THE BLOOD PRINCESS

CHAPTER 1: PART 2: DESTINY

I followed him into the basement. It had been emptied and the walls had been covered with strange symbols drawn with chalk. The servant boy went to stand in a circle that had been drawn in the middle of the room and gestured for me to join him. I walked cautiously towards him.

He smirked and lifted his hands, “Magnitudine Helbania vocamus.” The symbols on the walls began to glow. “Superant in terram sanctam!” The symbols pulsed almost violently. “Superant in terram sanctam!” he repeated. I felt a sharp pain sear through my body and a white light flashed before my eyes.

As soon as my vision cleared, I was met with a lush expanse of green meadows and obnoxious hills, glittering in the sunshine. I felt the soft touch of grass under my legs as I attempted to stand.

“Welcome to Helbania!” The servant boy exclaimed as he helped me up.

“Do you even have villages here?”

“Yes, they’re right this way.” He gestured towards a small, shady blob in the distance. “Wouldn’t want to be caught teleporting people into the village.” He chuckled.

“So, servant boy, -“

“Please, call me Aron.”

Well, I guess he did save my life… “Sure. So, Aron, how exactly is this going to work?”

“We’ll get there eventually. Right now we just need to get you into the village and find you somewhere to hide.”

We travelled the rest of the way in silence. I hadn’t a clue what to say. I just had so many questions, it would be impossible for him to answer them all! I’ll just have to –

“Hey, Aron, who’s your girlfriend?” someone called as we neared the village.

“She’s not my girlfriend.” Aron chuckled and hugged his two friends. The girl seemed nice. She smiled at me, so I guess we could be friends. I liked her hair, blonde and curled. I wish I had curly hair, but my mother would never let that happen, nor would she let me dye my hair. I guess I’ll just be stuck with this boring brown forever!

The boy was the one that yelled. I didn’t like him very much, at least not right now. His hair was scruffy and it was obvious that he was in dire need of a visit to a hairdresser… and a dentist... He eyed me with a look I cannot describe. All I can say is that I didn’t like it, not one bit.

“So who is she then?” The boy asked persistently. I hate persistent.

Aron sighed. “I can trust you guys, right?” Was he going to tell them?

“Of course, Aron.” The girl smiled cheerfully.

“She’s from…” he paused, “Royalia.”

There was a heavy silence that dropped in like an unwelcomed guest. What did that mean? I had never even heard of Helbania before! We couldn’t possibly have any rivalries with them, or could we?

“You mean…?” the boy grinned.

“She could be…” They all turned to face me.

“I could be what?”

Aron looked at me with a deadly seriousness in his eyes, “The Blood Princess.”