‘Who served this dinner?!‘ as panic broke through the massive dining hall.

She pointed at me, even though I had nothing to do with preparing the food. I helped our maids to wash the plates and used cutlery. My half sister blamed me. I was frozen at this moment because I was falsely accused. 

The body of the princess of the allied Kingdom Zatros laid on the ground. Her body was moving with white foam coming out of her mouth. She was poisoned. Since everyone ate the food, it was a planned assassination only on her.

It was the night of my Father‘s birthday. Since he was the king, it was mandatory for all the important people in the kingdom to pay him a visit, especially for the king‘s of the allied kingdoms. It was important to maintain relationships.

,,Evera, I can‘t believe this! Why would you do something like this, my daughter?‘‘.

,,I have nothing to do with this, believe me father. Please!‘‘. I couldn‘t believe what just happened. Everything was turning against me in a matter of seconds. That something would come from Levla was very predictable, I could have sensed that she is evil enough to create an Intrigue against me.

Before the Great War in which the Eastern Empire attacked our Continent, my father built an alliance with the Kingdom of Izo from the far South. The king had only one request: ‘If something happens to me during the battles, please, take my daughter with you and treat her like one of yours. She is they only reason for my happiness.‘. My father couldn‘t decline since their bond was thicker than blood.

As the war ended, the western continent was defeated heavily. The emperor offered a peace treaty and demanded ownership to Kingdom Izo. All parties have managed to keep peace ever since. With the destruction of Kingdom Izo, my father fulfilled the promise and took Levla as her half daughter. We were both about 6 years old when we first met and she always was quiet and shy. 

As we grew up, Levla distanced herself more and more from our family but she would often blame others for her wrongdoings, like destroying expensive sculptures and blaming maids for it. She always managed to get out of any situation without caring for others. 

This time, it was my turn. But other than destroyed sculptures or paintings, she accused me of murder - something I can get executed for. I was frozen, my heart was racing and my knees were weak. As I looked over to Levla, she had a few tears running down her face but her eyes were cold like those of a corpse. She really felt no empathy at all. At that moment I realized that she was a cruel monster hidden under this innocent face. 

‘Arrest her immediately! Or I‘ll do it myself!‘ the King of Zatros screamed, holding his daughter's lifeless body in his arms. My father gave me a stare of disbelief, like he was disappointed in me. Other than my brother, I was a good child. I just finished my second last year at the academy with the best possible grades and my father was always proud of me. I never gave him a reason to be mad at me, not even now because I did nothing wrong.

After hesitating for a while, he gave in and gave the guards the sign to arrest me. That was the sign that my own father picked political relations over me. I was asking myself why I tried so hard to make him proud all those years when he couldn‘t care enough about me to not even believe what I had to say. Two big, armored guards picked me up and put my arms in big chains. As he saw me in this state, he started crying. He must have realized too that my life is over at this point. I know from my studies that I will appear in the court of crowns, where all the leaders discuss the penalty for guilty suspects. No one will put his veto because it would mean betraying the King of Zatros and his deceased daughter. 

‚Father, I didn‘t do it! Please! Save me! Please!‘ I screamed while being escorted out of the castle. My last look was for Levla. She just stared at me, cold as always. Not a single sign of an emotion. 

‚You will pay for this! I will make you suffer for the rest of your life before I will kill you slowly!‘ I screamed on top of my lungs. I put my entire energy into the scream that my voice went away and my throat became sore. When we were too far away, I finally stopped crying out of exhaustion and everything was fading into black.

I gained consciousness again but kept my eyes closed. I was laying on something hard and cold. Besides that, I was dreaming about my mother. It was the first time I saw her in my dreams since she passed away in the Great War. I wish she would be with me right now. I know I was laying in my cell but keeping my eyes closed made me feel like I was somewhere else - somewhere I would love to be, my Utopia. 

But my dream would be only for a short time as I heard the heavy metal door from outside being opened and footsteps approaching my cell. As I opened my eyes, I saw three guards standing in front of my cell. Two of them wore the usual armor but the one in the middle had on a shining golden armor - fitting his blonde hair. 

‘The court of crowns awaits you to discuss your sentence. If you attempt to resist after we open the cell, it will add up to your given sentence.‘ the man in gold said. I had no words left for anyone at this point. I just wanted to go back to my dreams and I had no hopes at all that I would get my deserved justice. 

They took me back to the castle. I stood in front of a dark long hallway with a bright light at the end. As I walked through and came closer, the massive, bright hall revealed itself more and more. The court was big, mostly covered in marble and golden accents. In the middle was a golden star which was our symbol for justice. I stepped on it and faced a marble desk where the members sat. My father who is the king of Kingdom Artosia, the King of Zatros, the King of Kingdom Serol, the King of Kingdom Hessroll and the Prince of the Eastern Empire all looked down on me. The young prince stood out of all the old, white - haired men. He wore a red suit and his blonde hair covered his face.

‘The court met to discuss your Sentence.‘ the King of Zatros said. I didn‘t bother looking up to them because the outcome was clear.

‘Without any further discussion, the Court of Crowns sentence you to be executed.‘

That was it. My life was finally over. I never did something wrong but I was still doomed to die. I realized that nothing was ever fair. 

‘I put in my Veto.‘ as I heard those words, my heart dropped. For the first time, I looked up to the Kings. They all had their eyes to the right - where the Prince of the Eastern Empire sat. He replied to their disbelief written in their faces with a smile. Every member of the Court has one Veto in their lifetime which they can use in any hearing. 

‘How dare You?! You use your Veto to spare this murders life?! She killed my daughter! What is the purpose behind this?!‘ the King of Zatrosasks full of anger. 

‘I just feel like it. I always follow my gut feelings.‘ the prince responded. 

‘How could the emperor leave so much power to a young brat like him?!‘ the King of Hessroll adds. Because a Veto is always valid, there is no other option other than accepting it and the court now has to give the next possible sentence.

‘How can we just accept this?! Don‘t You have any shame?! A member of the royal family, the princess, was brutally murdered! We can‘t let her go and spare her life!‘.

‘Because of the Veto, we hereby sentence you to being exiled for life time. From now on you will lose your royal status and are not allowed to ever enter the castle again. You will live the life of a regular citizen.‘