Chapter One: Discomforting Circumstances

The horse galloped along the packed dirt road, the rider urging it to go faster. Three other pairs of horse and rider were lagging behind, desperately trying to get the first to slow down. The four humans were friends, of course, and the only boy was the one who called out to the girl riding ahead.
“Ky, slow down!” Taconnis yelled, desperately trying to stay in his saddle. He could not, after all, see where he was going. He had been blinded in an accident very early in his life.
“I can’t Taconnis!” Kylara, the Princess of Delken, called back, panic echoing through her voice. “I’m late as it is! My parents will kill me if I’m not even there when Prince Whatsisface comes rolling in from Whosiewhatsit!”
A moment later, a Regal Carriage came into view after a bend in the road. Kylara cursed under her breath and urged her horse to move almost faster than it could go. Relief swept through her body when she could no longer see the carriage after she had passed it. As Delken Castle came in to view for Kylara, she realized that it didn’t matter now; by how much time she beat the Prince to her home. Her golden brown hair was windswept and untidy; her long, pale green dress was covered in dust and hemmed in mud. Her parents were sure to be cross with her for not looking her station at the Arrival Ceremony for the Prince of Ceritium. For that was to whom the Carriage belonged.

Prince Rajani of Ceritium was startled awake by the sounds of Taconnis, Aislinn and Marella (The Princess Kylara’s best friends) galloping by. All three of them were still shouting for Kylara to slow her horse. Little did they know that they were waking royalty. Rajani shoved his head out the window, causing his Guard Captain, Tariq, to look up from his book and smirk. Rajani dragged his head back into the carriage, and Tariq’s eyes dropped, no trace of a smile left on his face.
“No wonder King Cayden wants that little wench dead! She is out of control!” Rajani exclaimed.
“Sir, with all due respect, I think the Princess is just fine the way she is,” Tariq said, disagreeing with Rajani for only the fourth or fifth time while he had been in the Prince’s service.
“Well, you would. You are the one who went gallivanting off to train those two girls when you weren’t in training for the job you currently hold,” Rajani remarked. “The two of them were rather fetching, though. What were their names again?”
“Sabra is the human, and Lyris is the Drow, Prince Rajani,” Tariq supplied.
“Oh, yes, of course. I had almost forgotten that Lyris had dark skin,” Rajani said, causing Tariq to twitch involuntarily. Rajani noticed.
“Tariq are you feeling alright?”
“Now that you mention it, my Lord, I do not feel at all up to my usual regime,” Tariq replied. Between the twitch and the motion sickness he always associated with a Coach, he looked a proper mess.
“Best if you try to sleep, then. That is a direct order, Tariq. I can not have my Guard Captain out of commission whilst we are staying in Delken.”
“Right…” Tariq sighed, marking his place in his book and setting it aside in his pack. The beggar sitting across from Tariq, next to the Prince, caught his eye. Tariq could not contain his curiosity any longer. “Sir, may I ask why we are bringing this street wretch with us? And in your best clothes, no less!”
“He will have his uses in time, Tariq. You will see soon enough. Just remember to call him Rajani, and to call me Glenn. Do you understand?”
“Not really, but I will follow my orders.”
“Good man. We should arrive at the Castle within the quarter hour. You should get your things back into that pack of yours.”
“Yes, Sir,” Tariq replied, beginning to steel himself for what lay ahead, both known and unknown.

“Kylara, you are a mess!” King Cayden yelled at his daughter as she came sprinting from the stables.
“I know, I’m sorry! We lost track of time and-”
“No! Kylara you are turning nineteen tomorrow, you should be much more responsible by now!”
“My most humble apologies, Father,” Kylara curtsied and bowed her head as she spoke, showing respect for her King and Father, despite hating him.
“Well you are too late for changing and tidying! The Prince approaches. If you put your mother and myself to shame so help me to be rid of you!” the King hissed. Queen Aashrith stood idly by, barely noticing that her husband was abusing her only child.

