STRUVLAND
Chapter 4
The Engagement
Alessandra

Tonight is the engagement ball, all throughout the castle, the servants are setting up decorations and Queen Adelina is talking to the cooks about what food is to be prepared for this evening. According, to Prince Oliver, his mother loves planning parties, balls, and feasts as much as he loves books. However, unlike them, I am not ready for this evening, I'm sure that the food will be phenomenal and the music will be satisfactory, but I'm nervous about the royal family of Arcavia visiting. If it comes down to it, how can I be sure that they will protect me?

Although they seem harmless, I can't help but think they might throw me in harm's way the moment it is convenient for their survival. If I were to be killed it would be a minor inconvenience to them, sure they would lose my family's gold and support, but they still have countries that are still neutral like Heranon, Ylieria, and Rianuya. Prince Oliver could marry into any of those royal families and get the money his starving country needs. I'm just a piece on a board to them, easily replaceable, even my own family could replace me with my brother Alwin.

I look to the corner of the large ballroom and see my mother, leaning against the wall. The light from the window beside my mother makes her green eyes shine bright and her skin look as white as the snow on the ground outside. My mother's hair was beautifully done up with a few long white pieces out to frame her face.

She looks more beautiful than I ever could.

I notice my mother is holding a small red book, as her green eyes read the words on the pages, her red lips mumble the words softly. When I walk over to her, she looks up and closes the book, hiding it behind her back. I look at her questioningly and my mother softly smiles at me, something she rarely ever does.

"I was just reading, The Book of Ila, thought I should brush up on knowledge of our goddess of life. The Willens seem to be very religious people, wouldn't want them questioning our faith, would we?" She explains. I nod, toying with a piece of my long blonde-white hair that matches hers.

"I thought those books were all in white, why is yours red?" I ask. She smiles bigger.

"Special edition, specifically made for our family." My mother answers.

"Oh, I wasn't aware of that. Have you helped any with the planning for the ball?"

My mother licks her lips, sighs, and looks across the room at Queen Adelina, who is now talking to some decorators.

"No, Queen Adelina has insisted that she plans everything herself and for us to rest but I can't help but think that she only said that so I wouldn't mess up her plans, she's very specific about what she wants. Your father says that her sister was just the same." She replies, turning her gaze back to me.

"How does father know her sister?"

"Well, before she had disappeared, your father was meant to marry her, instead of me. A few months after she disappeared, when they finally decided she was nowhere to be found, the engagement was called off. The next week, we became engaged, fell in love, and then a few months later we were married." She smiles as she replays memories of her and my father when they were younger.

"So Struvland and Pentoya were almost in an alliance way before Prince Oliver and I were born?" I ask.

Now I know for sure that I am easily replaceable. My presence here holds no weight.

"Indeed." My mother responds.

Now that it is time for the ball, four servants have come to my room to get me ready. Three out of the four servants, I have never seen before, but one of the four is the elf from earlier. I didn't notice it before, but the elf has two dark red small streaks, in her black and loose coiled hair, that frame her face. I can't even remember her name now but the elf looks at me as if she's disgusted to even be in the same room as me. I roll my eyes and huff out a breath.

The elf should be happy I am even in the same room as her. I am going to marry her prince, I'm practically her employer now.

The dress they put me in is a beautiful royal blue with silver details embroidered all over the skirt of the dress, the sleeves have black fabric coming out from the bottom. My necklace is silver and is in the shape of a serpent that has blue sapphires for eyes. The silver crown that rests atop my head, matches the necklace, only it has two snakes that twist and overlap each other but just like the necklace the snakes have blue sapphires for eyes. The elf comes up to me with a blue mask with silver snakes painted around the eye holes, it matches my dress perfectly.

"The queen has decided the ball will be a masquerade, she says it'll be much more exciting." The elf explains. I nod as the elf puts the mask down on the table beside them and helps the others do my hair. They split my hair to where there is a small part of hair at the top and they leave the rest alone, then they make two medium braids with the upper half of my hair and pin it up, when that's done they put my mask on and weave the black ribbons that hold the mask in place through the braids in my hair, they then tie the ribbon at the end of each braid. Once they've done that, they tie the ribbons together and put my shoes on me. After that, they sent me on my way to the ballroom.

 I arrive at the ballroom, Queen Adelina comes up to me with a huge smile. She is wearing a black dress with gold details embroidered on the skirt and a gold crown with red rubies decorating it, her mask is black and gold, matching her dress. Her hair is done up in two medium-sized braids on either side of her head that cross one another at the ends and is pinned into a low bun at the back of her head, the crimson streak in her hair is more obvious in this hairstyle.

