Princess of the Blood Moon

“Victoria, whatever is the matter?” Elise enters the princess’s bedchamber in a rush after having heard crying coming from outside as she’s finishing her duties for the night. She finds the young princess huddled up in one of the corners as the moonlight shines through the window, having likely been subjected to a scolding from the queen once again.

 

“It’s useless…” She says between sobs… “No… No matter what I do… how hard I try… it’s not enough… n-never enough… for her…”

 

“Please don’t cry, my love…” Elise says caringly, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. “How about I head to the kitchen and grab you some-”

 

“NO!” Victoria yells, swiping Elise’s arm away before she makes contact.

 

“P-Princess?”

 

“Don’t bother trying to help. What could someone like you possibly even do?” She says, the sadness in her voice replaced with anger and derision.

 

Elise looks on in shock as the princess stands up. “I cannot stand it anymore. I’m fed up with asking for help from a simple servant.”

 

“V-Victoria, I… I don’t understand…” Elise says. “D-Did I do something to upset you?”

 

Princess Victoria walks towards the door as her form starts to shift, growing taller and wider.

 

“It’s what you didn’t do. Or what you can’t do, I guess.” She answers.

 

“Princess… please… What do you mean?”

 

“I mean you’re weak, Elise.” Princess Tori looks back over her shoulder as she reaches the door, her piercing eyes looking right through the maid in a way she’d never seen from her before. “Can’t depend on someone who can’t do anything for herself.”

 

She opens the door to reveal a crowd of faceless people outside. She takes a step forward and the people step aside to make way for her.

 

“Wait, Tori! Where are you going!?” Elise calls out.

 

“Gonna find someone who’s actually useful to me. Goodbye, Elise.” Tori continues walking away, and bodies spill back into the space they made to let her pass.

 

“N-No! Tori!” Elise runs to catch up with tears streaming from her eyes, but she just collides with the crowd, who do not make the same accommodations for her.

 

“You said you needed me, Tori! Why are you doing this!” Elise tries pushing the people aside, but they don’t budge. They don’t even take any notice of her. The princess towers over the crowd, but Elise does not, and the further away her beloved gets the harder it is to see her, until she’s completely hidden behind the sea of bodies.

 

“TORIIIII!” Elise tries charging into the crowd in one last, desperate attempt to break through, only to get knocked right to the ground upon making contact with a person who doesn’t even acknowledge her existence.

 

“T-Tori… Why…” Elise doesn’t bother getting up as everything around her goes dark, instead just continuing to lie where she landed, sobbing uncontrollably. It’s over, Tori has left her. She couldn’t get through. She couldn’t keep up with her. She’s not good enough to be with Tori. She’s not strong enough to be with Tori. She doesn’t deserve to be with Tori.

 

She’s not the person Tori needs her to be.

 

Ba-bump…

 

…

 

“Elise… Elise?”

 

“Nghhh…” The maid groans as she’s gently shaken awake. “Don’t… Don’t leave…”

 

“C’mon, Elise…” Tori chuckles on the other side of the bed. “We have to leave, we’ll be late for the tournament if we don’t start gettin’ ready soon.”

 

“The… tournament…” Elise opens her eyes to see Tori still lying beside her. “S-Sorry, I must have fallen asleep for a while there.”

 

“You certainly did, yeah. Seemed to be having one hell of a dream too with how you were rollin’ around there for a while.”

 

“Yes, I suppose I must have…” Elise says, deciding not to tell her lover the details of her nightmare.

 

“Well either way, we better start gettin’ up. Would be a pretty bad look to show up late to the contest when I’m the one who asked to hold it in the first place!”

 

“Of course, let us get dressed.”

 

The two of them get ready before setting out towards the stadium, but Elise’s dream still hangs heavy on her mind. Yes, they were false memories, a situation her subconscious fabricated in response to her anxieties, but what if there’s an element of truth to them? …What if she really isn’t fit to be Tori’s bride?

