4Hi guys! This is a never before published (ANYWHERE) dark fantasy romance with touches of sci-fi! I'm really excited to share this with you all because it's different in tense and tone. Each chapter is roughly 1,000 words and the point of view jumps between one of the four major characters. It was a challenge to write but I'm so glad I finished. It really pushed me to be a better writer!
Here is my promise to you: I will update once a week. I will try to respond to every reviewer. The story is clean (though not perfect. If you see any mistakes, please don't hesitate to let me know!)
Please, please, please review! I haven't published this anywhere and I'd love to get your feedback! Thanks in advanced!
Prologue
Once upon a time, there was a king and queen who ruled over an entire galaxy together. The galaxy was known as Aralyyn, and Aralyyn had nine planets, one sun, and one moon. Six of those planets were fully inhabited by the people of Aralyyn, while three planets were deserted. They were planets deserted and empty, and though the atmosphere and the natural resources provided livable conditions, the only occupants were criminal or transient. The sole exception was the planet Teryyn, a planet devoted to agriculture that supplied the other eight planets resources to help further their development. The law was harder to uphold on these planets, which was why criminals predominantly occupied the other two empty planets, Beryyn and Lewlyyn. Beryyn was the planet of abandonment, where orphans were sent. Lewlyyn was simply uninhabited, where scavengers went to in order to look for lost things. It was also the planet traitors were sent to in hopes they would rot away in the unbearable heat. Rumors swirled that there was a secret base the Rebels set up because of how isolated the planet was. As of now, it was just a rumor.
The king and queen were happy together and were good rulers. They did what was best for the people and not their pocketbook. They ruled as leaders should, fair and just, with a little bit of warmth on top of everything else. As such, the majority of their people respected them and admired them. They paid their taxes, knowing they funded developments in their planets, as well as the Galaxy as a whole.
However, there was a small group of people who did not agree with the way the king and the queen handled their tax policy. They did not think it was right that one sole entity was responsible for planets said entity dos not even occupy. They believed each planet should have a ruler, and the people should have a right to vote for that leader. They believed taxes should go to the planet itself, not the Galaxy as a whole. This group was known as the Rebels and they were as deadly as they were dangerous. They made demands and threats, but the king and queen refused to give in to their acts of terrorism. The royalty even offered to sit down with them personally to discuss a mutually beneficial resolution. But the Rebels wanted no part in a compromise. War broke out. Lives were threatened. Peace fell.
The king and queen worried about their kingdom and their people. More than that, they worried about their two daughters, born four years apart. On a selfish note, they worried about their legacy. To combat this stress and to remove a potential threat, the king and queen sent each daughter on a ship to two different planets with nothing but food for the journey, the clothes on their back, pocket money, and an assigned body guard to watch over them until it was safe to return home. Tragically, while flying over Beryyn, the ship carrying the eldest daughter - the princess set to inherit the Galaxy - was shot down. Upon a search of the ship's remains, there was no sign of life and the princess and her guardian was presumed dead. Which meant that the youngest princess was forced into a role she did not want on top of tragically losing her older sister she never got to know.
Elise had been four when she had been sent away. Her guardian, Reed, was much older, in his teenage years, though no one knew his true age - not even himself. Raechal had been eight when she disappeared. The War was only supposed to last month's at the most. The Rebels were small and thought to be easily defeated.
But they were not.
Their technology was more advanced than the royals anticipated, and their weapons were superior. Their attacks were few but destructive, almost all of them fatal to some degree. The casualty list was growing to the point of embarrassment for the monarchy. The war went on.
Sixteen years later, the war went on. Except now, the Rebels had more support. The monarchy was failing. They were losing ground. The princess was nowhere to be found and the king and queen refused to send for her, despite the fact that they were both getting old. Despite the fact that their deaths were imminent, they would not risk the life of their only child and the future of their reign. The Aralyyn Galaxy as they knew it was on the fast track to crumbling beneath everyone. Unless something pivotal changed for the monarchy.