Raven

Chapter 1:

I walk through the forest, leaves crunching underfoot. I glance up at the leaves, which are still in the midst of transitioning from summer to fall. I turn back in the direction of my destination and am startled when a butterfly pops into my face. I then smile and lift my hand up to it. Suddenly, it transforms into a huge, monstrous snake the size of giants. My smile quickly vanishes as it wraps its body around me and starts to squeeze. Soon, I find that I can no longer breathe…

I gasped as I awoke. I blinked several times at my surroundings, taking a moment to remember that I’ve been in my bedroom, not a jungle, all this time. Then I sat up and started pondering over my dream.

“What could it mean,” I muttered.

Then there was a knock at the door. “Your majesty, it’s time for the day’s activities to begin,” I heard my personal servant say.

I sighed as I tumbled out of bed and opened the door. She immediately fell to one knee, bowing before me. I rolled my eyes. “You don’t have to grovel before me,” I replied. “And you don’t have to keep calling me that. We’re friends. Titles don’t matter between us.”

“Right. A habit, I suppose.”

“How are you, Arella?”

She blinked, and then she chuckled. “I suppose I’ll never get used to you. You’re so…different.” Soon, everything will be. I frowned at the thought. Did that have to do with my dream? Arella’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “Have I insulted you, Miss Raven?”

“No, no, of course not. I was thinking about a dream I had. And just call me Raven.”

“A vision?”

“Perhaps. I believe the kingdom’s about to experience a big change.” I then remembered the giant snake and shuddered. “I think it might be a bad one.”

“Pay heed to your vision,” she replied gravely. “Omens are never to be taken lightly.”

“I want to see if anything else comes to me before doing anything.”

“What will you do in the meantime?”

“Carry on as normal, of course.”

I grabbed one of the many black dresses hanging in my closet. “Is that really what you’re wearing for your royal duties?” Arella questioned when I had finished changing. “After all, black is usually worn for mourning.”

“I think my kingdom has seen me in black long enough to know that’s not the case.”

“If you insist.”

I applied black lipstick to my pale lips and eyeliner to my eyelashes so as to accentuate my pale skin. Once finished, I started brushing my short black hair when suddenly, I noticed something totally bizarre. The brush fell to the floor, and I gaped at the mirror in shock.

I pulled out my earphones just as I heard Arella exclaim, “You’ve got a strand of white, milady!”

Frowning, I tugged at the peculiar strand of hair, wondering just what this meant. It’s got to be connected to my dream. A change is coming.

“Tell the general to meet me in the council room ten minutes from now.”

“And what will you do in those ten minutes?”

I touched the half of my face that had been scarred beyond repair, rendering me without the use of one eye. “I’m seeing an old friend,” I replied before briskly walking out.

“What are you planning?” I asked the witch before me. The witch responsible for so much.

 I touched the scars without thinking, and I watched as her lips twisted into a sneer. “I see you haven’t forgotten at all.” I closed my eyes, wondering if the Great Divine would give me any signs. None so far. “Praying to your god won’t help you. Not this time.”

“What do you know?”

The witch said nothing. She only grinned.

I clenched my fist and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. I lifted her into the air. “What are you planning to do to my kingdom?!” I demanded angrily.

Suddenly, pain flared in my damaged eye, and I released the witch. I clutched my eye, hissing and shaking. Then to my horror, I felt something moving under my fingers.

The scars.

I closed my eyes and cleared my mind of negative thoughts. The scars settled, and the pain stopped. I sighed in relief and let my hand drop to my side.

“Always having to keep those emotions in check…even after all this time. How I do admire my work.” She then cocked her head at me and grinned, revealing razor sharp teeth. “I see it has already affected you,” she said, referring to the white strand.

I refused to get her words get the better of me this time, and I questioned in a calm voice, “What has affected me?”

Her grin broadened. “Your damnation.”

Adalia’s rivers will flow with its people’s blood

And stain the once beautiful banks red when they flood

Unless all the queens come together and unite

And extinguish impending darkness with their light.

I then saw five silhouettes standing against a setting sun, their backs turned to me. I tried calling out to them, but my words fell upon deaf ears. I tried calling again, but then a vicious wind began to blow, taking my words with it.

Then the vision dissipated, and I was standing before the witch once more. I closed my eyes and sent a silent prayer of thanks to the Great Divine.

“You’re a fool to put so much trust in that ‘Great Divine’ of yours,” I heard the witch say with a cackle. I opened my eyes to see her sneering at me. “You’re an even bigger fool if you think you can avert disaster.”

“You’re a fool to underestimate me,” I replied calmly before striding out of the room, the witch’s laughter echoing behind me.

Chapter 2:

I studied the map of the continent of Adalia before me. The closest kingdom was our neighbor, Ciem, a truly gloomy place where it rained nearly all the time and clouds always covered the sun. I’d been to one of its cities before, and it had been horribly drab and gray. The queen wasn’t much better. She was just as much of a downer as her kingdom. However, if Adalia were to survive whatever terrible disaster fate had in store, I would need to enlist her help.

