by T. K. Chapin
Defiance
By:
T.K. Chapin
www.tkchapin.com
Copyright © 2015 T.K. Chapin All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Version 2015.3.05
Table of Contents
Maps
DEFIANCE
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
DELIVERANCE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
Other Books
Acknowledgements
About the Author
One Last Thing…
Maps
View Larger Maps at www.tkchapin.com/belstrom
DEFIANCE
By:
T.K. Chapin
www.tkchapin.com
Prologue
Life is an accumulation of moments connected to one another. In a single moment our lives can be changed forever. In a second, our worlds can be flipped upside down. The moment I met Amon, I knew it was a moment that would change my life forever.
It all began in the summer of my fourteenth year in 4 B.K.. I had snuck out of the castle to take a trip into the city of Ashengale, but along the way just outside of town in the Ironwood Forest, I spotted a young man towering over a helpless deer. I marched over there ready to give him a piece of my mind, but to my surprise, when I arrived to him, I realized he wasn’t hurting the animal. He was but mending the poor creature’s wounds.
His tender touch that day as he healed the wounded deer warmed my heart with affection for the boy immediately, and it kindled a fire inside me that has been there ever since. If a boy can care so much for an animal, what kind of care could he show a girl like me? I thought to myself. Noticing me behind him, he turned around.
“Hi, I’m Amon. What’s your name?” He asked with a smile and an extended hand.
“Katlynn,” I said. As Amon walked away I ran ahead of him and stopped him. “What are you doing?” I asked curiously.
“I’m helping the animals that are wounded, would you like to join me?”
“I would love that,” I said. That day I learned that people outside the walls might not have a hundred different servants or exquisite balls, but they had something that royalty didn’t. They had value in what they did.
We began walking through the Ironwood Forest as he tended to all the animals he could find. I could not help myself from sneaking glances at his figure and form. Amon was breathtaking with his physique and soft blue eyes with dark brown hair. I could tell he didn’t have any problem with real work, unlike the boys in the royal guard of the castle. Sure they protected me, but they didn’t see any kind of labor. Curious of how he could use so much mana without issue, I asked, “How are you able to heal so many without running dry on mana?”
“I belong with the Freya Priesthood,” He said pointing back to Ashengale in the distance. “As long as I stay within 100 feet of the Halls, I can heal without using mana,” he said with a raised chin and a smile. He was so confident, so proud of who he was. How is it that this mere boy can have something to be proud about, but people like the commander of the Guard struggles with his self worth? The castle might only a few feet from the city, but they are worlds apart.
“Wow, that’s amazing.” I said glancing back towards Ashengale.
“Katlynn,” Amon said smiling. “Did you know your eyes change from green to a blue color?” Amon said pushing a strand of hair out from my face.
“I did… Tell me Amon, what does your Priesthood think of you healing the wounded animals?” I asked trying to get the topic away from myself.
“They don’t really like it, they say it’s a waste of time, but I don’t do it for them,” Amon said as he bent down to a bunny. Watching him as he pulled the trap apart, I saw his muscles bulge from his arms and only a moment later, those same strong arms showed gentleness as he pet the bunny and healed its flesh wounds.
I was captivated with Amon’s ability to show so much strength in a single moment only to reveal such gentleness in the next. It was nothing I had ever seen, especially from my hardened heart of a father Grungar. An angry and bitter king, Grungar refused to show affection my entire life. As we continued to walk through the woods that day, I knew I was in trouble; I was like that of moth to the flame. I was drawn to him.
In the following months I sneaked out of the castle daily to meet Amon in the Ironwood Forest just beyond the castle walls. Sometimes we would heal the animals like we did that first day, sometimes we would swim in a pond nearby, and other times we would just sit and talk for hours. It was those talks that I have always cherished the most. We talked about everything from how the moons stay up in the night sky to how we were meant to love each other forever. He didn’t care that I was the Royal Princess of Belstrom; he told me it made sense though, because of how beautiful I was.
After a year had gone by, my parents began to speak to me about marriage and the future I had been destined to live since before my birth. When I spoke of my desire to choose for my own future, my father struck me in anger and threatened to kill me.
