Princess Andromeda stood at the edge
of the cliff and watched the sun slip behind the distant
She curled the tips of her riding
boots over the ledge and looked down at the brush far below. It would be so
easy to take one more step forward and free herself of the pain and confusion
she felt. One step and she would be with Brenen, and never have to face the
fact that all their plans for their future had failed. Nothing had worked out
the way he had said it would, and no one seemed to realize that Paragon was in
danger of ruin.
It had been Prince Brenen, and not
their mother, Queen Elsbeth, who had arranged Andromeda’s marriage to Prince
Nyle, the only son of King Istvan of Truwa. The plan was simple: by marrying
Nyle, Andromeda would become the next queen of Truwa and assure the dissolution
of the small kingdom upon the death of her husband. Unknown to Nyle, Andromeda
had once suffered from a rare fever that left its elven survivors barren.
Without heirs, the lands held by the
king and queen of Truwa would pass to their next of kin. Prince Nyle had no
siblings, and both of his parents had been only children as well. The House of
Truwa would pass to Andromeda’s brother and fall under the control of the House
of Lei. Upon Brenen’s death, both kingdoms would pass to the son he was sure to
have and Truwa would no longer exist.
None of that would happen now.
Princess Andromeda was still expected to honor the marriage agreement and wed
Prince Nyle. Now, instead of securing prosperity for Paragon, she would be
assuring the destruction of both kingdoms. When she and Nyle died without heirs
or siblings, who would rule their kingdoms? Better to die now and give Nyle the
opportunity to wed another.
“My mother will be heart-broken if I
end it this way,” Andromeda whispered aloud. “I never said good-bye.”
Reluctantly giving up her thoughts
of suicide, the princess took a few steps away from the cliff edge. She
returned to her horse just as the sun disappeared and plunged the land into
darkness. By the light of the rising full moon, Andromeda checked her saddle
straps. She was preparing to mount when she heard twigs snapping behind her.
Clutching the small decorative dagger she always carried, she spun on her heels
to face whomever, or whatever, was approaching.
As the figure emerged from the
trees, she struggled to make out his features in the moonlight. Royalty were
trained to recognize all other races, but she could not put a name to the
frightening man that stood before her. He seemed incredibly large compared to
her five-foot stature and his dark skin looked more like dried leather than
living flesh. His smile revealed rows of pointed teeth, and Andromeda shuddered
as his tongue slithered out from between them to wet his lips. One of Brenen’s
late night tales came to mind and her eyes grew wide with fear as she realized that
this man was an eridan.
The princess stood paralyzed as he
slowly drew closer. She knew she should jump onto her horse and ride away, but
her body would not obey the commands her frantic mind was shouting. Even after
three more eridans appeared from the shadows, she still could do nothing.
“What’s a pretty little elf doing
alone so far from home?” the first eridan asked in Common, the language shared
by all races. His voice sounded as if he were gargling with gravel. The others
laughed, anticipating what was to come.
“I am not alone,” Andromeda lied.
She realized that they had no way of knowing that she was the Princess of
Paragon, and the newly named Heiress to the Throne. If they knew this, they
surely would have killed her already.
“I don’t think so,” the eridan
replied with confidence. “There would be a sword at my throat or an arrow in my
back if you had a protector somewhere. Are you running away from home, pretty
one?” The others laughed louder. “Well, we’re going to give you a new home.” The
eridan stepped towards her, displaying his cruel toothy grin.
One
more step, Andromeda silently urged, just
one more. The others would probably tear her apart, but this one was
definitely coming with her. Her brother had trained her well.
Finally, he took a step forward. She
tightened her grip around the handle of the dagger and waited for the right
moment to extinguish the hateful glare in the creature’s eyes.
He reached forward slowly and
caressed her cheek with his fingertips. “I’m sure we’ll make each other very
happy, my little elf.”
Andromeda decided that she would
rather die than be defiled by these creatures. A bright flash of moonlight
reflected off the steel as she imbedded her small dagger between his ribs.
Howling in pain and shock, he quickly retaliated.
Claw-like nails sliced across
Princess Andromeda’s left cheek. The force of the blow spun her around and she
dropped to her knees. She reached for the saddle and used it to pull herself
onto her feet. Her fresh wounds scraped against the flank of her white horse
and she winced in pain. Andromeda heard the eridan she had stabbed fall
lifelessly to the ground and knew her own life would also end soon.
Confused by the strange turn of
events, the three remaining eridan men stood unmoving. Their leader was dead,
killed by a female half his size. This had never happened before. What should
they do with her now?
Andromeda climbed into her saddle
during their moment of indecision, hoping they would remain immobilized long
enough for her to escape. Moments ago she had contemplated suicide, now she
fought to stay alive.
One eridan came to his senses a
moment before the others. He raced towards the fleeing elf girl with speed she
didn’t think possible for a man of his size. She urged her horse on faster, but
the eridan quickly closed the distance between them. Using a fallen log as a
step, he sprang up and dove through the air. Andromeda screamed as his weight
slammed into her and knocked her to the ground.
She struggled to get out from
beneath her attacker, but he proved to be too large and strong for her to fight
off. He struck her with his closed fist and Andromeda’s sight blurred. She
caught a glimpse of the bright streak of blood on the white coat of her
frightened horse as it sped away without a rider. The eridan hit her again and
the princess’s world became as dark as the surrounding night.