A Piece of my Heart

I awake to the sound of my mother moving about the kitchen. She is moving quickly, preparing breakfast for my 3 siblings and me. She does this even today, the worst day of our lives. Today the Sovereign is going to execute my father.

It has been 500 years since a virus swept the world, killing most of the population. In the past 15 years, many in our village have been imprisoned or killed by the Sovereign. The same goes for many villages.

Now that my father is going to die, my 16-year-old brother will take his place as Lord of the village. Power would go to me, but I have a different purpose. I was chosen by the Sovereign to marry the next Great: Prince Nathaniel. It is for this reason that my father is being killed.

His plans to fake my death were discovered, and he is being beheaded for his crimes. My father’s love for me is going to be the death of him.

“Kora! Breakfast is ready,” My mother calls from the kitchen. I get out of bed and walk to the kitchen. The clock over the fridge reads 8:14. My father will die in three hours and forty-six minutes.

“What do you wear to an execution?” I ask my mother. Her face is a mask of apathy, but her eyes are a storm of sadness.

“The prince sent you a gown,” She replies, “I guess the rest of us will simply try to match you with what we’ve got.”

I turn to enter the living room. There, lying on the couch is a beautiful black gown with a high neck and elbow-length sleeves. A red envelope sits next to the dress on top of a veil. I sit down on the couch and pick up the envelope, breaking the wax seal and pulling out the letter inside.

“My dearest Kora,

My deepest apologies for the impending loss of your father. I know this will be most difficult for you, however, he knew the law, and he knew the consequences. Nevertheless, I am sure you love him, and therefore this loss will hurt you. I hope it brings you some comfort to know that I begged my mother, the Great, to consider imprisonment instead of execution.

Though you may not harbor any feelings for me, you are the sole owner of my heart, and it pains me to see you hurt. I understand if you would like to postpone our wedding and grieve your father. I will speak with the Sovereign regarding the changes.

I have gifted you an outfit to wear, as I am sure this is a difficult event to dress for, not a wedding, not a funeral. I have also left you a token of my affections, a piece of my heart.

My deepest condolences,

Nathaniel”

I roll my eyes at the ridiculous formalities of the letter, the obvious insanity of its writer, and the reality that I now find myself in. I am to marry a man who claims to love me, though I have never met him. The envelope sits heavy in my hands, and I look to inspect its contents. I reach inside and pull out the gift.

A beautiful locket, covered in emeralds and obsidian, hangs on a black metal chain. Shaped like a heart. I roll my eyes again. If this is the man I’m meant to marry, at least he has good taste. A bitter laugh makes its way out of me.

“Kora, come, you have to eat something,” My mother says from the kitchen.

“No. I can’t eat anything.” I reply, looking my mother in the eye. She analyzes me for a moment before nodding solemnly and turning to tend to my siblings. My brother looks at me for a moment, a silent conversation transpires. He knows it will be his job to take care of her once I am gone.

I stand from the couch, taking the dress and the necklace with me into my room. It is time to get ready to watch my father lose his head.

****

By the time we arrive at the Palace, there are only 30 minutes before the execution. The entire public has been invited to watch, and it is mandatory attendance for our village. The Sovereign sent a limo for my family to ride in, and the rest of the village residents were pulled from their homes and thrown on buses. A group of guards leads us into the Palace.

“Excuse me, My Lady?” A man appears, wearing the uniform of a palace servant.

“Yes?” I answer, straightening my spine in an attempt to appear deserving of that title.

“The Prince has asked that I bring you to see him.” The servant states. The shock must be evident on everyone’s faces as he then says, “He is ready to meet his future wife.”

I quickly mask my shock and push down my fear and nervousness. I was told I was not meant to meet the Prince unless he wanted to meet me. No one has ever seen the Prince, his identity has been concealed his entire life, and he is not allowed to leave the Palace. Now I am to meet him, the day I am losing my father.

My siblings and I had always joked that the Prince must be very ugly, or deformed in some way, to have been hidden away his entire life, and now I fear meeting him, as it may very well be true. Nevertheless, I follow the servant. He leads me down multiple sets of stairs and into what looks like dungeons. I have no idea as to why the Prince would want to meet me here.

“It was lovely to meet you, My Lady,” The servant bows out of the room.

“You are far more beautiful than in the pictures.” A voice says from behind me. The Prince. I swallow my nerves and collect myself before turning around.

