Chapter One — The Marriage Pact
I used to think starving to death would be the worst way to go.Turns out, being sold to a king I never met comes in a close second.
"Get up, Mwei. Now."
That's the first thing I hear. Jei's voice. She sounds scared, like she's been crying. The fire's almost out, the room cold enough that my breath looks like smoke. I blink hard until I can see her — blonde hair, skin pale as milk, freckles everywhere. Her grey eyes look like they've seen something they shouldn't.
"I'm up," I mutter, sitting up slow. My blanket's heavy and rough against my fingers. Jei stands by the bed like she doesn't know how to start. "It's very important," she says, stepping closer, then sits at the edge of the bed near my feet.
"What is?" I ask, rubbing my face. "The world ending?" I laugh, tossing my hair over my shoulder. White strands fall everywhere, the ends curling no matter what I do. Jei doesn't laugh back. Her lip trembles.
"They want to send you away," she says, voice cracking.
The laugh dies in my throat. "Send me away where?"
She folds her hands across her chest, like she's trying to stop shaking. "To the castle. Some royal from Bltexsi came earlier. I only heard pieces, but… they want you to marry a king. From the North."
I stare at her. For a second, I don't even feel my body. "What?" I whisper. "Jei, that doesn't make sense. We barely have money for bread."
She looks down, eyes wet. "I'm sorry. I heard them talking, Mwei. They said… it's because you look like her."
"Who?" My stomach twists. "Look like who?"
"The True Blood Princess."
It hits me all at once. My body feels full of ice. "No," I say, shaking my head. "That's insane."
But the look on Jei's face says it's not. It's real.
My bare feet hit the stone floor. The cold cuts through me fast. "And you?" I ask, because I already know my parents wouldn't stop with just one betrayal. "What happens to you?"
She won't look at me. "Promise you'll stay calm," she whispers.
"I promise," I lie.
"They're selling me to the fields," she says, and now she's crying for real. "Duke Marcel's estate."
I stop breathing for a second. "No," I say, so hard it hurts my throat. "That won't happen."
"Mwei—"
"No!" I shout, and it echoes through the small room. I grab the nearest thing, my favorite green dress, and drop it on the floor. "They can't sell you like livestock."
She looks at me, cheeks wet. "They can. They already did."
I shake my head. "Not while I'm alive."
"Mwei," she whispers, "it's the only reason they even took me in. You know that."
"Then they'll lose both of us," I say, tears burning my eyes. "Because I'm not leaving you behind."
She reaches for my hand. "You have to go. You could become queen. You could change everything."
"I don't want a crown if it means losing you." My voice breaks halfway through, and I hate it. I pull my hand back, turn, and storm out of the room.
Her footsteps follow me, quick and scared. The old stairs creak under my feet, like even the house wants to tell me to stop. But I don't. I push open the door to the main room, and there they are — my parents, sitting like this is just another business day.
My father's behind his desk, writing something. Black doublet, sword at his hip, always trying to look like more than he is. My mother sits beside him, jewelry glittering like she's already someone new. She looks like me — same brown skin, same sharp jaw — but her eyes are colder. Always have been.
"What did you do?" My voice comes out shaking. "Why is Jei being sent away? Why am I being given to some stranger?"
My father looks up, calm as always. "Why are you dressed so indecent, sugar apple?"
"Don't call me that." I take a step closer. "Tell me what's going on."
"Mwei," my mother says softly, "you're being dramatic. This is a blessing."
"A blessing?" I choke out a laugh. "You're selling me!"
"Enough." My father slams his hand on the desk. "This is the King's order. If you refuse, he'll have us all executed."
I stare at him. "Executed? For what?"
"For disobedience," he says flatly. "King Capeak's will is law."
It's like the world tips sideways. "Why me?" I ask, barely a whisper. "We're nothing. We don't even have a title."
My mother leans forward, smile thin as a knife. "That's exactly why. The King can't risk sending his real daughter to the North. No one ever comes back. But you… you look exactly like her. The same face, the same eyes. It's almost divine."
"So it can only be me," I say to myself, the words sour on my tongue. "A perfect lie."
I swallow the shake in my voice. "Then Jei comes with me."
"She's an orphan," my father snaps.
"Not anymore," I say. "She's my family. Princesses have maids. I won't go without her."
They look at each other. My father's jaw tightens. "Fine," he says finally. "But she behaves. The King's guards will take you to Bltexsi within the hour. Don't embarrass us."
