The Golden queen

Long ago, In a far away kingdom, queen Isabella wept. The doctor had just told her that she was unable to have a child. She thought of her husband, King Daemon, he would certainly leave her, find a queen that could give him a new heir to the throne. That would absolutely destroy her inside. The queen knew she had to do something, but what? Then she thought of it, a sorceress. There was one that lived in town, one that everybody feared, but went to when god had seemed to turn his back on their  prayers. The queen was desperate, her husband had been the only one who had loved her after a long and abusive childhood, a memory that she wouldn’t let come across her mind. She was going to solve this, and it would be done immediately. The queen looked through the windows of the room, making sure that it was dark enough to depart. She hid her identity in a large blue cloak. She lit a candle for her lantern and snuck outside to the stables, preparing the most reliable horse, a chocolate brown beauty with a shiny, black, mane. She had just finished stashing a small pouch of gold into her cloak when the animal began to neigh. “Shhhh”, The queen begged. She laid a calm hand on his back and they departed. She made it through the town unnoticed and arrived at the door of the sorceress. “My queen”, the sorceress bowed. “I need your services, and I promise I will make it worth your while”, the queen explained holding up the pouch of gold. “What favor are you seeking my queen?”, the sorceress asked. “I am unable to bear a child, and my beloved king would leave me in a second if I can’t give him a new heir to the throne”, She explained, looking to the floor to keep her tears from falling. “It can be done my queen but I must warn you it is risky”, the sorceress warned. “I am desperate, do all that you can, I beg of you”, the queen begged. “Very well my queen, I will do all I can. Lie down on the bed and we will begin”, the sorceress said. The queen did as the sorceress had told her. “Now, I will place my hand on your stomach, you will feel a sensation seeping inside you, it will not be painful, in fact it is a rather wonderful feeling, a reaction is expected but be sure to stay as calm as you possibly can”, The sorceress explained. The queen nodded and the sorceress placed her hand on the queen’s stomach. The feeling was just as sensational as the sorceress had promised and the queen couldn’t help but to close her eyes and take a large, staggering breath. When the sorceress removed her hand, the queen could feel the life inside of her. “It is finished, I will accompany the doctor to your castle every time he comes to see you to make sure all is going well, I will make them believe I am a therapist to help you through your pregnancy so I can make sure all is going well”, the sorceress explained. “Oh thank you, I cannot pay you enough for what you have done for me”, said the queen joyously. “No need my queen, the grace that you and your child will bring to this kingdom is beyond enough for me”, the sorceress said. “You better get back, before you are noticed my queen”, she continued. The queen thanked her once more and then made her way back to the castle. The next day she sat beside her husband, the king as the doctor knelt before them. “It’s a miracle, you are pregnant my queen, congratulations, I have come in contact with a therapist that will assist me in checking your well being, but for now, I will leave you with this delightful news” the doctor finished his speech and then left. “This is delightful!”, the king exclaimed, “Tell me my dear, what are you hoping for, a boy or a girl?”, he asked. “I want you know your answer first”, she demanded. The king placed his hand on the queen’s stomach, looking into her eyes. The queen felt the familiar tingling inside of her. “I don’t care about the gender of the child my dear, I will love it either way”, The king said. “’I want a beautiful baby girl, and I shall name her Alexandria” The queen  said as she pulled him close and kissed him. Months later, all the royal family and the servants waited eagerly outside of the king and queen’s bedroom. They heard the screams of the queen followed soon after by a tiny scream. the child was born. The queen had just mentioned the beauty of her newborn daughter when suddenly panic broke out and the queen was beginning to die. The king knelt by her and she explained everything about the child, the sorceress, and her love for him. “My dear, I will love you until my dying breath, this child as well”, he said as he looked into her eyes mercifully. “I will as well my dear, and I will be first”, the queen replied weakly, fading into death. The king began to cry upon his wife’s body until the doctor handed him a little bundle of cloth. Never in his life had he seen a thing so wonderful, so beautiful, a baby girl with golden eyes. He took the child out to introduce her to the crowd, the child named Alexandria, with golden eyes. He told the world of the miracle of the sorceress and the world became happy with the arrival of the newborn princess. The king mourned in his chamber for years  however, still upset about losing his darling queen. Alexandria had grown to the age of four and already reminded him so much of her mother, the pain was just too hard to bear.  