Jael

Immediately, Jael felt pain, but it was only for a second. He forgot everything else after.

 Elena had just witnessed her brother's death. She saw the face of the Devil - Prince Lucian. Elena covered her mouth as she tried to scream. She wanted to go out, to hold her brother.

 "He cut his throat out with a dagger!" 

 She whispered to herself.

 Again, again and again.

 Elena fell on her knees.

 Prince Lucian killed her entire family.

 On her wedding day.

 She was the last remaining.

 King Lucian, Queen Naphta, Prince Frederick and his entire royal family, Prince Jael and Alexander... Everyone she cared about. The people she spent her entire life with. They were gone.

 Elena did not know how long she lay on the ground. She just let the tears fall. Who would she mourn first? Her father who had spent so much time making her happy? Who cared majorly about her well-being?

 "You spoil her too much," Queen Naphta would always say. His reply was always 

 "If I don't, who will?" 

 Elena always got her way with anything. Did the king punish her like he was supposed to when she escaped the palace? He laughed about it.

 Did her father take away her sword when she beat her brother, Alexander at sword fighting like the Queen requested? He did not. He simply told his wife he had a warrior for a daughter.

 Another tear rolled down her eyes.

 Mother...

 Elena could hear her mother's voice scolding, reprimanding, instructing her on what a proper princess should do.

 "What will happen to me now, what will a princess do?" 

 Elena pictured her brother, Jael, whose death she was still unable to process. He was always there for her. She remembered their last conversation, which was just this morning. When he promised he'd be back for her.

 " You said you'd be back for me, Jael. You've never given up on your word. Why would you do that now?" 

 Elena did not know how much time had passed, she just lay down. It felt like a dream, an awful dream.

 " Please, let this be a dream. Make me wake up and realize I still have my family with me." She whispered to no one in particular. 

 But it wasn't a dream.

 This was her fate now, her reality.

 She didn't even go to the hidden chamber Jael had instructed her to stay in.

 " I didn't obey your order, Jael. I need you to scold me."

 " I never married like I was supposed to, mum. Wouldn't you scold me one last time? I did what was unlike a princess."

 " Dad, I need you to assure me you're proud of me."

 As Elena whispered to herself, she closed her eyes to sleep. A voice woke her up from her sleep hours later.

 " What will a princess do?" 

 Suddenly, she stood up. Elena took one last glance at the grand hall through the tiny hole. She found numerous guards cleaning up, dragging bodies out. A tear dropped from her eyes and she quickly cleaned it. 

 "It wouldn't take long before I'm discovered," she thought. She needed to escape. But the door was locked from the outside. She was trapped.

 What would a Princess do?

 Suddenly, Elena remembered an incident over a year ago. She had escaped the palace again to meet Mariana's family but was caught. The King took Elena to his study room for a brief discussion and instead of scolding her, he smiled at her.

 "I see I have a stubborn daughter," he said, scattering her hair. She could only smile.

 "Your mum's angry. I'll show you something that may help for your next adventure, but you'll have to keep it between us. Only Jael knows about it." 

 She raised her brows,

 " I can keep a secret."

 He chuckled and moved towards his library of books.

 "See? " 

 She saw nothing,

 "That's a shelf filled with books, Dad."

 " Yes," he replied, "But if you move this, this, this, this one and finally, this," the King continued, moving five books from top to bottom, making a slanted line with the missing books, "the shelf will turn into..."

 Elena stood agape, watching as the shelf magically shifted and a door emerged. The king was expecting this reaction from his daughter.

 " This door leads to a secret tunnel that goes all the way outside the palace. It's for emergencies and, for my daughter to leave the palace as she pleases." 

 Elena smiled. She wasn't the type to leave the palace daily and she knew her father trusted her enough not to misuse this opportunity.

 " Thanks, Dad." 

 "Now, this must stay between us. Not even the Queen knows it." 

 She arched her brows,

 " Why?"

 He smiled,

 "She's not a fan of books. Come, let's explore this tunnel before someone gets suspicious." 

 Now, locked up in a secret room, Elena knew where she had to go. As an expert in climbing walls, she was able to climb her way up to the ceiling. It was dark, dusty and most likely filled with insects, but Elena care less. Her wedding dress made it hard to walk but she had no other option. 

 There was another problem - making sure she wasn't noticed. Plus, it was dark and navigation was almost impossible. After crawling for hours and using her memories as a mental map, Elena found herself jumping directly into the king's study.

 Fortunately, it was empty.

 A minute later, Elena had successfully opened the portal and found her way through the tunnel and to a small gate that led directly outside towards the stable. It was already dark.

 Now what?

 Elena took a deep breath and thought for a while.

 "What will a Princess do?" 

 No, she wasn't a princess. She was an heir to the throne of Austeria. She was now a Queen, and she knew exactly what to do.

 Elena entered the empty stable and immediately brought out her horse, Soul.

 A Queen needs to do what a Queen needs to do, and Queens do not get to be emotional.

 As Elena rode her horse through the night towards oblivion, Elena thought of one thing - escape, come back, and finally, revenge.