VIOLENCE
BEFORE
His hand,steady and warm, clutches over mine as he twirls me recklessly. With my head tilted back as I loose a laugh, I watch the night sky. Clear of any clouds and dotted with thousands of stars, everything blurs together into a chaotic swirling mass of diamonds and darkness. And then...
He lets go.
For one fleeting second, there is nothing below me and only endless potential above me. Rampant magic calms inside of me. The power I strive to contain at all times isn’t clawing at the back of my mind. It’s bliss. It’s freedom.
I don’t have a single care in the world for the dozens of people within the Court of Darkness that examine me from the edges of the dance floor. My terrible brothers, my father, and the crown he lords over me don’t exist.
More laughter shakes free of my chest to kiss the cool air. My bare feet are but a whisper against the wooden boards. Conversations overlap with music as our court moves to the traditional songs of Yule. My arms spread wide as my long silver gown shimmers under the thousands of tiny lights strung through the trees.
A fire blazes at the heart of the dance floor, casting an enchanting glow across my skin. Its warmth heats the world with the help of magic.
I’m spinning, gliding, twirling until another Fae takes my hands, and I’m caught up once more in the dance. Fae can dance until they’re dead.Icould dance until I’m dead. Sound and movement come together to connect our souls to the universe that surrounds us until my heart is ablaze and nothing else matters.
Trill does the same for me.
His boyish smile appears as he catches me in his arms and brings me close. The steady beating of my heart pauses all together. Honey-brown hair is neatly combed away from his face, those large hazel eyes glowing with joy. His lean but strong frame holds me gently as our body heat aligns, the smell of smoke clings to his clothes, and our feet suddenly halt their endless flight as a different kind of magic burns to life between us.
I think I love him...
“I’m going to spend the rest of my life waiting for your laughter, Princess Violence Starling,” he voices, slightly breathy.
My smile clings to my parted lips as I stare up at the beautiful man I’ve been betrothed to since we were kids. I’ve made more acorn soups and mud pies with him than I could count. Sneaking through the castle together, hiding in the shadows, and pulling pranks on the palace guards is our favorite pastime. He’s my friend above anything else.
The string instrument’s lulling sound drifts away as he leans closer, sparking the power within me into a frenzy.
His lips brush mine. Fear and passion mingle together at the ideas of what this could cause.
Power builds in my chest until I’m trembling in his grasp. The world becomes distant, irrelevant, as he kisses me softly.
Sweetly.
A roaring noise claws up into the dark sky. Fire reaches for the heavens, and the heat of it burns across my flesh while my pale locks flick wildly across my face. The screams of my courtiers ring in my ears as I tear away from Trill.
The energy within me shifts as I see the embers of the bonfire blazing into the heavens like a tornado of hellfire. With a pounding heart and focused attention, I try to pull my magic back within me, to enclose it in the safety of the walls I’ve built inside my mind. The combustible waves wash back in. The fire dwindles into ash and smoke.
The music’s gone. A thousand eyes are on me. The world is too big, and all at once, I am too small. Their whispers crawl through the open courtyard, creeping over the cobblestones like long spider legs.
They always whisper.
They’ll always talk about the young princess with deadly powers and an untamed mind.
“Violence!” A familiar voice booms out to me.
The Mad King...
My father’s stern features are etched even deeper across his face as he flings himself up from his wooden chair adorned with garlands of holly. My mother rushes closely behind him, her blonde hair so similar to mine flowing behind her, but it’s too late.
I’ve drawn his storming attention.
Again.
Some nights, he’s calm. And some nights... a dark power shadows his face.
Tonight is very much a shadowy night for King Melic. You can see it in the sudden flare of his intense gaze. Dark semicircles haunt his under-eyes and his sunken cheeks are almost hidden by the stringy strands of black hair that hang around his face.
