The frostbitten forest was daunting and the pale moonlight adored the leaves reflecting light through the dew drops. The path was vague yet too undemanding to follow. It was like you keep walking where your footsteps take you with some weird persistent thought in your mind.

The feeling of trepidation never came, it was hauntingly calm in my heart and in my mind. I waited for the calm to shatter and the shiver to rise in my spine but before the feeling came, came the Man. His silhouette approached me in the dark. With the distance between us I could see he had a sword in his hand, he was tall and I assumed terrifying since even his shadow brought the shivers which didn't come in the darkness of the forest.

"Either you are really valiant or really unwise to come alone." The shadow said walking towards me.

The voice was like some distant warning of death, deep and thrilling.

"How can you ask such clichéd questions?" My voice gratefully came out without any tremble.

His sword glistened in the dark and for some reason, I gasped. And he laughed.

"I am here for the map." I managed to say keeping up my pretense.

"Sure, you are". He said as he invisible even in the moonlight.

Bretrarum-The Darkness. I have heard about him, everyone has heard about him. He was faster than the ninjas, vanished like smoke in thin air. He was known to be the indomitable ruthless killer. He was King's right hand, like a son to the tyrant like ruler who had no heir to his throne.

"Are you sure you are Bretrarum?" The question came out unintentionally.

He laughed a laughter that sounded nice but threatening.

"You are too naive? Who sent you here, to get the map from me?" Bretrarum asked, sounding too amused.

"Well, at least you agree I came to get the map," I answered getting tensed with each passing second.

The intuition I developed told me that something dangerous was going to happen.

"You really have mistaken me for someone else." He threatened.

And before I could even realize his glistening sword against my neck. I gulped down the intense panic that developed. He was unbelievably fast and I know why he was called him the darkness because I can still see only his silhouette.

"Killing me will do you no good. I am just here for the exchange and I do not hold any special position in the court." I reasoned carefully.

He lowered his sword after some calculations.

"Why would anyone in their right mind send you to do an exchange with me?"

I just shrugged nonchalantly hoping he could see the reaction.

"Anyway, this forest can give you weird thoughts or could send you in a trance. Watch where you go." He sounded amused by this.

I looked around for a moment, he was right. The moonlight was not strong enough to break through the haunting tall trees that seem to observe our movement.

"I am honored that you care." I mocked him.