—

 

It’s a very notable day for the people of the city, as the stadium on the outskirts of town is hosting an event within its stone walls for the first time in years, an event pertaining to the newly returned princess, no less. The people pour in, eager to see Sir Percival’s knights and Princess Tori’s mercenaries face off against each other to prove their worth.

 

Tori herself is seated on a special platform overseeing the entire stadium, a section reserved for the queen, her council, and other people of importance to whatever event is taking place. Despite her somewhat late awakening, the princess is the first of these VIPs to have arrived, although a number of servants, Elise included, are also stationed in this section, ready to tend to the needs of its occupants. Tori is in one of the three seats that are front and centre on the platform, reserved for the queen and the two individuals most involved in today’s activities, and she takes the opportunity to take in the sight of the stadium as the attendees find places to sit themselves, and the competitors on both sides warm up at the edges of the arena.

 

She doesn’t get to enjoy the view for long, however, as the man in charge of the opposing team shows his face before long.

 

“Was wonderin’ when you’d show up, Percy.” She announces without looking back to the entrance.

 

“Yes, well some of us have chosen to treat this event with the respect it deserves.” Percival grumbles as he walks out in a full set of decorative armour. “I see you’re wearing the same commoner’s outfit from when you so rudely interrupted our training yesterday.”

 

“Yeah. I’m here as the leader of my mercs, so I’m wearin’ the outfit we usually wear. Don’t see any problem with that.” She responds casually. “I can worry about fancy clothes once I’m queen.”

 

“The problem is your lack of pride, girl.” Percival says as he takes a seat himself. “I don’t see how you could stand to represent your team looking like that. Although I suppose it’s fitting, considering you’re pitting a band of untamed misfits against my royal knights.”

 

“Trust me, Percy, we take a lot of pride in the work we do, just don’t see any reason to go paradin’ it around. What do you have to be proud of though? Don’t suppose you managed to solve that little bandit problem overnight? Or have your knights been doin’ anything else for the people that you wanna tell me about?” Tori smirks, finally looking the captain in the eyes.

 

“W-Well… That’s, um…” Percival stammers out

 

“Ignore her, Percival.” Queen Izabelle says flatly as she enters herself, followed by the two female members of the council. “The sooner this farce is over with, the better.”

 

She takes the seat in the middle, and Tori just chuckles dismissively before one of the other women approaches her.

 

“Princess!” The woman with dark, curly hair announces jovially. “How have you been? Sorry I haven’t had the chance to say hi until now.”

 

“Ah, Levenne! Been quite a while, hasn’t it?” Tori shakes her hand. “How’s the mage’s guild going?”

 

“Oh, it’s going well, thanks for asking! I can’t believe you’re back after so long, and look at what you’ve done with yourself!” She says.

 

“Yeah, a couple years on the road did me some good.” Tori chuckles.

 

Elise watches from a distance in confusion as the conversation between the two continues. Professor Levenne, head of research at the mage’s guild, is a member of the council, so why is Tori acting so friendly with her? She’s been anything but with the others so far. Is there something Elise doesn’t know about? Were they on good terms before the princess was kidnapped? Is this all just part of Tori’s plan, and if so… does she not trust Elise enough to give her the details?

 

“Can we please move forward with the proceedings already?” The queen asks, interrupting the conversation happening beside her. “I have far more important matters to attend to.”

 

“Yes, we may as well get started now that everyone’s here.” Sir Percival stands up and walks towards the end of the platform, followed by the queen. Levenne takes a seat in the second row, where Sister Elizabeth has already sat down.

 

“May I have your attention, everyone!” He yells, and the voices of the people below start dying down. 

 

He then steps to the side to allow Queen Izabelle to speak to the crowd. “Thank you all for coming today. We have gathered here because a challenge has been issued. Princess Vi-”

 

“Princess Tori, that’s me!” The princess calls out as she suddenly jumps up herself, and waves to the audience with a smile as they start to murmur amongst themselves.

 

That’s the princess? She doesn’t look like a vampire…

No no, she’s not a vampire, she ate the heart of one and took its power for herself.

