1
Jza shielded herself from shards of glass as another window exploded. She looked up once again and was dismayed to see her precious library in ruins. Glass and parchment was scattered everywhere and the impact of the explosion outside had thrown a few bookshelves asunder. Jza was horrified to see one of the page boys who had been helping her gather books a few moments earlier was now pinned under a broken bookshelf.
She gathered her skirts and quickly ran to help him.
"Don't worry I'll get you out," She murmured to the frightened boy who was struggling to keep in his tears. For an ordinary princess the task of lifting such a heavy object would have been excruciating but Jza wasn't the usual kind of princess. For the first thirteen years of her life she hadn't even known she was a princess and had lived a harsh existence working at a farm. Even after so many years her tolerance for manual labour was far greater then that her half sisters'.
Jza lifted the dark wood not caring about the splinters digging into her palms. The boy pulled himself out looking like he ached with every movement of his body. When he was out of the way Jza let the broken shelf fall in a crumbling heap. Loose sheets of paper and dust flew everywhere.
As she was helping the boy up Jza heard loud footsteps of someone running into the library. She turned around and was relived to find it was one of her father's men and not the enemy's. These days every shadow was to be a considered a great threat. Who knew when the castle would be infiltrated.
"Princess Jza, Thank goodness you're safe. Your father has been injured and we're planning to shift him to Goridon castle," The dusty footman exclaimed.
"Is he expected to live?" Jza could not help but blurt out the first question that came to her head. She was petrified to even think of having to face the war without her father at the helm. If he was gone, all hope would be lost.
The footman gave a weary smile but it was smile nonetheless and it pacified her. "He's out of danger and the shards of glass have been removed but we must evacuate this castle. The enemy has broken through the first line of defense and the second is wavering as well. We cannot risk the Royal family being captured."
"Good lord," she muttered and remembered the boy she was holding up. She held the boy forward towards the man, "His leg has been injured. Please take care of him; I must attend to my father immediately."
She ran towards the infirmary and was relived it was not quite damaged as yet. Wounded soldiers were propped in every corner. Some were crying out in pain while others weren't even conscious. She swiftly crossed the crowd of people and entered the royal infirmary. The room was gravely quiet and the sight of her father looking so pale and quiet disturbed her greatly. The room also contained Jza's half sisters and step mothers all of whom were the quietest she had ever seen them. She had enough sisters to fill the whole room so Jza stood silently in one corner trying to get a good look at the King. His head was covered in bandages and so was his torso and she could tell from his paleness that he had lost a lot of blood.
"Hush," One of her step mothers uttered, "Samuel is trying to say something."
Everyone leaned in closer and finally one of the women spoke in shock, "He's calling for Jza."
Jza suddenly felt the strength of the stares of all the women in the room. Some of them were curious while the others were openly hostile. Even after five years of living with Royal family she had never really fit in with the women of the King's family. Out of her twelve sisters only two deemed her worthy enough to talk to while the rest either ignored her or seethed against her. Her existence in Royal family wasn't ideal but Jza wouldn't replace her new family for anything in the world.
"Come on girl, what are you waiting for," One of her step mothers sharply beckoned her forward so Jza moved quickly to her father's bedside.
"Yes, father," She spoke gently as she held onto his hand. She was greatly relieved to find him much more active than he had looked from across the room.
"I wish to be alone with Jza," The King announced as loudly as he could muster and Jza could visualize the great insult and horror the women in the room were feeling.
"Surely, we can hear whatever you want to tell Jza. After all we too are your flesh and blood," The eldest halfsister tried to convince her father.
"No, darling, what I have to say is for Jza's ears alone and I hope that you shall obey my request."
As soon as the women, nursing their wounded prides, vacated the room Jza arched an eyebrow. "Why must you always insist on favouring me like that in front of them? Their opinion of me is hardly that great to begin with."
"What my other twelve daughters think of you is not that important anymore," The King wheezed though he smiled at his favourite daughter, "There are far greater things in store for you."
"Far greater than being a Princess," Jza asked teasingly.
The King nodded and tried to get up but he seemed to not be able to. Jza offered to help him up but he declined with a wave of the hand.
"As you know Lord Tarquin's forces are upon us. My men, though brave, cannot hold them off any longer so I've given instructions to evacuate the castle," The King explained wearily.
"I have heard," Jza nodded with a sad smile. Evacuation had always been their last line of defense so their situation was dire indeed.
"We shall use the southern tunnels to leave quietly in the dead of the night," The King revealed and Jza understood what he wanted from her.
"And I'm to be responsible for my sisters and organize them for the journey," She added promptly. The King nodded.
"You are the only one who has the state of mind to achieve this, my thirteenth daughter, but it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that my daughters are not going with me."
"But where shall we go if not with you, Father," Jza blinked, wide eyed.