I take in the sight before me. The Prince is at least six inches taller than me, so I have to look up to see his huge dark brown eyes, hidden behind a fringe of curly dark hair, surrounded by light brown skin. He has a sharp jawline and defined cheekbones. But what really catches my eye is the emotion on his face. Not fear per se, but perhaps nervousness? Anxiety?

I must have been staring too long for he speaks again, “Did I frighten you?”

I clear my throat, “No, Your Highness.”

“Please, you are to be my wife, call me Nathaniel.” He says quickly. I nod.

“Nathaniel. Alright,” I say, faking a smile. He analyzes my face for a mere moment.

“Do not feel the need to mask your true emotions in front of me. I presume you got my letter?” He says.

“Indeed,” I respond, his “piece of my heart” comment ringing in my head as I place a hand on the locket.

“I understand how difficult this day is for you. Simply wanted to ease some of that pain.” He states.

“With jewels and words?” I ask coldly.

“No. Follow me, please,” He begins to walk off down the corridor, turning a corner. I follow him.

After a bit of walking, he stops, pulling out a set of keys and opening a door.

“You don’t have much time, but I thought you would like a chance to say goodbye.” He says, looking me in the eyes. I approach the door and look inside hesitantly. My father sits inside, chains around his ankles.

“Father!” I gasp, running to him and wrapping him in a hug, tears running down my face before I can even register the emotion behind them.

“My dear. My daughter.” He mutters into my hair, embracing me tightly. We stand sobbing together, wrapped in each other’s arms, for what feels like forever, but can’t be more than five minutes. I take this time we have been given, by the mercy of my betrothed, to memorize his face, his arms, his heartbeat, the way he breathes. This is the last time I will ever hug my father.

“I’m so sorry, but we must go now. The guards will be here soon to take him,” Nathaniel says softly. I release my father and look at his face.

“I love you. Forever and always.” I say.

“I love you too. I am so sorry.” He responds. I begin to back out of the room before turning around and leaving. I take one last look at my father as Nathaniel closes and locks the door.

“You didn’t have to do this. Thank you.” I say.

“I wanted to show you a kindness. Regardless of what you may think of me, I am not my mother. I am not evil.” He says. There’s something in his tone that makes me think for a moment that he too has suffered at the hands of the Great. He leads me back up the many many stairs and walks me to the courtyard where we will watch the execution.

“Thank you for allowing me the chance to say goodbye,” I say.

“Of course. Anything for you. Now I must go. I am supposed to make myself scarce.” He says. I nod and he walks away, looking back at me once with an unreadable expression before going around another corner. I turn and walk through the archway into the courtyard, finding the place reserved for my family and taking a seat next to my mother, whose mask of apathy has broken.

A bell clangs in the distance and my father is led onto the dais and towards the chopping block.

“Hello, fellow Euranians,” The Great speaks. I look up at the raised platform where the seven members of the Sovereign sit on thrones, with their children behind them, “Today we come here as a people to witness the eradication of another traitor to our people. I will not keep you from witnessing justice for much longer. Do you have anything to say for yourself, traitor?”

My father, kneeling on the ground in front of the chopping block, shakes his head. The Great looks at him with much disdain before raising her hand in the air, signaling the executioner to bend my father over the block and raise her ax. Her hand twitches slightly down before a shout is heard.

“WAIT!” Everyone looks around for the source of the shout before Nathaniel appears on the dais.

“Why do you interrupt, son?” The Great asks, clearly agitated by her son’s appearance in front of the people. Whispers erupt in the crowd, and my mother clutches my arm.

“Mother, council members, I beg of you. I am the future leader of this nation, the next Great. I demand that this man be freed. He was only doing what he thought was best for his family. He loves his daughter, as do I, and did not want to see her suffer. Nor do I. Release him. I beg you.” He says. The Sovereign members look around at each other, having a silent discussion that seemed to go on for at least fifteen minutes. The discussion ends with a nod. The Great looks down, defeated and angered.

“At the request of Prince Nathaniel, the council has decided to show mercy. The traitor shall be spared and placed on house arrest and stripped of his titles.” The Second announces. I hear my mother gasp in shock next to me. The Second continues talking, but I do not hear him. The world around me blurs and dulls, all I see is Nathaniel, helping my father to stand, ordering the guard to unchain him, before he turns and looks at me. For a brief moment, I believe that this man may come to be a piece of my heart.