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SR,
I hope this letter finds you well. You will forever be my Scottie-cat. Words can’t begin to describe how much you mean to me, and even though he won’t admit it, you mean the world to my brother too. I feel so blessed to have you as my best friend. I’m honored to have watched you grow into the female you were meant to become. I know the idea of being Queen scares you, but trust me, Scottie, you are going to make one hell of a Queen! How, you may ask, do I know that? Well, because I practically raised you! If only I could come with you and do your makeup all the time, you would even look the part too. Jokes aside, I know you are meant for this. Stop worrying so much about life and finally start living it. I know you never talk about them, but it’s what your parents would have wanted. I’m sure of it. I love you so much, SR! You won’t ever be alone in this world as long as you have me. Don’t forget about me when you are all famous and important.
Love forever and always, Vallie
P.S. You have to let me know if the sex is good!
Vallie was the only person who could make me bawl my eyes out and laugh at the same time. I held her letter over my heart and sobbed, staying curled on my side until I heard a knock on my door.
“One second,” I said through the thick wooden frame. Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I rushed over to the mirror and glanced at myself before heading out. My eyes were still slightly swollen and puffy from crying, but at least they weren’t red anymore.
I put Vallie’s letter back in the blue box with the lollipop and tucked it into my pack. I took one last look at our dorm and then walked away from the only life I’d known. I walked to go meet the Prince.
To become the future Queen.
FIFTEEN
SCOTLIND
When I exited my dorm,Prince Noren was leaning against a black, shiny car. The windows were tinted, blocking the inside from view. He took a step toward me and grabbed my bags before placing them in the back of the vehicle. I felt like a walking corpse as I silently followed him inside, neither of us saying a word to each other.
Inside the vehicle, the blonde from earlier, Peter, flashed me a grin. He was sitting next to two Tennebrisian guards who both bore the twin pink moons on their chests. The car was ghastly smaller than the vans we took to the banquet. I wouldn’t be able to escape into myself throughout the ride.
The drive seemed like a lifetime. I felt myself shrivel up as a sickly feeling of being trapped overtook my body. I pressed my thighs together as tightly as I could to avoid touching the guards sitting next to me. Peter had moved to sit next to the Prince who took up the seat behind me, and even though I couldn’t see them, I felt like their eyes were burning a hole through my skull.
Once the car finally came to a halt in front of the monorail, I stepped outside and was greeted by crisp, cold air. It was harsher, colder, and rougher than the air in LakeWood. The wind was potent as it whipped my long brown hair over my face and loosened my braids. I could feel the knots starting to form as I briskly tried to gather it back.
I started shivering immediately, my long gray coat not nearly thick enough. Once my hair was tucked behind me in a tangled mess, I crossed my arms across my chest in an attempt to keep my core temperature up. Snow peppered the ground, and white flurries were still falling. I tilted my head up to gaze at the sky. Everything felt different here. I couldn’t tell if it was actually snowing or if the wind was so strong that it made it seem like it was.
Peter noticed me peering up and casually walked over to my side. “We are at the border of our territory, so the shield is weaker here. Around the perimeters, it’s impossible to keep the frigid temperature out. That’s why it feels much colder and why you see the snow. It’s also why all the villages and towns are scattered around the center.”
I nodded in response, too cold to say anything back.
Every time I opened my mouth, I saw my breath leave me in a puff of air. It would linger there for a moment before it was swallowed by the wind. Once my teeth started chattering, they didn’t stop. I took a few long, slow breaths and tried not to think about the last time I was this cold. Memories resurfaced from the time I was first brought here. It took another moment to realize that the beach I was left on must have been on the border of the Dark Kingdom’s territory. That even if I’d climbed those mountains, I never would have lasted long enough to find it.
A low squealing sounded. I squinted through the windgusts, seeing black and white specks in the distance. It looked like small animals in tuxedos. “What is that?” I puffed through the frigid air.
Peter grinned. “They’re penguins and so freaking adorable. There are thousands of them on the border of the territory.” Despite how numb I felt inside, I found myself melting as I watched some of the little creatures waddle only to fall on each other.
I wanted to stay and admire the penguins, but I was ushered onto the monorail by a guard. I gawked down the beautiful aisles, feeling like there was an entire world beyond LakeWood. Electricity hummed throughout the long snake-like contraption, and soft lights lined every creamy, white wall. Heat engulfed me immediately, and I embraced it like a hug from the sun.
The monorail was divided into little compartments with doors for privacy. Someone directed me into one, and I blindly followed. Inside the box-shaped chamber, a large row of cushions lined the walls, almost like a mini scrunched up sofa on each side. A woven wool blanket and a pillow were laid out before me—my only indication that this trip would take all night. A frosted window stretched from floor to ceiling, exposing the outside.
I sighed, disappointed that the temperatures were too cold that it froze over the windows. I couldn’t look out at the scenery as we passed. After only seeing Addler once, I was curious about what differences existed between the six villages.
Were there more forests and wildlife? Would the monorail pass by that frozen, rocky beach? I frowned at my reflection in the ice frosted window as I took a seat along the wall of cushions, wondering how long this ride would be.
The door to my compartment slammed shut, leaving me alone with nothing but my pack. I wrapped myself in the wool blanket and tried to warm up as I opened up my bag and removed the folder I’d received during the graduation.
I stared at the shiny, black material. It was thicker than I’d imagined. I hadn’t dared to open it yet, but I figured now was as good a time as any. There would be no way I could sleep with all the nerves stirring inside me. Careful to avoid putting pressure on my burned wrists, I started sorting through the papers.
Sure enough, it was filled with information regarding the duties expected of me as the Princess and then the Queen. The bold lettering of the wordQueenwas enough to make me want to vomit. Every painstaking detail about the castle and the royals were listed below it.
I had no idea how they expected me to process and retain all this information. I glanced through files of every member of the High Council, not only detailed with their abilities and backgrounds, but their names, rankings, pictures, and job descriptions. They even had information of each member of the guard and every servant, all of whom I realized were rank zeroes. I had to go over a passage five times before my brain could process what I was reading, and even then, it was half the words at best. I was envious of Vallie’s ability of knowledge absorption right about now.
My fingers halted over a picture of one of the Council members. I knew without reading the name that it was the male from my rank evaluations. Synder Phillips. His oily skin, slick hair, bent nose, and crooked sneer unsettled me. I cringed as I read his job description as the King’s Second, making him the head of the High Council. It was the highest ranking one could receive after being the King.
Amongst the paperwork was a detailed layout of the castle grounds. “It’s massive,” I breathed to myself as I scanned through the map. It spanned across multiple pages. I was surely going to get lost. A lot.
