Chapter One
I used to think starving to death would be the worst way to go.Turns out, being sold to a king I never met comes in a close second.
"Get up, Mwei. Now."
That's the first thing I hear. Jei's voice. She sounds scared, like she's been crying all morning. The fire's almost out, my room's cold enough that my breath looks like smoke. I blink hard until I can see her blonde hair, skin pale as milk, freckles everywhere. Her grey eyes look like they've seen something they shouldn't.
"I'm up," I mutter, sitting up slowly. My blanket's heavy and rough against my fingers. Jei stands by the bed like she doesn't know how to start. "It's very important" she says, stepping closer, then sits at the edge of the bed near my feet.
"What is?" I ask, rubbing my face. "The world ending?" I laugh, tossing my hair over my shoulder. White strands fall everywhere, the ends curling no matter what I do. Jei doesn't laugh back. Her lips start trembling.
"They want to send you away," she says, voice cracking.
The laugh dies in my throat. "Send me away where?"I said more alert.
She folds her hands across her chest, like she's trying to stop shaking. "To the castle. Some royal from Bltexsi came earlier. I only heard pieces, but… they want you to marry a king. From the North."
I stare at her. For a second, I can't even feel my body. "What?" I whisper. "Jei, that doesn't make sense. We barely have money for food."
She looks down, eyes wet. "I'm sorry. I heard them talking, Mwei. They said… it's because you look like her."
"Who?" My stomach twists. "I Look like who?"
"The True Blood Princess."she says.
It hits me all at once. My blood went cold. "No," I say, shaking my head. "That's insane."
But the look on Jei's face says it's not. It's real.
My bare feet hit the stone floor. The cold cuts through me fast. "And you?" I ask, because I already know my parents wouldn't stop with just one betrayal. "What happens to you?"
She won't look at me. "Promise you'll stay calm," she whispers.
"I promise," I lie.
"They're selling me to the fields," she says, and now she's crying for real. "Duke Marcel's estate."she continues.
I stop breathing for a second. "No," I say, so hard it hurts my throat. "That won't happen."
"Mwei..."
"No!" I shout, and it echoes through the small room. I grab the nearest thing, my favorite green dress, and drop it on the floor. "They can't sell you like livestock."
She looks at me, cheeks wet. "They can. They already did."
I shake my head. "Not while I'm alive."
"Mwei," she whispers, "it's the only reason they even took me in. You know that."
"Then they'll lose both of us," I say, tears burning my eyes. "Because I'm not leaving you behind."
She reaches for my hand. "You have to go. You could become queen. You could change everything."
"I don't want a crown if it means losing you." My voice breaks halfway through, and I hate it. I pull my hand back, turn, and storm out of the room.
Her footsteps follow me, quick and scared. The old stairs creak under my feet, like even the house wants to tell me to stop. But I don't. I push open the door to the main room, and there they are my parents, sitting like this is just another business day.
My father's behind his desk, writing something. Black doublet, sword at his hip, always trying to look like more than he is. My mother sits beside him, jewelry glittering like she's already someone new. She looks like me ,same chocolate brown skin, same sharp jaw ,but her eyes are colder. Always have been.
"What did you do?" My voice comes out shaking. "Why is Jei being sent away? Why am I being given to some stranger?"
My father looks up, calm as always. "Why are you dressed so indecent, sugar apple?"
"Don't call me that." I take a step closer. "Tell me what's going on."he says ."Mwei," my mother says softly, "you're being dramatic. This is a blessing."she continues."A blessing?" I choke out a laugh. "You're selling me!"
"Enough." My father slams his hand on the desk. "This is the King's order. If you refuse, he'll have us all executed."he yells.
I stare at him. "Executed? For what?"
"For disobedience," he says flatly. "King Capeak's will is law."
It's like the world starts spinning . "Why me?" I ask, barely a whisper. "We're nothing. We don't even have a title."I said .My mother leans forward, smiling like the snake she is. "That's exactly why. The King can't risk sending his real daughter to the North. No one ever comes back. But you… you look exactly like her. The same face, the same eyes. It's almost divine."
"So it can only be me," I say to myself, the words pains me as they come out . "A perfect lie."I continue.I swallow the shake in my voice. "Then Jei comes with me."I say."She's an orphan," my father snaps.
"Not anymore," I say. "She's my family. Princesses have maids. I won't go without her."They look at each other. My father's jaw tightens. "Fine," he says finally. "But she behaves. The King's guards will take you to Bltexsi within the hour. Don't embarrass us."
"What do you get out of this?" I ask, because I already know there's more. There's always more.He straightens his doublet. "We'll be named Duke and Duchess of Lianrose. A noble title. It's the greatest honor..."
"Stop," I snap. "You're proud of this? Selling your daughter for a title?"
"It's for our lives," he says sharply. "You'll thank me when you're safe."I laugh, but it sounds more like a cry. "Safe from what? You? Or the people who buy us?"
He doesn't answer. My mother just stares at me, her mouth trembling for once. Maybe she feels something like guilt. Maybe not. I don't care."You're pathetic people,From this day forward," I say, my voice started to shake, "you are no one to me. You have no daughter. Not anymore."
