Narrator's POV
November 1715

It has been one year since the start of Krozar's Reign of Terror over the country of Madya. Frederick has remained on the throne ever since he ordered for the execution of the entire royal family. However, he was still missing the one princess who had escaped.

Frederick had ordered for his men to travel throughout the Atlantic and the Caribbean to search for the missing Princess Idina. He sent ships all the way up to England, over to Europe, and even down to South America in attempts to locate her. He tried to keep this a secret from the people of the kingdom, but rumors started going around about Idina's survival. A law was passed that anyone caught talking about the royal family were sentenced to death for supporting them. Idina was still a great threat to him, for what she represents. Hope. As long as there was speculation that she was still alive, there was always going to be hope. Frederick was paranoid and frantic. He needed her dead.

As Madya's first unofficial and self-proclaimed king, the beginning of Frederick's reign was not warmly welcomed. He was responsible for the carnage of the Krozar Massacre of 1714, and there had been riots throughout Madya ever since the royal family's execution. Frederick tried to regain control by provoking fear in the hearts of the people and ordering for public executions, but it only made them more angry. The people did not accepted him as their king. They mourned the loss of the beloved royal family, and many hoped that the rumors about Idina were true and one day she would return as their queen. As the days turned to months, their hope slowly dwindled.

Queen Narissa's mother, Valentine Bourbon, was arrested in France by Krozar authorities for speaking out in favor of her deceased family. King Louis XIV of France attempted to grant her sanctuary, but it was too late. Frederick had plans to execute her, but wanted her to suffer in a dungeon first. He had her locked away, surviving off of only bread, gruel, suet, and potatoes. She was denied a window, so she spent her days trapped in a small room without the privilege of the sun on her face, or the company of another.

Frederick was a very irresponsible leader. He was young and inexperienced. He had no business running a kingdom, especially one that wasn't his own. He broke treaties that the previous generations of Madya monarchs spent years to obtain and earn the trust of other countries, and he spent the people's tax money recklessly which resulted in higher taxes for the already suffering population. His behavior was arrogant, and he let the people suffer with extreme food shortages.

Frederick was walking through the dark and lonely palace. The castle was basically empty, not bright and full of life like when the Burlon-Gotha's resided in it. Torches weren't lit to brightened the hallways, he had no staff to keep order to the castle, and no one was welcome. The guards who survived the attack no longer resided at the castle, they moved across the island because they couldn't bear to serve under Frederick.

"Your majesty!"

Frederick stopped in his tracks and turned around to face one of his favored privateer captains, Captain Henry Every. He had been working with Frederick's family since June of 1696. He started sailing with the Royal Navy when he was young, but he kept his history of committing piracy and escaping a manhunt a secret from his employers, but he remained loyal to the family. Frederick brought him to Madya the night of the initial attack, and he was the first to be appointed to sail the seas in search for the long lost princess.

Henry swept his hat off and bowed to his king. He straightened up, then said, "we found her."

"Her?" Frederick hissed with a wicked grin. He had waited months for those words to be spoken before him. He could not wait another moment for her to be placed before his feet so he could kill her himself.

"She drowned, sire."

Frederick's sharp eyes narrowed in confusion. "What?"

"We found the remains of the Golden Skye. Sunk to the bottom of the ocean, she did. Idina sunk with her."

"Did you bring Idina's body to me?" Frederick asked. His chin dipped down and his dark eyes stared Henry down angrily.

The experienced privateer shook his head. "No, sire. We didn't see her."

Frederick groaned and asked, "then how can you be so sure that she's dead?"

"It's either that, or she was kidnapped by pirates. They would have surely killed her, just for being a woman. Pirates don't rescue people, your majesty. Or perhaps she died from exposure before the ship sunk. She's dead, sire. I assure you."

Despite the logic behind his claim, Frederick still had doubts. Anxiety balled up in his stomach just from thinking that Idina could still be alive. The probability that she had suffered delusions from the sun and dehydration and how she was succumbed to drowning, sharks, or pirates were astronomical. Frederick knew that her bones were likely lying at the bottom of the sea. However, he was not appeased.

"I will never be fully satisfied in her demise until she is lying at my feet." Frederick clenched his jaw and spat at Henry, "get out of my sight."

Captain Every sensed his anger and bowed before leaving the palace. With this new information, Frederick sauntered through the palace until he reached a chair. He slumped down in it and rested his face against his hand. He still had this twisting pain in his stomach, fearful that one day the missing princess will return. He knew that day would come, and he would be ready for her.