He remembered her last precious words “I will as well my dear, and I will be first”. The king scribbled out a suicide note, leaving the kingdom to his brother and making him promise to take care of the young princess. The king’s eyes filled with the longing to be near his precious queen again and so he hung himself. A light had opened in the dark room. The young princess had wandered in. “Daddy?”, she questioned. “Daddy, wake up!””, she begged, and as if coming to a sudden realization of things, she screamed from the top of her lungs, “DADDY!”, servants began to scurry in, becoming panicked. The young princess was still confused but she cried, knowing that her father was not coming back. A sulking figure loomed over her, it was Edmond, the king’s twin brother, her uncle. There he stood, watching her, glaring at her when she met his eyes, and eventually, dragging her off to the highest tower, convincing her that she had killed both of her parents. There the child stayed for years, in guilt, dirty and underfed. Which made it worse is that she had developed the gift of empathy from the magic of the sorcerer over the years. She had discovered in that cold, dirty, tower chamber, that she  could think back to every sorrowful moment and feel every emotion, it was a living hell.  On the day of her sixteenth birthday, she had finally released a rusty nail that she had been working at for years. Today, she planned to kill herself. She looked over at a loose brick in the wall, knowing she could loosen it. “Just one glance at the world, the sunlight, then I’ll do it”, she promised herself. She had knocked the brick loose. Warm sunlight hit her face colors, fragrances, pure beauty. No! she was getting too attached, she had to fulfill her promise to herself. Just as she was about to plunge the nail into her heart, a hand stopped her. She turned around in instinct, slashing the intruder’s face. She turned around. He was beautiful, brown hair, blue eyes, he looked just about her age. Yes, he was beautiful, but that didn’t give him a right to be here. “How did he even get in here?” She wondered. Just then, she watched as the slash near his eye from the nail was beginning to heal.  “W-what are you”, Alexandria said shakily backing away. “I am an angel, created for you, I am your angel, princess, let me save you, I can take you away from here”, he begged. “You madman!”, she screamed., swatting and backing away as far as she could. “Am I?”, he smirked. Big, black, feathered wings shot from his back, then, he shape shifted into a crow and flew out of the small opening where he had entered, demonstrating the truth. The princess fainted onto the cold, dirty floor. Taking advantage of the moment, the angel boy, snuck the princess out of the castle, freezing time. The princess awoke in a small bed. She looked around at the light peering in the windows of the small home and then she saw the angel boy. “We never got the chance for me to introduce myself, I am Peter”, He smiled. “I’m Alexandria”, she replied. “I know princess, I know”, he said. “I will go fetch my creator, she will be happy to see you again”, he said, not leaving time to ask the question before he reentered with a familiar face behind him. A woman that had been in the room when she was born, that she felt a connection with, a woman that was so close yet a stranger at the same time. “Princess Alexandria, you look just like your mother”, the sorceress said. “Wait- how do you know my-“, the princess stopped, looking into the sorceress’s eyes, absorbing the truth. She couldn’t believe it, a big part of her life was revealed to her at last through the eyes of the woman in front of her. She came out of the vision and back to reality, meeting the eyes of the sorceress. “Does this mean-“, the princess started. “No, I know what you are going to say I am not your mother child, I only cast a spell, a spell that wouldn’t have worked if she wouldn’t have desired you. Your golden eyes, your gift, that came from my spell somehow, magic has ways of surprising us, but you, my