Child of Beauty (Prophecy Series)

by T. N. Hayden

  “Mother would not dare touch you, but she is fine using me as a punching bag.” Jerrika snapped. “I know you love being the daughter of Ederra and Viktor Little. Mother loves you so much; you are so precious to her.”

  “You think I like that your parents adopted me?” Rayna gasped. “I hate it.”

  “Yeah right.” Jerrika rolled her black eyes.

  “My birth parents sold me.” Rayna spat. “They never loved me.”

  Jerrika paused, looked at her sister, and bit her split lip. “Your parents sold you?”

  “Yes.” Rayna sighed. “They sold me to a slave-trader, not knowing what she would do with me after I was gone. They did not sell me to give me a better life, but, rather, to give them a better one.”

  “That is…” Jerrika paused. “I never knew.”

  “I do not like to talk about it.” The truth always left an acidic pit in her stomach.

  “I am sorry.” Jerrika took a deep breath. “For that, and for telling Viveca that you are the adopted daughter.”

  Rayna looked into Jerrika’s eyes. “I forgave you for that a long time ago. You did me a favor. But I am the one who really needs to apologize. I am so sorry.” Rayna had never thought she’d say these words aloud to Jerrika, but they needed to be said. “I never should have let Mae prank you. I never helped her, but I never tried to stop her. She is so cruel to you, and I allowed that to happen. I cannot tell you how sorry I am for that. I have been an awful person, and I do not deserve you to forgive me.”

  “I need you to understand why I have been so awful.” Rayna paused and told Jerrika about Ederra’s threat the day she’d been adopted. “Ederra has always made it clear that why she adopted me. I was bought to win the heart of the prince, not to be your companion. Ederra is the one who told me to be friends with Viveca and the Hamilton sisters.” Rayna continued. “After the princess and I stopped being friends, Ederra was livid. She could not believe that I had ruined my friendship with the princess. But when she heard that I was still friends with Mae, she was less angry. It was Mae’s friendship which made Ederra decide to keep me. She almost returned me to the adoption agency. I did not want to be returned, so I had to keep being friends with Mae, even though I cannot stand her.”

  “That is why I always thought you were closer to Mae than Wilma.”

  “Wilma is so kind, even to the servants.” Rayna paused. “She is the only reason I could even stand to be friends with Mae for this long. If Mae was my only friend, I would be miserable.”

  “Wow.” Jerrika shook her head. “Thank you.” A slow smile came across her lips, and Jerrika winced as one of the cracks started bleeding again. “I…” She paused and took a deep breath. “I forgive you.”

  “Thank you.” Rayna paused. A strange feeling crept through her insides. It was as if something which had been caged for years was finally being set free. “I know you hate me. You have hated me since before I was such a jerk.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Because of how Mother treats us.” Rayna didn’t need to explain that further. The evidence was written on Jerrika’s face.

  “Oh, that. Mother despised me long before you were adopted.”

  Rayna looked at her sister. Jerrika had never blamed her? It seemed impossible. She took a deep breath, ready to let go of another truth. “I hate being beautiful.”

  “Why?” Jerrika frowned.

  “Everything I am, everything people see in me is my outer appearance.” Rayna stood. “No one likes me. They only like that I am beautiful. They have no desire to find out what I like, who I am. I am a prize, not a person. The prince always tells me how beautiful I am, and I always want to know what else he desires about me. But as far as I can tell, there is nothing. Mae stayed my friend only because she thinks I am going to be queen and a powerful ally. She has never been a true and honest friend to me. You do not know how lucky you are.”

  “Lucky?” Jerrika gasped. “I have been abused and pushed aside because of how I look. You are the one child who is meant to be someone. Mother has made that adamantly clear.”

  “You have true friends.” Rayna cried. “Kurtis cares about you. He sees you as a person. Garrik and Sage always choose your genuine disposition over my beautiful one. Your parents do not have an agenda for your life. The only friend I have who cares about me is Wilma.”

  “Kurtis is in love with you.”

  Rayna looked at her. “He talks about me?”

