“Hold her down! Don’t let her go!” My father’s voice echoed across the musty, unused room. His men and his maids held me tightly by the arms, their nails digging into my skin as they dragged me into the room with force. 

The sun hasn’t even risen. But I was woken up by my father’s angry voice in the middle of the night. Apparently, he’d walked into the detached palace with a few knights and maids following him from behind. I was confused as to why he would suddenly appear in the detached palace without any warnings, but when I looked at his furious expression under the moonlight, I immediately knew that this had something to do with Ranlrein. 

That obnoxious rat must've said something to incite father’s anger towards me again. His little lover hiding his tail in between his legs and running to my father was a behaviour that wasn’t exactly new to me. Over and over again without fail, like the little rat that he was. He always managed to find a way to get my father to scorn me more than he already does. 

And it’s the little encounters like that time in the garden, one he usually starts, is enough for my father to come running into my palace like a rabid dog. I would be lucky if my father decided not to whip me until I could no longer stand. Having Jane, Alice and Bennet worry about my wellbeing is quite the handful. If anything, I would want to spare them the trouble of taking care of me when they already do so much more. 

“You wench!” He yelled, hands curled into balls of fists as he turned to me with a red face.

My father raised his hand and swung at me. I closed my eyes and braced for the impact of his palm on my face. And once his open hand landed on my left cheek, it filled the once silent room with the crisp sound of a slap. My body trembled and I fell on the floor as a sharp and painful feeling stung my cheek. An iron taste filled my mouth, the wetness trickled down my lips and onto my chin. 

My mouth burned from the impact but I dared not to look up. If I do, I might not be able to get out of this room alive. 

“What did you say to Ranlrein?” He questioned, feet tapping on the ground like the impatient man that he was. 

I shook my head. “I apologise,” I muttered while I cupped my swelling cheek with my hand. 

Those were the words I automatically say when my father is enraged like this. Because no matter what I do or what explanations I utter, he will not hear a single one. To him, Ranlrein’s words were like law. Other people who put his lover in the wrong are the ones that have made a mistake. And that includes my father’s own children. 

“Are you not going to answer me?” 

I bit back my anger and lowered my head. Nothing good will happen if I choose to answer my father right here. So I would, as much as possible, shut my mouth and apologise for the things my father accuses me of doing despite it not being my fault. 

“Are you going to tell me what you did wrong or are you going to just shut your mouth?

I said nothing and focused on the splatter of blood on the floor. I had my hands clenched, holding onto the dust that settled in the unoccupied room. I knew that my father grew increasingly impatient the more I refused to answer. But it was the only way to get things done much faster. He would never stay here long and would always run back into Ranlrein’s arms for warmth. 

I have to endure this.

“So you’re choosing silence, I see.” I closed my eyes as I heard his low voice. I trembled in fear as I wondered what he was going to do to me. My head remained lowered as my father sighed. 

“Whip her fifty times and remember not to injure her face,” he said in a low voice. “Her face is an asset. It would do us no good if she gets a scar on her face.”

“Understood, your majesty.” 

“When you finish, lock her in her room and give her only bread and soup,” he ordered the maids and the guards. My head remained lowered but I could hear him slowly walk away, only to come to an abrupt halt. 

“Ah,” he stopped. “Make sure to call for a physician to treat her back. We do not want scars on her body. She has to be married off to the idiot prince.” 

And with those final commands, my father walked out of the room leaving me with his people. Sinister smiles plastered on their faces as the maid picked up the whip. The two men held me by the arms all while she whipped my back. With each hit, my body shuddered and I could feel my consciousness ease away. The pain was excruciating as the whip hit the open wounds on my back. I bit back my screams as tears streamed down my face. And as I was slowly losing consciousness, I swore to get revenge for the pain that they caused me. 

*

Geuffroi Mansion
2nd Day of the Banquet

“What are you pacing anxiously by the window for, Assel?” The Grand Duke questioned as he massaged his temples. “Quit it now, you are making me dizzy,” he shook his head and gingerly placed the book he was holding onto the table. 

“Father…” Assel turned around and gazed at his father’s face with worry. “I haven’t heard or seen Cecilia since Prince Dion’s return to Eveothus.” 

“What if she were just busy? You know the High King and his tendencies.” The Grand Duke said. “He’s always calling the nobles for petty things and getting angry if things don’t go his way. We helped him stabilise the throne and this is how he’s going to repay us?!” He slammed a fist on the table and laughed. “Ha! He killed off my precious daughter after she was no longer needed and sullied her name. It makes me furious thinking about it. I was foolish to even think of serving him as the High King!” 

“Calm down, father. We will get our revenge in due time,” Assel said. “Remember we aren’t the only ones who wish for his destruction.” 

“Such a man indulging in lavishness…how preposterous that we have to serve him.” He clicked his tongue and crossed his arms. 

“Our Empire is doomed! Doomed I tell you!” 