dear princess, are your mother’s child”, the sorceress explained. “Tell me more, about my gift, about empathy”, the princess begged. “You can see the memories of others, feel what they have felt”, The sorceress said. Alexandria’s golden eyes widened. “Excuse me I have to go somewhere”, she said as she ran out of the small home. “Alexandria, Wait!”, Peter begged as he ran after her, but she was driven to find answers. She ran to the monument of her mother and father. She walked first to her mother’s casket, placing her hand on it. She seen the desire in her mother’s eyes and the joy of having her. “she’s so beautiful”,  her mother said, gazing upon her, then up at her husband, Alexandria’s father. The thought made Alexandria come to a sudden realization. She opened her eyes and placed her hand on her father’s grave. He was joyous for her birth, but an aching sadness lurked inside of him, mourning the death of his wife, she had seen what happened before she entered the room that day, seen her father take his own life. She knew it wasn’t her fault now, knew the answers. How foolish she would have been to kill herself. She thought of Peter. She turned and began to run, Landing in his arms. He already been there, watching her, protecting her. Alexandria met his eyes. “How did you know”, she stuttered. “Know what, princess?”, he asked. “About my plan, how did you know I was going to try to end my life, how did you know when to save me?”. She looked into his eyes but couldn’t focus, couldn’t concentrate. “It is something that is felt not seen princess”, he said, “I can’t explain it, but if you will allow me princess, I can show you”, he continued. The princess nodded. Peter brought her closer, hesitating for a moment. She was nervous, he could feel it, but he had to do it, he had to let her know how he felt about her, he was made for her literally, and she had to know. Peter brought Alexandria close and kissed her. She felt it! She felt the connection that he had all along. She brought her hands to her lips and looked into his eyes. “Alexandria i-“, he started. Alexandria pulled him close and kissed him. “It calmed me down, you kiss calmed me down”, she said. He pulled her close. “Your kiss made me lose control”, he said as he leaned into kiss her again. When they parted he finished. “What’s worse is I like it too much to stay away from you”, he smiled.  “Then don’t”, She gleamed back at him , wrapping her arms around his neck. Just as she leaned in to kiss him again,  the ceiling crashed. Soldiers from Edmond’s army poured in. One of them grabbed Alexandria, forcing himself upon her, trying to kill her. “Goodbye princess”, he smirked. She screamed, awaiting her demise, but Peter tacked him.  At least five others had piled on top of him, but he fought them all off, killed them all. He looked over at Alexandria. “We need to go”, he said wide eyed as he fought for a breath. He ran to her. “You’re hurt”, he said. The princess looked at her torn dress revealing a bleeding leg. “I have to get you out of here”, he said picking her up and carrying her back to the sorceress’s home. “We need to fight back”, Alexandria said. “Not a chance, I’m not risking you getting hurt again”, Peter said. “Perhaps there is a way”, the sorceress said. Both looked at her, willing her to go on. “If we can turn Alexandria into an angel”, she continued. “How can we do that?”, Peter asked. “A very painful procedure, she could black out, which is the most dangerous part, we need her conscious, yet calm”, she explained. “I don’t want to risk it”, he said. Alexandria grabbed his hand. “If we don’t build up some aid against them, they’ll kill everyone in the village, and that won’t stop them from killing us too”, she argued, looking at the sorceress. Peter swallowed hard. “Didn’t you say that my kiss calmed you down at the monument?” Peter asked. Alexandria nodded. Peter looked over at the sorceress. “Do it as quickly as you can”, he said. “I have to engrave one of the five symbols on your wrist, just as I did for Peter as he was dying, it’s how I created him”, The sorceress said to Alexandria, motioning for Peter to show her. He unbuttoned his shirt and turned around to reveal a symbol  on his shoulder. A circle with what looked like petals interrupting the pattern at every corner. “Yours will be different since I am putting it on your wrist. “Do it”, Alexandria nodded, taking Peter’s hand in her own. He leaned down and began to kiss her. He could tell she was in pain. He was right, though Peter’s kiss was keeping her from the blackout, the pain was unbearable. She tightened her grip on Peter’s hand, willing her eyes to stay shut. She could feel