"Hello, dear, are you excited for the evening? I can say confidently that I most definitely am. The king and queen of Arcavia are here along with their daughter Princess Rose, they're just over there," Queen Adelina points, "they're the ones dressed in the beautiful white and gold outfits." She says. I look over to see three people dressed in luxurious silk white and gold clothing that compliments their deep bronze skin. As we walk towards them, I notice the family tense in our presence.

"Hello, Queen Fortune, it's so good to have you here, even though our countries are at war with one another, I hope our invitation shows our civility." Queen Adelina says, smiling kindly. Queen Fortune relaxes and looks at us, her eyes cold and cautious.

"Hello, Queen Adelina, the ballroom looks wonderful, I suppose you planned this all? You didn't plan an 'accidental' murdering of my family tonight as well, did you?" Queen Fortune says coldly. Queen Adelina brushes it off.

"Don't be silly, dear. This is an engagement ball, not a threat." Queen Adelina responds. They continue to talk as I study the royal family of Arcavia, the Lamarels.

First, I study the queen, Fortune Lamarel, who earned her title at fifteen when her father died and left her the throne and no family. That changed when she gave birth two years later to Princess Rose after marrying King Samael. Queen Fortune looks elegant, strong, and effortlessly regal in her outfit, her beauty is unmatched, although she has more wrinkles, most likely due to more stress than Queen Adelina, despite being younger. She has a large white streak in her black tightly coiled hair that is beautifully styled in a high bun. With Queen Fortune's full lips, brown eyes, straight nose, and high cheekbones, it is no wonder why so many women want to be her. Princess Rose looks just like her mother, the only difference is, she has two medium-sized white streaks that seem to come from above both her ears on each side of her long and beautiful tightly coiled hair. They have the mark of Ila, an indicator that magic runs through their veins.

My professor said that Ila, the goddess of life, had decided to mark everyone with magical abilities after The Trusted drank the blood that was from the crimson goblet of peace and betrayed the gods by offering their own blood to others, creating The Tainted. The white streaks are the marks of Ila but there are some who have red streaks like Queen Adelina and that elf servant who helped me dress, no one knows what the red streaks mean except for the ones who have them, and they don't dare tell a soul. Some say it's the mark of Cadea, goddess of death, that she tainted their marks from Ila with blood, if they were a descendant of The Tainted, for being the result of The Trusted betraying them. I don't believe that rumor because Queen Adelina is a royal, and royals have only the best of bloodlines, only peasants could have such tainted blood.

When I look at King Samael, I get a surprisingly bad feeling in my stomach, something about him is off. He whispers in Queen Fortune's ear, rarely saying anything out loud for anyone else to hear. He has black hair as well that comes to his chest and his eyes are a dark brown. His smile is crooked and above his lips, he has a black mustache. He looks nervous any time he looks around the room but smirks when he sees something he likes. What he sees, I can not figure out but it must be something he takes an abundance of pleasure in.

After around ten minutes, Prince Oliver comes over. He is dressed in black and gold like his mother, even his mask and crown is similar to hers but more masculine. He introduces himself to the Lamarels and then asks me to dance, this draws King Samael's attention. I accept and we move towards the middle of the room to dance.

"You seemed very quiet and cautious over there, why is that?" Prince Oliver asks as we start to dance. The skirt of my royal blue dress brushes the black and gold marble floor as my matching heels softly clack while we move.

"I was quiet because I was observing the Lamarels, but I was cautious because King Samael gives me an odd feeling. What have you been doing?" I ask.

"That makes sense. I've been listening to people go on and on about how happy they are about our engagement. I'm slightly upset though, my sister, Lucia, couldn't come since she's taking care of her newborn daughter, my niece, Mabel. I miss her quite a bit." He replies, slightly tightening his grip on my waist when I stumble over my own feet. The smell of mulled cider and blueberries engulf my senses with the closer proximity. I swallow.

"I'd imagine so, you haven't seen her since you were fifteen years old," I say. He nods in agreement and we stay silent for a while, a comfortable silence. I notice my mother across the room speaking with Queen Adelina who is pointing at her blonde, almost white hair, which now has a small red streak. I softly gasp in disbelief. I choose to ignore it before Prince Oliver and I finally stop dancing and walk towards Oliver's father, who happens to be talking to a nobleman. After a few moments, however, I start to feel like it's harder to breathe.

