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Royal Bane
By: akinriahtram.

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I was born during the utmost, crucial time of the Hyuuga Dynasty. It was the time embraced with chaos and despair in the blossoming country of Alicea. My biological mother, Queen Hyuuga Satsuko, an ambitious woman known for her kind and delicate nature, was branded to be executed for the practice of witch craft, and those who lived to serve her, suffered the same inevitable fate.

Ever since I was a young girl, my bed time stories weaved the story of Queen Satsuko's tragic life. My stepmother believed that it was essential for me to know my true heritage, and she placed her faith in me to one day step up and conquer the throne.

According to my step mother, the advisors of the Court were displeased of my mother's generous, yet gratuitous actions in helping the peasants of Alicea. Alicea may be a blossoming country, but that only applied to the Hyuuga Kingdom. Only those who were prosperous, including the merchants and aristocrats, were able to dwell themselves in a life of semi-luxury, while the peasants lived a life of poverty. My mother thought it was unjust and therefore, tried to change the way of things. Those who were living a well-off life and did not want to step down from it gathered together and conspired against her. They persuaded the King to dispose her. The conspiracy was carried out successfully, for it was the time of the Dark Ages; a time when many people died of undetermined diseases due to the Black Plague. The implementation took place on a stormy day, when the angry sky raged in darkness, fighting for my mother's justice. But fate mocked her, and my mother was beheaded.

To ensure their status and seal the doors to any possible threats of revenge, the ministers made sure everyone who was personally connected to her in any way – besides the main royal Hyuuga family – received the death penalty. That year was the year where more than half the population was wiped out. They thought that they had all doors closed. However, there was one flaw. That flaw was me.

My mother, Imai Keiko, the one who raised me as her own biological daughter, was my mother's most faithful lady-in-waiting. When I was born, she escaped the treacherous fate brought down to everyone close to my mother and left the boundaries of the Hyuuga Kingdom. Fulfilling the promise to keep me alive, she took me with her. History never recorded, nor knew of Hyuuga Hotaru. They never knew that Queen Satsuko gave birth to a daughter, the Princess of Alicea. But that didn't matter. The day I was born, I was already stripped off from my glorified royal status. And even if people knew of my birth, it wouldn't make a difference. The name, Hyuuga Hotaru wouldn't mean anything, except for "She was the daughter of the witch who caused the death of our people."

It never bothered me that I was the former daughter of such a powerful family. Even if my stepmother often chided me for my corrupted nature and compulsive affection towards wealth, I had no reason, nor any motivation to claim back what rightfully belonged to me (besides the money part, but I was satisfied living the life as the unfamiliar and unheard daughter of the lucrative merchant, Imai Kouji).

Our family consisted of four members: Keiko, Kouji, me, and my sister, Hinata. Although Hinata was two years my junior, she looked much more feminine than I did. She was the pride and the joy of my father. We weren't related by blood, but she could easily pass as me with her ebony long hair and violet eyes, that are just a shade lighter than mine. My talents were often overlooked because Hinata seemingly always dominated the spotlight. Although my Father treated me as his own daughter, it was evident that he favoured Hinata more; but I preferred to hide in the shadows and be the nonexistent daughter.

Although Father was only a merchant, he was well-known for his merchandises, which he collected from exotic countries, trade with others, and given to him as gifts and presents. Most of his products came from a local blacksmith, Kaname Sonoo, who isolated himself in the Northern Woods. According to Keiko, his father was a close friend to my mother. I often visited the place when Father, Mother, and Hinata attend masquerades hosted by many of Father's acquaintances. My appearance wasn't necessary, and no matter how much my mother disapproved, I had the luxury of staying home.

Mother's presence was a necessity in our house. She was the sun in which our lives revolved around. She was the one that sheltered us and contributed to the laughter in the Imai house. However, the year I turned fifteen, Mother grew very ill to the point where she was bedridden. Our house immediately lost its glow of happiness, as a sickening atmosphere conquered its place. Days passed and nameless figures visited and departed our house.

With all the money Father made from his trade, it all went to finding a medicine for Mother's illness. Doctors visited our house almost every day of that year, and that gave our family hope. In spite of the doctors' prediction that Mother wouldn't live past three months, she fought and lived over five months. Because of such miracle, I always believed that Mother would be able to recover. The thought that Mother's life could slip past my fingers in an instant occurred once, but I never thought much of it, so when Mother vanished from my life forever, I was lost and uncertain about my future.

The thought of reclaiming back my throne struck me, but because I was governed by reasons and logic, I saw no reason to do it. Reclaiming the throne required a lot of effort; there was a considerable amount of plotting and conspiring. If I wanted a coup d'état, then I would need an army and I had no social circle to be able to gather people, and if I were to present myself in front of the royal family as the Princess of Alicea, daughter of the beheaded Queen Satsuko, surely they would throw me into the dungeon.

My resolution was to live a simple of life or marry a rich man just for the sake of my necessities. Love was meaningless in the concept of societal views. Women try to marry with high society class to survive in the judgmental world and not fall into poverty.

Attending masquerades and accompanying Hinata on many trips, Hinata had already secured her position as a potential wife of many aristocrats. The Imais were apparently close friends with the Nogis, who, if I'm not mistaken, are very close to the Royal Hyuugas'.

Father often talked about marrying her off to the Duke's son, but the dream was shattered when his business went bankrupted due to another plague. No one would buy his merchandises, and because all the money that he made went to Mother's bleak treatments, he could not make enough money to sustain us. Father was such a prideful man and could not accept failure. In result, he committed suicide, leaving Hinata and me to fend for ourselves.

For many years, Hinata and I lived just outside the walls of Alicea as peasants. Although our lives were fairly simple, it made me understood why people did not want to fall down and lose their glorified status. As for Hinata, she resented living as a peasant. Due to being pampered by my father, she couldn't adapt to the jobs that were assigned to us, or the stark conditions of the weather. One day, when a close friend of Father came to find her to take her into their family, she severed all ties with me and left with him.

That was when I realized that even through family blood, when someone is desperate for wealth, title, or status, they would be willing to do anything in order to get it. Alicea wasn't some peaceful country. No. Behind its prosperous and brilliant façade of a perfect kingdom, there were conspiracies everywhere. To live in Alicea, one had to be manipulative and cunning, and the family that suffered the most was the family at the top – the Hyuuga Kingdom. Remaining at the top of the social pyramid, there were enemies who bore their fangs as they wait for a good time to attack. That was then when I realized that I was fortunate to still remain in this world as a normal, trivial person; unworthy of anybody's attention.

However, this reflection came too soon, because the moment that this epiphany came to me, the wheels of fate had begun to weave the path that I was to take. I had no idea that one day, I would be holding the crown in my hands as the Princess of Alicea; I had no idea that I would marry the man whom my sister loved; I had no idea that the million lives of Alicea would fall in my hands. Above all, I had no idea that the nation of Alicea would one day bow to their feet… just for me.

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To be continued.

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A/N: Rather than a typical Mikan/Natsume royal love story, I wanted a change. Regrettably, this author isn't mature or skilled enough to write a politic story, so there won't be much politics involved. However, since characters are older than the manga, they will be more mature. Please note that EVERYTHING here is fictional.

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