𝟎𝟐. 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲

Cassie turned over in bed as the sun shone on her face. Her bed felt so soft and silky… Cassie’s eyes shot open, and she gasped as she looked around. She definitely wasn’t in her dorm anymore. Instead, she was in a bedroom twice the size of her school's field. The marble floor shone in the soft sunlight streaming in through the gauzy curtains. It was like a scene out of a fantasy novel!

She got out of the king-sized bed and decided to explore a little. Wandering over to one of the smaller white doors that led to a large walk-in closet, her head spun as she took everything in. The closet was better than anything she had ever envisioned. Clothes of the highest quality hung neatly on the racks while various shoes and accessories were proudly displayed on the shelves, each gleaming proudly in the light from the gold chandelier in the middle of the ceiling.

At the other end of the closet was another pair of double white doors, and Cassie could hear water running from in there. She thought it was a great idea to create a peaceful space for relaxation, especially since the sound was very therapeutic.

Cassie walked towards the side of the closet filled with more feminine dress wear, admiring the exotic designs. Whoever lives here must be of high status to be able to afford such extravagant clothing, she thought. If only I had clothes like these back home. Maybe the owner wouldn’t mind if I just took this dress…

She selected a simple white dress and tried it on. “Wow,” she whispered, admiring her reflection in the polished mirror.

The bodice fitted her perfectly and was made of the silkiest fabric, however, the skirt was a little too long for her. Cassie had to lift the skirts to walk without tripping over and it made her wonder how tall the owner was.

Suddenly, an accented feminine voice came from somewhere behind her. “Lucien?”

Cassie’s head whipped around to look back at a pair of double doors. Lucien? Wasn’t that the fourth prince from The Race for His Heart? What was going on?

The water stopped running, making her realise that it wasn’t a sound effect but someone having a bath.

“Lucien?” the lady called again, except this time, her voice sounded nearer.

Cassie hurriedly backed out of the closet, accidentally bumping into a vase. “Shit. No,” she muttered, reaching out to catch the vase, but she was too slow. The vase shattered on the marble with a loud ‘crash’.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?” asked a voice from outside the room.

Cassie ducked behind the small table that the vase once stood on as she heard the pair of bathroom doors open.

“I’m alright, Gabriel,” the lady replied. “Can you call Lucien for me?”

Cassie held her breath as the footsteps neared where she was hiding. “Who’s there? You better come out now before I call the guards.”

Cassie peeked out from behind the table and found one of the most beautiful ladies she had ever seen staring right at her. The lady had long black hair that flowed freely down her back and fierce purple eyes that sparkled with anger. She was dressed in a white button-up shirt tucked into dark brown riding pants and tall black boots. Cassie immediately knew who she was—Princess Verity, wife of Prince Lucien.

Princess Verity grabbed Cassie’s arm and pulled her out. “Who are you?” she demanded, pressing her infamous dagger against Cassie’s throat.

Cassie gulped. That beautiful, yet lethal dagger was coated with the venom from the Amethyst Dragon, one of the fiercest dragons in the kingdom, and belonged to the princess standing in front of her. If the blade pricked her skin, she would be dead in an hour so she did the first thing she could do. She kicked the princess as hard as she could in the shin.

Verity hissed in pain but didn’t falter as she wiped her dagger at Cassie. Cassie ducked and grabbed one of the unlit gold candlesticks, using it to block Verity’s second strike. Her arms trembled with effort as she tried to push Verity back, but only succeeded in getting pinned to the wall with the dagger hovering above her throat.

“Who are you?” Verity asked, purple eyes scrutinising the outfit that Cassie had taken from her closet. "Who do you work for?”

“I'm Cassandra Th-Thomas a-and I'm from E-Ea-Earth,” Cassie gasped out. Her heart pounded against her ribcage so hard, she felt like it was going to tear through her flesh and escape from her body.

Verity's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in anger. “Liar!” she snapped. “The portal to Earth has been sealed shut since the Dark Ages. There's no way you can be from Earth and the Council would have informed us if the portal was open again.”

Cassie stared at her. Portal? Dark Ages? Council? There were so many questions swirling around her mind, but when she opened her mouth, only one word came out. “What?”

Verity rolled her eyes and pressed the dagger closer to her throat. “I'll ask you one more time, who are you working for?”

“I told you!” Cassie yelled frantically. “I don't know! Look, I’m not supposed to be here. I-”

Verity wasn't hearing it anymore. “Fine, if you don't want to cooperate with me, then we'll see how you fare under the questioning of the guard.”

Shit. What had she gotten herself into? Cassie had spent the night dreaming of what it would be like to be inside The Race for His Heart, but this wasn't what she had in mind.

“No, please!” Cassie begged, struggling against Verity's grip, but Verity seemed to know her tricks and skillfully avoided her kicks. Not that they were doing much damage in the dress she had “borrowed” from the princess’ wardrobe.

Cassie's eyes welled up with tears of desperation as she ran through all the possible scenarios in her head. From what she could remember, the family of Camelot followed the traditional punishments and rules, similar to the mediaeval period back on Earth. How was she getting out of this alive? Then a brilliant idea came to her mind. “Lucien!” she yelled.

Verity whirled around immediately, and Cassie took advantage of the opportunity. She slipped out of Verity's grasp and tried to snatch the dagger away, but the princess was stronger than her.

The two young women struggled to keep their grips on the gleaming weapon, not wanting the other to get her hands on it. And it did not help that Cassie's long skirt kept getting in her way. Just as Verity was about to wrestle the dagger completely out of her hands, Cassie pulled at her luscious locks and when Verity's head snapped back in pain, she quickly grabbed the dagger.

Cassie’s breathing quickened as she desperately looked around for any way to escape. At that moment, Verity looked like she could kill her with her bare hands. Without thinking, she brought the lethal weapon down on the enraged princess.

Verity stumbled back, her hand flying to her abdomen as her eyes widened in pain and surprise. Rich red blood dripped from the wound, running down the silver blade of the dagger before falling onto the marble floor.

Cassie could only stare in horror as all the colour drained from the princess’ face and she collapsed onto the floor with a soft ‘thud’. Cassie's thoughts were a large jumble as she tried to process what she had just done.

With trembling hands, she gently touched the leather handle of the dagger lodged in Verity's abdomen. The crimson liquid stained her hands and white dress, but Cassie didn't register any of that. Instead, her fingers found their way to Verity's slender wrist, hoping that maybe…

Just then, the doors to the room burst open, and guards, dressed in their blood-red uniforms, and a group of royals came rushing in.