burning. “Almost finished”, the sorceress said. Moments later, the symbol was finished. It was two lines, thorn- like figures extending from each of the sides just before the end. What looked like the antenna of a butterfly extending from each line and a small teardrop figure in between. The lines appeared to mirror each other, but the beautiful mark was not what was so amazing, her wound had healed just as peter’s eye had when he had saved her. The princess tried to sit up, but Peter took her hand and forced her to lie back down. “You are weak my love”, he said, kissing her on the forehead. “You must rest, I will be here making sure you are safe”, he promised. Alexandria smiled and closed her eyes, still clutching Peter’s hand. Alexandria woke to Peter’s smiling face. “Are you ready to train princess?”, he asked. Alexandria walked to a small dresser and ran a brush through her dark brown hair. She took a deep breath and willed her wings to expand. Her eyes widened at the beauty, perfect black feathered arches. She looked back at Peter, who smiled in awe. “Now I’m ready”, she announced as she followed him into the forest, a place where they could practice without being noticed. First he taught her to fly, holding onto her hips at first to make sure she wouldn’t fall until she had quickly picked up on the skill and he forced himself to release her. Though Alexandria was hesitant about hurting her newfound soul mate, he convinced her to remember that they both held the gift of immortality. They spent hours training until she had swooped over him and pinned him to the ground from as high as she could without the treetops revealing her. He smiled up at the exhausted princess. “Let’s be done for the day, it obvious that you can take down a seventeen year old angel, you’ll definitely be able to kill that old tyrant”, Peter said. Alexandria sat down beside him, clutching her knees to her chest. “What if I can’t do it, what if the memories take over and make me weak, like they did with my parents?”, she asked. He pulled her down to him, holding her close. “You won’t, the memories that you hold for this man are not saddening, but angering, it will only drive you to do harm to him, besides, if he does anything to harm you, I will personally kill him”, he promised.  Alexandria remembered the look in his eyes when he had killed all of those soldiers at the monument. Something had possessed him, made him loose control. She wondered if she could ever do something like that, but by tomorrow, she was going to find out. The next morning they stood before the castle. “Are you sure you can handle this?”, Peter asked. Alexandria nodded and they outstretched their wings, flying over the gates hand in hand. Guards began to notice and charge. One guard that used to guard the high tower caught Alexandria’s eyes and she had a small vision of the guilt he had felt for doing such a thing to a child, but Edmond would have murdered his family if he hadn’t. Alexandria stumbled back into Peter’s arms. Peter began to charge at the guard both him and another guard held him down. Peter shook himself free just as three more guards began to notice. To their surprise, the guards whom had grabbed hold of Peter struck the guards down. The first guard looked at the two of them. “Princess, you are here to take back your kingdom and we can help, we have been waiting for someone to free us of this tyranny, and who better than you princess.”, the guard explained. “Alexandria got up and looked at the guard. “What are we waiting for then. The guards went to hold off the others while Peter Followed Alexandria to the throne room. She stormed in determined, But two guards held her back. King Edmond broke out into maniacal laughter. “You foolish girl, you manage to escape only to force your way back in to meet your demise?”, he smirked, his wicked finger drawing her head up to meet his eyes. “Big mistake”, Peter said as he charged at the king, furious at him for laying even a finger on her. Anger was rising to the surface at the memories of the wicked man, the lies and the tyranny and seeing this wicked man charging at her love, her soul mate, put her over the top. She stormed up behind him, breaking his neck. A silence fell over the kingdom, and then light. Right then the kingdom knew that they were free of tyranny. The princess took back the kingdom that was rightfully hers, being crowned queen. Soon after, Alexandria and Peter were wed, and at the altar, something amazing happened. Alexandria looked over at Peter, seeing their future together in his eyes. It was true, he was her soul mate and they would walk side by side forevermore. The golden queen and her king.