Genevieve

Darius got up and went to their little room. He returned with a wooden box out of which he took out an old, battered flag.

"Do you know what this is, little one?"

Genevieve looked at the faded purple cloth. It had a red and gold crest with a falcon on it. The falcon had cyan eyes. It bore the name Dortague under it. She looked at Darius in confusion.

"The Dortagues were the rulers of Corcusse. They ruled for over three centuries. They were cruel, strong and iron willed rulers. They had many enemies, the strongest of whom were the Carroughs. Yet they were fearful of their ways.

During the rule of Queen Eleanor, the Carroughs mustered the courage to attack the border villages of Corcusse. The queen, in an attempt to prevent any such further attacks, had the Carrough soldiers brutally tortured and killed in public. One of these was the youngest son of the Carrough king.

Years passed and her son Marcus took over the throne. He was different. He kind, generous and honourable. The Carroughs perceived these as weaknesses and taking advantage of his benevolence, kept attacking, trying to provoke a war. King Marcus knew that his people's resources had been depleted by the years of war and refused to relent. His armies had weakened, and his land was defenseless, from never having faced such a problem before. Before he knew it, the capital was under attack.

His wife, Regina, was expecting their first child. The child was born in the dungeons in the presence of her first lady in waiting, Marissa. It was a baby girl. King Marcus died shortly after the birth, not having seen the child. Queen Regina asked Marissa's husband, her Protector, to take the child and flee. She asked him to raise her as a warrior, so she can avenge her homeland." He stopped for a minute and looked at her

"You were the child. And Marissa was my wife. I was the queen's protector."

Genevieve looked at him with tearful eyes, not believing a word he said. She ran into his arms and broke down.

"No! You are my father! I don't know anything else. I don't care.", She sobbed. "You're the father I know."

Darius ran his hand through her hair. She was too young to have seen this. She had grown up too soon. He wished he could take it all away and make her forget everything.

"Genevieve, child." He said, wiping her tears with his thumb. "I love you so much. But this is the truth. And your destiny is to reclaim your kingdom and avenge your parents."

"What if I can't do it? What if I'm too weak?" She looked at him with fear in her eyes. "What if they come back to take me?"

"You will become a strong fighter. I have faith in you. You must have faith in yourself, child. You are young, you have a long way to go. One day, you'll be the best in the world."

She looked at him happily. "Really, father?"

He nodded and smiled when she called him father.

"And as for whether they come to take you again, I have an idea."

He went back into the room and brought her his old, worn out black hood.

"Wear this. Cover your mouth and lower the hood so that it shadows your eyes."

She put it on, though it was a little too big for her. She instantly felt safe. The cloth near the eyes was translucent, she could see through it, but she couldn't be seen from the other side.

"Get some sleep, child. We must go live elsewhere. This cottage is no longer safe for us."

She smiled as he hummed the familiar tune of her homeland to her as she fell asleep.

A/N: Thank you sincerely for reading so far. If you think this chapter was good, please give it a vote. I'm writing this at a time when I only have about 1 or 2 readers per chapter, I hope to read this again when there are more. Bless you, all you beautiful silent readers for giving me the faith to carry on with the story.