Princess Elodi's Arc

Chapter 1 of 55

Princess Elodi pressed her cheek to the cold stone wall and listened to the world she could not touch. On the other side, a cart rattled through the gates. A woman laughed. A boy called out prices for apples. Elodi had never bought an apple. She had never walked past the gates of her castle at all. Someday she would be Queen of Avalonia, and she still could not cross her own threshold. She followed the sound down the hall, one hand trailing the wall. Her orange gown swished over the stones. Her leather boots, laced to her knees, were made for walking roads she had never seen. She reached the tall doors that opened to the courtyard and pushed them wide. Sunlight hit her face. The gates stood open ahead, guards on either side, the town beyond. She walked straight for them. "Elodi." Her mother's voice stopped her cold. Queen Evangeline stood at the top of the steps, her golden gown catching the light, her dark hair pinned high beneath her crown. Since bandits killed the king, the queen never let Elodi past these walls. She loved her daughter too much to risk her. Elodi knew this. She hated it anyway. "I only want to see the market," Elodi said. "Just once. I'll take a guard." The queen came down the steps slowly. Her hands trembled at her sides. "You are all I have left. The road took your father. I will not let it take you." "You keep me like a jewel in a box." Elodi's voice rose. "A queen who has never seen her own people. What good is that?" For a moment her mother said nothing. Grief moved across her face. Then she turned to the guards. "Close the gates." The heavy doors groaned. The gap of daylight shrank. Elodi watched the town disappear behind iron and wood until only a thin line of light remained. Then that closed too. "You will not go near these gates again," the queen said. Her voice shook, but she did not soften. "I am posting men at the courtyard doors. For your own life, Elodi." Elodi stared at her. "You've made this castle my prison." "I've made it your fortress." The queen's eyes were wet. She reached for her daughter's cheek. Elodi stepped back. That night Elodi stood at her window. Below, two new guards paced the courtyard she had almost crossed. The market sounds were gone. The gates were barred. Her mother's fear had won, and now even the doors were watched. Elodi pressed her palm to the glass. If she could not walk out the front, she would find another way. Somewhere in these walls was a crack her mother had not thought to guard. She would find it. She began to plan.