A Stroke Of Originality

“Amara… come my child.” The king requested of his daughter as she entered his room.

Amara cried as she walked towards her father’s bedside.

“Now isn’t the time for tears my child, I need you to be strong. You will be the future queen of this nation after all…” The king coughed up a bit of blood as he spoke.

Amara’s eyes widened. “You’re choosing me as your successor? What about brother and uncle,” she asked, confused.

“What.. of them?” The king asked. “Your brother is naive and doesn’t fully grasp what’s going on around him. Your uncle,” The king paused as he coughed. ” Your uncle is just power-hungry, he wants to conquer and rule the whole world under the might of our military, and that, that I can’t allow.”

“Father, I don’t care about any of that. You’re going to make it through this and continue to be this nation’s king.” Amara protested.

The king coughed up more blood before he spoke. “Listen to me, I don’t have the time to argue with you, and for once I need you to listen to me before its too late. I am entrusting you to lead this nation, and guide them towards the future. To look out for your brother, and don’t let your uncle lead him astray, one day he will be great, it’s just not anytime soon. Find people you can trust, there will only be a few, but find them.” The king coughed up more blood while speaking. ” I only have a few that I can trust, and your uncle isn’t one of them. I feel he may be conspiring against me as we speak. So I need you to quickly hold your hand out so that I may transfer my power onto you. With it, you can do anything you put your mind to, and when the time is right, it will show that you are the true ruler of these lands.”

Amara held her hand out without rebuttal, tears rushing down her face. The king summoned a flame from his hand and pressed it firmly against his daughter’s palm. At this point, Amara groaned at the pain the flame sent throughout her body. The power knocked the wind from her body, causing her to gasp. Amara fell to her knees as the passing of power ended. Shortly after, the king heard footsteps coming from the hallway.

“I fear my time is up,” The king said as he turned and smiled at his daughter, “Go hide, and no matter what happens, do not come out.” He held Amara’s hand tightly. “Remember, If you’re ever in a bind, you can always trust Rania and Ellisar, I trust them with my life.”

Amara heeded her father’s words and hid behind the dresser. She watched as her uncle entered the room with a hooded man by his side.

“Hello Amir, come to see your brother die?” The king inquired.

“You’ve led this nation to great heights, Zander, but now it’s time for me to take over,” Amir responded.

“Don’t make me laugh. I would never give the power of the king to you.” Zander responded.

“I thought you would say that, so I’m here to take it from you.”

“Over my dead body Amir…” The king reassured.

As the words left Zander’s mouth, a dagger pierced his neck, ending his life.

“Over your dead body it is, brother,” Amir whispered as he pulled his dagger from the king’s neck.

Amara shook with fear at what she had witnessed and tried her best to stay still and keep quiet.

“Transfer his power to me, combined with mine, no one will be able to stop me,” Amir said to his hooded companion.

The hooded man’s hands hovered over Zander’s corpse, trying to draw the power from the king.

“Something’s wrong Lord Amir, there are only remnants of power in his body, he might have already transferred it.” The hooded man explained.

“What?!” Amir fumed.

Amara jumped at his voice, bumping the dresser.

“Someone’s here, search the room,” Amir demanded.

Amara immediately ran towards her father’s window and leaped towards the river, scared, and scarred from her father’s death. She hit the water and lost consciousness as her body floated down steam.

“I’ll find you, Amara…” Amir declared as he glared from the window.