A Tale of Two Daggers

Chapter 2: Anarchy

The earth was trembling beneath their horse's feet. One could feel a shiver down his spine upon their sight. They were more ruthless than beasts of the night, more brutal than any wild creature that lives in caves or woods.

Although the king's men were mere human beings. Yet, their acts weren't even close to the cruelty of the animal behaviour. With hearts full of blackness and manifested with the madness of pursuing unlimited power. There were tools to do their king's dirty work, imposing maximum order in that tyrannical system.

They were the voice of the king through all of his kingdom's reigns. They were his hand over his domain. None dared to defy their subjection over the public. Their pockets were always filled with money that came from high taxes that the king imposed on his common poor people, killing them every day with poverty.

The king was called Wain, a powerful yet unforgiving king, some said he conspired against his blood-bond brother and hired an assassin to kill him during one of his walks in his garden. They also say that he had prepared an accident where his brother's two young twins' sons would be killed as well, just to ensure that the kingdom remained ruled by his bloodline only.

But no one had minimal courage level to publicly accuse him, there was no evidence and no one from the royal family to replace him. And Absolutely no one would trust a woman to sit on that throne.

Speaking of the women, Wain's power didn't stop at claiming the throne, he also had his eyes on his brother's wife for as long as he remembered. He used her grief and weakness against her, he talked to her about how he was the best option and the wisest choice to keep the royal blood clean and formidable and to prevent anyone from even thinking about harming the queen...

A cunning scheme yet It worked. And a marriage was made.

 But that was just the beginning...

Thirsty for more control, He trained a mighty army to conquer the surrounding countries, either that or they would buy peace for a stream of annual tribute. Establishing the large feared empire through the region...

The Martizian Empire.

With each neighbour falling to the horde of his army, he grows stronger with boundless hunger for More money, more influence...

...and more women.

That's right. Alongside his marriage. He had a proclivity for having more women around him. The king was a philanderer, he didn't even respect his wife. She wouldn't be surprised if she witnessed strange women sleeping with the king sometimes. Using her own bed.

However, as a result of his actions. Every time he tried to come close to her, She felt disgusted and She constantly pushed him back. She was too weak to give children. She just wanted a brother beside her.

A husband. Not necessarily must be fed lust for his erotic hunger every hour. But a protector that actually cared. A concept that a desired lover like Wain had never comprehend.

She knew he wasn't to be fully trusted but his corrupted shady wings were better than nothing.

And for that, that tradition came into effect.

Where every few years the king would send some scouts to any random area to search for new beautiful "servants" for his palace. Those girls were abducted at a young age against their parent's broken will. Whether she was from rich or poor origins, they weren't making exceptions for anyone. If she was beautiful then she belonged to the king.

For a pretty girl, this fate is worse than death; Because it was rumoured that the female who enters this palace never leaves it. In another word, the parents often lose their daughters forever.