Ai, Princess of Ore, Preview

Hello everyone,

I am happy to announce that I will be releasing my debut historical fiction Novel titled; Ai, Princess of Ore: Love’s secret place.

It will be released on several platforms on the 30th of November 2024. See TWF Books for more details.

Here’s a preview of the book.

PROLOGUE 

Ai felt her head spin and her heart pound tumultuously, as fearsome thoughts beclouded her mind. She willed herself to be still, but her body disobeyed as it trembled with fright. Never in her short years of existence, had she been faced with such a deadly circumstance. 

In the safety of the palace and surrounded by her many soldiers she never had reason to fear any form of assault.  However, standing alone in the foreign orphanage she had been forbidden from visiting, she was naught, but a frail girl. 

Shall this be my end? She pondered shakily with trepidation.  

Five men towered over her, the edges of their swords glinting in the sunlight. For the first time, since he had been mandated into her service, she regretted not taking her lion-like personal guard into her confidence, as she did with Nathan. 

She should have told him of her clandestine visits to the neglected orphanage, but his loyalty, she was certain, lay with the King. She could not risk being exposed for her defiant act against her father’s clear instructions.  

Perhaps I should have commanded him to keep it a secret; then, he would have been bound to obey my royal command.  

It was quite useless and rather too late to regret her poor decisions. Even if he were with her, sworn to secrecy, the five bloodthirsty men that stood before her would have hacked him down before he could even unsheathe his sword. He would have died, and she would undoubtedly be next.  

Nonetheless, Nathan, her sole friend in Ore, was the only person who knew of her whereabouts at that moment and since he was unaware of the dangers she was in, he was most unlikely to come to her aid. He was the third friend she had made after befriending two royal children at the defunct Yachad festival. 

“Stay away from the princess!” A child’s piercing voice tore through her thoughts. The young royal watched in dismay as several little orphan boys took positions, standing protectively in front of her.  

She stared in consternation at the children, whose well-being had been the reason for her rebellion. She barely knew any of their names but had taken to doing her best to see them fed and educated in the short time she had with them each week.  

Why would they not listen to me and remain in the reading room where they are safe? 

One of the men with a raggedy-looking face and a large belly laughed scornfully, as he eyed the little one. “Ye brats are like ants under me feet. I shall crush ye if ye stand in me way.” 

“We shall never let you!” one of the boys exclaimed, approaching the men bravely. 

“Shut ye mouth, boy,” the man shouted angrily, stepping forward and assaulting the boy with a blow so hard that the child fell to the ground. The princess gasped in horror as some of the other children helped the boy stand. 

“Please, do not hurt anyone on my account.” She said, squeezing past the protesting children, with all fears forgotten. “What is it that you seek from me? Here I am, do not hurt the children.”  

The boys began protesting loudly, some going as far as yelling they would fight for her to their last. 

“Silence!” A fiercely intimidating voice of another rogue rang through the old hall, causing all the children to fall quiet. He looked just as fierce as he sounded, with long hair, an eyepatch across one eye, and some scars on his scruffy bearded face. “You children are all useless to the kingdom, a burden if I may. No one shall mourn your deaths, so it shall be little work ridding Ore of you rats if it is what it takes to get to the nuisance girl.”  

“That, sir, will not be necessary,” The princess declared feeling more strengthened by the willingness of such babes to lay down their lives for her when she had done so little for them. “There shall be no need to spill the blood of innocent children for my sake.” 

The children, now in floods of tears, pulled and grabbed at her, doing whatever they could to stop her from going to the men, hoping their combined strength could somehow shield her. She turned to them and spoke, “Do not fear, dear little ones, remember these words, ‘There is no greater love than to lay one’s life down for another.” 

The man with the eyepatch laughed wickedly, “Stop spewing nonsense, dark princess. Come quickly so I can end this. Your very existence is a shame to our kingdom.” 

His words were like a dagger piercing through her chest. She knew exactly what he meant, as she was not only an adoptive princess, but she also possessed features quite different from everyone else in the kingdom. From her dark complexion to the coiled texture of her hair, it was no surprise that she was despised as the sole princess of the Kingdom.  

She had been born when her parents, the then prince and princess of Ore were returning from a diplomatic mission to a kingdom in the East of Asia with which Ore was in friendly relations. Their party had happened upon a pregnant woman lying on the side of the horse path, alone, but ready to deliver the child in her womb.  

Her father, then Prince James, had commanded that they halt their journey to help the woman.  

The woman birthed the child but did not survive the blood loss from delayed delivery. The prince gallantly swore to the dying woman to take the child as though it were his very own seed. He was certain their meeting was a divine chance to give him and his wife, the long-desired child they had spent so many years awaiting.  

Ai’s grandmother who had been a part of the diplomatic mission and a first-hand witness, told her the tale after she had pestered the woman into acquiescence. Since her parents always found a way to evade the questions of her birth, she found solace in hearing it from the woman’s point of view.  

