On the Firose Cliffs

Only an hour ago, my brother and I watched the sun rise above the hills. We had scrambled out of bed and pulled on the heavy armor stolen from the military storage center. He told me to walk quieter. I told him to shut up before someone heard us.

I climbed onto a steed, only realizing afterwards that it was Sugar. I despise Sugar. The clumsy creature was a gift from my parents, but I hate it nonetheless. It is a cowardly horse, and absolutely terrible in conflict. Of course, that would have been helpful to know before I charged into the war riding upon it.

Swords clashed around us as we weaved through the prairie. It used to be my favorite place to read as a child with its long grasses and peaceful daisies, which were now stained with blood and trampled by horses. Armor clanged together as riders were knocked off their horses. My own armor pinches the skin of my arms and catches my hair even though it is tied up. Our royal castle loomed behind me, the colors of the opposing kingdom graffitied onto its doors. The Queen and King were undoubtedly sealed behind it. They were probably looking for the prince and princess, quickly concluding that they foolishly rushed into battle, probably in a knight’s stolen armor. Speaking of John, he was supposed to be riding behind me so I could protect him. He was probably caught in the fray, trying to take on two soldiers at once.

John and I have known each other since birth, being twins and all. To say that he was my best friend, and I his, would be a supreme exaggeration. In reality, we were close as children and even young adults, but were becoming more distant by the day. Since I was born a minute sooner, I have many duties as future queen. He also had a lot of work to do finding his “future heir’s mother” as our father puts it. He sees marriage as nothing more than a contract, and he and John argue about it often. He has let me take some secret trips with him under the guise of finding such a woman, and the trips have been a welcome respite from both Father and work. Just yesterday, we had gone to the market disguised as merchants, and had a lovely time giving anonymous tips to every poor vendor we saw. It was his idea to buy out a struggling apple booth and give the treats to the children.

It was also his idea to fight in this battle, but this is a much worse one. We had both received extensive fencing lessons, but that is quite different from riding on this wretched horse in bulky armor. Much more difficult is trying to scan the field for an enemy and react before your head ends up on the bloody grasses. Even now, I spotted a knight charging toward me. Raising my royal jewel-studded sword, I parried his blows with little flair. He was keen with a sword and quick, so I could only hope to tire him out. It became clear that he would quickly best me, and he knew as much. As he nearly shattered my ribcage, a plan formed in my head. The trick would be dirty, but with a bit of luck- scratch that, a lot of luck -it would do the trick. I feigned right and pretended to be swayed by the weight of the sword. Falling flat on the horse, I heard his deep laugh as he took his steed a few steps forward so that it was right next to me and raised his sword…. right before I rapped my cowardly horse on the back of his kneecaps so that they gave out. He fell with a thud just as my opponent went for the kill. He had thrust his sword so forcefully that he actually fell off. Already up, I decided to cut off his feet instead of his head as he was sprawled, unconscious, on the dirt. A move like that could not be called mercy, but there was already so much death today.

The death had been going on for years. When my territory, Kingdom Periago, announced its plans to abolish slavery, its constituents were not very happy. Three million of them broke off to form the Kingdom of Shrosa, and the kingdoms have been warring ever since. I remember ten years ago, when I was just eight years old, a few minutes before my and John’s bedtime. The King sat us down in the empty Councilman Chamber, looking very serious. I could barely keep my sleepy eyes open, while John shivered against the cold of the room. The stone walls, floor, ceiling, and even father’s chair made me frightened. I made the mistake of telling him.

“Good!” he had exclaimed. “Be scared! If the Shrosans capture you, they will throw you in a room just like this one, but colder and darker. They will leave you to rot in your own filth, and then they will slice off your heads!” 

“Oh Philip, look what you have done,” my mother crooned, gliding into the room in her sky-blue sleeping robe. It almost matched my own, except mine had suddenly become wet between the knees. John’s own blood red sleeper- not matching the King’s, despite tradition -had holes ripped in the knees when he had fallen down running to her arms. He did not cry- he liked to think he was too brave for that, and even wanting a hug from his mother was a strange occurrence. Instead of helping him up, the Queen shook her head at him. “My darling, you will need to be strong if you are to become prince. You have to support your Queen, not run to me like a stupid toddler.”

She turned to our father again. “Philip, I told you not to do this here. You should have led them to the dungeons, so they could better understand why they should never, never so much as approach the Shrosan bastards. Even if they offer you candy, or power, or all the jewels in the world my children, never do anything but destroy them. For the moment you look away, they will do the same to you.”

It would have been a wonderful sentiment about being strong and destructive if they were not currently locked safely behind the castle walls. Meanwhile, my brother and I were caught in the middle of… wait.

