Cinderella Fallen: Twisted Loyalties

Aiera's POV

"Stop in the name of the Razar!"

I raise both hands up to show I am not a threat, but the blades of their spears dig further into my back.

"What business do you have at the Eastern border?" One of the soldiers asks suspicion coloring his tone.

"Isn't it obvious? She must be a spy sent from the enemy nation. By the looks of her attire, most likely from Astral Kingdom."

I guess their hostility is to be expected. An unnamed intruder practically waltzed into their most secure border reserved for dignitaries and royalty. Considering the circumstances, it's a miracle they're even interrogating me.

It's not like I wanted to. It was just the best way to get attention and if we are being technical, I am kind of royalty, or at least I should have been.

"I come in peace. I am not a spy." One of them snorts.

"You really expect is to take you at your word?" The solider who spoke earlier responds. He seems to be the leader among them.

"I intend no harm, I just want an audience with the Razar." I say calmly, trying my best not to appear as a threat.

"I've heard enough." He snaps.

"Finish her off. You might as well make a meal out of it too. No use wasting good food." His fangs drop down as he leers at me.

Crap, it's just my luck that I get stuck with idiots who would rather these I've totally forgotten I was walking straight into

I bring out the dagger out of the sheath on my hip. Crap. How could I not have stocked down on more weapons? Well, if I'm going down, I'm going to go down fighting.

"Give it your best shot bloodsuckers." I grin viciously up at them, my body poised for an attack.

"Stop!"

******************

The baritone voice calls out sharply. The guards halt their approach instantly. He must be a commander of great authority. I heard vampires don't usually stop when they are fixated on prey.

"Where did you get that dagger?" He questions from the shadows.

"Why do you want to know?" I lift my chin up stubbornly. I know this is the perfect opportunity to plead me case, but for some reason this stranger rubs me the wrong way even if he saved me.

He is silent for a moment. Afterwards, he steps out of the shadows and walks straight up to me.

"Fall back." He orders the soldiers. They stand at attention and obey him promptly. Just who is he? He certainly isn't dressed as a guard or a solider.

He takes off the hood of his cloak and I gasp at how handsome he is.

I am almost distracted by the way the light of the torches cause shadows to play along the planes of his face and almost miss what he bends low and whispers in my ear.

"I'm trying to help you. Don't do anything foolish." I flinch. How did he know I was going to do something. Why has this man suddenly taken an interest in me.

I nod subtly. It doesn't matter, if I play my cards right, I might not only survive this but also achieve my goals. 

"Take her to the palace. The Razar will judge her." He orders.

"The Razar, Sir?" The guard who seems to be the leader sputters.

"Surely, you wouldn't trouble the Great One with something so minor as a mere intrude-" His words are cut off by the sudden drop in temperature.

He strange man fixes the guard with a glare that would have cut him to pieces if it could but his tone is light and pleasant like he is discussing the weather

"Are you questioning my judgement?" He asks.

The guard stands at attention, his voice shaky. "Of course not. We'll do that this instant." He is trembling on the spot and again I wonder who exactly this stranger is.

"See that you do." He says and vanishes in an instant. What exactly just happened?

The soliders bind me and place me in a wagon. I don't know what happened after then because I was blindfolded but I did hear the rumble of gates which clued me in that we had reached the castle.

Upon my arrival, the guards handed me over to a stewardess who was instructed to make me 'presentable to the Razar'.

Much to the stewardess' displeasure, I refused to change into any of the revealing clothing given to me. I refused to enter the court looking like that.

The only thing I do is comb my hair and exchange my worn out shoes for the lowest pair of heels I could find.

Even that choice causes her to purse her lips in displeasure.

"Very well, follow me." She says curtly and leads me down the impressive hallway to a set of large, white painted double doors with gleaming handles. This must be the entrance to the Razar's court, judging my the number of guards stationed in front of it.

"The Razar will see you now." A man dressed as a scribe tells me. They must have been informed of my arrival in advance.

I take in a deep breath to steady my racing nerves.

"Enter!" The chamberlain announces as the door is pulled opened from the inside.

I step into the expansive hall, keeping my spine straight and my head held high. The clacking of my shoes against the marble floors echo in the large room.

Women and men dressed in various finery are on opposite sides of the massive throne room. I can feel their gaze boring into me as they watch my every move.

Opposite the room, the Razar sits on a large throne placed on a raised platform.

His inky black hair cascades down his face, hiding his rumored jewel like eyes. There is a cruel smirk on his face that causes my heart to skip a bit.

"Kneel in front of the Great one." The chamberlain that announced me orders.

Great one? what arrogance. I did hear that he changed his title the instant he ascended the throne.

"Your majesty," I say as I present him a low bow. I know it's a long shot but my instincts tell me being submissive will not do my cause any good.

There is a collective collective gasp from the court.

In an instant, he is in front of me with bared fangs.

"What did you just call me?" Shit. I've gotten myself into trouble again.