  “Quite a bit. I know you have stolen kisses and given each other presents.”

  “He gave me these for my fourteenth birthday.”

  “You gave him the necklace he always wears, right?”

  Rayna nodded.

  “He always wonders what the ‘F’ is for.” Jerrika chuckled. “We have made a game out of guessing before. We came up with everything from ‘forever’ to ‘faithful’ to ‘favorite’ to ‘Fergus’.”

  “Why would I give him a charm which stands for Fergus?” Rayna laughed.

  “I do not know.” Jerrika leaned toward her sister. “Why did you?”

  “It does not stand for Fergus.”

  Jerrika stared at her sister, long and hard. She seemed to be thinking what she was going to say next very carefully as she waited for an answer Rayna wasn’t to give. Finally Jerrika stated. “You are my friend now.”

  “My sister.” Rayna paused. “Why did Mother thrash you?”

  Jerrika touched her broken arm. “I am in love with a commoner, and she found out. This is my punishment.”

  “You are in love?” Rayna whispered. “How did she find out?”

  “Kurtis mentioned it briefly last night.” Jerrika shook her head. “Apparently a servant overheard and told Mother.”

  “That is awful.”

  Jerrika nodded.

  Rayna timidly pulled her sister into an awkward hug, all elbows and thrusted shoulders. “I am sorry. You deserve someone who cares about you, someone who will love you. We all do.”

  Jerrika chuckled. “I never thought you would say that.”

  “What did you think I would say?”

  “Something about how I could only attract a commoner.”

  Rayna smirked. “I might have, yesterday. But today, I just want to be friends.”

  ~ Chapter 15 ~

  Barrett watched as the rebels worked on their maneuvers together, following the instruction of the young woman dressed as a common boy. Wilma Reece, the Soldata trainee, truly did know how to fight well. Of course, she had been trained since birth.

  After several moments, the group dispersed.

  Wilma walked up to him. “Do you not want to join us?”

  “I’ve been doing those moves since I was ten.”

  “Do you think you are better than the others?”

  “Do you?”

  Wilma looked at him and raised a brow. ”Your sister did not tell you about me?”

  “Oh, I’ve heard.” Barrett replied, touching his hilt. “Saved my sister from a group of four soldiers the first time she met you. You have since trained almost three hundred young men and women, fought off dozens of attacks, and still manage to keep your secret from the trainers and teachers at Krijar, including the duke.”

  “So why do you not trust me?”

  “Never trust a noble.” Barrett stood. “My father’s words.”

  “He trusts my brother Ulric now.”

  “Just as my sister trusts you.”

  “What can I do to gain your trust?”

  “Care for a duel?” He walked past her. “Perhaps you can show me some of your fancy Soldata moves.”

  “If you want to learn my moves, perhaps you should train with the group.”

  “Perhaps.” He pointed his sword at her.

  “Aileen said you make your own weapons.”

  “And others.” Barrett stated.

  Wilma pulled her sword free and faced him, crossing tips with him. “Your call.”

  “Begin.” Barrett lunged at her.
<
br />   Wilma stepped back and turned, bringing her sword up in a form unfamiliar to him. Barrett was used to instinct-driven fighting. But Wilma fought with finesse and skill. She blocked him and turned again. He tried a short jab and twist, but she blocked his blow.

  He frowned as he realized she wasn’t attacking. She was only defending.

  “Alright.” Barrett lowered his blade. “I’m just messing with you.”

  “What?” She chuckled.

  “Soldiers!” Someone cried.

  Wilma and Barrett turned as a dozen soldiers rode into their small bank.

  “Back.” Wilma pushed Barrett out of the way of an arrow.

  The group of rebels attacked the soldiers with the skills their Soldata trainee had taught them. Within moments, the soldiers were defeated, dead and dying.

  Barrett was impressed as he looked around at the group: farmers, weavers, and servants. This group couldn’t have been fighting for long, but they were already skilled enough to take down a small squad of soldiers.

  Abruptly, a dart flew through the air, sinking into the neck of one of the rebels.

