my hair was a mess. I wiped some of the ash off my cheek, gazing out the window. I miss my parents. My kingdom. “Normal life”, whatever that was.
Once I convinced myself to go, I headed up the many flights of stairs. I thought about exploring, but couldn’t. There were guards at every door. Miradot wasted so much on guards, but I guess it’s their fault for making everyone hate them.
After climbing up to the sixth floor, I realized how easy it was to tell that this was the throne room. Or rather, floor. Portraits of their family lined both of the walls. There was a king, queen, and a prince, all of which were blonde. The king and queen looked like bitches, but the boy was kind of… charming, in a nerdy kind of way. Though I’m way too gay to like him in that way.
I stopped examining the portraits, going up to the doors. I looked at my clothes, smoothing my dress down as best as I could. I looked like I just crawled out of a dumpster fire. Great. I sighed, preparing. I pushed open the door, about to face the king and queen who killed my family, and took my kingdom.
I walked towards their thrones. Two big ones for the king and the queen, and a smaller one in the middle for their son. I stood in front of them, refusing to bow. I would never bow to these murderers.
“We have plans for you, young girl,” the king told me. I said nothing in reply.
“In one year, you will marry our son, and become the new queen of our kingdom,” the queen finished for her husband.
I blinked in shock. They wanted me to be the queen of their kingdom? Was that what this was for?
My thoughts were interrupted when the queen spoke again.
“We will give you one year to get to know our son. Now, son, go show your princess around. And please, get her some new clothes,” the queen looked down at me in disapproval. She pushed her son out of his throne, towards me.
He looked at me, nodding his head towards the door. He looked… almost scared. I followed him into the hallway, where he finally spoke.
“I’m sorry about my parents,” he sighed.
I blinked. He was being nice. That was a surprise.
“You’re being… nice?” I replied cautiously.
He sighed, leaning against a wall. “My parents are tyrants. I hate the reputation Mirardot has. I want to change it, but I don’t know how. Even if I was king, you would be the queen. The queen, who we took from the kingdom that we burned,” he closed his eyes, thinking.
I felt bad, honestly. He wasn’t like his parents at all. And I almost wanted to help him fix Mirardot. But… He’s a guy. I’m not marrying a man.
“I want to help you,” I said, after a minute.
He looked up. “Really?” he asked me, hopeful.
I nodded. “You aren’t like your parents. You’re your own person. So… well, let's start with getting to know each other, okay?” I said.
He smiled, nodding. “I’m Mark,” he introduced himself.
I gave a small smile. “Joanne,” I said.
“C’mon, let’s get you some better clothes,” he said, standing up.
“Thanks,” I said, running a hand through my hair. It still had ashes in it.
We started walking through the hallways. The guards weren’t glaring at me anymore, which is nice.
Mark put his hands in his pockets, looking down. “I’ve never liked my parents. They’re power-hungry, and want so much. I don’t know why. It’s unnecessary,” he sighed.
“We’ll change what Mirardot stands for, don’t worry,” I comforted him.
He smiled, pushing his glasses up. “Now, I think the wardrobe floor is the fourth floor,”
“...you have an entire floor for clothes?!” I exclaimed.
He laughed. “Yeah. My mom likes shopping, and she didn’t have anywhere to put it anymore, so we gave her her own floor,” Mark shrugged.
“Rich people…” I shook my head.
Mark laughed again. “Yeah,” he looked down.
“You know, it’s nice having someone to talk to. I never had any real friends, because of the whole prince thing,” he told me.
I smiled. It was really sweet, actually. “I’ve never had a friend, either. My kingdom was always wracked with war, and the kids always assumed it was something to do with my family, so they didn’t want to talk to me,” I frowned, thinking about my kingdom. A life I would never have again.
“I’m sorry,” Mark apologized.
“It’s okay. I’ve just got to put my past behind me,” I bit my lip.
“Well, we’ve reached the wardrobe floor,” he told me, pushing open the door.
The door opened to what looked like a huge walk in closet, but in a long corridor. Dresses were hung up as far as the eye could see, there were shoe racks lining the floor, jewelry cases in some places. It had more clothes than my entire kingdom probably had.
Mark laughed at my stare. “Yeah, it’s pretty impressive,” he smiled.
“So your mom doesn’t care what I take?” I asked in disbelief.
“Yeah, pretty much. Some of these dresses haven’t been touched in so long they’re dusty,” he walked up to one, which did in fact have dust on it.
Wow…” I started walking, looking at all the gorgeous dresses. It’s weird, I’ve always loved how dresses look, but I never really liked wearing them. Either way, I don’t have a choice. Girls wear dresses, boys wear suits. That’s how it’s always been.
“After you pick out some clothes, I’ll take you to your new bedroom,” he told me.
“Oh, so no more dungeon for me?” I joked.
“I’m still annoyed they put you there. No one deserves that, not even prisoners,” Mark said, sounding angry.
“Thanks. It definitely wasn’t fun,” I replied, continuing to look at the dresses.
“Your room has its own closet, but you can always come back here if you want more,” Mark said, following behind me.
“Alright. I think we can go now,” I said. I picked out four dresses and one pair of shoes.
Mark looked at what I picked, probably the four plainest dresses there.
“I don’t like fancy stuff,” I shrugged at him.
“No, I think it’s cool. I met a lot of royalty, considering my family’s many dinner parties, and they’re all… just, so snobby and rich acting. It’s nice seeing a normal royal person,” he told me as we started leaving the wardrobe floor.
I smiled sadly. “Thanks. That’s… what my parents taught me. They always told me to never let my status get to my head…” I looked at the floor, lost in thought.
He nodded. “I… I never really understood status. Why is it that my family is the most important in the kingdom? Why are they more deserving than the other people in our kingdom? It doesn’t make sense to me,” he sighed, leading me down a flight of stairs.