"To a much safer place, Jza. Goridon too shall fall once Tarquin sets his eyes upon it and I cannot let him get to my daughters," The King paused looking determined. "They are naïve and too ignorant to know what it is to be the spoils of war. I neither want my daughters to be slave to such a man nor to be used as a bargaining chip. I shall break if anything happens to any of you. Fortunately or unfortunately all my other daughters have made a name in the country. They are so renowned for their beauty and talent that my sources tell me even a man like Tarquin, so isolated from society, knows about their existence," The King could see how morose his daughter was looking so he tried to bring levity to the situation.
"While twelve of my daughters chose to become so renowned in whatever talent they chose to pursue, I did always wonder why my thirteenth chose to stay away from the limelight. Even now people refer to the twelve princesses as the ideals of beauty and don't even remember the thirteenth. You certainly aren't lagging behind your sisters. After all you do have my face and eyes."
Jza snorted at her father's vanity. He had always been a handsome fellow and knew it.
"You very well know I never grew accustomed to being treated like a Princess. People give me reverence and respect that I never earned," Jza looked down at her dirty, bloody hands.
"But you have earned it. Out of all my daughters you are the one who has earned it the most. My soldiers are a filthy lot when it comes to talk about women and you are the only one they talk about with genuine respect," The King patted her head affectionately.
"Maybe it's because I defeated the Major in that archery contest. The only person who could do so and it turned out to be a woman. That certainly turned heads. Although that was only because the man was too distracted by his own self worth," Jza replied. Her nostalgic smile suddenly evaporated.
"Father, you are a master of distraction. We were discussing Lord Tarquin and your plans to escape him. Cease trying to evade my questions."
"I could never deceive you, Jza," The King sighed. "I damn Tarquin to the seventh depth of hell for the great injustices he is putting upon my country. He knows I have no direct male heir to the throne. He could have asked the hand of one my daughters for marriage and he would have had much easier access to the throne. I would have probably said yes since he is rumoured to be quite rich and handsome. I have plenty of daughters to spare who would knock each other over if they ever saw him. Now, my only prayer is that they never encounter him."
"Have you met him?" Jza asked, surprised by the revelation.
"I was invited to his coronation. A devilishly fine young man he was even at seventeen. I knew his country would prosper under his iron fist. What I didn't know was that the small princely kingdom would grow so well that in less than ten years it would threaten our very existence. I would admire the man if he wasn't such a blood thirsty fiend," The King shook angrily.
"Where must we go if not to Goridon," Jza asked fretfully.
Instead of answering her, the King took off one of the gold lockets around his neck and placed it in Jza's hand.
"In your hand lies the key to your safety," The King muttered mysteriously.
"What it is," Jza examined the locket.
"You remember me telling you about meeting a portal maker once," The King asked quietly.
"Yes, and I distinctly remember telling to not dabble in such nonsense," Jza muttered strictly. Magic and mysticism were not her county's forte but her father continued to be dazzled by charms brought in by the various travelling groups. For a practical girl like Jza it was a waste of time but even she could not deny there was a power behind such belief.
"Well, yes" The King was sheepish; "I decided it was highly worth it to invest in one."
"So this key leads to a portal that shall open a land of another realm!"
"Yes, I constructed the whole place just for my daughters. It is safe and completely divorced from our reality. I have tested it myself quite often. The only way to link two different realms is through the key in your hands. The holder of the key wields all the power to open and close the portal. Give it to Raymond; he is the only man I trust to take care of my daughters. Remember to tell him that he must not enter the portal at all costs. The key will be lost to us if does so. The holder of the key must always remain in the realm of its origin."
"If it is big enough for all of us then why aren't you coming with us, Father," Jza cried out in a moment of insight, "We could get away from this wretched war."
"No Jza," The King sighed wearily, "I am King of this land and I cannot leave my people in a time of need. I shall lead my people through this war till the day I die. I have sworn it and I am bonded to this promise. Even if I hadn't I still couldn't go."
Jza felt miserable. She silently cursed her father's self-righteousness but knew deep down that it was the right thing to do regardless of whether he was bonded to his promise or not. Being bonded to a promise meant that person could not ever go against it. Most ceremonies like marriages, coronations or apprentice graduations had the promises in their vows. It was a practice beginning from an era ago and while it was becoming outdated many would still not trust a person who hadn't bonded to a promise.
Her silent anguish was interrupted by a blood splattered guard racing into the Royal infirmary.
"Your Highness, The second line of defense has broken. We must act now or we shall have to bear the brunt of the enemy forces," The man swayed with nervous energy.
"Guard, begin evacuating the infirmary now; these men are the most vulnerable," Jza stood up as she started throwing orders at the man. She only stopped when she realized both men in the room were staring at her. It was rather inappropriate to give orders when her still relatively healthy and sane father, the King of this realm, was in the room.
