Page 8 of Downfall of a Princess

“Someone had to.” She tossed back her long ponytail of thick, chestnut hair.

Five years older than me, Gem had been my unofficial guide in the palace, helping me learn and adapt to my new life. She seemed to always be in the know about everything and everyone at the queen’s court, which made her the perfect woman for the job of lady chamberlain, the position she’d held for over three years now. As the niece of Queen Anna, who’d become my adoptive mother, Gem was also my cousin.

“If I didn’t physically drag you out every now and then, your butt would’ve long merged with the chair in your study by now,” Gem quipped.

That was true. I spent a lot of time indoors. But mostly because I constantly felt the need to catch up. I didn’t grow up in Rorrim, yet as the queen’s daughter and the crown princess, I was expected to govern the country one day. There was a lot to learn, and the more I read, studied, and observed, the more things I found I needed to know.

Queen Anna, my silver-eyed savior from the mirror, proved to be kind, intelligent, and just—everything my birth mother never was.

That night when I’d barged into the queen’s life, sobbing, terrified, and confused, she sat with me on the floor in front of the ancient mirror in the palace’s grand throne room. She held me, stroking my hair and whispering words of comfort no one had ever said to me before.

She’d assured me that I was worthy of love, that I deserved a good, peaceful life, and that she was going to give it to me.

“You are of my bloodline,” the queen had told me. “You must be. The blood of my ancestors is flowing in you, child. That’s why I was able to see you through the mirror. A miracle brought you here. And now, nothing and no one will ever hurt you again.”

The queen was married. For years, she’d tried to have a child of her own and failed. She said my anguish must’ve opened the portal for me to escape my world, Fate had led me to her. But I also believed it’d been her compassion that guided me into her arms that night and for that, I was forever grateful.

In Rorrim Queendom, I became Aniri, the Crown Princess, or Ari for those close to me. Ira, the frightened, helpless, struggling to survive girl of my past, was long gone. I buried her along with the memories of that world that I loathed to revisit.

A farmer’s wagon rattled down the road toward us. I steered Revlis to the right to let the wagon pass. The farmer sat in the front, holding the horse’s reins in her hands. She waved at me with a smile.

“Afternoon, Your Highness.”

The farmer’s husband rode with the kids in the back, among the baskets of green onions they must be delivering to one of the grocers in the city. The man tipped his head to me in greeting.

“I’m surprised people still remember who you are,” Gem teased. “They probably just recognize the crown, not your face. When was the last time you showed your face in public?”

My crown, the circlet of golden stars, was so delicate, I hardly felt it upon my hair. However, it shone brightly enough in the sunshine to be spotted from a distance. Gem might be right; it was the crown that gave away my position. But I also wasn’t as much of a hermit as she was making it out to be.

“Oh, come on.” I waved her off. “I do get out. I went to the Games last week, didn’t I?”

“The Games are a given.” Gem lowered her eyelids, shading her blue eyes with her long, dark eyelashes. A smile spread on her lips, slow like melted butter. “Ever since the Games Master acquired Falo, the new gladiator from the South, a woman must be dead to miss the Games.”

I’d seen Falo in the arena. Like most people from the cold southern parts of the country, he had blond hair and blue eyes. His long locks and the golden armor he wore in the arena made him look like Yarnus, the son of the Rorrim’s Great Goddess Nus.

I arched an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’ve slept with him already.”

Gladiators belonged to the crown. However, I’d never heard of Queen Anna visiting the men’s quarters for private time with any of them. Her court ladies, on the other hand, likedfrequenting the fighters’ rooms after the Games. The married women tended to be more discrete, but Gem was single, not even engaged yet, and therefore had the freedom to do as she pleased.

“Not yet,” she said with a disappointed groan. “You know the rules, no sex for the gladiators during the first month upon their arrival to Egami.”

That particular rule was in place to protect the women of Egami and to give every new gladiator time to adjust to his new life in the arena. Only after the Games Master had fully assessed the new fighter’s character and deemed him safe to be left alone with a woman was he allowed to have a private audience with a lady.

“I’ve put a request to the Games Master for next month. But she says the line to see the new boy is pretty long. Can you believe it? He’s that popular already.”

The “boy” was in his twenties, but gladiators were often referred to as boys, regardless of their age. It didn’t surprise me that the new man was so popular with women. His act in the arena was amazing. He’d scored a few impressive victories already, and victors tended to enjoy more attention from both the crowd and the court ladies.

“He did pretty good during the last Games,” I admitted.

“He was magnificent!” Gem swooned. “He’s so beautiful. I can’t wait to have that gorgeous face between my legs.” She tilted her head with a sly glance my way. “You should come with me to the gladiators’ quarters next time. As the crown princess, you may even gain a favor with the Games Master, and she’d move you up in line for a private visit with Falo.”

I’d been to the gladiators’ quarters just once. When I turned twenty-one, Gem took me there on a visit that was supposed to be an unofficial rite of passage of sorts. By that age, I was considered an adult in every aspect. I was allowed to drink and gamble. I got a seat on the Royal Council. Since then, I wasalso not only allowed, but encouraged to have sex, which Gem probably hoped for me to do when she took me on a tour of the gladiators’ private living area five years ago.

Each man had his own room upstairs, but the main area downstairs served as a large living space with dining and gambling tables. Here, they held parties after the weekly Games. I remembered the gladiators’ quarters as a cheerful place, filled with music and laughter. Expensive wine flowed freely, with the finest food being served. The noble court women sat on the couches with the gladiators of their choice at their feet. Some couples danced, others gambled.

I’d had a glass of wine with Gem before she got distracted by a young gladiator with both his shirt and chest armor gone.

Another young man came over and sat on the floor at my feet. He smiled at me and hugged my leg through my skirts. He seemed friendly and acted respectfully, waiting for a sign from me that would allow him to go any further. His hand had never strayed higher than my knee, but the contact alone proved sobering.

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