story 1

She sat alone in her room, pondering the events of the day. Outside her window a war raged on, but to her the events below were of another world entirely. She was a prisoner inside the castle walls, even though she resided in a beutifully furnished room with many comforts. Her king was a prepubesant monster whose one joy was inflicting pain on others. She flinched as she remembered the events of the day. She had been brought before the court for an audience with the king. She wore her nicest gown, a silver brocade with flowing iradescant sleeves, and had come to the king with a large false smile planted on her face, for the king liked it when she appeared to be happy. However, when she entered the king's chambers, she knew there was something amiss. The king had not gotten his way about something and was in a foul temper. She was ushered into the room with the announcement "She is here, your Grace". She looked around at the faces in the room for some sign of what was to come, but every face displayed a perfect mask and offered no secrets for her to grasp to.

The king leaned forward. "So, its you " he hissed.
She dropped into her deepest curtsy. "Yes my lord. I have come as you asked".
The king sneered. "my whipping boy is ill today. You will take his place". He laughed, a sound full of malice and hatred.
She gasped. "Your Grace! You cannot mean it! What have I done?".

The king looked at his fingers and replied nonchalantly, "you are the daughter of my enemy. I can do whatever I want to you. And right now you should be whipped, because I say so." He jumped down from his throne, grabbed her by the hair and whispered fiercely, "and you will never tell me what I can and cannot do. You will do as I say and you will like it!" He let her go and called to his court, "let the whipping begin!"

The members of the kingsguard started forward, all save one. He was the favorite of the king, a hard man named _. He was no knight unlike the rest of the kingsguard and refused to be made one. One side of his face was severely scarred from burns he had incurred in childhood. The other was seen to clench tightly upon hearing his king's order. He watched in silence near the throne, hand on his sword hilt.

She backed away from the members of the kingsguard coming near her. She had nowhere to go. The doors were shut behind her and she knew that no member of the court would lift a finger to stop the whipping. She took a deep breath and looked straight ahead. "I'll live through this" she reassured herself. "He needs me alive, for now. I have endured his malice before. It will be no different this time".

She opened her eyes just in time for the first blow, a heavy smack against her right cheek. She fell to her knees from the force of the impact. Another kinsguard kicked her in the stomach and knocked the wind from her lungs. She clutched her stomach and lay on the floor, bracing for the next impact.

The next blow never came, instead she heard the clash of steel above her head. She looked up in bewilderment to see _ driving the kingsguard away from her. "Leave now" he shouted over his shoulder. She grabbed her skirts, forced open the door and ran from the room as fast as her legs could carry her, sobbing all the while. She reached her own room and flung herself inside, bolting the door behind her. She collapsed on the bed and cried herself to sleep.

She awoke to the sound of a warhorn outside her window. At first she did not know what it was, but at the second souding she was fully aware of what was taking place on the ground below. She sat on her bed and stared at the window slit, secretly hoping the rebels would kill the monster king and end his reign of terror. She shuddered. She did not like to think about such dark things, but the events of the morning had left her little choice. She said a silent prayer to no one in particular for guidance on how to survive this life. Downstairs was fire and death, but from her high perch it did not reach her.

She must have fallen asleep again. When she opened her eyes there was a shadow moving in the corner of her room. She opened her mouth to scream, but the shadow slid quickly across the room and put a large hand on her mouth.

to be continued...