 

She looks really good for someone who had her soul put inside of a golem!

Yeah, ‘er new body looks way more human than I wuz expectin’.

 

She’s the one who was giving piles of gold to the workers at the castle yesterday, yeah?

Nah, she’s the one who ripped the Baron’s arm right out of his socket at that pub, my buddy who was there saw it for ‘imself.

 

While rumours regarding the princess had been spreading fast over the past few days, partially thanks to Elise’s efforts, and partially thanks to the natural chattiness of many of the townspeople, this is the first time most of today’s attendees have seen her for themselves. No doubt her impressive build, and the disparities between her younger self and now, will only serve to fuel further stories.

 

The queen merely watches their reactions with disdain. “Yes, she wishes to test the might of her mercenaries, a group with unknown morals and dubious pasts, against Sir Percival’s knights, who have so tirelessly worked to keep you all safe for years now. As such, we have set up a number of competitions so that we may show everyone the true might of those who serve the royal family! Without further adieu, let the competition begin, and may the best team win!”

 

The people cheer as the competition begins, and both groups are pitted against each other in all manner of contests. Feats of strength, tests of stamina, several kinds of sparring matches, and more all play out for the amusement of the crowd. Both teams fight hard of course, but it starts to become clear before long that the mercenaries have the upper hand as they prove victorious in most of the challenges put before them.

 

None of that is of much interest to Elise as she serves the princess and the council, however. What she’s taking much more notice of is how into the whole thing Tori is getting. She may be more focused on the competition than anyone else in the entire stadium, her eyes never leaving the action as she follows every movement with a concentrated gaze, swinging her arms around and cheering with approval during every fight, regardless of who comes out on top, her muscles subtly tensing when she watches a competitor swing their sword or throw a punch as if just watching it is getting her worked up. It’s a side of Tori that Elise has never seen before, and one that she isn’t sure she entirely understands. She may have to ask her about it the next time they get a quiet moment together.

 

“I do hope you’ve had a chance to properly recover from yesterday’s troubles, my child.” Sister Elizabeth suddenly says to Elise as the maid carries a plate of refreshments over.

 

“M-Me? Yes, I’m quite fine now, sister. I was able to get plenty of rest last night.” She answers, hoping to get the council member off her back.

 

Elizabeth smiles. “I’m quite glad to hear that. Do know that you can speak to me if something was to be bothering you, though. My previous offer to reduce your workload still stands.”

 

“Of course, thank you sister.” Elise walks off as soon as she’s finished serving the refreshments, not noticing how the sister’s gaze remains on her as she leaves.

 

Regardless of whatever’s happening up on that platform, the competition below continues throughout the afternoon, and the gap between the knights and the mercenaries only widens. The last minute training Tori gave the knights yesterday helped somewhat to close the distance between the groups when it comes to swordplay, but the mercenaries have been trained by her for the better part of a year, and they outclass their opponents in speed, strength, and stamina. Sir Percival grows increasingly nervous as the afternoon goes on, no doubt only worsened by the scolding looks he keeps getting from the queen. He hadn’t expected the mercenaries to be able to compete with his knights at all, let alone outperform them to such a degree.

 

Elise is personally quite glad that the event is almost over. She’s sure that this whole thing plays into Tori’s larger plan to get the people on their side, but she can’t say she’s particularly comfortable having to spend this much time in close proximity to the queen and the council. Well, most of the council anyway. Elise looks to the one seat that was never filled and wonders why the baron never showed up, not that she particularly minds his absence.

 

The event starts to draw to a close as the knights leave the arena, too exhausted to keep going, and the mercenaries stand in the centre as they celebrate their victory. They cannot celebrate for long, however, as a sudden scream in the audience is followed by a large number of people suddenly jumping down into the arena from every direction, brandishing all manner of weapons and running directly towards the mercenaries. The attendees start to panic at the scene, and everyone up on the VIP platform, with the exception of the queen, run to the edge to get a better look at what’s going on, and it doesn’t take them long at all to realise what’s happened.

 

Bandits have invaded the stadium.