Assel shook his head and made his way to the sofa opposite of his father. After he made the Oath of Binding to his niece, his chosen monarch, he went back to her detached palace at the promised night, to take her to meet her allies. But strangely enough, the palace seemed like it was abandoned for a short amount of time. Assel initially thought that she only left the detached palace because of her father’s command.

But time passed, the banquet was in full swing and she was still nowhere to be found. 

It wasn’t like her to suddenly cut off contact with him. Especially when the stage they prepared was a grand one like this. Duke Assel definitely thought that there was something going on. After all, Cecilia wasn’t treated like a human in the Imperial Palace. She was her father’s trophy; a doll he could show off to other people to showcase his non-existing familial bond with his children. 

Duke Assel greatly hated the man, as did his father. He was the reason why the younger sister that he loved so much left their house. In the beginning he gave them lip service and promised to make her happy. And yet, that promise was broken, and only resulted in her being murdered by the man she called her husband. 

He even mistreated the children his younger sister so cherished and protected. A vile human being shouldn’t be permitted to exist in this world. 

“Father, there is no way she’s not in trouble…” he said. “The High King must’ve done something to her.” 

“Are you going to look for her?”

Assel nodded. “She is essential and I don’t want to leave her alone without nobody to rely on.”

“It seems you’ve taken quite a liking to your niece…” 

“She’s a young lady with great determination. And perhaps because she reminded me of Seraphina back when she was her age.” 

The Grand Duke nodded in agreement. Although he hasn’t met his said granddaughter, if Assel said so, then it must be true. After all, the Grand Duke wasn’t ignorant about the talks of the Princess having inherited her mother’s looks and features, aside from the eyes of an Imperial. 

“I will have to find her father, she has to appear at the last day of the banquet at least.” 

“Have I ever stopped you?” the Grand Duke sighed. “And even if I did, you would never listen to this old man.”

*

Unknown Area
???

I opened my eyes to a familiar wooden ceiling. My head was throbbing as I tried to grasp the situation I was in. The room was small and unkempt. It was barely fit for a maid to live in with its poor condition. But it was certainly enough for me, that’s what they believed in. Although being in this room triggers a lot of memories I do not want to remember, it was the only room my father would lend me after a beating. The only room that he would use to lock me in while he waits for my wounds to heal. 

I should just be glad they didn’t leave me in the basement or in the solitude room. Otherwise, I might go crazy some more if he had left me to rot. 

My body ached all over as I tried to sit up. Gone were the bloody gashes of whip wounds on my back and were replaced by healthy flesh. It was as though I was never wounded to begin with. And yet, such ability can deceive you for a while, except I can still feel the stinging pain on my back. 

It was doable. 

In front of me was a small bread and a half-eaten bowl of soup. It seemed like someone was dining on the food my father ordered to give to me, not that I care. I’ve been poisoned so many times that human saliva is nothing to me. At least with their help I can confirm that my food had not been tampered with by reckless maids and power-hungry knights. Not that they could do anything to me while I am in my father’s so-called care. 

I wondered what day it was. There were no windows or little holes in the room to help me know if it were night or day. I was stuck in this place with no nature and no human interaction. There were only the cockroaches that accompanied me, they scrambles along the floor as they sought for a palace to hide. Perhaps the banquet had already started. I’m pretty sure my uncle would’ve known that I was missing now. After all, Uncle Assel was smart. He would’ve figured out what happened to me. He has eyes around the palace, I’m pretty sure he knows where I am by now. 

I sit quietly on my bed, pondering about many things. How pathetic have I been living up until now? I have been bruised and beaten too much because I thought it was my place. Even though I had my father’s blood, I was still considered a bane in the Imperial Palace. 

Why have I been acting so foolish? Why did I let them have their way with me? Why was I so powerless? I had so many questions in my head and I hated myself. Such a weak woman like me, in the end, did I take after my mother too much? 

Footsteps. They sounded hurried and stopped in front of my door. I watched as the handle shook and wiggled about, as if someone were trying to open the locked door. Perhaps this was my uncle who came to collect my somehow battered body. Or perhaps this was father who came to check on my constitution. 

I waited patiently and the door opened. 

“Why are you so foolish?!” 

I frowned. Surely, he wasn’t the person I thought. Cedrin stood right before me donning a black cloak and a very angry expression. 

“Did father tell you my whereabouts?” 

Cedrin clenched his fists and gazed at me with fury. “I searched for you, dear sister. I went to visit your palace but nobody was there.” 

“Ha!” 

“Is this funny to you?” 

I looked at him with scorn. “Since when were we close enough for you to go visit my palace out of your own will, Cedrin?” 

“Is it bad for a brother to go look for his sister?” 

“I do not think we are in that sort of relationship,” I looked away. My heart throbbed at the sight of my younger brother. At some point, we were very close. But, times have changed and now we are facing each other. Although Cedrin himself still doesn’t know about it. Perhaps this is exactly what the Imperial Palace does to siblings; drive a wedge between them and make them fight viciously for the throne. 

It is somewhat cruel. But Cedrin and I are now walking down this path. We are no different from the other Imperial Children. 