Eva, the mother of the Queen, had an observable partiality for her granddaughter and was easily swayed to do her bidding. She told Ai that her name originated from the Nichi kingdom, from which they had been returning. 

Prince James was crowned King of Ore a few weeks after they arrived from the mission since the previous king had died during his absence. It was during the celebration of his coronation, that the princess was presented to the people against the newly crowned Queen’s fearful protest.  

Her grandmother expressed that Queen Anne, Ai’s mother feared that the people would have rioted if the highly revered prophet Asher had not immediately stepped forward and blessed her as a princess.  

Since Ai had remained heavily guarded under her father’s watch her whole life, it was no surprise that she was under attack, when she was alone and vulnerable. She slowly approached the ferocious-looking men. It was the man with the large stomach who raised his sword at her, and her eyes fluttered closed. She stood unafraid, awaiting her end, as she muttered her last prayers.  

That end never came, as she was instead met with the sound of iron striking iron. Her eyes flew open, and she beheld the broad back and long dark hair of the man she had wished to appear since the ferocious men arrived at the orphanage. She inadvertently took a step back to observe that he had deflected the attack of the enemy’s sword. Wherever he had come from was a mystery to her, but streams of joy bubbled in her heart at the sight of him. 

In a brief suspended moment, he turned to her, and his rich forest green eyes locked on hers. In them were unspoken words of unquestionable assurance and fierce protection.  

Although he was a single man against five bloodthirsty men, the princess had never felt as assured of safety as she did in his presence. She was unsure if it was because her father boasted of his physical prowess or the fact that he had appeared out of nowhere, but she was quite certain he would not let harm come to her.  

In the next second, the sturdy soldier turned from her and skilfully unsheathed a dagger from his opponent’s belt, thrusting it into his distended ale-rich stomach.  

The other men, as stunned as Ai was, stood frozen in bewilderment, as their comrade dropped to the ground. The soldier however spared no time as he took advantage of their confusion. His sword was swift, and his movements agile. In a single slice motion, another man was taken down.  

The third bandit was on the ground with the dagger in his chest in another moment, but the fourth seemed more skilled than the rest. It was the man with the eyepatch, whom she also assumed was the leader of the gang. He was able to engage her guard in an intense sword fight.  

The princess watched as her protector used his feet to kick the fifth, who attempted to assist his comrade, sending him crashing against some empty barrels. He did this while maintaining a good fight against his formidable opponent.  

Snapping out of her awe, the princess went into action, turning to the children whose safety was her priority. She urged them into the little reading room, where the others were, and received no objections as they looked horrified by what they had witnessed.  

Although it was the first time the young royal had seen any person get killed, she knew she had to be strong for the children and resisted the urge to empty whatever was in her stomach at that moment.  

After she had ensured the children were safely locked away, she turned back to the battle and saw the man who had been kicked against the barrels, rise with a stagger, and pull a dagger from the sheath strapped around his waist. She turned her eyes to see that her protector had just stabbed his opponent with his sword, which seemed quite deeply embedded in the man. 

She doubted that he would have enough time to retrieve his weapon to defend himself, so she acted on impulse and ran towards him, throwing herself in between her dark-haired saviour and the impending attack.  

However, before she could get struck, she felt the grip of firm hands on her shoulders and was urgently tossed out of harm’s way. She staggered from the impact and by the time she regained balance she looked up to see her protector break the enemy’s neck in one swift turn.  

Despite the horrific sight before her, she breathed out in relief, gladdened that even though he had been outnumbered, her saviour emerged as the victor. It gave credence to all her father had claimed about him, and she could finally understand the King’s insistence on making him her guard.  

“Are you hurt, princess?” Her protector asked, turning slightly to her. 

Ai shook her head vehemently, as several questions swamped her mind. The most prominent being her desire to know how he had found her as the chances that Nathan had divulged it to him were very slim.   

“Jarit…” She began, but before she had the opportunity to utter the questions that plagued her, she was interrupted by his voice, which sounded hoarser than she recalled it to be. 

“I do not like the name.” 

The princess blinked in confusion at his words, as she could not for the life of her understand how it signified in their current predicament.  

She vaguely recalled asking a while before, if he liked his name. He had told her it meant ‘iron fist’, and admitted, nonchalantly, that it had been given when he was in the army, because of his skill. At that time, he had not responded to the question. It was quite odd that he chose such a time to answer.  

She was just about to tell him her sentiments when she saw him stagger towards a pillar and rest his back. A cold feeling washed over her as she could behold from his side profile, a dagger lodged in his stomach area. She had the alarming realisation that he had been stabbed in her stead by the last thug. 

“Jarit! Jarit…”  She called, running towards him as his eyes drooped and he slowly slid down the pillar. 

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Release date: Saturday November 30, 2024

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