Sure enough, the Royal Coach was speeding up the thoroughfare bearing the Flags and Crest of Ceritium. The horses skidded to a stop in the gravel at the base of the Castle steps, and Kylara hurriedly attempted to make herself more presentable. The first man out of the Carriage was Rajani; he knelt and unfurled the steps for the urchin that was taking his place temporarily. Tariq was out second, then the urchin. Rajani’s finery trailed slightly on the gravel of the drive as the urchin, Glenn, stepped up onto the steps. He scaled them easily; Tariq and Rajani following relatively close behind. The king and queen stood at the top of the stairs, forming a triangle with their daughter behind them. The two of them prayed that Rajani would not notice the horrendous appearance of the Princess Kylara.
“Welcome to Delken, Prince Rajani!” the King said grandly, extending his hand and grasping Rajani’s.
“Thank you, King Cayden, for allowing me to stay with you for these two weeks,” Rajani replied through the ruffian’s mouth. The real Rajani was beginning to turn red, and his temples were throbbing.
“Oh, it is our pleasure, Rajani,” The Queen replied. “We just hope that you can find a way to enjoy yourself while you are staying with us,” Queen Aashrith and Prince Rajani smiled at each other. Kylara shifted behind her parents, and her movement caught the attention of the foreign Prince.
“This land is truly beautiful. I am certain that I will find something to occupy my time,” Rajani said silkily. The Queen chose that moment to introduce her daughter, forgetting entirely about Kylara’s appearance.
“This is our daughter, Kylara,” Aashrith said, bringing Ky to the front of the group.
“We do apologize for her appearance, she claims to have gone riding this morning and lost track of time.”
“Your Majesties, I assure you, Princess Kylara looks almost as lovely as your gardens,” Everyone smiled, except for Kylara. She merely stood there and waited for this strange man to release her hand.
“Well, I will show your attendants to your chambers, Sir,” Kylara said when she became tired of waiting to be released.
“Of course,” Rajani said, finally releasing Kylara and turning to face Tariq and his own body. “Glenn is not looking particularly good, Riq, would you mind helping him up there?”
“Of course not, Sir,” Tariq bowed, and supported his master’s body rather than the luggage.
The Delken squires were kind enough to follow with the bags as the small troupe made its way up the stairs into the guest quarters. Kylara did not speak with any of the people that she led, hoping to get back to the Glade and ride with her friends more before dinner. Taconnis was teaching Kylara, Marella, and Aislinn how to fight. At that point in the day, Ky just really wanted to get away and get a respite from her hectic life of being a Princess.
“These are your rooms,” Kylara said flatly, opening the door and leading everyone inside. “If there is nothing else, I do hope that your friend gets better soon,” Kylara turned and left the room without another word.
She was more than happy to get away from the Ceritic prince. He was just as handsome as she’d been told, albeit in different ways than she’d expected, and he was perhaps a little too obsequious to gain her trust. Either way, she didn’t like him, and she doubted that she ever would. His guard captain, on the other hand, seemed oddly familiar; as if she’d met him before, or seen him in a dream.
As she’d been thinking all of this over, Kylara had been riding back out to meet up with her friends, again. As she arrived in their private, secret training area, her three closest friends greeted her and woke her from her reverie.
“Ky, what was all that about?” Marella asked.
“Just the stupid Arrival Ceremony for Prince Rajani, that pig,” Kylara fumed.
“So… tell me again why you have a whole flipping parade for something where all you really need to say is ‘hi, welcome to Delken, here’s your room, talk to you later’ and all of that?”
“I have no idea, Aislinn. Some of the Delken traditions are just totally bogus!” Kylara replied, sitting down on the porch of the Glade house. Taconnis sat with her and discussed the first staff forms that he would teach her and Aislinn. After a few hours, Kylara realized how long it had been.
“Oh, crap! Marella what time is it?”
“It’s almost 5:30, why?”
“I was supposed to be home an hour ago! Oh… mom is not going to be happy!” Kylara said, starting to bolt out of the Glade. “See you tomorrow if I’m not grounded,”
“See you later!” the three friends called back.