“Your majesty,” the general said from behind me. “What do you intend to do?”

“Help my kingdom,” I said, turning to face him. “But first, I will need someone to stand in my place. Preferably a look-alike so as not to cause confusion or panic in the masses. In the meantime, I will have you and the other advisors run actual kingdom affairs.”

“How long do you expect to be gone?”

“Weeks, maybe even months. It depends how willing the other queens are to rally with me.”

“Are you so sure you should embark on such a quest, especially since it’s all based on a dream you had?”

I sighed. There were always doubters, even when they had witnessed magic firsthand. “It was a vision from the Great Divine herself. Visions from her are never wrong.”

“Are you sure about that?”

I raised my brow. “Are you insinuating that the Great Divine is wrong?”

“I am insinuating that perhaps it was not one of her great visions, but rather only a figment of your imagination, princess.”

“In case you have forgotten, I am the queen, not the princess.” I replied, responding to the derogatory title he’d used. “I suggest you learn the difference.”

“Of course, Queen Raven,” he said in a mocking voice. I decided to overlook his disrespectful tone this time.

As I’ve learned in the past, in order to be a good queen, I must walk a fine line. I cannot be completely passive about his actions–otherwise, I will be seen as weak and submissive, and he will be likely to repeat them. However, if I spoke against every snide comment he made, I would be seen as forceful and self-righteous. A good leader doesn’t give in to the extreme of either side. I must do the same.

“So when do you plan to leave?” he questioned.

“Send a messenger to Ciem. Let its queen know I will be visiting them soon.”

“Shall I tell them a month or so?”

“Tell them I’ll be a day behind the messenger. I’m leaving first thing tomorrow.”

Chapter 3:

“Milady, you can’t be serious,” Arella exclaimed in astonishment. I shoved the last of my essentials into the last suitcase and snapped it shut. “You’re really leaving so soon after yesterday’s omen?”

“If Adalia is in danger, I have no time to waste.”

I lifted the suitcase up, but Arella immediately took it from me. “I’ll take it to your car, your majesty–I mean Raven.”

I followed Arella out to the unattractive minivan I’d had her buy using a small portion of money so as not to attract any attention. The chauffeur raised her hand at my presence. I returned the greeting. I checked the seats. Each one except for mine and the driver’s was occupied by my personal guards who had sworn to the Great Divine herself to protect me with their lives. I hoped it wouldn’t come to that. They were fine men and women, and I had known them from birth. They were noble, trustworthy warriors, and I hated to think of potential harm coming to them. That just made me even more grateful for their vow to protect me at all costs.

Thank you, I thought, projecting my thought out in hope that the Great Divine would hear it.

I turned to Arella. “Is the limo and its escorts ready to go?” I asked, referring to the vehicles that would be used as decoys in case someone dared try anything. After all, being queen is enough of a bullseye as it is.

“Yes, Raven. Everything is underway.”

“That’s excellent. You think we could leave within the next hour?”

Arella smiled slightly. “I think you’d be ready within thirty minutes.”

I hugged her, and she stiffened slightly. “Sorry, Arella, I forgot you’re not used to hugs,” I said before pulling away.

“Well, they don’t mind me as much when they come from you,” she replied, her cheeks flushing red for a reason I couldn’t yet fathom.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. I want to have a little chat with someone.”

“Be careful, milady. Even behind bars, that witch might be able to cast a curse on you.”

“You needn’t worry, Arella,” I replied. “She can’t use magic. Not within her imprisonment.”

“All the same, milady, please be cautious around her.”

“Don’t worry, Arella. And please, for the sake of the Great Divine, just call me Raven.”

“You’re back so soon?” the witch sneered.

“This is your last chance to confess what you know,” I replied calmly.

“And what will you do to me, your highness? Will you threaten my execution? Or perhaps threaten torture? I am not scared.”

“And you needn’t be of such morbid methods. I will not let harm come to you.”

She grinned. “You really think you will never have to get those pretty hands of yours bloody? You are wrong, little girl. Your pale skin will soon be stained with red, none of which will be yours. All those who have put their trust and faith in their young and naïve queen will be no more. You will fail them. Their blood will be on your hands. You cannot escape what is inevitable.”

“None other than the Great Divine dictates what is and is not inevitable.”

I turned to walk away, knowing this conversation was going nowhere.

“So you really think you’ll save Adalia from damnation? High and mighty words coming from someone such as yourself, considering you couldn’t even protect–”

Rage rose up inside me, and I closed my eyes, tuning the witch’s voice out. I ignored my scars as they started to move, instead focusing my attention onto images of peace and happiness. The anger faded away, and my scars ceased their movement. I opened my eyes.

“Nothing will stop me from protecting my kingdom,” I said quietly before walking away. I shall not fail in this. Not this time.