The journey begins (1)

Song suggestion for this chapter: https://open.spotify.com/track/4JtvyWkWQTPVcroZf8JJkp?si=7ee8e95495754dd6

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Suddenly Cassandra's smile this morning popped into her mind and made the princess shiver. It was an evil smile, as if something terrible was about to happen to her, and Cassandra would be happy about it.

Cassandra was the first daughter of King Rufus of Teon, the smallest nation out of the five kingdoms. Teon was seeking an alliance with Rodea because of Rodea's impeccable army.

Teon had many diamond mines, making it a precious land, but it did not have the numbers to create solid military forces to protect itself. So, the decision was made early on that the two countries would seal their cooperation by marriage. Teon would supply Rodea with diamonds, with which Rodea could trade and gather the finances needed, while Teon would get military support from Rodea in the case of an attack.

When Cassandra was nine years old, she moved to Rodea. It was expected within the royal families to promise their children at a very young age and send them to other nations so that they could grow up with their future spouses in the hopes they would eventually fall in love.

Although Philipp and Cassandra knew each other for ten years before marriage, Philipp never fell in love with her. He had already given his heart to someone else, a handmaid. Unfortunately for him, a handmaid and crown prince could never be together.

Although they grew up together and used to be close, Cassandra started to behave differently towards her after the wedding. Aurora had known about the handmaid and had never told Cassandra about it. 'But how would she know that I knew unless Philipp had confessed everything to her.' Still, Aurora could not figure out the meaning behind Cassandra's actions. 'It doesn't matter anymore; I will barely see her.

'My only hope is that now that I am gone, she won't harass Amelia in my stead.' Aurora had to stop herself from her negative thoughts. There was no point in her worrying about that right now.

She felt exhausted, even though they hadn't been on the road for long, and fell asleep. Unfortunately, she didn't get any peace in her sleep either. She kept returning to the time she had returned to Rodea from Lavia after finding out about her parents' death. Philipp's appearance was unrecognizable, with his weight loss and dark circles under his eyes. It hit him hard since he suddenly had to take responsibility for the kingdom while still mourning his parents.

Suddenly hours had passed, and Aurora's head was hurting. She didn't want to think about anything anymore. Looking out at the green scenery with many trees, wild horses here and there, or a deer somewhere far, Aurora felt slightly more at ease. She knew she would be alright; she had no other choice. Her duty came before all else, and she was trained for this day.

On the bright side, she had a good time with Nathaniel the last time she met him. It seemed that they would be a good couple. Albeit she had only stayed one month in Lavia before the sad news reached her, Nathaniel and she didn't have enough time to get to know each other appropriately.

Aurora was again in deep thought when the carriage suddenly stopped. One of the guards informed the princess about them staying there for the night before they would continue in the morning, entering Helveda. Everyone had to be in top form so that they would rest before.

--

Meanwhile, the people left in the castle were all struggling with their demons. Philipp didn't feel well after his sister had left in the morning. His gut feeling was telling him that something was off.

He knew that he had done everything he could to ensure Aurora was safe on her way to Lavia, but the memories of his parents kept haunting him. He felt anxious and did not know what to do with himself. He knew he would be like this until he got the news that she had arrived safely in a few days.

Everything had changed so fast in the past year. He had lost his parents, was crowned king, and now his sister had to leave and get married soon. If only he could have shared his reasoning for his decisions with her, he had to carry this burden alone for Aurora's and Amelia's safety.

Amelia was training hard on the training grounds, exhausting her body and keeping herself busy. The nightmare she had last night was intense. She had seen Aurora's death on her way to Lavia. It was so vivid that she woke up crying, unable to differentiate reality from her dream anymore.

Thinking back, she still could feel the princess's life leaving her body in Amelia's arms. `This could not be and would never happen. ` was all Amelia could think to consolidate herself. Nevertheless, a voice in her head kept warning her that something was coming and that she had to decide.

While Amelia and Philipp were worried about their loved one, Cassandra was talking to some black smoke in a shape of a man in her bedroom. She had confided herself since the morning there, saying she didn't feel well.

The black smoke had become her friend over the years. Even though it was not a human being, did not have a face, and would seem scary to any average person, Cassandra felt comfortable around it.

"Master, we are getting close to our goal. Aurora will get what she deserves," Cassandra said as she smiled evilly at the black smoke.

"Dearest, as I always say, `Everything comes to the one who waits.` All your wishes will come true. I will ensure that your faith in me will not go to waste." the black smoke hissed.

--

The morning came quicker than anticipated, and Aurora felt stiff from her sleeping position. She looked outside the carriage and saw that everyone was busy packing up. Her lady-in-waiting realized that the princess was awake and brought a bowl of water and a cloth to wash her face. There was also a simple breakfast prepared, which was served right away. After the princess was ready to continue her journey, everyone moved again and soon reached Helveda, "Hell on Earth."

The view she had right now was the opposite of the peaceful green sight she had yesterday. Everything around them was dead. There were only dried, brown-colored grass, a couple of broken, dead trees, and some bushes with thorns.

The princess remembered her history class. Nobody knew how Helveda came to be, but legend had it that it was created when Asmodeus, the greatest evil on earth, and Salomon, the King of Peace, fought to their deaths and that their bodies were still buried there somewhere.

It was a wasteland as nothing could grow, and barely any animals decided to roam around there. Hence when the five kingdoms were created a thousand years ago, no one wanted to settle there. It was perilous to pass through here because the creatures who survived under such dire circumstances were pure killers.