Kylara was panting and clutching a stitch in her side by the time she had gotten out of the woods. However, she had to keep going. She was required to be there for the Prince’s first meal in the Castle of Delken. This also meant that she had to be presentable, and due to the stunt that she had pulled earlier, no doubts were in her mind about what she would have to wear. When she finally reached her room, the attendants that her parents had sent were waiting for her with everything set so that she would be ready quickly.
“Milady, your bath is ready.”
“Right. Thank you, Kit,” Kylara said as she headed into her bathing chamber.
When Ky had gotten undressed and submerged herself in the warm, bubbled water, she called back and the attendants hurried in and started dealing with her hair. Kylara’s hair went down to her waist and it tangled easily. The attendants pulled her hair down from the messy bun that she had placed there for while she and her friends were riding and training. While Ky scrubbed her skin, the attendants combed through her hair and put it into an elegant French braid, stopping at the base of her head. From there, her hair turned to golden brown waves; until she was dressed, her hair would be in a braided bun.
When she emerged, her skin was glowing pink, and she was certainly ready to get her dress on and try to get the ordeal of having to entertain the Prince for a few hours over with. It was only after Kylara had donned the undergarments that she saw which dress she was expected to wear. It was one of the worst things that Kylara had ever seen. It was an exceedingly fluffy, very bright pink strapless dress. Ky moaned, but put the dress on, knowing that it would be easier to simply comply and get it all over with. Little did she know that more than just her wardrobe was against her.
Deep within the Castle, there was a hidden room in which King Cayden and Prince Rajani were having a secret meeting. Not a single person, with the obvious exceptions knew how to get into that room, much less that it even existed. The walls were decked with mystical objects, numerous misdirection spells for anyone who might stumble upon the room. Several bookshelves were placed around the room, nefarious spell books were crammed in the shelves, and King Cayden was going over the plans that he had in store for his daughter with Prince Rajani.
“Well, you do seem to have this well planned, Cayden,” Rajani said.
“Well, my daughter has become too smart for her own good. This has to be well thought out if it is to work,” Cayden replied.
“Of course, this will not be an easy job. You had better come through on your end of the deal.”
“Do not worry about it, Rajani, I assure you, half of Delken will be yours.”
“Oh I do not doubt that. All I am saying is that this will not be an easy thing to get done. She will need to be controlled. Even for me that will not be easy, even without me having a hold on her will.”
“Yes, but that potion you sent me to control my wife is working perfectly. It is completely functional.”
“However, your wife is very weak minded. I can already tell that your daughter will be difficult. You want me to take her away from Delken, force her to fall in love with me, then marry and kill her. This will take much time.”
“Yes, I am sure that it will, but you are the master of controlling people! Kylara will be no problem for you. You should be able to gain her trust tomorrow.”
“What is tomorrow?” Rajani asked.
“Well, your timing seems to coincide with Kylara’s nineteenth birthday. Hundreds of suitors will be arriving to court her, no doubt she will be attempting to escape the dance floor early into the party. She will be desperate by 9:30. If you ask her to go for a walk, she will no doubt accept.”
“Of course. I will be sure to remember that. But until then?”
“Well, we have the welcoming feast this evening. I’m sure that you will find some weaknesses of hers.”

“Oh good, you are on time,” Queen Aashrith said threateningly as Kylara descended the Grand Staircase in the Entrance Hall. “Your Father and Prince Rajani should be here shortly.”
“Yes, Mother,” Kylara said, curtseying once she reached the floor. When she saw the bright pink fabric of her dress, she scowled, but removed the look of disgust from her face before looking up. Not even a moment later, the King and Prince entered the room through a door hidden behind a tapestry.
“Well, it appears that we are ready to enter the Dining Hall for the welcoming feast,” King Cayden said. “And, Rajani, this is what my daughter looks like when she is on time,” Rajani simply stared at Kylara, beginning to put the plan into action. If he was to kill the princess, surely he would have to gain her trust first.
“She certainly looks amazing,” He said, bowing to Kylara. “Would the Princess grant me the favor of a dance later this evening?”
“Uhm…” Kylara said, unused to such treatment.
“She would be delighted, Rajani,” The queen said for her daughter. Ky felt a sudden surge of irritation toward her mother.

As the night progressed, Kylara was becoming more and more irritated with all of the things that she was forced in to doing. After the welcoming feast, Kylara was forced to waltz with Prince Rajani. After that came the Tango, the Foxtrot, and several other dances, even a couple of repeats. By the end of the night, Ky was just thankful to go to bed. After getting rid of the horrid pink thing that she was constrained to wear, she fell straight into bed and into her dreams.
When Ky first began to dream that night, it was a foreboding and disturbing dream for her at the time. She was just sitting down to dinner with her parents and Rajani, when he whispered “I would like a word with you after dinner whether you want to or not,” One odd time jump later, she was kissing Prince Rajani.
Ky woke in a cold sweat and got out of bed. She went to her bookcase and pulled a volume off the shelf. After sitting down at her desk and opening the book to its approximate middle, she started to fill in the blank page with what had happened in her dream.
For a few minutes after writing the newest entry in the Dream Journal, Kylara paced at the foot of her bed, contemplating what had happened in her dream. In the end, she decided that the dream meant nothing. After all, she did not particularly care for Prince Rajani. Kylara headed back to bed and remained there until the next morning.