Overcoming Scarlet Walls

A/N- OK. I'm new here so I'm not sure how this goes to much but whatever. Here I present Overcoming Scarlet Walls. Enjoy!



---

“You did what!” A shrill voice demanded as it stretched across the entirety of the royal palace of Laxton.

Sophia, princess to the country, jumped to her feet in shock and disgust at her parents news. They sat opposite of her in her fathers study. It was a grand room with many books and scrolls tucked neatly into shelves while old used swords, now too brittle to use, hung from the walls.

The furniture, for the most part, was in a rich red wood and was simple except for the two chairs occupied by the King and Queen of Laxton. They sat side by side next to the large window at the back of the study, behind his majesty's desk. His chair was made sturdy with dark leather and broad legs, meant to withstand even the harshest of treatments which might have once been the occasional role of shield from his fiery tempered wife while the queen's chair had an elegant charm about it with its narrow armrests and tall back in a dark hide.

The occupants of such chairs were well matched to them. King Tomas the third of Laxton was a man that upon glance, one could tell had been built and formed to withstand a great many things, both physically and mentally.

He was on the shorter side height wise for a man, averaging about five foot ten for all his late fourty years. His shoulders were broad for his height with evidence of once framing powerful muscles. Tanned and chapped skin revealed a life of hard work as well as the many scars that decorated his hands and arms. His face was almost square and clean but was made threatening by a scar that ran over the bridge of his nose just under his charcoal eyes that burned like the fire they might have fueled. His lips were both average neither drawing much attention unless pulled into a scowl, by which point many men made sure to steer clear. His hair was once midnight black but had began to turn white with thick streaks made more visible pulled back into the pony tail it was now in. He wore simple work clothes, breeches that had seen better days made of cotton and a white cotton shirt that had its sleeves removed.

Queen Anastasia was a woman of early fourties that could draw attention from a crowd even if she didn't wish it. She stood at about five foot eight with a slim and tone body structure that somehow was always emphasized in any outfit she wore. Her skin was tan and smooth, not a blemish in sight. Her hair was thick, curly, and dark with natural highlights of red that brought her chocolate eyes to life. Her lips were full while her nose was elegant with a slight bump in its center, giving her a more human like appearance instead of godly like on. She wore a plain dress in cream colors with maroon colored jewelery that was almost plain.

The jewelry sparkled and danced as Anastasia turned her head to shared a glance with her husband for a moment, resulting in a sigh from his majesty.

He looked up at his daughter of nearly twenty years, who had a hardness in her eyes that both adults knew was her cold rage. She was so like her mother in appearance while her personality was a combination of both parents.

She was growing into her fathers height, measuring currently at five foot seven. She had her mothers body type being slim and tone with hints of muscles under the skin. Her skin was dark, almost darker then her parents do to all her time she spent out with the people. Her hair was dark, thick,  and curly with the red highlights she shared with her mother while her eyes where a soft brown with tints of red made obvious only when she was angry, as she was now. Her attire was that of a pair of dark breeches with an elegant shirt that was made of purple silk and embroidered with glass beads around the neck line and cuffs. She wore no jewelry except for a ring given to her by her parents that had their sign on it that was magicked so they could track her in times of need if it came to that.

Seeing her now, Tomas almost took pity on his daughter.

“You heard me. I have arrange a marriage for you to a fine young man. Sir Benjamin of Salvonice. Son of King Ronald of Salvonice.” He said before being interrupted by his daughter.

“But father!” She exclaimed. “I don't want to be married off to some prince in a foreign land! You can't expect me to...”

“We do expect you to and you must Sophia!” Her mother said cutting in. “Sophia, both Salvonice and Harton are at war with each other, with our country stuck in the middle. We must pick a side or be destroyed in the cross fire. And Salvonice, according to Karei, has the gods blessing upon it. We must unite with them.”

“Why must we! Why can't we sign a treaty? Why must I be married off?” Sophia demanded.

“That's enough Sophia.” King Tomas said in a demanding voice that told the young woman to shut her mouth.

He stood up and faced his daughter, resting his hands on her shoulders.

