“Honored princess Laura. The king requests your presence.” A maid-in-waiting bowed deeply as she approached.

Laura pursued her lips in irritation but ignored the genuflecting servant as she continued strumming on her zither. She had almost completed her latest composition and it would certainly be a perfect masterpiece that would transcend time itself. She was so very close!

“Please honored princess…”

The zither’s string snapped with a loud discordant twang and Laura let out a loud angered scream. The maid-in-waiting trembled fearfully as Laura’s gaze bore into the unfortunate woman.

“What does father want now? This better be very important!” Laura snapped as she slid her fingers across her neck to simulate a decapitating gesture.

“Please have mercy!” the maid cried as she fell to her knees. “The king wants you to meet some suitors who have arrived from foreign lands. He wants to know which man you would prefer.”

“What, again!?! There’s no way I’m getting carted off with some random lout!” Laura’s yell rattled the windows. “This is unacceptable, I’m only sixteen!” she sighed before snatching up her broken zither and marching double time towards the throne room.

The harried maid trailed fearfully behind the furious princess, “Please honored princess, you must wear your veil before entering the room… the outsiders must not see your face.” the maid begged.

Laura smirked as she darted between a pair of stunned guards before they could stop her. “Well, father can punish them just like all the other insolent pigs. Twelve strokes of the whip for anyone that accidently sees my face, wasn’t it?” she declared triumphantly as she shoved the gold encrusted doors wide.

...

“As I was saying, Andania shall remain a neutral party in this conflict. We have no wish to be involved in a battle between your empires.” Replied Muriel, the grey-haired King of Andania.

“Saadian will not recognize your façade of neutrality when Vaishyan naval vessels continue docking at your ports. But we will accept your submission if you offer your daughter as tribute for our Emperor’s pleasure.” A large proud man dressed in priceless silks declared rudely.

“Vaishya demands that you expel all Saadians from your shores. In return, we will guarantee Andania's continued survival as a state within our mighty empire through a royal union.” A thin haughty scholar retorted from across the room.

The ambassadors glared furiously at each other and seemed ready to leap at their opponent’s throats. The soldiers escorting them drew their swords as a bloodbath seemed almost inevitable.

“Please calm down gentlemen. Senseless fighting here will certainly not be beneficial to either of your empires.” The aged king pacified. It was at that very moment that Laura burst into the hall, and all eyes turned to gaze at the intruder.

The Saadian ambassador was the first to recover, “Who is this uncivilized child? What insolence to arrive unannounced!” he protested angrily.

The Vaishyan ambassador smirked at his opponents mistake and bowed mockingly, “Well well, your royal highness. It is certainly a pleasure to make your acquaintance, it appears the rumors of your breathtaking beauty are not understated.”

Laura ignored their comments and strode up to her father, “Why are they even here Father? I refuse to get married to anyone!” she protested.

“I’m sorry Laura, but the lives of every citizen are at stake and I have to make a difficult decision today.” King Muriel sighed as he suddenly seemed ten years older.

“Well where are the suitors then? Show me your faces instead of hiding behind these ancient pricks.”

“I am Aryan and the third warrior prince of the Vaishya protectorate. I have come today to claim your hand in marriage, your Royal Highness.” A young strapping lad of eighteen winters stepped out from behind the Vaishyan ambassador and bowed before Laura.

The Saadian ambassador narrowed his eyes as he glared with barely veiled hostility at his opponents, “I suggest you consider your options carefully. Our Emperor’s mighty fleet will crest the horizon before the end of the week. Our Emperor always gets what he wants. Unless you submit to us, your tiny island will…”

Laura cut off the Saadian ambassador with a dismissive laugh, “What pointless bluster. We will have fed your body to the fishes long before your phantom forces arrive.” She then turned to gaze at Aryan, “Well what are you waiting for? Kill your enemies!” she commanded arrogantly.

