AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Prologue
My seventh birthday was quite a spectacle. Cheerful music, dancers in colorful robes, and noble families from near and far. Exotic foods on a table as long as several horse carriages centered the great throne hall of my father, the mighty Rhine King. Mother and I were sitting right next to him at the head of his table. Noble families of the highest and lowest ranks chattered loudly. The women were showing off their silken dresses and new jewels as their husbands argued passionately about politics.
I took another big bite of my chocolate cake and looked into the golden mirror on the wall across from me. My thick blonde hair was tied into an elegant braid, and I was wearing the new golden tiara my father had gifted me. It had a large, precious stone in its middle, sparkling crimson like a setting sun. I smiled as it slipped down my head to the left again, all the way over my ear. My mother, who was sitting next to me and my father, pushed the tiara back up as she rolled her beautiful green eyes.
“You spoil her, you know that,” she said to my father. “She has five of them in silver and three in gold already.” Nobody but my mother dared to talk to my father in this tone. He was one of the most powerful and richest kings in the lands known to men.
My father’s eyes grew soft the moment he lowered his golden wine glass and looked at my mother. He loved her dearly; the whole world knew it. And how could he not? She was by far the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, and, more importantly, she was just as kind and loving. Sometimes, I wondered if he loved me only because I looked like her. I worried one day I might wake up, find my face changed, and he would love me less. My father was a fair and just man, but he was feared for his cold and detached nature. Large, strong, and with a thick beard, he reminded me of a bear. But when it came to Mother and me, he was as soft as a lamb.
“She didn’t have one with a red diamond,” he said, a wide grin on his thin lips. My mother sighed as his large hand grabbed her small waist and pulled her close, including her chair. He whispered something into her ear, which made her smile and blush. She gently pushed him away. My father laughed at her reaction, the sound loud and jolly.
“You are impossible,” she scolded him, still smiling.
“Your Highness.” Stepping closer to the table were an elegantly dressed couple with two children, a boy maybe a few years older than me and a girl who looked to be on the cusp of womanhood. They were dressed in the finest silks, but the fact that they didn’t have seats close to my parents indicated they were of a lower rank.
They bowed, then the woman stepped forward.
“My son”—she pointed at the boy with hair as black as charcoal—“has a gift for your daughter to honor this fine day.”
I rose to my feet in excitement. Another gift. I had already received more than I could count that day, from the finest dresses to Asian dolls, but something told me this one would be special. Or perhaps there was simply something about this boy I liked.
“A gift?” I practically yelled.
“Mina!” my mother scolded. “Lower your voice—you are not selling fish at the market.”
The nobleman and his wife smiled.
“A snow-white foal,” the noblewoman continued. “It was bred from the finest lineage in our stables.”
My father scratched his beard. “You are Heinrich von Wilbrandt from the North, lord of the mighty mountains of Kulgrat, aren’t you? I hear your horses are so fast they could outrun the devil himself.”
The man smiled and bowed again. “You are too kind, Your Highness.”
My father nodded. “What a fine gift. You have my gratitude.”
“Father, can I go and see it?” I ran around my mother’s chair to grab his arm; it felt big in my little hands.
He leaned over to me. “As long as you promise to watch your dress in the stables. We don’t want to upset your mother—”
“Thank you!” I cut him off, and, being too eager to run around the long table, I crawled beneath it to join the Wilbrandt family.
“Follow me,” the Wilbrandt boy said and stormed off.
“Mina!” my mother called after me in shock, but the boy and I had already run off and disappeared into the festive crowd.
“What’s your name?” I asked him as we made it into the endless hallway, almost running into a servant carrying a tray with drinks.
“Excuse me!” I shouted as we reached the stairs that led into the courtyard and to the stables. Giggling, excited, the boy grabbed my hand.
“I’m Alrick, son of Heinrich von Wilbrandt, lord of the mighty mountains of Kulgrat,” he huffed as we descended the stairs. “This horse will be the finest you have ever seen.”
My feet felt as if they were floating on a breeze as we raced through the busy courtyard and into the stables, nearly colliding with Paul, one of the stable hands.
“Your Highness,” Paul said, a look of surprise on his face. I liked Paul. He knew everything about horses. And as strange as it was, his long face looked like one as well.
“Is it here?” I asked, hopping up and down.
Paul bowed and leaned his manure fork against the gray stone walls of the stable. “It is, Your Highness. This way.”