“Yeah, I see what you mean. It doesn’t make sense at all. We need to change it, but… I don’t know how. We’re just two people,” I replied, thinking.
“Well… we can still try. I’m the only heir of the most powerful kingdom, that has to mean something, right?” Mark said, hopeful.
I sighed. “I really hope so. Our entire country's government is corrupt, and it needs to be changed,” I said.
We stopped in front of a door on the second floor. Mark opened the door, and I trailed behind him.
“Well, this is your room,” he told me, rocking on his feet.
I smiled a little. “Thanks,” I headed over to the closet, hanging up the dresses. Afterwards, I turned back to Mark. he was sitting on the bed, so I joined him.
“So, what exactly’s going to happen?” I asked. The only information I had was the marriage that I needed to stop.
“Well, in a year we get married, and then my parents go to a retirement home, and we get to rule the kingdom,” he explained.
I nodded. “Pretty straightforward. But…” I sighed. “I need to tell you something,” I said.
Mark furrowed his brow, looking worried. “What is it?” he asked.
“I… I’m a lesbian,” I exhaled, scared.
“Oh… that’s…” He paused, looking for words.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized.
“No, it’s not your fault. But… my parents,” Mark bit his lip, thinking.
I nodded. “I don’t know what to do,” I sighed.
“Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out. Let’s just take it one step at a time,” he reassured me.
I laughed shakily. “Thanks. For now, I think we should just pretend to go along with their plans. It might be easier,” I replied.
Mark agreed. “We have a year to figure things out, that’s plenty of time,” he said.
“Yeah. we can just get to know each other for now, since I think we at least need to be friends,” I smiled.
He laughed, happy. “Yeah, that sounds good. And… well, I was actually questioning my sexuality a few years ago, but my dad told me I wasn’t anything other than straight, and that he would have a… a fag in the family,” Mark rambled, fidgeting with his hands.
“I’m sorry. Your parents are…” I trailed off, not wanting to be rude.
“Don’t worry, I know they’re awful,” he said.
“Yeah. I’d say more, but we’d be here all day,” I smirked.
Mark laughed. “Thanks. Soon, we’ll have them out of ruling. I don’t know how, but we can do it,” he said.
I nodded, thinking. “Would it be easier to do with more people? I know you may not be on the best terms with the other kingdoms and villages, considering Mirardot’s reputation, but I can try and convince them,” I thought aloud.
“Yeah, that might be helpful. I… I don’t know how I feel about it might be easier to reform Mirardot if we…” he stopped, fidgeting with his hands.
“Kill your parents?” I finished his sentence in a whisper.
He just nodded.
“If we… do that, then we’ll definitely need more people,” I said.
“Yeah. I hate my parent’s goals, but they’re still my parents. But… it’s for the better,” he sighed.
“It’ll be okay, don’t worry,” I hesitantly patted his knee.
Mark smiled shyly. “Thanks,” he pushed his glasses up.
I didn’t think I would like anyone from Mirardot after the lifelong trauma they gave me, but Mark was actually okay. He felt like my first real friend in this world. It was a nice feeling.
“I hate to ruin the moment, but my parents want you to join us for dinner tonight,” his voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
“Oh no,” I said.
“We’re going to have to pretend that we’re going along with their plan,” he replied.
“Yeah, though it’s probably for the best,” I said.
Mark looked down at his watch. “It’s just past three pm, so we have about three hours before dinner,” he said.
“Alright. For now, let’s just talk about less heavy things,” I said, smiling.
Mark laughed. “That sounds good,” he replied.
For the next two and a half hours, I learned a lot about Mark. It turns out we actually have a lot in common. But of course, all good things must come to an end. Before I knew it, it was already five thirty.
“Well, I think we should go and get ready,” Mark sighed.
“Ugh. I hate adults,” I said.
Mark laughed a little, getting up. “Me too,” he said.
After saying goodbye, Mark went to his room to get dressed. I went to get on one of the new dresses. I was reluctant to put it on. Clothing is a big part of the respective kingdoms, and the new dresses were in Mirardot’s dramatic style. Either long, flowing dresses, or poofy ball gowns, both with too many fancy flourishes and jewels for my liking. Voathiel’s dresses were shorter, focusing less on the accessories and more on the colours. All of our clothing was plain, but bright and colourful. My dress is- or was, now that it’s covered in ash and dirt- a dress with beautiful dark navys and greens. I sighed, taking it off reluctantly. I probably shouldn’t have kept it, considering it was beyond repair, but I did anyway. I was going to miss my kingdom.
After putting on the Mirardot dress- a long, satin, lavender dress with amethysts and lace decorating it- I looked at myself in the mirror. I brushed through my hair, getting rid of the ash. I still had my Voathiel tiara. Another big part of the kingdoms. Our crowns were delicate and silver, but I couldn’t put it on. It was considered rude to even wear a different kingdom’s crown, let alone to a royal dinner. I sighed. Tonight was going to be a long night.
After finishing getting ready, I met Mark in the hallway. He was wearing a suit with long coat tails, and his Mirardot crown.
“I hate this crown,” Mark complained as we began walking.
“That’s fair,” I said. Mirardot crowns were big and made of gold. Like the dresses, they were also covered in jewels. It seemed excessive, but what wasn’t in Mirardot.
Mark sighed, running his hands down his shirt. “I’m nervous,” he said.
“It’s okay. We have each other, we can do this,” I tried to smile.
He nodded, taking a deep breath. I felt a little guilty. If I was straight, this could all go as planned… no, no it couldn’t. It was good I was finally breaking this corrupt cycle.
“You ready?” Mark asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said.
He pushed open the doors, walking inside with me trailing behind. Going to face whatever fate had in store for us.