It seems once the sun rose, I must have finally relaxed, because when I awoke, it was already midday.

The morning air spilled into my room through the open window.

Open window? Ezra must have already been here.

Rustling sounded to the left, and I twisted my head around to meet the familiar figure.

Or, should I say, still is here.

“Good morning, Ezra.” I murmured weakly. My throat was dry. I made an attempt at sitting up and rubbing sleep out of my eyes. “Why is it so late already? Did you forget to wake me?”

Hearing my voice, the woman turned around and eyed me ruefully. “The Queen said you ought to be allowed to sleep in, considering what happened last night. She has excused you from the prayer, and a good thing she had, or you would have been frowned upon for missing it.”

I felt my cheeks warm slightly. The morning prayer was the most sacred part of the day, when the whole Palace would gather to thank the Mother for yet another day. The Queen of Ellister always held the most revered position of all as the Head Priestess of the Kingdom. Only she, or another Priestess, could give someone the blessing to excuse them for not praying to the Goddess and her Angels that day. As her daughter, I was to be present beside her at every prayer and religious festival. To not be there is cause for offence.

I tried to remember why I couldn’t make it to the chapel, and then the memories of last night flooded my mind.

“Ezra…” I tried carefully, “I think I saw a Ghoul last night.”

She gave me a questioning look, as if to say she did not quite believe me. So I tried again.

“I really have, I think… At least… At least I thought that’s what a Ghoul looks like, based on what you’ve told me.”

“It must have been a trick of the light girl, and your young imagination. Now settle down, before your brunch becomes lunch.”

My eyes drifted to the table that she had laid with breads and cheeses, conserves, warm meats and fresh fruits. Ezra was busy setting up the last bits, as I sat myself before the meal and made quick work of it.

“It was definitely a Ghoul.” I mumbled between bites.

She gave me a sigh when she realised I was unwilling to put the subject down, and decided to entertain the idea. “What makes you think it wasn’t just your eyes playing tricks on you?”

“Because I saw it, Ezra. It was… It was like no man or animal I’d ever seen

before! Like… like a bear on its hind legs, but… it’s ribs were sticking out too much, and its front legs so long they could have touched the floor and… and it had a long snout too, with rows on rows of teeth. It dropped off a letter on the porch, just below the window. That’s why I could see it so clearly. I know I hadn’t dreamt it, since the guards came out to pick it up afterwards, whatever the object may be.”

A silence drawled on as I sat in anticipation, waiting to see what the old woman would make of the tale. Her face did not give much away, but eventually she relented.

“Ghoul or not, there is no trace of it in the Palace anymore. Spreading such stories, or even thinking about them won’t do you much good, Allia. It’s best to let such demons rest. Now come, finish up your breakfast so that both of us can get on with our day.”

***

I was excused from lessons that morning, which meant that after I said the morning prayer alone, before the shrine of the Mother and her angels, my schedule looked rather empty. Thoughts of the beast kept creeping in from the back of my mind, so I decided to distract myself with some reading. I lost track of how many hours passed after breakfast, but some time later Ezra rushed back into the room, in a hurried and alarmed motion. She slammed the door shut after herself and dashed towards me

“Allia. Allia, come here. Fast girl, fast!”

“What, what is it? Ezra, don’t scare me like that!” I quickly stepped towards her, and looked into her disturbed grey eyes. They scanned my face, before continuing.

“Perhaps you were right this morning. There is word that a letter came round last night with a boding message. You might not like to hear it.”

I began to feel tense, and urged her on. “Come on, Ezra, out with it!”

She grimaced and continued. “The message was from the King of Freyn himself-“

“King of Freyn?” I took a step back. “He is an enemy of ours. What has he got anything to do with the Ghoul?”

“It read that the reappearance of Ghouls was his doing, and that unless the King gives your hand in marriage to his eldest son, the Ghouls would not stop coming.”

This time I really shrank back and screamed. “What?!”

Ezra quickly made a move to shush me, lifting her calloused hand to cover my mouth. “Quiet, girl! I am not supposed to tell you this! Mother, let it be Hans standing outside that door, he would understand.”

“Forgive me but, why on earth would the King of Freyn want to marry his son to me? I thought he hated us!”

Ezra winced. “Well… Our Kingdoms were at war for the duration of King Hurn’s- your grandfather’s, reign. They have signed an armistice since, but it looks like the King of Freyn wants a more lasting peace agreement. This isn’t the first time he has asked for you to be betrothed to his son either.”

