Chapter 0: Prologue

Danae of Eden, the tenth child of the King and Queen of Eden. She was a beautiful portrait with skin painted in pure skin the color of oak, free from any blemishes, and hair the texture of curled sienna, with the color of the rings on her mother’s fingers and for eyes the princess’s skull held only the clearest of ambers which radiated through the painting as if they were stars in the night sky. She was the epitome of laughter and joy in the Kingdom. As she grew, her features became more defined, her once round and fluffy eyes those that resembled her mother became slender and deep, the fat beneath them protruding outwards creating a youthful mask that she wore.

At the age of 12, anyone would’ve said that the Princess next to the King and the Queen resembled neither of them, from their faces and their hair to the difference in the way their eyes shined. Everyone from the chamberlains, maids, lords, and ladies within the palace on any given day, Danae’s siblings spoke of this behind her back. Danae could hear everything they said behind the concrete pillars of the ballroom, even though it was her birthday she couldn’t help but bite her bottom lip in anticipation of whether or not her older sister, Carmine, would defend her Honor. She wanted to knock sense into those ladies committing treason in the Royal Palace, Blasphemy! Blasphemy!

“How dare you say I’m not my father’s child!” she wanted to yell but instead gripped her dress in disbelief, as the words flowed out of her sister’s mouth just as she had hoped. The young girl practically leapt out of hiding as her sister spoke. “Don’t you dare say such words about my sister, even if she isn’t my father’s child, she is still the child of the Queen. Pay your respects and shut your mouth.” She hissed as all of the ladies that were being reprimanded stared in the opposite direction, towards the pillar, and towards a distraught Danae who held her hand to her chest, the other gripping the pillar.

Danae breathed heavily as her tears swelled in her eyes. “She isn’t Father’s Child?” Her lips quivered with every word, as she felt her legs grow weak under the weight of the hefty Caroline and the fabric and jewels that her father (or rather who she thought of as her true father) adorned her in each year on this very day.

“I-I’m not fa-father’s child?” A step forward, a harsh breath as if her lungs were being consumed by guilt, and Carmine, the same older sister that would comfort Danae after a bad dream watched with a careful glare, her red pupils glistening like rubies as she looked on with wide eyes. The entire ballroom fell silent, the ladies that had been convening with Carmine had all dropped their dance cards and fled to their chaperones like ants.

Danae ran up to her second sister her eyes filled with tears, her fingers digging into her short, puffy dress. “How could you be so cruel Carmine, let alone on my birthday? Why are you always saying things like that?” her voice echoed between her useless sobs as she fell to the floor, the Queen and King reprimanded their daughter for causing such despair to the twelve-year-old girl they had coddled since she was born. Immediately, the girl’s guard whisked her away, her head on his shoulder, her muffled cries vibrating against his uniform, “Please calm down your Highness, ignore the Princess,” He tried his best to soothe the girl as the both of them disappeared into the garden. The weary crowd watched the Knight walk away, his lady in tow. Turning their attention back to socializing, Princess Danae’s party was a mere front, a tool to build connections.

The Queen of Eden, Mirelle, looked to her husband who returned the favor, not knowing what to say if anything. “Ariel, we must tell her sooner or later.” Mirelle looked at her husband with tired eyes, moving her hand to rest within his. He spared her a glance his white hair falling down his shoulders the moment his red eyes made contact with Mirelles a soft smile crept up his lips his face still avoiding hers, “Someday Our Daughter will be happy with her Prince, just as happy as I am with you.” Mirelle leaned over her seat wrapping her arms around her beloved, feeling his heart beat against her ears like the steady rhythm of a drum, “Regardless of what happens, I hope that you continue to accept her as our daughter we mustn’t hold the past against that girl.” Ariel turned his head, revealing his face covered in blush,

“I won’t consider any other possibility, Danae is your child, and any child of yours,” His eyelids lowered as he leaned closer, whispering into her lips which he had kissed many times over. He wanted to kiss them again, to alleviate the stress of the night, to wash away that barren fact, that the girl he loved dearly, was spoiled with every gift he could offer, to erase the guilt, to erase the feeling that might be leftover from that night, the pain that came with raising such a beloved child, knowing that just like the women before her, she too will be violated by the laws of their curse.

“I will love that child wholeheartedly without fail.” his lips pressed against hers, tension sliding off of his beloved onto the floor below their thrones.

….

Danae’s POV

“She meant every word, Sir,” I whined, my red-haired knight, wiping my flowing fountain of snot with a mountain of dirtied handkerchiefs on his right hand. “Blow,” he said softly and so I did still trying to complain as I did so. Her puffy eyes said it all, as my words stifled “Thank you, Sir Sirian,” the curly-haired knight sighed, looking at me with sad green eyes. “Danae, you mustn’t be so pompous, you can’t go waltz throwing tantrums like that,” he rested his hand on my head, making me feel like a child to the boy, who was four years older than me. I swatted his hand. I tightened my lips poking them out. “Saying something like that, questioning what man bare such a dark girl in public is unacceptable. I don’t deserve such treatment.” I paused turning my body away from the attentive gaze of the boy who had been with me practically since the day I was born, the boy knew me better than anyone else, and I enjoyed having his attention at all times, as his lady of course. As I swayed my feet, I watched him watch me, his attention not leaving me or acknowledging my gaze that was back on him. I continued to stare relentlessly, my eyes begging him to notice me, even if it was just for a moment. Time seemed to pass like a feather falling from a bird in mid-air, all I could hear was the sound of my heartbeat. But he simply closed his eyes after minutes of staring, the life returning to his eyes when he opened them. Lunching over, placing his elbows on his legs he held his head with his hand, confidence and relaxation oozing out like a chocolate fountain. I could feel myself become enticed by the handsome boy in front of me, my eyes, observing him, I felt light and fluffy as he calmly hummed into the night, sky, the moons above making him all the more ethereal as his milky skin shined like a pearl on my bodice, I couldn’t help myself but behave like a moth, and move towards the light “You’re right, It was uncalled for and honestly, her Highness Princess Carmine had done that to-” He’d noticed my proximity to him his breath hitching as I set my head on his lap, working with the small space on the bench so I could look into his eyes from below, my curiosity led me to wanting to know what he truly thought of me, wanting to know if he enjoyed me just as much as I enjoyed him, I knew that he wouldn’t think the same way about me.

He didn’t even spare a breath to complain; instead, he ran his hands through my curly hair as the moonlight lulled me to sleep, hoping that he felt the same affection I did.

That was… first love, or rather as my mother put it, puppy love.

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