“Why do you act so recklessly?” He asked, a confused expression clouded his face as he stared at me. 

“It is the only way for me to survive.” 

“If crossing our father’s lover is a means for you to survive, then you’re sorely mistaken, sister,” he said. “Forget surviving. You’re walking straight to your death.” 

I chuckled and looked away. “Wouldn’t that be good for you?” I trailed off. “Nobody would be in your way. You already abandoned mother and I, why do you act like you care?” 

“Abandoned?” He asked, a questioning gaze lingered on his face. 

I frowned. “Do not act like you aren't aware of what you’ve done, Cedrin,” I trailed off. “For the sake of your crown, you let mother die. The woman who gave us love when our father was absent!” 

“You do not know anything, Cecilia.” 

“Of course I don’t! I’m a mere forgotten princess. What would I know?” 

“You should stop angering Ranlrein, if you want to live.” 

I looked away and mumbled, “I didn’t do anything wrong.” 

“Then why didn’t you tell father—” 

“Do you really think he’ll pick me over his lover?!” I stood up. “Wake up, Cedrin!” My brother’s face was full of emotion, but I, too, was too overwhelmed by how I felt that I failed to notice his overflowing feelings. 

“Our father will never care about me. He never cared about mother, so why would he care about a daughter who looks like the wife he hated so much?!” 

“Why is it so noisy there?!” 

Cedrin cursed as he looked at the opened door.

“Go.” 

“What?”

“Just go.” 

“What about you?” 

I laughed. “Since when did you care about what’s going to happen to me, dear brother?” I turned my back on him and closed my eyes. “Go before they find you. If our father knows you’re here, you will not escape his wrath.” 

I could hear Cedrin’s hesitant footsteps from behind me. But after a while, I heard a small thud and his footsteps were nowhere to be heard. I was alone once again in this room made for me. I do not know how many days it has been, perhaps even the banquet has finished and Uncle Assel has failed to locate me. Even I don’t know where my father locked me up. 

I sighed and closed my eyes as the silence lulled me to sleep. It was the only thing I could do in this cramped room. 

*

I dreamed of a happy memory. A memory that I’ve long forgotten. But perhaps this wasn’t a memory but a mere figment of my imagination. A longing for a family. Not the one I have right now, broken and dysfunctional. But a real one. Where each one of us cared for each other. 

There was a time when I was five and Cedrin was two, when our father would visit us in the detached palace with servants to fill the entire playroom with toys and trinkets. He was a different kind of man from how he is now. He had a gentle smile on his face as he played with us. To make things more unbelievable, he didn’t scorn me despite being the eldest daughter. 

He cherished me like I was a precious treasure. His eyes sparkled with emotion every time he looked at mother. The smile he used to only give Ranlrein was now directed at my mother. 

“Cecilia,” he whispered as he finished tinkering with the flower wreath he was making out of daisies. “Always know, that no matter what happens, and how much I change….” he trailed off before putting the wreath on my head. 

“Daddy will always—”

And this was when I knew that I was dreaming. 

The father I knew would never treat me or mother in such a tender way. As far as I know, he hated my mother and me. He hated being near us and seeing the sight of us, so he moved us somewhere very far away from him. Far enough to the point where he wouldn’t be able to see us when we took a walk in the gardens. 

I longed to have a father. But from a very young age, I already knew my father didn’t want me in his life. It was a hard thing to swallow at such a young age, but I managed to live my life fine without someone like him. 

“Your Highness?” 

I woke up from my sleep and heard a familiar voice outside of the wooden door. 

“Your Highness, are you in there?”

I scrambled up and rushed towards the door. My heart raced as I neared. “Uncle?” I said out-of-breath. “Is that you uncle?”

“Cecilia! Are you okay? Are you injured?” 

I shook my head. “I’m alright. I feel pain, but I’m alright. How did you find me?” I asked. 

“That’s not important right now. We have to get you out of here first.” 

“But…” 

“Stay put, child. I’m going to get you out of there.” 

I backed away from the door and sat on my bed waiting for Uncle Assel to open the door and take me away from the nightmare of the Imperial Palace. I no longer wanted to be here. I wondered how my uncle found this place, but I guess he would just tell me when we get out of here. 

A few moments of silence was enough to put my mind in disarray. What happened outside? Is my uncle alright? What if he got caught? There’s no way he would be, right? 

So many thoughts flooded my brain as I sat there. And then click. The door swung open, spewing out a worried uncle and another man I am quite unfamiliar with. My uncle walked toward me and checked my constitution before giving out a sigh of relief. 

“What day is it?” I managed to ask.

“It’s the night before the last day of the banquet,” he said gently as he helped me up. “What happened to you?” 

I opened my mouth to speak only to be cut off. “Sire, we have to get out of here at once.” 

“Understood. You can cast a minor puppet spell here, right?” My uncle asked the man as he held me gently by my arm. “I’ll quickly do so and follow you to the mansion.” 

“Alright. We’ll see you there.”