"You're getting married soon, so go prepare," Queen Emily said.
Kathryn was surprised.
Of all the things she had expected her stepmother to say, she had to say this.
Of course, the woman always had a talent for saying things that made absolutely no sense.
"W-Who?" she whispered, unable to believe her ears.
She thought she was unimportant.
She thought she was a waste.
But now they wanted to marry her off.
Something had to be wrong.
"Did you just question me?" Queen Emily asked.
"I'm merely curious, I assure you," Kathy replied sarcastically.
"Flies get curious? Listen to me, you measly excuse for a living, breathing thing. You are getting married because I say so. Even if I told you that you were marrying a cow or a pig, you would do as I say. Now GO PREPARE!"
The queen barked, and Kathy hastily left, leaving the queen fuming with anger.
Who did she think she was?
Getting her married to a complete stranger.
Oh, she'd done it again.
Just when Kathy thought her stepmother couldn't possibly get any worse, she went ahead and surprised her once again.
Kathy reached her room and pushed the door open before slamming it shut behind her.
Her maids flinched.
They could already tell.
Only the queen had the ability to make the sweet princess return looking ready to breathe fire. No one else, no matter how annoying, had ever managed that.
"She said I'm getting married," Kathy said the moment she turned around.
Martha, her closest maid, gasped.
"To whom, Your Highness?" Martha asked.
"I don't know, but I know one thing. It's not a good thing."
"This won't do, my princess. This won't do at all. Please, I beg of you. We have to run away. I don't trust the queen either. Only the
Lord knows what she's up to now."
Kathy sighed.
This wasn't the first time Martha had suggested running away.
She might be weak and naïve, and not strong at all, but she would never, ever lose to the woman who had taken everything from her.
The woman who had destroyed her home...
Reduced her status to that of a servant...
And made her lose the respect she once had among the servants.
"Martha, we've talked about this. I'm not running away. Not now, not ever."
"But, my princess... she'll end up breaking you," Martha said in almost a whisper.
Kathy heard it and smiled.
"You never cease to amaze me, dear stepmother. But we'll see. I intend to find out just how far you'll go to get rid of me."
"My princess," a maid named Violet called softly.
Kathy looked at her and the rest of her four maids.
They were all worried about her.
The other royals had at least ten maids and servants following them wherever they went.
She had only four.
"We should prepare for my wedding. That's the queen's order. You don't want to disobey her."
They all stared at her in shock.
What exactly was their princess planning?
"I'm sorry, but I refuse," Martha said.
"My stepmother will have you beheaded. Now, we don't want that, do we? You all know I don't have a say in this matter. But, Martha, help me find out just who the hell I'm getting married to. I shouldn't be getting married without even knowing the man's name."
Martha immediately bowed.
"Yes, my princess."
She left with a secret smile on her face.
She always loved it whenever her princess carried herself with the aura of a queen.
"Let's get started, shall we?"
Her door suddenly burst open.
It was her not-so-beloved stepsister.
"Aren't you supposed to be preparing for your marriage? Here is your wedding gown. It won't make you any prettier, but it'll make you bearable to look at," Rosy said.
"How sweet of you, Rosy," Kathy replied sarcastically.
"Yes, it's the least I could do for my sister."
"But I have to ask. Can you at least tell me his name?" Kathy asked.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. It doesn't matter at all. Not even a little bit," Rosy said with a mischievous smile.
"Get her prepared and ready now."
With that, she left the room.
"I have a really bad feeling about this, my princess," Sara said.
"Let's get ready," Kathy said and proceeded to the hot bath stream inside her room that every royal had.
Martha looked for her friend, Paige.
She was close to one of the queen's maids, so surely she'd know a thing or two.
Thankfully, she caught her alone carrying towels to Princess Silver's room.
"Paige, Paige," she called.
Paige turned around. She already knew why Martha had come to see her.
"Good to see you, Martha," she said.
"Good to see you too. Um... I heard my princess is getting married on the queen's orders. Do you know his name?" Martha asked quickly before they reached Princess Silver's room.
"Martha, you know we've been friends for a long time now. And friends know what's best for each other, so take this as my advice. It's better if you don't know."
"But I have to know. I have to. Is Princess Kathryn in danger?" Martha asked.
"Danger is an understatement," Paige muttered.
"Now I really have to know."
Paige couldn't resist the desperate look in Martha's eyes.
"Three words," Paige said.
Martha waited anxiously.
"The Rumoured Prince."
Paige increased her pace and walked away.
Martha stood there in shock.
Just those three words were enough to make her weak... utterly weak.
She stood there, unable to believe it.
Kathy finished washing and put on her robe.
She began drying her hair.
She had dreamed of her wedding ever since she was a little girl.
She had always imagined marrying the love of her life, just like her parents had.
But that wasn't the case.
Kathy sighed.
That blasted woman just had to crush every dream she had.
She looked into the mirror, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
Rosy was so wrong.
She was far more than pretty, and she had a constant swarm of suitors to prove it.
Of course, the queen always came up with excuses to turn them away.
Looking back, Kathy was actually grateful.
She hadn't wanted any of them.
Although...
She had taken a liking to Alvin Rezford.
He was calm and sweet.
She just hadn't been in the mood, she guessed.
Kathy stood after drying her hair and looked at her wedding dress.
It was really colourful.
She hated the colours.
Just as she stepped toward it—
Martha burst into the room as though she were running from a beast.
Kathy immediately stood alert, preparing for the worst.
"My princess, it's worse than we thought. Far worse. It's the Althreaze. Not just the Althreaze... the prince there... the Rumoured One," Martha explained in horror.
Kathy's eyes widened.
The Althreaze had been discovered only a few years ago.
They were strange.
Feared.
And, most of all, they possessed dark supernatural powers.
They killed whenever they wanted, never bothering to hide their terrifying abilities.
They were brutal, and every kingdom had been careful not to cross their path, including her own.
But what could have made her kingdom cross paths with them?
"What?" Kathy whispered.
No.
She hadn't been prepared for this.
Of all the terrible possibilities she had imagined, the Althreaze had never been one of them.
Because they were even worse than death.
Kathy was still trying to take in the shocking news when a servant knocked on the door.
"My princess, the king requests your presence in the throne room," he said.
Kathy's temper flared the moment the king was mentioned.