From that day forward, I remained silent towards my parents, as Amon and I began to plot an escape from my parent’s unyielding grip. While I could sneak out for a quick day trip, outrunning my father’s guard would be difficult without a plan. In the months leading up to my wedding, my parents increased the guard levels around the castle preventing us meeting. I think at the time they sensed something was amiss but could not place it. Through a distraction with the help of the servants, I was able to meet Amon one last time to prepare the final details. We decided the safest day for the escape was that of my wedding day.
That brings us to the story of our love; the story of defiance; the love that brought an empire to its knees.
Chapter 1
Standing tall as she peered at her reflection in the mirror, Katlynn ran her hands along her sides. This is what my life is supposed to be? A dress I didn’t pick, surrounded by people I don’t like, and a
marriage to a man I haven’t even spoken with? Katlynn touched her hair as it sat perfect on top of her head in intricate curls of blonde. They weaved in and out creating an orchestra of elegance. She looked beautiful, she looked perfect, but she was miserable. A knock on her bed chamber door drew her attention away from the mirror and her misery.
“Hello?” Katlynn asked nervously as she leaned against the richwood-grain door.
“Ms. Katlynn, your mother would like for you to join her and your father for supper in the dining hall,” a servant’s voice said muffled on the other side of the door. I haven’t eaten in days… but I just can’t stand those people who call themselves my parents… They are my family by blood, but that’s the only thing we seem to share.
“Tell them that I’m not hungry,” Katlynn said.
“They said that if you say you’re not hungry, to tell you that joining them for supper is not a request, but a demand…” the servant said softly.
“Fine, tell them I’ll be down in a minute.” Katlynn dressed down from her wedding dress into a green sleeved blouse and black laced leggings. As she exited her room, Katlynn glanced back at the darkness under her bed; knowing her hope and freedom sat locked in a wooden box waiting to be opened tomorrow.
Journeying down the staircase and through the oversized hallway towards the dining hall, Katlynn took a deep, long breath in and then exhaled, settling her nerves the best that she could.
I remember that day like yesterday, “You WILL marry him whether you want to or not,” my mother said to me, slamming my bed chamber door behind her. Katlynn had loved her parents dearly until all this had unfolded; now she loathed them and that disgust grew each time she set eyes on them.
“Katlynn my dear,” Her mother Elenor said, smiling as she entered the dining hall. “So good for you to join us.” Her mother motioned for a servant to pour Katlynn a drink in the chalice that sat in front of Katlynn’s plate. She took a seat as the servant poured the drink.
“Thank you Bri,” Katlynn said looking up at the servant. Bri smiled at Katlynn before returning to her spot near the entrance to the kitchen. The servants had a fondness for Katlynn. She had sneaked food into the servant chambers on multiple occasions throughout the years and had befriended many of them through her kindness. She was the only Durandel in the castle that would always thank the servants for their work.
“Always kind to the servants…” Gungar said with a displeasing tone. Her family had very strict rules on the interaction the servants had with family and guests in the castle. They were not allowed to speak unless spoken to and they were never to touch a person for fear their un-cleanliness would contaminate them.
“My kindness I show to them is the same kindness I would want extended to me if I were enslaved.” Katlynn smiled at her father while she ate her gymer roll and golden turtle soup. She figured as long as she’s being held captive by her parents, she might as well have a little fun ruffling their feathers.
“Are you excited for your wedding darling?” Gungar asked as he wiped his face of the turtle soup that spilled out onto his mustache. Katlynn’s annoyance grew as her father spoke, but she knew she had only a night before she’d be free. Just a bit longer, she thought to herself gripping tightly to her spoon.
“Of course Daddy, I’m thrilled,” she said with a forced fake smile. Her parents were well aware she was unhappy with the arranged marriage. “I can’t wait to marry a man I don’t love and to live a life I don’t want.” Gungar threw his napkin into his soup in frustration.
“For the love of Omad!” Gungar shouted. Standing up in a fury, Gungar came around the table to Katlynn and put his finger in her face. With a heavy stink of hops on his breath he leaned into her face and said, “You will be happy. Just like your mother and me!” He pointed to Elenor, but Katlynn saw her mother look down and away for a moment before quickly retracting and agreeing with a nod. That’s strange; did my mother not want to marry either? Gungar returned to his seat as Katlynn asked to be excused. Returning to her room, Katlynn found herself curious of her mother’s hesitation in agreement.
A knock came from her door as Katlynn sat on her bed reading over the guest list. Glancing under her bed to make sure the box was not visible; she straightened her posture and opened the door. “Hello mother,” Katlynn said leaving the door open and returning to her bed.
