The Union

"No!" Sylvie grabbed the hem of his clothes. She grabbed it like she was hanging for dear life. "Don"t leave me" she pleaded

Her father bent his body and caressed her face. He then embraced her "I don"t have a choice darling"

Sylvie"s tears rolled down her cheeks. She buried her face into her father"s neck.

"I"ll come with you then. Whenever you go, I"ll follow. Just don"t leave me behind. I promise I won"t complain even if our lives become h.e.l.lish. I"m contented just being with you"

She put strength into her embrace. She will not let go.

"Don"t be like that Sylvie. You and your mother will still retain your t.i.tles as n.o.bles without me. You can still live your lives in luxury. As for myself, I don"t have a choice but to leave. The King had already put down his judgement"

Sylvie felt her anger surge. "But you are innocent!" she shouted "You didn"t embezzle national funds. I know you are an honest man. The merchant was lying"

She looked at her father. Her father, on the other hand, refused to look at her in the eyes.

"It doesn"t matter"his expression was that of a pained and weary man "If the King says so, then I"m guilty."

Sylvie clenched her fists. The King. It was his fault. This was all because he made a wrong judgement. She will never forgive the King.

"To h.e.l.l with him! He"s an old fool!" Sylvie screamed.

Her father instinctively cupped his hand on Sylvie"s mouth. "Are you insane!?" he asked angrily "Somebody will hear you"

"I don"t care. It"s the truth anyway."

Her father frowned but then he sighed. He then held Sylvie"s hands.

"Sylvie" he looked at her tiredly. "In this world, truth doesn"t matter. Only power matters, understand?"

She nodded.

"Power makes a person just. Power makes him right. Power is everything. Without power, a person is nothing. So you must stay here and gain power. Remember this day and make them pay darling. Never forgive, because forgiveness is not power. It"s weakness. Grow and be wise. Become powerful and make me proud." Although her father"s voice was calm, Sylvie noticed that he was just hiding his anger.

His words reverberated through her mind. Power is everything. The King had power so he took everything from Sylvie. She then thought of something.

"Is trust power too?" she asked

"It is. Trust is a shackle Sylvie. It is also a shield and a sword. You can use it to protect yourself and to kill"

"Then" she paused and wiped the last of her tears. "I"ll stay father. I"ll stay here in Holm. And then I will gain their trust. I will crush them all and make them pay for what they have done" she diecided. This wasn"t the time to wallow in tears. Her revenge will come soon.

She then hugged her father one last time.

"I promise this to you father. I will make you proud."

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Present day

Sylvie stood in the kitchen and thought of her promise to her father. It had been four years since she made the promise.

For many years, she played the role of a perfect n.o.ble. She was respectful, kind, and conservative. She was so successful in playing the role that the people eventually forgot that she was the daughter of an exiled n.o.ble. The King even made her the handmaiden of Princess Lucia. Little did they know, she was only looking for an opportunity to stab them in the back.

Sylvie found that opportunity a month ago when she met Amir. Amir gave guidance. He gave Sylvie a purpose.

When he asked Sylvie to spy against Lucia, she immediately agreed. She shared everything she knew about Lucia. But the Princess was not a trusting person. She kept secrets even from Sylvie.

Now it doesn"t matter. She was not spying today, she will kill Lucia.Her death wouldn"t just hurt King Edmund, it would also help destroy Vanadis. They will finally feel despair, they will finally feel how painful it is to lose.

She took the vial of poison from her pocket and fiddled with it. Strange, she thought, with a few drops of poison she could destroy a nation. Amir had explained everything to her including their plan to invade Vanadis next year. Her success today will decide whether they could go through with the invasion. So she must succeed. For her father, and for revenge.

She popped the cork of the vial and poured the contents into the Lucia"s tea. Droplets of a silver liquid fell into the cup. It was colorless when mixed with water, it was also odorless. Sylvie was amazed by the poison. Amir really knows his stuff.

Sylvie stirred the cup with a spoon. Even if the poison was colorless, odorless and possibly tasteless, she knew how smart and observant Lucia is. Sylvie needs to be careful or else Lucia would know.

