“And how do we know this is true? Eh? How do we know? Only the royals have seen it and have not made mention of it since–––”
I flicked my fingers, igniting a spark of blue flame that darted towards the ground before pulling it back up to capture in my hand. Balling my fist together, I slowly relaxed my fingers, letting the heat settle throughout my hand as I caught the smirk from the king. Everyone in the room became silent and I could see my mother shake her head in annoyance.
“Your highness please,” Minka muttered through her whiskers. She was going to chastise me about my rebellious streak later.
“All six men from each territory have put in for her hand in marriage,” another said. My heart stopped. I looked up, hearing the beads cling together to stare at my father with wide eyes.
No…
“They have all agreed to attend and partake in the ritual if we are hosting the trials here. Everyone wants to be the one to give birth to the next Sun. We will hold an auction for your highness…and decide who she will be with… Great Sun, it will be a blue moon soon…that does not happen regularly. The Gods have told me the time is now… Allow your only daughter to be sent off so we can continue to spread our control. Your bloodlinewill continue through her. If this was any other woman, she would have been married off, but we cannot and will not take the First Flame lightly…”
I lowered my head as my fist tightened with quiet rage.
“When Ayira was born,” King Khamar started as he gently pulled at the soft curls against his chin. “Her responsibility to this world became greater than my own. She is to bridge the sun and earth together as one. That is the message I was given when she was born.”
No…Please…Baba please…
I gritted my teeth with my fist tightening at my side. I know he had to see my rage and feel me seething underneath these clothes. Only to ignore me the same way they all did when I entered a room.
“Prepare everyone to host our upcoming guests,” King Khamar said, voice deep and commanding with the lightest of accents. His accent only fades when he travels and spends time outside of the Kingdom. In the new world I could only hope to see outside of a screen. I could hear the whispers and excitement amongst the men before deciding to turn around and leave.
“Ayira!?” Khamar called out. I kept walking, grabbing the satin garb to pick up from my feet as I stormed out of the doors with a shove and stalked down the halls. Every servant and guard stumbled as they quickly bowed their heads before falling to their knees which could only mean one thing.
“Stubborn woman!” Khamar shouted with a suck of his teeth. “You are too old to behave this way!”
I turned the corner, passing the courtyard as the long windows showed the sand dunes in the distance, just beyond the kingdom where houses sat stacked on top of each other. It was night with the crack of the moon off in the distance. Small lights littered the villages, and homes to illuminate the streets.
I knew there was more to life outside of this place. The countless number of phones that were snuck in the palace, in the kingdom…There was another world of people…that–––
“Ayira!?”
I turned another corner seeing the double doors as I waved for them to be open. Minka was trying to keep up but was looking back at the king who was undoubtedly following behind me when I felt a tight grip on my arm. I was suddenly shoved into the corner of the high hallway, and pressed up against the wall as the king barked for the servants to leave.
“Stubborn woman!” He snapped with a grip of my jaw, squeezed it through the fabric. “You are not a little girl anymore! I cannot keep you locked away without people asking questions–––”
“Baba, you are the king!” I cried. “You can do whatever you want! You have always done whatever you wanted! Whatever you please! I see you come and go––”
“I AM THE KING!” He shouted with another shove at me. “I AM THE GREAT SUN KING! I do as I please because I am who I am! YOU!”
His finger jammed into the center of my forehead through the veil covering my face.
“YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO YOU ARE! LET ALONE YOUR PURPOSE!”
“So I am to wait for men to gather around the circle and tell me what I am to do with my life and who to be with?!”
“You are my daughter,” he stressed with his eyes darkening by the second. “Your life has been decided the moment you were in your mother’s womb.”
I started to lift the veil when he immediately yanked it down before looking around. It was his rule in the first place to keep me covered as he feared jealous men would kill him in his sleep over my beauty. That’s what he told me anyway. I am starting to think he couldn’t stand the sight of me.
“Ayira…you are just like your mother–––”
“I will not be married off like some property! I will not!”
“You will because I said it to be,” he said through his teeth as he jerked my face away. “I command it. I cannot keep you here anymore–––”
“So let me leaveeee!” I pleaded with a grip of his robe. “Please let me leave! I don’t want to be here! I hate it here! I’ve always hated it here! This should not have been the life I was born into! Let me go!”
I could see his eyes swell with tears as he shook his head. He looked pained at my honest thoughts voiced out loud. I did not belong here.