  Even though Barrett had never seen one, he knew what the silver dart was. He spun to see a Soldat at the base of the camp. Three more darts found their prey, and more rebels fell.

  Wilma grabbed Barrett and pulled him, a dart stabbing her arm. She hissed and continued to pull him behind a tree.

  “You’re hit.” Barrett whispered.

  “It will not kill me.” She pulled the dart out. “I have noble blood. You must get the rebels out. I will deal with Hadrien.”

  “Hadrien Little?”

  She nodded.

  “Wait.” He grabbed her arm. “What are you going to do?”

  “I am a rebel. I am going to stop him from killing everyone here.”

  “He’ll know who you are.”

  “It does not matter.” Wilma pushed Barrett further. “Get the rebels out of here while I deal with him.”

  She rushed off to face the Soldat, Jerrika’s brother. Barrett grabbed some of the rebels’ arms and pushed them toward the open forest. “We need to get out of here.”

  “Wil’s fighting the Soldat.”

  Barrett nodded. “Let her deal with him.”

  As the rebels realized they were safe to flee, Barrett ran into the trees. He turned to see Hadrien and Wilma fighting, her sword against his Wopler. His weapon curled around her blade.

  He hoped she would be alright.

  “What happened out there?” Aileen slammed the door as she banged into their upstairs room.

  “What?”

  “Wil told me you were attacked by a Soldat, apparently Hadrien Little.”

  “Why are you asking me if you already know?”

  Aileen sighed. “This is why I didn’t want you to join the rebels here.”

  “Then why did you let me?”

  “Because I was feeling sorry for you.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Wilma took a dart for you.” Aileen smashed the dart on their table. “You should be dead right now.”

  Barrett looked at her. “Don’t ask me to stop fighting.”

  “I’m not asking.” She walked passed him. “You’re not allowed to continue.”

  He grabbed her arm. “Don’t say that. Don’t make me stop.”

  “Give me one reason.”

  “Faryn.”

  “How dare you use her as your reason?” Aileen groaned.

  “She is why I need to fight. My twin was stolen from our bed. Half of me was stolen that night.”

  “She was stolen from all of us.”

  “But we’re twins.” Barrett stated. “We’re closer than siblings. We’re closer than friends. Faryn and I are souls.”

  “Don’t.” Aileen looked at him. She sighed. “Okay. I won’t stop you from fighting again, but don’t make me tell Mum and Dad that you’re dead.”

  ~ Chapter 16 ~

  Mooch 539

  Jerrika set her bags down on her bed in their room at Krijar Castle. She glanced over to her sister who was suddenly very occupied with unpacking her belongings. Jerrika looked away; this friendship thing was going to be much harder than she anticipated. She took a deep breath and tried to figure out what to say to her sister. Are you excited about classes? Do you want to eat breakfast together?

  That sounded good. Jerrika opened her mouth.

  Rayna suddenly flipped around. “Do you want to eat our meals together now?”

  Jerrika stared at her sister, mouth still open to ask almost the same question.

  Rayna’s face turned a slight frown. “Never mind.”

  “No.” Jerrika giggled. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

  “Really?” Rayna gasped.

  Jerrika nodded.

  Rayna smiled, the first true smile she’d given her sister since they were kids. “I am so glad we are going to be friends.”

  “Me too.”

  Rayna paused for a moment, seeming to really think about her words. Jerrika placed a set of training tunics on her bed and turned her full attention to her sister.

  “I had a sister, a birth sister.” Rayna started. “She was older than me, and she was so kind.” Rayna smirked. “Now that I am grown, I know I annoyed her all the time, but I also know she loved me. After I was sold, I hoped you would be like her. But our mother drove us apart, never giving us a true chance to be friends. I am glad we are standing against her. This is how we can truly be friends now. Sisters, as I would have had with my birth sister.”

  Jerrika chuckled. “I wonder how people are going to react when they realize we are friends now.”

  Rayna grinned. “I cannot wait to see.”

  A knock on their door turned their attention.