"What do you get out of this?" I ask, because I already know there's more. There's always more.
He straightens his doublet. "We'll be named Duke and Duchess of Lianrose. A noble title. It's the greatest honor—"
"Stop," I snap. "You're proud of this? Selling your daughter for a title?"
"It's for our lives," he says sharply. "You'll thank me when you're safe."
I laugh, but it sounds more like a cry. "Safe from what? You? Or the people who buy us?"
He doesn't answer. My mother just stares, her mouth trembling for once. Maybe she feels something like guilt. Maybe not. I don't care.
"From this day forward," I say, voice shaking but steady enough, "you are no one to me. You have no daughter. Not anymore."
I grab Jei's hand and pull her out. I don't stop until we're back in my room, both breathing hard.
Jei looks at me with red eyes. "What now?"
I laugh again, but this time it sounds almost real. "Now we pack. You're coming with me."
"Mwei—"
"No. We're doing this together. You'll be safe. I'll make sure of it."
She shakes her head. "You say it like it's simple. You're not the real princess. What if he finds out?"
"Then we make sure he doesn't," I say. "We make him fall in love with me first."
She blinks. "That won't work."
"It will," I say. "We'll make it work. Sisters forever, remember?"
She nods weakly. "Sisters forever."
I look around the room one last time. The green dress lies wrinkled on the floor. I pick the red one instead. It fits tighter, sharper, like armor. "How does it look?"
"Beautiful," she says. "Everything does on you."
"Good," I say. "If I'm walking into hell, I might as well look like fire."
I tie my hair back, push it behind my ears. My reflection in the mirror stares back, strange and familiar all at once — red eyes, dark lips, a body meant to look softer than it is. I pick up one of the cherries from the plate Jei brought and press it to my cheeks. It stains my skin faintly pink, and for a moment I look like a girl who belongs somewhere. The illusion helps.
"How do I look?" I ask.
"Like the most beautiful woman in the world," Jei says quietly.
"I think that's you," I whisper back.
The horns start before the sun's fully down. Low, deep, heavy — royal horns. The carriage arrives not long after. Gold trim. Six white horses. It looks like power carved into motion.
A knight steps out first. His armor gleams silver in the firelight, and his voice is cold when he speaks. "Declared by King Capeak: Duchess Mwei Thauk will travel to the royal palace in Bltexsi."
"That's me," I say, stepping forward before anyone else can move. "And this is my maid. She travels with me."
He looks me up and down, eyes unreadable. "Watch your step."
He helps me into the carriage, though his hand doesn't linger. Jei climbs in after, small and quiet. He follows, shuts the door, and sits across from us. "We won't reach Bltexsi until after two nights," he says. "Sir Loka, of the King's Guard."
"Nice to meet you, Sir Loka," I say. "I hope we can get along."
He doesn't reply, just looks out the window. Hard shell, this one.
Jei's trembling beside me. I take her hand again and squeeze. "It's going to be okay," I whisper. "I love you. I'll always protect you."
She nods, tears glinting in the lantern light. "Always," she whispers back.
Outside, the road winds into the dark. The South fades behind us, gold turning to dust.
I look out the window, at the moon sitting heavy above the hills, and breathe. I know what people will say — the impostor princess, the counterfeit queen, the girl who lied her way to a crown. Maybe they're right. But I've lived my whole life sharing what little I had, bending to people who only ever took. That ends now.
This is the start of something else maybe a curse, maybe a legend.But I'm not the starving girl anymore.
This is the start of my villain arc
The parchment smelled of smoke and sanctity.
King Capeak Jenwhu held it between his fingers as if it were scripture, though the ink beneath the royal seal told a quieter truth: it was a contract written in blood and gold. Outside the high windows of the southern capital, Bltexsi, bells rang for morning prayer. Inside the throne chamber, only silence and the scrape of his signet against wax dared move.
By decree of the Golden Dominion, Princess Mwei Jenwhu shall wed King Valerius Raelix IV of the North, uniting Fire and Faith beneath the Divine Sun.
It was a lie of breathtaking precision.And Capeak smiled, because lies—well-crafted—had raised empires.
At the foot of the dais stood Duke Alaric Thauk, his crimson cloak too heavy for the heat. Sweat glossed the lines around his mouth, yet he held his composure the way all southern courtiers did: with pride lacquered over terror.Behind him, Mwei waited.
