Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Lost Vision ❯ Her Fears ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter One: Her Fears

It was just a normal day like any other. She woke up, went to lessons, spent the afternoon with her older brother, Sarin, and finally spent a quiet evening with her father. Before going to bed, she spent an hour talking to the picture of her late mother that hung in her room. Syriana was the youngest of seven heirs, born to King Angrath, and an heir to the legacy that was her mother’s bloodline.

Her long white hair flowed softly behind her as she whispered a final good night to her mother and blew out the candles on her nightstand. Syriana crawled into her bed and slipped underneath the chilliness that was her covers. She tried to fall asleep, but when she closed her eyes, all she saw was the blank restless void that would keep many people awake. Her mind was full and her stomach was close to empty. Syriana had been far too nervous and scared to eat anything for tomorrow she would be turning sixteen.

A normal princess would be having a huge party thrown for them and possibly a long line of suitors to woo them, but not Syriana. In her family, it was a tradition for all the children to undergo some trial in proving their worth to the family--to their kingdom. When the sons reached the age of eighteen, they would have to go on a year-long quest, but as for the girls…

When the girls reach the tender age of sixteen, they are forced into facing off against Dragons in hopes of taming them. Most of the women in her family succeeded in taming the dragons, all of them except for one. Her mother, the late Queen Idelia. Idelia had undergone the Accession of the Flame when Syriana was just a baby, but something went wrong and the Dragon had killed her. That left Syriana to be mainly raised by her father and her eldest brother, Sarin. Her other five brothers refused to have anything to do with her because of their jealousy of her special heritage.

She gave an involuntary shudder at the thought of her possibly ending up with the same fate as her mother. She didn’t want to go through with the trial. Facing off against a dragon with nothing but your wits was a scary thing. She tried her best to persuade her father to change his mind, but Angrath was completely convinced she would succeed. Though Sarin was completely against the idea. He even threatened to take Syriana away from the kingdom until the whole ordeal went away, but too many lives had been lost already.

Her opponent was a legendary dragon that many of her ancestors tried taming, but none ever could. After the last attempt a century ago, he killed the last person and slipped into a slumber. But now rumors were flying around the kingdom. The dragon was awake once more, only this time he was in a state of rage due to the declining population of his kind.

But even if her brother were to take her away, he would be jeopardizing the entire kingdom and leaving her citizens at risk of an attack from the other kingdoms.

Syriana just shook her head at the thought. She didn’t want anyone to die, let alone to get hurt. She wanted to mend the rift that had formed between her father and brother. Should she die, maybe her other brothers would be happy as well?

“Maybe…everyone would be better off without me…” She whispered, her voice breaking through the darkness. Her red gaze peered at the moonlight that lit up the satin white curtains of her window. Syriana blinked back the tears burning her eyes as she rolled over. She curled her body into a cat-like position to keep the warmth of her blankets.

As if on cue, the door opened and she quickly shut her eyes, feigning sleep. She felt the cold air of her room seeping into the covers as someone lifted them up to slip into her bed beside her. She already knew who it was just by the quiet movements. It was Sarin. 

Sarin could always tell when she was scared. Syriana felt her body tense at feeling her oldest brother behind her.

“It’s alright, Syri,” Sarin whispered, calling his sister by her childhood nickname. The twenty-eight-year-old prince drew her close and gently kissed her temple. “Nothing’s going to hurt you.” His voice was calm and soothing. He always knew what to say to calm his sister down.

Syriana finally allowed herself to relax and she gently rolled her small body around to face him. “Big brother.” She whispered quietly. More tears flowed from her eyes. She found herself being hugged against her brother’s body. Another kiss was laid onto her temple, ending with the sweetest of brotherly kisses on her lips.

“Just go to sleep,” Sarin whispered back to her. He used his fingers to gently press her eyelids shut while closing his own eyes. “Pretend this is another night like all the others from your life, that tomorrow is just a bad dream,”

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t just pretend. Just like she couldn’t pretend she wasn’t going to lose her big brother to some arranged marriage that she might not even live to see next month. She knew she was being selfish by gluing herself to Sarin’s side so much but he had practically raised her and taught her everything he knew of the world. So he was more like her father to her than their king. Syriana shook her head and hid her face into her brother’s bare shoulder. She didn’t want to pretend anymore. She just wanted the morning to come already so she could leave her childhood home behind and die like her mother.

Her whole body trembled in his arms, but what really caught his attention was what his sister whispered to herself. “…without me…” She had whispered those words sadly before finally shedding a final tear and allowing sleep to claim her for the night.