My head felt light. “What do you mean ‘not the first time’? How have I never heard of this before?”

Ezra’s face sank a little with pity. She sat me down on the bed and knelt down before me. “The King of Freyn has asked for you to be betrothed to his son when the first news went out that you were born. And has kept asking since. It seems his patience is finally wearing thin. Perhaps he is worried, now that you are older, you will soon be promised to someone else. The King has refused him repeatedly, but every year, again and again, he would ask. This year is, well, a little different it seems.”

I couldn’t help but furrow my brows at her. “I have so many questions, Ezra. If the King of Freyn is so insistent, why does father keep refusing him? It seems a simple enough matter, at least to him. Better marry me to someone of my own station than a lord of our own Kingdom.”

“Allia, Freyn is not a close neighbour of ours. The Ridged Mountains stand between our Kingdoms. Your parents would rarely ever get to see you. Not only that, but it has not been that many years since the war between the two. If Freyn got a hold of you, they could use you as hostage to get your father to do whatever they would want. It could start another war even!”

Another war… I shook my head at the idea.

“But then, what does the King of Freyn have to do with the return of the Ghouls?”

Ezra hummed, and stood up again thinking. “I can’t say for sure, Princess. Perhaps the Ghoul is theirs? They may have found a way to control that fiend, made it into their little hound dog, and sent it into the lands of Ellister to terrorise your father into relenting you. Either way, the letter read that the attacks would not cease until you were betrothed to his son and handed over to his men at Eagle’s Rest, between the Kingdoms.”

“Why would the King of Freyn go to such lengths? Can’t he just marry his son to someone else?” I sat back, pouting. This hardly made any sense.

“It’s probably he is after the Kingdom of Ellister, not you specifically. Afterall,

they’ve never seen you. Whatever it is they want, they want it badly. Anyway, I have work to get on with. I suggest you leave this to the King, Allia. The final say is his, after all.”

With this, Ezra walked out of the room, leaving me alone with all this new information to process.

Ellister is an isolated Kingdom, with not many friends or foes. I’d always thought I would live here for the rest of my life, married to someone from within the Kingdom. There were no alliances I knew of that any other Kingdom wanted to make with Ellister, until now.

I considered what living in Freyn would be like. There is little I knew of the land, apart from bits of rumours here and there. A Kingdom with a climate hotter than of my own, and sizable enough to be able to threaten Ellister in the years past but…

Worst of all was that it was inhabited by lawless heathens. People who had rejected the Mother faith, and instead worshipped multiple false gods.

I gave a shudder. Living in a land where people were irreverent was a fate worse than many others. The Mother gave rise to all the children of her earth. And when we died, she would accept us back into her loving hands.

How could I live surrounded by people who rejected her, whose souls would simply perish when they died?

I tried to go back to reading, but my mind kept creeping back to the possibility of me being hauled to a new land, to marry a man I did not know.

When I was a child, such fairytales sounded dreamy and wonderous, and I spent many nights awake, imagining how nice it would be to finally leave the Palace and travel to some distant land with my very own Prince Charming.

In reality, the prospect felt quite different.

Ugh, I’m beginning to think in circles.

I’d only just closed the book when a knock came through the door.

“Princess, a message from your father. The King wishes to see you. He is awaiting your arrival in his Solar.”

I paused a little, then jumped into my slippers and fastened the sanct hood of my robe over my head. It was the colour of white, for someone who was not a Priestess, but still held a religious status. I could not become a Priestess, for they could not marry. Only the High Priestess, the Queen of Ellister, was allowed to have children, for she represented the Mother herself, and the other Priestesses were her angels. Only the Goddess Mother could create life.

After carefully placing the plain silver circlet over my head, I stepped towards the door, which was opened for me.

I wonder what this could be about.

Outside stood a runner-boy, who bowed his head to me. His long auburn hair hid his face.

“Thank you, you may go.”

He left as quickly as he came, likely to alert the King of my coming, or for some other task. I looked around the empty corridor. This was much better than holing up in my room.

My feet took me all the way to the King’s Solar. The servants seemed to eye me today more than usual. I wonder if it's because of all the recent gossip.

I paid the stares little heed. The sun was high in the sky and my hood felt stifling in the heat. It was best if I reached the cold haven of my father’s study before a sweat started coming on.