“His family has approved and the couriers have already been dispatched with news of the wedding. There's no going back on it now. Tomorrow you will leave for Lightwing, Salvonice's capital, and spend the spring there with Sir Benjamin before the wedding in the fall before the snows fall.” He explained softly.

Sophia gave her father a look of hurt and confusion, her eyes glistening as what he said had sunk in. There was no going back. She would be a faceless knights wife and there was changing that. All her plans for the future, all her ambitions, destroyed in a single blow.

On the verge of tears, Sophia ran out of the study leaving both parents alone with their guilt.

“Was this truly best darling?” The queen asked.

“She is of marrying age and a royal princess no less. There are princesses almost seven years younger then her with husbands. She must be wed now or never. Besides, from what Sebastian said in his report. The two are very similar.” Tomas reasoned.

“That may not be enough.” his wife remarked rather bitterly. The king looked over at his wife and saw the frustration in her eyes. Sighing to himself he went to her and kissed her softly.

“It was enough for us love. It may be enough for them. If not, well.” he straightened himself with a sigh. “They'll figure something out.”

The queen's eye's narrowed.

“I can see you've thought this out throughly.” She remarked. Tomas sighed heavily.

“Please don't turn on me as well. This was hard enough as is. I'd rather not have my daughter and my wife hating me for something that is the best not only for Sophia but for all the people in Laxton.” He pointed out. At that, Anastasia couldn't find any room to argue, so instead she picked herself up.

“I don't hate you for it. But I'm not happy about this.” She said before turning and leaving Tomas alone. Sighing, the man sat at his desk and held his head in his hands.

“I'm going to go bald at this rate.” He muttered to himself before a servant came forth with another large stack of paperwork. Seeing it, his majesty groaned and let his head fall onto his desk with a loud thud.



---

Sophia laid in a bundle on her bed where she had dramatically thrown herself. Her face was buried in a pillow that was now damp with tears as she fought back sobs when she heard someone come in.

“Get out!” She ordered. “Leave me be!”

When she didn't hear a response she looked up to find her best friend and her fathers strongest mage watching her in confusion.

“Sophia” the woman said setting the basket down and quickly grabbing a wet cloth. “What's the matter?” She asked coming over to her.

Sophia regarded her closest friend for a moment.

She was a tall woman in her early twenties, like her. She stood at five foot ten with a wide frame and muscles to work it quickly and efficiently. Her dark copper skin was mostly smooth and hardly broke out. Her black hair was thick, wavy, and long; even tied back as it was almost all the time save for a bit of hair that hung from her face which was tucked behind her ear anyways. Her eyes were also black but had a bright flame behind them that made them dance with life and laughter. She normally wore a pair of breeches with a light cotton shirt for she did a lot of the house work but today she was dressed in a skirt, probably because she had no more pants to wear. Hence the laundry.

“Karie.” Sophia half sobbed at the sight of her friend. Once she was within range, Sophia launched herself at Karei and wrapped her arms around her friend, crying again.

“It awful!” She sobbed. “Mother and Father are sending me away to be married in Salvonice! To a man I've never met! I don't want to!”

Sophia could tell her friends reaction to what she had said when the woman had stiffened up.

“They can't do that.” Karei said softly, her voice thick with anger.

“They already have.” Sophia croaked. Karie pushed Sophia off of her and stood up.

“Not yet they haven't. I'm going to have a word with his majesty about this.” Karei said, her eyes ablaze with rage. Sophia, knowing what would become of the argument, grabbed Karei's arm.

“Don't.” She said in an almost pleading way. “If you do you'll be whipped again. You know the council is looking for ways to punish you for what you did last summer. And I couldn't bare to watch that.”

“But this isn't right.” Karei protested. “They shouldn't be forcing you to do this.”

“But they are.” Sophia said cutting Karie off as fresh tears began to roll. “They've made the decision. There's no turning back. I'm Sir Benjamin of Salvonice's fiancé now.”

And with that Sophia curled up and began to sob again. Karei, torn between her anger and her friend paused for a moment before giving a heavy sigh and going to sit with Sophia.

“I'm going with you one way or another. If you're going off to foreign territory, you'll at least go with one friend.” She said as if she had already made it happen. Sophia, reassured by her friends words, leaned against Karei and cried the last of her tears.

---

A/N- R&R Please.