“John! John, where are you, ya coward!” My goading did not draw him out. I slashed my way through the crowd, growing more worried by the second. What if-

“Alice! Alice, the cave!” Oh, for all the gold. What the hell has he gotten himself into? I made my way to the edge of the Firose cliffs, where a few rocky caves emerged. When we were young, John and I would explore them for hours. We found out that the very back of the cave opened up to the very tip of a cliff overlooking the ocean. My idiotic horse could not possibly make the journey, so I left it at the mouth of the cave to make the climb alone. The fray was far behind me, and I could only hear the echo of screams from the dark cave. I shivered and took a deep breath before continuing on. The trip was longer than I remembered, and it was a miracle I heard my brother in the first place. As I got closer, I removed my heavy helmet, shaking out my dark hair and redoing the tail. If this was the fight I was expecting, the opponent that John once had to deal with alone would not go for my head unless they were as brave and stupid as-

“John!” I cried, emerging from the cave. In front of me, standing almost at the cliff’s edge, were two Shrosan warriors. One was a woman, a year or two my senior, and the other was a grey-haired, stern-looking man I pegged to be about forty. They were not wearing armor like everyone else in the battle. Instead, they were wearing dark green and maroon military uniforms, their royal colors. They had no weapons, but each held one of my brother’s arms.

“Get away from him!” I yelled, drawing my sword. I pointed it left, then right, trying to decide who my first victim was to be. They looked unalarmed, and the woman even smirked. Enraged, I thrust my sword toward her, aiming for the throat.

“Halt!” John spoke for the first time. I started at the strict tone of his voice and my sword paused in its path. I looked up at him, and realized at once how very unobservant I had been. He was wearing the knight’s armor we had stolen when the night was young, and had discarded his helmet. He was completely unhurt, which was odd because the last time I had seen him… come to think of it, I have not seen him since we exited the palace doors. The shadows under his ocean-blue eyes sharply contrasted the strange alertness of his face, which held an emotion I could not decode. I watched open-mouthed as he shrugged off the arms holding him. The Shronans did not so much as flinch. “John, what is happening? Why did you call me? What-”

It was like a fire was eating up his expression, burning it away to reveal a new one. His lip curled into a cruel gin, his eyes darkening into a sinister color I did not want to understand. He stole the sword out of my hand and held it in his, examining the blade. “The Imperial Steel. You know, when our mother gave this to you, I was sick with envy. My pathetic, spoiled sister gifted this awesome blade, while I stood in the corner and commanded to stay silent. And it happened again. And again, and again, and AGAIN I was shoved to the side, discarded. While you get all the power, the gold, the love of our parents. NO MORE!” He tossed the mighty sword into the ocean behind him, like it was nothing. Meant nothing to him. 

I was in shock. Of course I was. My brother had never been gentle, but he hardly ever raised his voice. And never at me. I heard my parents’ voice in my ears. Do not let him get away with this. No one raises their voice to a royal. A fuse lit inside of me. “Power? Gold? You are a simple-minded idiot. Being a future queen is not about any of that. It is about being assertive, respected, and loyal, traits that do not seem to exist in a bone of your body! You speak of being put aside, and you want to know why?” I advanced toward him, flashes of red stealing the corners of my vision. “Because we knew that if you were on that damn throne for half a day, you would turn it all to dust with your weak ways! You are not fit to be a ruler, I am! And I shall throw your rampallian in a cage for this kingdom and your bitter lies! 

Pausing to catch my breath, I looked up at him to see if my words had wounded him, and was dismayed to see that his smug expression remained, though it seemed less confident than before. I noticed him briefly glance back to the soldiers behind him. The sight seemed to strengthen him, and he turned his attention back to me. My brother raised his hands in a slow clap, his gauntlets clanging together. The sound echoed through the cave and intensified till I was convinced the sound was drilled into my skull. “Congratulations, Alice. How long have you been holding that in? I admire your strength. Unfortunately, your monologue contained an error- you said that you would be a great queen. This is quite untrue. While I do not know what sort of monarch you would be, I know that you will not be one at all.” The soldiers were suddenly behind me, blocking off my exit. I had mind enough to be afraid, and wished I had kept my helmet on. The only weapon I had was a knife buried in my boot, but I knew that any sudden movement would result in dire consequences. I cleared my throat, preparing to stall him. “John-”

That is when he seized my arm, dragged me to the edge of the cliff, and tossed me over. The full moon swayed in the sea, and I landed right in the middle of it. The water hit like a cold slap, and I immediately lost consciousness, which was unfortunate.

I would have rather liked to be queen.