The Vaishyan prince’s eyes narrowed in anger at Laura’s command, but he could not ignore the Saadian soldiers charging towards his forces. The room exploded with bloody violence as dozens of men began fighting to the death. Aryan danced between his foes and his colorful robes swirled like the feathers of a flamboyant peacock and the Saadian’s fell one by one before his sword, until only the Saadian ambassador remained. Laura smirked while restringing her zither, as the blood of both the battling Saadians and Vaishyans flowed freely. Then she began strumming an experimental tune on her restored instrument, in perfect sync with the screams of the dying.

“I have diplomatic immunity! This means war!” the Saadian ambassador spluttered desperately as Aryan pressed the tip of his blade against his defenseless throat.

Aryan hesitated and the ambassador sighed in nervous relief. But Laura let out a cold laugh before strumming a single magical note with her enchanted zither. An invisible magical blade shot out and buried itself deep into the horrified ambassador’s gut. The man gasped with disbelief and fell to his knees in agony, but Laura continued strumming her deadly tune. Even Aryan was forced to leap away in shock as multiple attacks passed close enough to graze his armor.

“Enough!” yelled king Muriel as he snatched the instrument from Laura’s hands and tossed it aside.

“But Father, he was insulting you!” Laura protested.

“Do you even know what you have done? That’s casus belli for a Saadian invasion.”

“And the Vaishyan fleet will be here to rout them, honored father-in-law,” Aryan replied as he bowed respectfully before the anxious king.

“Fufu… you assume too much Aryan,” Laura giggled as she twirled at her long rose tinted hair. “Who agreed that I was going to marry you?”

“What!?” Aryan spluttered in disbelief, “But the Saadians will…”

Laura yawned, “I’m sure Daddy and his soldiers will be more than enough to deal with any attack. You are dismissed.”

Aryan’s eyes narrowed dangerously, “Dear Princess. It is my humble opinion that you are underestimating the gravity of your kingdom’s current situation. Without protection from the mighty warriors of the Vaishyan Protectorate…”

“Fufu… I like you, you are better than our court jester! Are you one of these mighty warriors? Let’s duel then, I’ll consider your marriage proposal if you manage to defeat a little girl like me!” Laura tittered.

“Laura don’t…” king Muriel attempted to admonish his daughter.

“I accept. Don’t blame me if I scar your pretty face.” Aryan drew his sword defiantly.

“Prince Aryan please…” king Muriel tried to warn the proud young man.

“Well I don’t have all day. Come at me!” Laura giggled as she folded her hands across her chest and tapped her left foot impatiently.

Aryan let out a loud battle cry as he charged at the apparently defenseless girl. Then he hesitated when she made no attempt to avoid his deadly strike. “Arrgh!” Aryan yelled in frustration and tossed his sword aside before leaping toward Laura in an attempt to wrestle the slender girl to the ground.

“Cutely noble but so very stupid. You must be like the thirteenth idiot that has tried this!” Laura giggled childishly as she brandished a charm hidden in her sleeve. A sudden gust of wind blew Aryan off his feet and he slammed painfully into the roof above before crashing to the ground with a loud thud. “Oie… are you dead?” Laura prodded at Aryan’s comatose body. The surviving Vaishyan diplomats gulped nervously but were too stunned to respond to the unfolding diplomatic crisis.

Aryan let out a low groan.

“Papa, what’s happening? I heard many loud noises…” an equally striking twin of Laura peeked cautiously into the throne room and paled at the sight of multiple corpses.

“Hey little sister Lily. I’m just getting rid of our new pesky suitor.” Laura giggled as she perched on Aryan’s chest.

“Got you now. Surrender!” Aryan yelled suddenly as his hands wrapped strongly around Laura's waist and their positions were reversed in an instant. The prince panted and heaved with effort as he pinned Laura’s slender arms against the ground to prevent her from further spell casting.

Laura giggled in amusement, “You see… When I twitch my left toe like this…” her body was bathed instantly with waves of crackling lightning as she activated another charm hidden in her slipper. Aryan’s body jerked as waves of electrical shock coursed through him, and he fell smoking to the ground. “Oopies? Hehe, nice try I guess?” Laura taunted before standing up and straightening her rumpled dress.