Why I did that rash thing...or why was I here in this first place? Why was I sent to take the map from The evil killer: Because I was the Blade Princess, so The King, that is my father thought it would be best to send someone like me to deal with Bretrarum.

~~~

"You have done well.' My father said with pride gleaming in his eyes.

 I have always tried to be a son and a daughter for him. While the world saw me as the perfect princess, I was a warrior through and through. 

He carefully scanned the map with a small smile on his face. His grey hair made him look older than he was while the golden crown rested on top of it made him look intimidating. His finger lifted to slightly scratch the stubble growing as he looked closely at something.

It was a map to the most dangerous Kingdom, the place no one dared set foot into. But we had the map. A month ago we got an anonymous tip from someone with a piece of map saying to clear certain task and then send someone to take the map. 

Every seven days a task would come and our men would go to complete it. We caught a pirate ship on the first task, burned the poisonous plant supply of a famous trader and drug mafia and raided the house of rich bureaucrats who were stealing money from the poor. Without the task lists, we would have never found that in-depth corruption point. And now we had the map.

Someone was helping us cleanse the kingdom and I was impressed by this savior.

And then on the end of the month came the note with the signature of someone who was feared and someone who brought death with him,  Bretrarum. The King's right hand coming to us with a way to overthrow the King. And even though this might be just a family feud we were still getting the most secretly kept map in the world.

But why did he choose our Kingdom? There were five Kingdoms in total who were still not joined by his father, who still thrived to overthrow the evil King. And if  Bretrarum took the throne the condition will worsen.

I was against the whole plan but the ministers didn't even take my word into consideration because whenever a woman made a right choice. My father was forced to agree to this plan and now here we are conspiring with the darkness himself.

"I was worried when you decided to take this mission on yourself." My father said.

"After all the training you have given me." I shook my head at her pointless worry. 

"You are my only child Lia and people might see a weakness in you." He said in a tired tone.

"Do you see me as a weakness?" I asked to put his mind and heart at rest.

"No, you are my biggest strength." He said proudly and that is all I wanted to know.

With the reign of terror starting before I was born, my father has a tough job as a King. I am sure he wanted a son to look after the Kingdom and protect it after him but he never says it or even shows it. From the age of five, I have been trained by him and his bodyguard personally. After my mother died in one of the attacks, I was ten then. That made me even more persistent in training fuelled by hatred and anger.

But no one knew about me knowing to yield a weapon or how I am better in any kind of combat than all the men in our army. For everyone else, I was the princess, the girl in a pretty dress whose words are not to be taken seriously and is only good to bear children and giggle and gossip.

While I was ignored or mostly pestered for getting married to the right guy, no one actually paid close attention to the frail, introvert girl.

Gerald, my father's bodyguard for as long as I can remember was my mentor and teacher in this. He was kind but strict. And he never underestimated me just because I was a princess.

"But there was an issue in   the court today." My father said gravely.

"My marriage discussion." I was twenty-three and it was high time I got married or that is how the officials thought to get themselves a choice, Prince.

"I avoided it but you will have to marry sooner or later."

"I will but I am too young now and I have lots to do," I said still not having traveled a bit or not read most exotic books or had any adventures which my mother told me stories about.

"You will get your old man in trouble someday." He said laughing lightly and I was relieved this topic was dropped.

I was not in favor of getting married at all because why would I leave my father and Kingdom and marry a complete stranger.

"Go now, Gerald is waiting for your session." My father and I excitedly hurried off to my training lessons.

Even though I was better than Gerald himself there was some part of me that he said I kept hidden, never unleashed it when I was using a sword like I was being careful of something and he wanted me to let go of that.

I entered the hall at the end of the palace where my training usually happened but there was no sign of Gerald and he was never late. I practiced my usual stances waiting for him but I felt uneasy for some reason. In my seventeen years of lessons, Gerald was always there waiting for me. Suddenly the door to the hall opened with a loud thud and in came a bloodied lady in waiting.

"Yes?" I threw away my weapon in a panic because no one knew I could fight.

"Princess. Attack." She mumbled two words as she fell into my arms and I saw the deep cut on the left side of her body.

I have seen death before, more than I would prefer in a lifetime but being a princess comes with the price of seeing your Kingdom and it's people lose life in battles. I understood why Gerald was not here, he was protecting my father. I hurried back to my room with a passage known just to me and my father through the bathing chambers and with no time to dress up in battle attire I took my assassin knife which I knew several uses of.

 I rushed to father's chamber knowing too well that will be the point of attack. Surprisingly the corridors were empty and there were no loud noises. It was scarier than the slashing of swords and cries of pain, the silent made my inside curl. 

The door to father's chambers was open, but I realized I was too late. Gerald lay their next my father's body their hollow eyes staring into nothing. Within an hour everything came collapsing down. The map had been a trick to fool us. The black and grey flag with an anchor on it symbolizes them, the army of Nevarlia, the home to the evil and darkness.

We are always warned about the dangers and how King's life is always in danger but this was surreal as I just lost all my energy and cried my heart out seeing the dead bodies of the two people I loved most in the world. I had no siblings, no friends and now I had no family.

I heard the sound of more soldiers moving in and hiding my father's and Gerald's body in the underground chambers made to hide royal women during the time of war. Dragging two bodies took out almost all the energy from me but I had to keep running because if Princess if captured they will torture her in any way possible.

My first thought was to kill myself and end the pain now. But my father said I was his strength and I couldn't let him down. 

"I have killed every single man I could find Sir," A soldier informed someone and I tried to hide behind the column before I made a mistake in grief and anger.

I needed to reach a safe place, another friendlier Kingdoms and ask them for help.

"And women?" The voice asked.

The voice belonged to the someone old and callous like he was enjoying killing these many innocent people.

"All healthy and pretty ones in the carriage Sir." He answered.

And I felt disgusted. I tried peeping once just to know who I will kill first I saw these vile guys next time and I bent down a little to put a face to the voice of a partially bald man, something heavy hit my head. Everything in front of me became blurry and a sharp pain hit me. More tears flowed down my cheeks as I fell on the ground everything going dark now.

~*~*~*~*

YAY! First chapter is more than 2000 words :D

I feel quiet satisfied because I liked the pace of this. Really, really hope you guys like this one.

P.S. Those who have come this far I LOVE YOU GUYS! You all are precious!