I grab Jei's hand and pull her out. I don't stop until we're back in my room, both breathing hard.Jei looks at me with red eyes. "What now?"she says.I laugh again, but this time it sounds almost real. "Now we pack. You're coming with me."I said .
"Mwei..."
"No. We're doing this together. You'll be safe. I'll make sure of it."I said meaning every word of it.She shakes her head. "You say it like it's simple. You're not the real princess. What if he finds out?" she says."Then we make sure he doesn't," I say. "We make him fall in love with me first."
She blinks. "That won't work."she says."It will," I say. "We'll make it work. Sisters forever, remember?"I said.She nods weakly. "Sisters forever." she replied.I look around the room one last time. The green dress lies wrinkled on the floor. I pick the red one instead.I want to look like I was prepared for war, instead the girl who parents just sold her. "How does it look?"I ask unsure.
"Beautiful" she says. "Everything does on you." she continues."Good" I say. "If I'm walking into hell, I might as well look like fire."I say.
I tie my hair back, push it behind my ears. My reflection in the mirror stares back, strange and familiar all at once...red eyes, dark red lips, a body meant to look softer than it is. I pick up one of the cherries from the plate Jei brought and press it to my cheeks. It stains my skin faintly pink, and for a moment I look like a girl who belongs somewhere. The illusion helps.
"How do I look now?" I ask again because I have no room for mistakes."Like the most beautiful woman in the world," Jei says quietly."I think that's you," I whisper back.
The horns start before the sun's fully down. low and deep sounds, the royal horns. The carriage arrives not long after. Gold trim. Six white horses. It looks like power carved into motion.
A knight steps out first. His armor gleams silver in the firelight, and his voice is cold when he speaks. "Declared by King Capeak: Duchess Mwei Thauk will travel to the royal palace in Bltexsi."
"That's me," I say, stepping forward before anyone else can move. "And this is my maid. She travels with me."
He looks me up and down, eyes unreadable. "Watch your step."
He helps me into the carriage, though his hand doesn't linger. Jei climbs in after, small and quiet. He follows, shuts the door, and sits across from us. "We won't reach Bltexsi until after two nights," he says. "Sir Loka, of the King's Guard."
"Nice to meet you, Sir Loka," I say. "I hope we can get along."I say politely.He doesn't reply, just looks out the window. Hard shell, this one.Jei's trembling beside me. I take her hand again and squeeze. "It's going to be okay," I whisper. "I love you. I'll always protect you."
She nods, tears glinting in the lantern light. "Always," she whispers back.Outside, the road winds into the dark. The South fades behind us, gold turning to dust.
I look out the window, at the moon sitting heavy above the hills, and breathe for once. I know what people will say about me once they find out the truth impostor princess, the counterfeit queen, the girl who lied her way to a crown. Maybe they're right. But I've lived my whole life sharing what little I had, bending to other people who only ever took. That ends now.
This is the start of something else maybe a curse, maybe a legend.But I'm not the starving girl anymore.
This is the start of my villain arc
The parchment smelled of smoke and sanctity.
King Capeak Jenwhu held it between his fingers as if it were scripture, though the ink beneath the royal seal told a quieter truth: it was a contract written in blood and gold. Outside the high windows of the southern capital, Bltexsi, bells rang for morning prayer. Inside the throne chamber, only silence and the scrape of his signet against wax dared move.
By decree of the Golden Dominion, Princess Mwei Jenwhu shall wed King Valerius Raelix IV of the North, uniting Fire and Faith beneath the Divine Sun.
It was a lie of breathtaking precision.And Capeak smiled, because lies well crafted had raised empires.
At the foot of the dais stood Duke Alaric Thauk, his crimson cloak too heavy for the heat. Sweat glossed the lines around his mouth, yet he held his composure the way all southern courtiers did: with pride lacquered over terror.Behind him, Mwei waited.
No crown, no jewels only a dress of traveling silk that had known better days. Still, she carried herself like she'd invented dignity. Her posture straight, chin lifted, eyes level. She looked nothing like the porcelain saints that filled the Temple frescoes. She looked alive, and in the South that was dangerous.
"Do you understand what is being asked of you?" Capeak's voice was smooth as poured gold.
Mwei inclined her head. "I understand what is written, Your Majesty. I'm to marry a king of the North."
"A king of beasts," murmured Queen Ilaris from her chair beside him. Her veil trembled when she spoke, as though even words had become too heavy. "He bathes in dragonfire."
"Then perhaps," Mwei said, "he won't mind a little Southern heat."
A servant gasped; Alaric's hand tightened around his gloves. Capeak's grin widened. "You'll travel under House Thauk's banner," he said. "They will deliver you to Blackstone Peak as the Princess of the South, bride by sacred contract. You will say nothing of your birth. You will play your part, and you will survive it. That is your duty to crown and kingdom."
Mwei's gaze met his, unflinching. "And if survival is not part of his customs?"
"Then die beautifully." He rose from the throne and descended the steps. "You've always had the look for tragedy."
