CHAPTER TWO
*Seven years earlier*
Prince Zayn was sixteen when his world began to crumble.
He had three step-siblings: Devon, the eldest and proudest; Eigner, the second prince and Erika, the youngest, the pompous little princess who was born two years after Zayn was.
Their father, King Arsenio Romanov of Jadovia, ruled beside Queen Tattiana, their mother.
Zayn's mother was not a queen. Zayna was a palace cook who had fallen deeply in love with King Arsenio and she hoped for a moment with him.
Her hopes came through one fateful night that the King had a heated argument with his wife, and a son was the outcome of what happened that night.
Zayna was a woman who carried secrets in her heart and moonlit eyes her son had inherited. The boy was the son of a king and Zayna thought he would live a good life as a prince.
But Queen Tattiana greatly despised Zayna, frankly judging by the fact that she had slept with her husband. And so she relentlessly seeked ways she could have her revenge on the woman until she discovered Zayna's hidden truth — that she was born of Ragaounia, Jadovia's greatest rival — the Queen seized the oppurtunity and ran to her husband.
King Arsenio wasted no time. Zayna was dragged in chains to the dungeon.
Zayn pleaded on his knees before his father, begged his step brothers to intervene, but not one of them listened to him.
Two days later, news got to the Queen of Ragaounia that a citizen of her Kingdom was to be beheaded for treason. Anaya immediately made arrangements to head down to Jadovia to stop everything from happening.
But when she was about leaving on her carriage, a messenger on horseback rode into the palace grounds from the borders of the city and delivered a sack and a letter. The messenger bowed and handed the items to the Queen before leaving.
Anaya opened the letter first and read it in horror…
*Queen Anaya,*
*To think that you could actually act smart and try to attack from within, but I am always smarter.*
*As the King of Jadovia, I give you a warning to never try such offensive action or I won't hesitate to declare war on your Kingdom. The gift in the sack is just a tip of the iceberg. Let this be a lesson learnt.*
Signed-
King Arsenio of Jadovia.
Queen Anaya gripped the letter, dread washing over her like a splash of freezing water.
"You." She pointed to a guard.
"Empty the sack." She ordered.
The guard turned the sack upside down and all its contents fell out.
Anaya screamed in horror, not believing her eyes..
Zayna's head rolled from the pile of flesh towards Anaya and stopped at her feet.
Zayna was her beloved friend and now she was dead at her feet, cut into different parts. It was the most gruesome sight anyone could have witnessed.
Anaya pledged vengeance. She swore that the Jadovian royal family will pay with their lives.
Falling to her knees, she closed Zayna's lifeless eyes.
Zayn was forced to watch as guards hacked her apart, her silver-lit eyes staring lifelessly at him before her body was packed into a sack. He screamed until his voice broke, struggled against the guards who held him down, but Arsenio showed no mercy.
Zayn was left with silence. No sympathy from anyone. No sibling comforted him. Even his father grew colder towards him each day.
"Why do you look so much like that traitor?" Arsenio spat one morning. "Every time I see you, I am reminded of her. It disgusts me."
The words struck the young boy painfully.
From then on, Zayn's life became a torment. Devon and Eigner mocked him as "the traitor's son." Erika stormed into his chambers demanding his room and Arsenio granted it without hesitation.
"Don't call me father. Do you even look like me to claim that name?" The King said when Zayn made to complain.
By the time Zayn was banished to the guards' quarters, his dignity was in shreds.
Only Joselu, his sworn bodyguard, dared to help him carry his belongings, defying the King's orders. To Zayn, Joselu was no longer just a guard, he was the brother he had never truly had.
But cruelty did not end there.
One afternoon in the palace garden, Devon and Eigner cornered him. They shoved him to the ground, slapped him, called him a peasant. Zayn overcome with frustration and anger tried to fight back. But Devon had the upper hand and he drew a hidden dagger, lunging for Zayn's eye. Zayn managed to deflect, but the blade tore a deep line across his face, leaving blood streaming down his cheek.
Joselu found him moments later, trembling and half blind with pain.
When the three princes were brought before Arsenio, Zayn stood with a bandaged eye, he was hoping that his half brothers would be severely punished.
"What happened?" The King demanded.
"He tried to take my eye!" Zayn protested.
Arsenio's reply was cold. "So what?"
Zayn's heart stopped.
"Father..."
"Don't you dare call me father," Arsenio snarled. His gaze burned with hatred. "You disgust me, Zayn. From this moment, you are no son of mine. Leave this palace. Leave this kingdom. And never return."
Those words cut through him more than Devon's knife ever could.
"Father please..."