After making sure that the tea was good enough, she brought it to Lucia who was eating her dinner. There were two guards behind Lucia so Sylvie felt a little anxious. If they find out, she will be dead. Lucia may not be a violent person, but she wouldn"t tolerate betrayals.

Sylvie could feel her hand shaking as she approached the table. She cursed herself for being nervous. This is the moment she had been waiting for. For many years she had dreamt of this moment. She had dreamt of the time she could finally bring Vanadis down.

But she can"t stop shaking. What if Lucia found out about her betrayal? She doesn"t care even if the Princess executes her. But her hardwork over the years would mean nothing. Her act would be useless. Her father wouldn"t have his revenge. She must succeed.

She reached the table put the cup in front of Lucia. She then eyed the Princess for changes in her expression. Lucia"s expression was the same as always.

Sylvie sighed inwardly. She was glad that Lucia didn"t suspect anything. As smart as she was, Lucia was powerless because she trusted Sylvie. Her father was right, trust is a sword. A person could use trust to stab someone to death.

Sylvie looked at the Princess and examined her face. She wanted to engrave Lucia"s face into her mind. She wanted to remember the face of the person whose death would lead to the destruction of Vanadis. Lucia"s pretty face would soon become contorted because of pain. Her beautiful pale skin would soon become paler.

"What did you put in the cup Sylvie?" Suddenly Lucia asked her.

Her heart skipped a beat. She felt a little dizzy. How did she know? What gave it away? Was her performance not enough? Nevertheless, Sylvie played dumb.

"What do you mean Your Highness?" she nervously said "I didn"t put anything in there"

"You didn"t?" Lucia creased her brows

"Y.yes. I didn"t Your Highness" she stuttered.

"What are you talking about Sylvie? There are clearly tea leaves in here. I was asking what kind of tea you put in the cup." Lucia said as she looked at the cup.

"Ah so that"s what you mean" Sylvie could feel her body shaking. "It"s the Calgarian leaves you recently brought."

"Next time don"t use it. I"m trying to save it for later. Calgarian tea leaves are so rare."

Sylvie wished she could slap her own face right now. She was so nervous. Princess Lucia was just asking what variety of tea she used, and she thought that she had been discovered.

She inhaled deeply to calm her heart and mind. She needs to hold her nerves because she still needs to witness Lucia drink the tea. Only then can she be certain that her mission was a success.

Lucia lifted her cup and blew on the hot liquid. Sylvie couldn"t hold it anymore. The antic.i.p.ation, the anxiousness, it"s making her crazy. She had waited a long time for this.

Lucia then looked at Sylvie whilst lifting the cup towards her lips. Sylvie was surprised by the look on her eyes. It was of sadness and disappointment. It was like the Princess just lost somebody dear to her.

And then Lucia lowered the cup and looked down.

"Why?" there was pain in her voice "Why would you go this far? Why would you kill me?"

Sylvie"s jaw dropped. So she knew all along? How? She did not expect this.

"Your Highness, I don"t understand" Sylvie feigned a confused laugh.

"The tea Sylvie, you put poison in my tea. Poison you got from the Wismarines. I knew Sylvie, I knew all along" Lucia looked at her in the eyes "You betrayed me. You spied for the Wismarines. You even gave them Timothy"s letter as evidence. I overlooked those crimes Sylvie. It doesn"t matter if they knew anyway. But this is going too far. Trying to kill me is too much. I never expected you to go through with it, but you did. Just now, I gave you every opportunity to change your mind that I even put the cup just a few inches from my mouth. I have always known that you were scheming something even when we were in Holm. But I still hoped that if I just treated you nicely, you will change. In the end you didn"t."

Sylvie"s world crumbled. So Lucia didn"t trust her after all. She laughed at herself for being so naive, for thinking she had power. She didn"t. All along, Lucia held the power. She was just a weak n.o.ble who can"t fool Lucia no matter how hard she tried.

"Because of your father" Sylvie said. There was no point in hiding now. "Change? You can"t change me. I will hate you and your father for all of eternity!" she shouted. Sylvie the proper lady was no more. She threw her mask and showed Lucia her true self.

"I have nothing to do with your father"s exile Sylvie. It"s a shame, I treated you as a friend even though I knew that you were plotting something." Lucia then gestured to her guards "Take her" she said with a weak voice.