Outside the throne hall, the air was thick with incense and deceit. Priests whispered blessings as the Temple Guard escorted the small bridal procession toward the outer gates. Sunlight spilled through latticed orange and turned the marble courtyard into a mirror. For a moment, Mwei saw herself reflected between banners one bearing the Serpent of the Sun, the other the Flame of Faith and thought how fitting it was that both belonged to liars.
At her side, Jei adjusted the strap of a travel satchel half her size. Her hair caught the morning light, blonde with faint streaks of silver that no dye could hide."You could still run," Jei whispered.
"And go where?" Mwei's smile didn't reach her eyes. "He owns every road."
Alaric Thauk approached, bowing low, voice stiff. "We ride within the hour, mwei. The northern escort waits beyond the River Gilt."
"Then we ride." Mwei gathered her skirts. "I prefer to meet my fate on time."
He blinked this was not his frightened daughter but he said nothing. Guilt, she thought, was a quiet disease; it made men obedient.
The carriage waiting beyond the gates was northern built, iron reinforced, its wheels scored from mountain stone. Beside it, three soldiers stood like shadows cast by ice: Frostguards. Their commander stood about six three, with short black wavy hair.With broad shouldered, frost emerald eyes introduced himself with a curt bow.
"Klus Varrin, Captain of the Frostguard. His Majesty sends us to ensure your safe passage."
Mwei stared at his face longer than she should have. A soldier with a face that would bewitch anyone man or women.it was so feminine in away you would have never believed he ran a army without seeing it for yourself, carved by weather and discipline; a voice low and even, as though carved from the same rock he commanded. She wondered if he was capable of laughter. She wondered too why that curiosity mattered.
"Safe passage," she echoed. "Is there such a thing between faith and fire?"
He didn't answer, but when he opened the carriage door, she saw the faintest trace of a smile in the motion.
Inside, Jei sat very still next to me, clutching a bundle of letters tied with silk. Mwei had written none; there was no one left to write to. I could see she was trying not to cry.I reached over and took her hand. "It's going to be okay," I said."How?" she whispered. "He said there are monsters."
"I know," I said. "But we are together. That is what matters."
I held her hand tight until her breathing got calmer.Klus and his men rode their horses in front of our carriage. He looked back at us sometimes. His face did not show what he was thinking.
We rode for a long time. The pretty fields of the South were gone. Now there were only rocks and big mountains. The air got cold.
Then I saw it.
A giant shape flew in front of the mountains. It was a griffin. It had the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. It dove down and caught a goat with its claws.
I did not scream. I watched it. I saw how big its wings were. I saw how fast it moved. I thought, could those claws break wood? Could it hurt Jei?
"Do you see something, Princess?" klus asked.I looked over. He was riding next to the carriage window. He was not looking at the griffin. He was looking at me.
"I see a big bird," I said."That is a griffin," he said. "They can kill a man. What does the South do about such monsters?"
I knew he was testing me. I gave him the answer from the books I read."The South maps where they live," I said. "We go a different way. It is smarter than fighting."
klus made a noise. He did not say anything else. He rode back to the front.
I kept thinking. What other monsters were out there? I needed to know which ones were the most dangerous to us.
When it got dark, we stopped. We made camp near a cave. Klus started a small fire. Jei sat close to it because she was cold.
Klus walked over to us. He had two pieces of hard bread and some dried meat. He gave one to me. Then he gave one to Jei."Eat," he said. "You need your strength in this cold."
Jei looked at me. I nodded. She took the food."Thank you," she said softly.Klus did not walk away. He crouched down by the fire. He watched Jei try to eat the hard bread."Here," he said. He dipped his bread into his cup of tea. "It makes it softer."
Jei did what he showed her. The bread got softer and she could eat it. She almost smiled.I watched Klus. He was not just being nice. He looked at Jei like he understood her. He saw that she was scared and hungry. He saw a person who had a hard life, like him.
And I knew then that Klus was the one I had to watch the most. Realix would see me as a thing. Klus saw a person. And that was more dangerous.
By dusk they reached the River Gilt, the border where gold gave way to ash. On the opposite bank, Northern banners whipped in the wind black stitched with molten red. Waiting among them was a figure who did not bow.
He was taller than rumor allowed, armor blackened to matte gleam, hair like flame drawn to order. When his gaze met hers across the river, the world seemed to still between them.
King Valerius Raelix IV.
Mwei's breath hitched, not from fear but from relief that he wasn't old.He spoke first, voice carrying clean over the current.
"So this is the South's offering."
"Offering don't make me laugh," she replied, loud enough for him to hear, "it suggests a choice." this was the first test.
The faintest curve touched his mouth it was dangerous and amused. but she still had her head. He gestured to the bridge of dark crystal spanning the river."Then choose, i'm giving you the choice , Princess. Cross, or turn back."
The sun bled across the sky, orange surrendering to scarlet. Mwei stepped from the carriage.Her chest beating so fast she thought she might pass out. The bridge shimmered beneath her boots, slick with mist, each stride echoing loudly as she moves. Behind her, Jei whispered a prayer in a tongue older than kingdoms.
Halfway across, Mwei paused only once to look back at the South.
The bells were still ringing, distant and false. Ahead waited a kingdom of dragons.
She lifted her chin and kept walking.