  “It is probably Mae.” Jerrika stated, knowing she was always the first to rejoin Rayna.

  Rayna nodded and went to their door, opening it to greet the young woman she never felt was a genuine friend. That knowledge still shocked Jerrika.

  “How was Monnaie Eve?” Mae walked into their room and went to Rayna’s side. “I heard a rumor that the prince visited your home.”

  “He did.” Rayna nodded. “Prince Navion and Kurtis came as Garrik’s guests.”

  “Uh, Kurtis.” Mae rolled her eyes. “That stupid Adlig.”

  “Do not talk about him like that.” Rayna snapped. “You do not know him.”

  Mae’s mouth hung open as she stared at her friend. “What?”

  “Kurtis.” Rayna paused. “I think I love him.”

  Mae jumped from where she sat. “No. You love the prince.”

  “I have never loved Prince Navion.” Rayna smiled as she looked across the room. “Things changed while I was at home Mae.”

  “More than loving an Adlig?”

  “Jerrika and I will be eating together and spending time developing our new friendship.”

  Jerrika glanced at Mae, biting back a grin. Mae’s face was blank, as if she couldn’t process what Rayna had just told her. Finally, Mae laughed, her whole body shaking.

  “This is not a joke.” Rayna’s voice was stern.

  Her tone calmed Mae down, and the girl looked between the sisters. “What happened?”

  “I have been living in fear for far too long.” Rayna paused, looked at her sister’s face. “Jerrika and I talked and got everything straightened out. We forgave each other and are now becoming the friends we have both wanted to be for years.”

  “This is mad.” Mae stood. “I never would have thought the princess was right about you, but she is.” She glared at Rayna. “Our friendship is over, and I hope you know you are adding to your enemy list once again Adlig.”

  “Are you almost done?” Jerrika watched her sister the next morning. “We are going to be late.”

  Rayna quickened her pace as she braided her golden-blonde hair; her crystal blue eyes kept glancing at her sister. “I hate getting up so early.”

  Jerrika smiled. “We did get to sleep in while
on holiday.”

  Rayna stood and adjusted her training tunic. “I am ready.”

  Jerrika slung her free arm through her sister’s. “Come on. I cannot wait to see everyone’s reaction.”

  Rayna nodded. “I wonder if Mae told the whole castle about us.”

  “Let us find out.”

  They left their room, rushed down the long hallway, moved down the stairs two at a time, and entered the dining hall.

  The normal racket abruptly went silent as the sisters entered, arms linked.

  All eyes bore into them, and no one approached. Jerrika felt her face grow hot, but Rayna just chuckled.

  “Good morning.” Wilma and Radley joined them.

  “Hi Wilma, Radley.” Jerrika greeted them.

  “I see the rumors are true.” Radley looked between the sisters.

  “We have come to a truce.” Rayna explained. “Jerrika and I have decided to become friends, sisters.”

  “Are you alright?” Wilma gently touched Jerrika’s jawline.

  Jerrika nodded. “Mother hurt me, but it was her beating which broke the barrier between Rayna and me.”

  “Why did your mother hurt you?” Radley asked as the four walked to the breakfast buffet.

  Jerrika didn’t want to tell them the truth. She spooned scrambled eggs mixed with pieces of bacon onto her plate. To her surprise, Rayna got the same for breakfast. Maybe they weren’t so different after all.

  “It does not matter.” Jerrika answered.

  “I did not know how cruel Mother is to Jerrika.” Rayna added. “Until now.”

  “And I did not realize Rayna’s birth family had—” Jerrika paused. Rayna being sold was not common knowledge. “We have talked a lot about how those around us make us feel.”

  “And we have decided to put everything behind us and continue as sisters.” Rayna smiled.

  “That is incredible.” Wilma stated. “I am happy for you two.”

  “Thanks.”

  Jerrika joined Rayna, Wilma, and Radley at their normal table. The other trainees were silent as they watched the four new friends sit together. Jerrika looked to the princess’ table and saw Mae sitting next to her twin.