The faces of her victims blurred together as they cut across her breast, arms, and stomach. Alethia jerked against the leather straps binding her to the same metal chair where her previous victims perished. Tears fell down her face as she apologized over and over again. 

"Alethia, wake up," A small voice drifted into Alethia's head as the faces of her victims began the long process of tormenting her. 

An endless dream, one that began in her sleep and continued after she woke. 

She felt her body shaking, and she tumbled onto the cold ground of her chambers. A groan escaped her mouth as she blinked the sleep out of her eyes. Strands of hair clung to her sweaty brow as she looked for the reason why she was pushed out of bed.

Roxana puffed out her full rosy cheeks while placing a hand on her hip. "I want to show you something."

Gripping the side of the bed with white-knuckled fingers, Alethia rose slowly to her feet and waited for her heart to slow down to a normal rate before responding. "What is it, Roxy?"

Her little sister pushed a figure into her face, and Alethia drew back to study it. A hardened mud doll with two small dots for eyes stared back at her. "Oh, it's nice."

"That's all you have to say?" Roxana sniffed and yanked the doll back close to her chest. "Mother says my magic control is getting better every day."

Alethia's lips pressed tightly together at the mention of her sister's magic and her mother's approval. An approval that her heart still yearned for despite the punishments her mother inflicted. It was a feeling she endured every day. It was impossible to please her mother, even when you did everything that she asked. It was never enough. 

"That's good, Roxy." Alethia offered the barest of a smile and stepped around her sister to go into the bathing chambers. 

After a quick wash and carefully dressing over her wounds into the standard black leather trousers and tight-fitting shirt, she went back into her room to find her sister sitting on top of her tangled white sheets.

"So, you had another bad dream, didn't you?" Roxana brushed a black curl out of her round face. Alethia looked away and began wrapping the belt that held her sword and assortment of daggers around her waist. "I get them too. It helps to talk about it. If you want."

"I don't," Alethia replied, her tone flat. "You should mind who you speak to of such things." 

Roxana lifted her stubborn chin in defiance. Even at thirteen years old, her sister was a force to be reckoned with. Alethia sighed. She opened her mouth to respond when a knock from the door interrupted. 

"Enter," Alethia said loudly, grasping a piece of warm bread from the tray on her table. As she took a bite, Rebecca entered and bowed at the waist.

"Your mother summons you, Your Highness." Rebecca gripped her hands in front of her so tightly her knuckles whitened. Her wide brown eyes flickered to Roxana. "And you as well."

Alethia's heart stopped in her chest, then picked up rapid speed. For years now, her mother had trained them separately. She forced Roxana to go through extensive magic lessons, poison tolerance, and weaponry, but she never made her kill. Unless today was the day. Alethia forced a slow and long breath in through her nose and exhaled it out. 

When she spoke, her voice was harsh, "Where?"

"The throne room, Your Highness," Rebecca moved towards the door and opened it. "If you would follow me, I must take you there immediately."

Alethia moved towards the door, her jaw clenched tightly. She felt her sister grasp her cold hands, her own little ones trembling in fear. Alethia glanced down, making eye contact with Roxana, who was biting her lip. She bent low to whisper in her sister's ear.

"Do as you're told."

Roxana nodded, and Alethia let go of her hand, following Rebecca down the long hallway. Their shadows bounced off the walls, and the open windows showed the garden area of the castle grounds. Alethia watched as servants used their earth magic to pull out weeds and allow them to drift in the air until they fell into dirt-filled cloth bags. Her lips turned down at the display of magic. A gift that everyone was blessed with, except her.

Eventually, the garden area moved out of sight, and the group left her quarters and walked across the castle grounds. The sun beamed down on their heads as they moved into the main hall of the castle. The red doors of the throne room appeared all too quickly for Alethia. Rebecca nodded at the two guards stationed, who pushed open the doors to allow them entry.

"Your Majesty." Rebecca stepped into the large room whose oblique ceiling was filled with countless diamonds that flickered light across the porcelain floor. 

A maroon rug ran from the doors to the throne, splitting to encircle the entire hall while six obsidian columns lit up the hall, covering it in dancing shadows. Amidst two large serpent statues sat a majestic throne of onyx covered in baroque emblems, its rear legs adorned with the glittering coils of a diamond snake. Over the walls hung curtains with intricate embroidery and embellished borders. A magnificent room to display the wealth and power of the Kan Kingdom in its entirety. 

"I have brought Princess Alethia and Roxana."

"You are dismissed." Her mother flicked her hand, and Rebecca departed, the doors shutting with a resounding thud. 

Queen Liliana sat bone straight in the onyx throne, the red skirts of her embellished dress pooling onto the ground like blood. Alethia and Roxana walked the length of the rug, stopping a healthy distance from their mother before curtsying low to the ground.

"As the days shorten, there is much to get done and little time to do it." Queen Liliana patted her black curls, strands of grey peeking through them. The serpent crown sat high on her head. "As a result, I must know that your loyalty is steadfast and that your strength will prevail in the days to come. I have many plans for us, but I cannot stand weakness. You must be strong, my darlings, to face what is coming."

Alethia frowned, futilely searching her mother's expressionless face for clues. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't worry yourself, my dear," Her mother slowly rose from the chair, tilting her head up to look down her nose at her two daughters. "All you have to do is obey."

Queen Liliana raised a hand to the amulet around her neck, the onyx gemstone lodged within it glowing a bright blue as she pulled on her magic reserve. The curtains behind the throne shifted as two figures approached, walking towards the princesses. Alethia gasped as she recognized them. 

The prisoner she had killed just yesterday with his head sewn back on with jagged threads and staples circling his dusty grey neck. The brown eyes that had shed tears from the pain were now a marbled white color. His clothing was in shreds, pant legs trailing on the ground as he jerked his legs forward. 

The other man was the first man she had ever killed. A guard who had shown her kindness after her first experience with poison. His skin was a dusty grey and pieces of it were missing, instead, soil took its place. The soil dropped in pieces as he moved forward, showing the gaping holes in his cheeks and across his exposed chest. Both men were armed with two silver daggers apiece.

Roxana made a low whimpering sound, causing one of the men to jerk in her direction. Alethia yanked her sword out of its sheath, followed by a dagger, which she forced into her sister's shaky hand. Roxana shook her head, backing away as tears dropped from her eyes. 

Alethia knew her sister could use the dagger, but fear was overwhelming her. A flare of annoyance shot through Alethia. Emotions were a weakness they could not spare. Not when their mother would make them fight until the brink of death if she had to.

"Kill them," Queen Liliana commanded, sitting back down to observe the fight. She gripped her gemstone, which glowed in return, and addressed the men. "Now, my little puppets."