Stepping into her room, Elenor shut the door behind her quietly. “I want to show you something.” Her mother’s eyes had a more serious look than normal, Katlynn felt anxious.
“Okay…” Katlynn said pushing aside the parchments that held the guest lists making room for her mother on the bed. Sitting down on Katlynn’s bed, Elenor crossed her hands in her lap as she sighed looking towards the door.
“I love your father dearly, but I did not always. I was forced to marry him long ago and I fought against it, just like you have with us.”
“You should understand me if that’s the case, Mother,” Katlynn said. Elenor shook her head as she stood up walking over to the open balcony.
“I made my life more difficult by resisting the fate I had handed to me,” Elenor said, as she etched in the air a symbol. A neon blue spark followed her finger tip and stayed in the air. Katlynn joined her mother’s side as Elenor raised her other hand and pushed the symbol forward. A smoky plum rose from the center of the symbol and a vision was revealed.
It was a young Elenor. She had a hooded dark dress and she was running through a stony alley way. Looking behind her, she saw guards closing in on her and turned quickly down another alley. With the guards out of sight, she cast a spell from a scroll causing her to teleport through the wall and into the back room of a local shop. A dashing young lad that looked nothing like her father came to the back room and embraced her passionately with a kiss.
My mother had a lover before my father? Katlynn thought to herself as she watched the vision.
As they kissed, the front door of the shop was kicked in and guards stormed the back room pulling the young man away from the young Elenor. Tossing him onto the floor, the guards executed him without hesitation.
“Oh my gosh!” Katlynn said turning away from the horror. Elenor swiped the air where the vision hovered and it dissipated. Grasping onto Katlynn as she began to weep, she kissed her head.
“You know the truth now dear… There is no stopping fate,” Elenor said as she comforted her daughter. I don’t want to anyone die… maybe my mother is right, maybe fate cannot be stopped.
Chapter 2
While lying in bed, Katlynn stared at the twin moons as they sat in the night’s sky tucked away behind the purple and green neon streams of the Great Unknown. Becoming parched, Katlynn got out of bed to fetch herself a drink of water in the western wing’s kitchen.
Journeying through the Great Hall, Katlynn could imagine the droves of people that would be residing in it tomorrow for her wedding. The thought of all those people being disappointed that she wasn’t getting married set a certain level of uneasiness within Katlynn. She knew she didn’t want to marry Nikolas, but she felt bad for the sadness her decision would inflict on the entire kingdom of Belstrom. Finding her way into the kitchen, she began filling a chalice with water. A creek came from the door of the servant’s quarter and out came Jor.
“Can I get that for you?” Jor asked with a smile as she approached. Katlynn’s best friend in the castle, Jor and she both were sixteen-years-old and were born and raised within the walls of the Durandel castle.
“That’s alright,” Katlynn smiled. Noticing Jor’s look of uneasiness and the lack of the smile that usually adorned her face daily, Katlynn asked, “What’s wrong?” Jor shifted her step and looked around with a bit of concern.
“Come,” Jor said motioning Katlynn to follow her back into the servant’s quarter. Once inside, Jor shut the door behind Katlynn and said, “Ena said your mother spoke with you and showed you a vision in your room.”
“Yes, how did she know that?” Katlynn asked curiously.
“She saw through a crack in the door. You know we always have eyes and ears all over this castle. Anyways, she told the rest of us and big mama Clo said it was a lie. She worked for your mother’s parents and that never happened.” Katlynn bit her lip in frustration at the news. I should have known! Katlynn thought to herself angered.
“That’s just like her… Always trying to sway me away from anything that goes against Father,” Katlynn said with a heavy sigh. “Did you get the dwarven oil for me?”
“Yes,” Jor said. She went over to a mat on the floor by her bed and moved it out of the way revealing the wormwood flooring. Pulling a plank up, Jor reached down and pulled out a small vial about the size of a finger nail. “Be careful,” Jor said handing it to her before she put the plank of wood back in place. My salvation rests in the contents of a vial that is so small I can hardly hold it…Katlynn thought as she looked at it. Finally my love Amon and I can find our happily ever after, Katlynn thought as she grasped the vial securely in her hand.
A knock from the servant’s quarter door startled them. Jor quickly replaced the mat just as the door opened. It was Katlynn’s mother, Elenor. Looking at them suspiciously, Elenor glared.