“It’s not over!” Aryan’s grasped Laura’s heel before pulling the astonished princess off her feet and wrapped her in a bear hug. Then he kicked off both her slippers before she could recover.

“So very persistent…” Laura sighed, “I guess I really can’t go easy on you after all…” she muttered as she twitched at the spell under her left eyelid.

“Stop!!” king Muriel yelled, “You will marry Aryan!”

“Huh… What!?” Laura lost control of her next spell, and the fireball she summoned careened wildly into the wall with a loud bang. “But Daddy, he’s so super weak!” she protested as she shrugged away from the pale stunned prince.

“If he came at you seriously, you would already have died many times over.” The king shook his head sadly as he glanced at his precious daughter.

“And I also have this…” Aryan added somewhat sheepishly as he dangled a golden necklace decorated with a single large ruby at the princess.

Laura ogled in disbelief as she eyed the glistening stone, then her hands darted desperately to the hidden compartment between her legs where she had secreted the family jewel. “My mage’s pendant! You groped me! When…” Laura trembled in horror. The only thing any witch feared more than death was the theft of the pendant that contained her soul. Any such thief could instantly seal off a witch’s source of power and render her utterly helpless. More gifted wielders could even subject a witch to a fate far worse than death, such as by turning her into a mindless slave doll. And Laura realized that Aryan was certainly an exceptionally gifted individual.

“Sorry… it was kinda obvious.” Aryan shrugged while blushing slightly.

“Please don’t hurt me, I’ll do anything! Anything you say.” Laura begged as she fell to knees.

“Here, it’s yours. Please don’t ever lose it again…” Aryan tossed the gem hurriedly at Laura.

Laura smirked the moment she regained her gem, “I’m not sure what the punishment is for molesting a royal princess before her father, but it definitely must involve something painful like this!” she gloated while pulling out a red paper talisman. Just as she was about to chant the incantation and subject Aryan to a uniquely unpleasant end, the words turned hazy in her mind.

There’s no way I forgot that… Laura groaned inwardly to herself, “Well this might be messier but it will certainly be just as fun!” she declared as she pulled out another talisman. She opened her mouth to utter the incantation but realized to her horror that she could not remember the words of her spell.

“You! You did something to my pendant! You despicable…” Laura squealed as her eyes flickered to the ruby in her hand and she spied a thin golden circle floating within the gem.

“Insurance? It will only last for several hours. Your father briefed me…” Aryan shrugged somewhat awkwardly.

“Father! How could you ever betray me like this?” Laura pouted as she stomped up to the king.

The aged king sighed wearily as he gazed lovingly at his willful favorite daughter, Laura was like a fresh budding rose and reminded him of his late wife. “It’s for your own good Laura, the Vaishyans will keep you safe.”

“I can take care of myself!” Laura retorted angrily, “Besides, who will activate the Tower if I leave the island?”

“The Vaishyans will protect us. If all else fails, the responsibility will be mine. Or your sister’s.” The king sighed.

“You’re too old. And Lily doesn’t have enough Talent to survive. You need me!” Laura protested.

“The Tower cannot grant every wish. Our trade routes will be threatened without Vaishyan support and Andania will be destroyed from within. Besides, I don’t want you to end up like your Mother.” The king’s eyes misted over and a single tear trickled down his cheek.

“I would rather die than marry!” Laura griped somewhat hesitantly.

“Enough!” the king’s shout silenced his daughter, “My decision is final!”

Just as Laura was about to continue her protest, a messenger dashed fanatically into the room and whispered into the king’s ear. He sighed before staring pointedly at Prince Aryan, “I agree to your Emperor’s conditions. I assume that the Vaishyans are prepared for war, the Saadian armada has just been spotted and will arrive before sundown.”

Aryan nodded in affirmation, “Certainly your Grace, the might of the Vaishyan navy will ensure that you will not regret your decision today. My ambassador will brief you with the complete details…” he continued before unfurling a large decorated map before the king.