"Prince Oliver, I think I'll go outside the ballroom and rest for a moment. I don't feel well." I inform Prince Oliver. He glances at me, the look of concern gracing his features, but nods in understanding. I walk out of the ballroom and sit on a bench by the door, illuminated by a few torches, to catch my breath. I stare at the stone floor and brush off imaginary dust on my dress. An unfamiliar buzzing feeling finds its way to my fingertips

What is going on? Has the illness I had as a child come back? This isn't normal, it has been gone for three years now. Am I losing feeling in my fingers?

Suddenly, the hall becomes dark. I hear shouting and gasps from inside the ballroom, followed by a small cry for help. I stand up abruptly and try to feel my way out of the hall, I can't see anything, not even with the moonlight peeking in through the window. My heart is hammering against my chest in panic. Suddenly, a cold piece of metal is pressed against my throat and a harsh gasp escapes my throat.

Am I going to die tonight? I knew Struvland wouldn't protect me, I was right, I am just a playing piece in a game of war.

"Make a peep and I will slit your throat immediately. Do you understand?" A gruff masculine voice whispers. I nod and he guides me in the dark towards an empty room with very little light. The cold piece of metal from the knife being held against my throat is removed, the person who held it removes themself from behind me and enters my line of sight. My kidnapper is a man with red eyes, shoulder-length white-blonde hair that has crimson streaks right at the tips of the pieces of hair that fall near his cheeks, and a large scar going from under his left eye, across his crooked nose, and to the right corner of his mouth. He steps away from Alessandra to reveal a tall, lean woman behind him.

"Hello, Alessandra, I am Lilith, that man you just met is Christopher. I need to ask a favor from you." The woman says. She has a sharp nose, slightly red eyes, and most of her hair is a crimson color, like Queen Adelina's red streak, but a large patch of hair is a pale, almost white, blonde. Her hair is chin-length, she has olive skin, and she's wearing a dress that is an eggplant color with a mask that matches, which, instead of being on her face, is being held in her left hand. She smirks at me with her plum-colored painted lips as she waits for my response.

"What kind of favor? How do you know I won't tell anyone about this?" I ask, my voice shaky. Lilith starts slowly pacing in front of me. My whole body tenses while my hands shake, I curse my body for betraying me.

"I know you won't tell anyone because, as I'm sure you know deep down inside, I will kill you in the most horrid way possible if you expose us. I want you to understand that I'm going to need you to kill the prince. I'm quite sure you don't love him, I mean you barely know each other now, it's been years since you've been back here. Don't try to lie and say you are madly in love, I am not one of your blind loyal subjects, I see through your badly crafted lies. If you don't kill him, I'll kill you, your parents, the prince, and his family, all at once," Lilith says in a smoky voice before continuing. "Hell, I'll even kill your precious little cat for good measure. Now, dear, Oliver seems like a man prepared to die for his country and the ones he loves, while you seem like a girl who would do anything to save herself, even if it means killing someone, so this should be easy. I hope I am correct, otherwise, this whole plan will go to shit." I stay silent for a moment, contemplating.

Prince Oliver did nothing wrong, why would she want him dead? Oh well, I didn't want to marry him anyway. Killing a man seems better than being a replaceable piece in someone else's game, how hard could it be? My father kills people all the time.

"What's the plan? If I kill him will you leave me and my family alone, including my cat?" I ask. Lilith stops slowly pacing and faces me.

For a woman who wants my future husband dead, she is very beautiful.

"Yes, we will leave your family alone, sort of. When the prince and you leave the castle tomorrow to go on your ride around the country to visit villages, towns, and cities, we will ambush your carriage, killing all your guards. When you two are alone, you will have time to kill him, if you don't want to do it right away that's fine, we'll make sure you're far enough away from the castle that it will take you months to get back. Make him trust you and then steal that trust away by killing him, watch the life drain from his eyes, watch the blood drench his clothes in red. Make your sacrifice to Cadea, show that red is loud and red is silent, make it known. The Red Eyes and our darling lady in red will protect you, my dear, all you have to do is this one simple task. If you fail," Lilith lets out a dark laugh, "everyone will die anyway. Do you accept?" Lilith asks, inspecting her short red painted nails.

"I accept."

A/N: hi, I know it took forever but I finally got this chapter up so Yeehaw, I hope you're as excited as I am. :)) I love you, YEEHAW. 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