A staircase took me down to the final corridor, at the end of which stood the huge double doors, and the men who guarded them. Members of the King’s Guard. They greeted me politely as I approached, and stepped away from the doors so I may pass.

“Princess Allia has arrived, Your Majesty.”

The doors swung open and I passed through. Cool air rushed past me, and I welcomed its reprieve. The doors shut in my wake.

Inside, it was much darker. I toed the floor and treaded lightly, lest I tripped and made a spectacle of myself in front of the King. When my eyes finally adjusted, I saw his silhouette sat at his desk, elbows braced on the ancient oaken table.

“May the Mother have mercy on us.” I said by way of greeting, which he returned. I then bowed. He was still the King. “Have you asked to see me, father?”

“Allia, please, take a seat.” I saw him gesture to the chair opposite himself, and made my way towards it. It was more lavish than the ones in the rooms or dining hall, and sank a little as I sat.

Soon as I had, he continued, wasting no time. My father was no longer young, but he was quick as a whip when it came to all matters.

“Last night, you saw someone arrive with a letter to the Palace steps. They seemed to have given you quite the scare. Did you see who it was?”

The King spoke quickly, but clearly, and held my gaze as he spoke. His dark blue eyes looked into mine intently, ready to sniff out any lies.

I felt uneasy for a moment.

If I told him I saw a Ghoul, would he believe me? No, best not make a fool of myself.

“It was quite dark, I am unsure of what I’d seen.” I shifted my gaze down at my hands. It was not exactly a lie, I found it hard to trust my own eyes that night.

He leaned back in his chair, which was bigger than mine, to make his status clear to anyone who sat before him.

“That’s not what Hans told me. He said you’d seen a Ghoul. Why would you lie to me, Allia?”

I jerked my head up. “It was no lie, father! I saw a dark figure on the steps. It placed something on them, and when it looked up at me, I thought I saw it had a snout for a face. I still remember what it looked like.”

He kept looking at me, as if weighing up whether I was a silly girl imagining things, or if I’d really seen a Ghoul.

“Has anyone told you that sightings of Ghouls have been reported for the past week all across Ellister?” he didn’t sound stern, but I felt guilt. I couldn’t lie to the King.

But I also can’t out Ezra.

“I’d overheard servants talking about it.” I prayed the Mother would forgive the lie.

The King sighed. “However you came upon it, the letter has still arrived. The guards swear they saw no one enter the Palace. I have started suspecting perhaps one of the servants of the Palace is not as loyal as they make themselves look. A spy for that wretched King Grevil. Could the culprit have been wearing a mask resembling a Ghoul, to hide their identity?”

I contemplated for a while. Whatever I said would influence his decision. I had to make sure I was careful wording my thoughts correctly.

“I don’t think so, father. It looked too real. It was not the head of any animal I had seen before. It just… It looked so wrong. Like a creature that the Mother herself rejected.”

I tried to scan his face to see whether he’d believed me, but the King looked to the side, musing over what I’d told him. His face revealed no secrets.

“Alright, Allia. You may go now. I will add another guard to your door, so you need not worry about your safety.” he gestured for me to leave, but suddenly I felt hesitant.

This might be my only chance to ask him about the letter.

“What of what the Ghoul dropped off? What of the letter?”

The King narrowed his eyes at me, and I felt a little regret at speaking up.

“What about it?”

I hesitated for a moment, before gathering more courage.

“I was told it was a letter from the King of Freyn.”

“This doesn’t concern you, Allia. Go back to your room.” he spoke with warning in his tone, but I couldn’t let this go.

“Please, father. I really need to know.” He eyed me as I looked up at him with pleading eyes. The sun was behind him, making his face dark, and it was hard to make out his expression, but he eventually relented.

“It was, indeed, from the King of Freyn. He threatened to send more and more Ghouls into Ellister, unless I gave your hand in marriage to his son, Prince Sethram of Freyn.”

Hearing the man’s name somehow made my guts cool a little. My father continued.

“I, of course, have told him that if he means to scare me like that he would have to try harder. I’m not giving in to such cheap antics.” The King

huffed and stood up. “And now it really is time for you to go, Allia. Do not worry yourself with this. I would never give you over to those heretics.”

I left my father’s Solar feeling much lighter. It was as if all the distress of Ghouls and marriage swept away by his hand. I’d only wished this feeling would last.