No crown, no jewels—only a dress of traveling silk that had known better days. Still, she carried herself like she'd invented dignity. Her posture straight, chin lifted, eyes level. She looked nothing like the porcelain saints that filled the Temple frescoes. She looked alive, and in the South that was dangerous.
"Do you understand what is being asked of you?" Capeak's voice was smooth as poured gold.
Mwei inclined her head. "I understand what is written, Your Majesty. I'm to marry a king of the North."
"A king of beasts," murmured Queen Ilaris from her chair beside him. Her veil trembled when she spoke, as though even words had become too heavy. "He bathes in dragonfire."
"Then perhaps," Mwei said, "he won't mind a little Southern heat."
A servant gasped; Alaric's hand tightened around his gloves. Capeak's grin widened. Insolence wrapped in charm—she had inherited something of his blood after all.
"You'll travel under House Thauk's banner," he said. "They will deliver you to Blackstone Peak as the Princess of the South, bride by sacred contract. You will say nothing of your birth. You will play your part, and you will survive it. That is your duty to crown and kingdom."
Mwei's gaze met his, unflinching. "And if survival is not part of his customs?"
"Then die beautifully." He rose from the throne and descended the steps. "You've always had the look for tragedy."
Outside the throne hall, the air was thick with incense and deceit. Priests whispered blessings as the Temple Guard escorted the small bridal procession toward the outer gates. Sunlight spilled through latticed gold and turned the marble courtyard into a mirror. For a moment, Mwei saw herself reflected between banners—one bearing the Serpent of the Sun, the other the Flame of Faith—and thought how fitting it was that both belonged to liars.
At her side, Jei adjusted the strap of a travel satchel half her size. Her hair caught the morning light, dark as ink with faint streaks of silver that no dye could hide."You could still run," Jei whispered.
"And go where?" Mwei's smile didn't reach her eyes. "He owns every road."
Alaric Thauk approached, bowing low, voice stiff. "We ride within the hour, my lady. The northern escort waits beyond the River Gilt."
"Then we ride." Mwei gathered her skirts. "I prefer to meet my fate punctual."
He blinked—this was not the frightened orphan he'd raised in luxury and silence—but he said nothing. Guilt, she thought, was a quiet disease; it made men obedient.
The carriage waiting beyond the gates was northern-built, iron-reinforced, its wheels scored from mountain stone. Beside it, three soldiers stood like shadows cast by ice: Frostguard. Their commander—broad-shouldered, frost-eyed—introduced himself with a curt bow.
"Klus Varrin, Captain of the Frostguard. His Majesty sends us to ensure your safe passage."
Mwei measured him. A soldier's face, carved by weather and discipline; a voice low and even, as though carved from the same rock he commanded. She wondered if he was capable of laughter. She wondered too why that curiosity mattered.
"Safe passage," she echoed. "Is there such a thing between faith and fire?"
He didn't answer, but when he opened the carriage door, she saw the faintest trace of respect in the motion. Not pity—recognition.
Inside, Jei settled opposite her, clutching a bundle of letters tied with silk. Mwei had written none; there was no one left to write to.
The gates of Bltexsi groaned open.Trumpets sang their farewell.And the South watched its counterfeit princess ride toward exile—or coronation.
By dusk they reached the River Gilt, the border where gold gave way to ash. On the opposite bank, Northern banners whipped in the wind—black stitched with molten red. Waiting among them was a figure who did not bow.
He was taller than rumor allowed, armor blackened to matte gleam, hair like flame drawn to order. When his gaze met hers across the river, the world seemed to still between them.
King Valerius Raelix IV.
Mwei's breath hitched, not from fear but from recognition—the sense of two predators measuring distance.He spoke first, voice carrying clean over the current.
"So this is the South's offering."
"Offering," she replied, loud enough for him to hear, "suggests a choice."
The faintest curve touched his mouth, dangerous and amused. He gestured to the bridge of obsidian spanning the river."Then choose, Princess. Cross, or turn back."
The sun bled across the horizon, gold surrendering to scarlet. Mwei stepped from the carriage. The bridge shimmered beneath her boots, slick with mist, each stride echoing like a vow. Behind her, Jei whispered a prayer in a tongue older than kingdoms.
Halfway across, Mwei paused only once—to look back at the South.
The bells were still ringing, distant and false.Ahead waited a kingdom of dragons.
She lifted her chin and kept walking.