Page 2 of The Broken Queen

My finger pulled the trigger.Bang! Bang!The noise was so loud and unwelcome that it was overwhelming to my ears. The gun dropped from my hand to the concrete, and I fell back. My butt landed with a thud on the ground, and my vibrating hands wrapped around my knees as I rocked back and forth. A cough escaped my lips as the smell of powder wafted into my nose, making me choke on the stench.I just took someone’s life. Oh my God... I just took someone’s life.

An ear-piercing scream ricocheted off the walls, and it didn’t take long to realize it was my own fragile voice. My body froze, and my screams halted when there was shuffling around the room. I looked up and Father’s hard eyes were on mine. I assumed the guards were cleaning up the mess, but I couldn’t look away from his gaze.

There was a different vibe surrounding him. Something evil had merged into his body, a possession of some sort. I needed to stop watching so many scary movies. My brain was trying to conjure up some kind of excuse for him because I didn’t want to believe Father would do something so horrible to me, his only daughter.To make me kill someone? Scarring me for the rest of my life?Though I did hear rumors. Rumors of what happened to the people that crossed him. Father was known throughout the Kingdom as a harsh, but fair King. He could be the kindestperson someone could meet, but if there was a threat to the throne, family, or his business, he would become their mortal enemy. A ruthless tyrant.

“Interesting.” His footsteps came toward me like a lion stalking its prey. I shivered as an icy chill swept over my body.

“To be Queen, daughter, you need to keep your emotions in check. You’ll have to make decisions that will cripple you as a person. You’ll decide whether someone gets to live or die, and ninety percent of the time, you’ll be the one that will have to extract information from someone.” He paused, and his gaze stared daggers into my soul. “I didn’t raise you to be weak.”

An invisible slap hit me like a belly flop in a pool. My shoulders shook violently as he said the words. If this was what it meant to be royal, I didn’t want to be Queen.I don’t want this life. I don’t want the crown, and I certainly don’t want to be anywhere near him.I swallowed, stood up on shaky legs, and dusted myself off. My back straightened as my eyes connected with his hardened ones. “I didn’t ask for this.”I was born into it.

A sick, twisted smile appeared on his narrow lips. “Neither did I, child.”

I sucked in a sharp breath.What did he mean by that? Did he not want to be King at one point in his life? Was he forced into this as well? Or did he just not want me as his heir? I guess being his daughter meant nothing. “Can I go now?”

He shook his head. “No. Your training is not completed.”

I raised my hands in the air. Disbelief and betrayal coursed through my veins. “I did what you asked! I killed him in cold blood!”

“No, you didn’t. You let your emotions take over, and you cried for a man who tried to kidnap you!” His body shook in anger, and his face became dangerously red.

My eyes moved toward the empty doorway, and a decision was made.I need to get out of here before something elsehappens.I took off in a sprint but was slammed down to the ground. I winced as my back roared in pain. Father’s brown eyes were almost completely black as he glared down at me.

“Not the brightest idea you’ve had, daughter. You’ll remain here until I send a guard down to come get you. I’ll tell your mother that you’ve gone and stayed at a friend’s house for a few days. This is day one of your training. Make the most of it, or we’ll continue to do this until I say you are ready.”

He turned to leave, his large hand wrapped around the handle. He glanced over his shoulder. “Not a word of this to your mother. If you relay anything to her about what happened here, I’ll kill you myself.”

A gasp escaped my lips as the imaginary knife twisted further into my stomach and the dried tears on my face were covered with new ones. My body flinched when the door slammed shut behind him. I rolled over on my stomach and noticed that the man I had killed was still in here with me. A scream passed through my lips. I pushed myself as far away from the body as I could without getting off the ground. The chair was knocked over, his blue eyes, which had little flecks of life, were now a void of nothingness, and there was a giant hole in the middle of his forehead. There was a semi-large puddle of blood surrounding his head.How could they leave me in here like this? How could Father leave me, period?His once tan skin was becoming discolored, more pale. His lips turned blue, and his eyes were wide.

I placed my hands on the concrete and raised myself to a standing position. The single overhead light flickered, and the metallic smell slowly faded into something else.I needed to get out of here!I wiped my nose and moved to the door, tugging on the knob, hoping with all of my might that it would open.

“Let me out! Please, let me out!” I banged on the door with my fists until my knuckles bled. “Daddy, please! I’ll be good,;Ipromise to do what you say! Please, help...” A hiccup escaped my lips at the agony of being ignored.

After what seemed like hours of my screams being unanswered, I removed myself from the door and went to the farthest side of the room, away from the dead man. I fell to a sitting position, and a million questions invaded my thoughts.

What had happened to the man who would read to me at night? What happened to the man who would laugh and push his daughter on the swings? What happened to the man who held his daughter whenever she had a nightmare?

That man was gone and replaced with a monster. My head fell back against the brick, and a scream passed through my lips. My unsteady hands folded around my legs as my heavy breathing cut through the silence of the room.

I shifted and curled up in a ball as my head connected to the floor with a light thud. I wrapped my hands around my upset stomach and watched as the single lightbulb faded into darkness.

I closed my eyes and wished I had my teddy bear, Shadow, with me. I went to sleep with the sounds of my breathing as the only thing to comfort me.

Day Two of Training

The pungent smell of the man was getting stronger, but I refused to move. A guard named John came and went with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I never touched any of it.How could I when all I wanted to do was vomit?

I wondered what Father’s excuse was to Mother.“Don’t worry, darling. She’s staying with her friend. She asked me about it the other day, and I said it was okay.”I could only imagine the type of nonsense that was coming out of his mouth. Thelieshe was feeding her.But why, why would she believe him? She should know I wouldn’t leave for long without seeing her first. Is she at least questioning him and his lies?

I wanted out of here. I wanted to be back in Mother’s arms, safe and sound from the bitter cold of the outside world. Thinking back now, I was so naive to the world around me.

My lips trembled, but no tears fell. Several thoughts invaded my mind. I wondered if Mother knew what Father did behind closed doors.Was she immune to it? Did she not know of the crimes he committed?Maybe Father only wanted what was best for me. After all, I was his little girl.Wasn’t I?

No, that couldn’t be it.He wanted me to be his weapon.A secret weapon his enemies would never see coming.Why else would he train me in the harshest way imaginable? Why else would a man do that to his own daughter?

There was a time when I had looked up to him; when I respected him for running the kingdom and still being a family man. As my eyes closed, my faith in him dwindled.

Day Three of Training

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