• Synopsis:
    Kingdom of Tragedy follows a servant of the princess of the yellow kingdom - his almost-identical twin sister. She is infamous for her greed and stubbornness, but the servant continues to protect and serve her, loving her as his sister and nothing else.

    After the princess insists he take a break, the servant travels to the green kingdom, curious about a visiting prince of the blue kingdom. There, he bumps into (literally) a young lady. Over tea, she reveals herself to be the princess of the green kingdom, out to visit the prince, who was to make a public appearance. She hands him a family heirloom, and they both vow (the servant to himself) to meet the following night. The princess runs off, meeting the prince and announcing a welcoming ball to be held the following night.

    The servant spies a cloaked figure of similar figure to him throughout the day.

    When he returns to the castle, the princess seems less than pleased about the events he speaks of. The servant assumes that the princess is upset over the impression of her that the green princess may give to the prince. However, he is shocked when she makes a request:

    Kill the green princess.

    He is sent to the ball, dreamily enjoying himself throughout the night. However, this dream shatters when the princess, aware of his presence, whisks him away to the spot where they were to meet.

    The servant is about to fulfill his promises.

    ----------------

    Our travel down the long forest path was hurried by excitement. We occasionally laughed as we jumped over obstacles, logs and small puddles and ditches in the road.

    My heart beat in excitement.

    But excitement over what?

    * * * *

    "Here."

    She pulled me through a bush, ignoring the tugs of branches, which pulled at her as if beckoning her to stay away. I followed close behind, emerging out of the tangle only a second after her.

    We stood in a small meadow. A tree stood in the center of the irregularly-shaped field; from it, beautiful white flowers bloomed, the petals not yet ready to fall. However, in contrast, much of the grass was dead. Tree roots swam out of the ground in various locations. Several feet away from the tree stood a well, which appeared to be in good condition, as if someone visited often.

    She began to make her way towards the tree, her hands bent up as if she were going to reach up and grab a blossom. Her body quickly spun to face me.

    "Beautiful, no?"

    I only stared at the perfect combination of this lovely girl, whose green dress sparkled in the moonlight and stood out against the dead grass as if she herself was perhaps a flower, and the strange yet breathtaking meadow.

    ". . ." I nodded. "It's nice. Beautiful. Like nothing I've ever seen."

    She smiled. "I come here often. Only a friend and I. . . and, well, now you too, know of this. I typically come here when I have something on my mind."

    I blinked at her. "Do you at the moment? As in, have something on your mind?"

    "Yes, in fact, I do." The princes spun around, slowly beginning to walk towards the tree again. I quietly caught up as she spoke. "You are from the kingdom of yellow, no? Our village has quite a few. . . refugees, or runaways, from your kingdom. They speak of the princess, your princess, as if she were. . ." She paused, seeming hesitant to continue. ". . .evil."

    Evil. That word echoed through my mind in two different voices of two different ladies.

    "I've heard of this," I replied, biting my lip. "I am at a slight understanding of why they are upset, but not to this degree. See, my sister can be. . ."

    "Sister?"

    She stopped, her eyes widening at me. She had stopped, and I had taken an extra step before realizing so, but I stopped and slowly spun around, my eyes meeting hers. "Your princess. . . is your sister?"

    My eyes dropped to the ground. Ah, I hadn't told her. . . "Yes."

    "Then why are you not in her position? As a prince?"

    I slowly turned towards the tree, still looking down.

    "About seven or eight years ago, our parents died of illness. We had no direct blood relatives - no first or second cousins, and we did not know of any thirds - that were willing to take the crown. Therefore, it was between my sister and I."

    "Shouldn't it be the male? Or the first-born?

    "That was the problem. We are twins."

    I paused, hearing the princess's dress swish lightly against the grass. After a second, I continued.

    "We had no record, also, of who came first. So our court officers and relatives kept a watch on us for a while. They wanted to know who would prosper better. My sister had a way of getting things that she wanted - and so they chose her as the heir."

    "What of you, then?"

    I paused again, and then sighed, my head lowering further.

    "They said I was too kind. I would only get in the way of letting my sister - the kingdom, really - thrive, they said. And so, I became the servant." I glanced towards her slightly, seeing if she had a response.

    "Ah. That's horrible."

    "Well. . . not entirely. I turned towards her but didn't completely face her, still casting my gaze down and away. "I still do love my sister. No matter what she does. She can be. . . well. . . greedy, stubborn, impatient." I sighed slightly, smiling lightly. "But she is still my sister. I will always be there for her to protect and help. I vowed it."

    For a few seconds, we stood in silence.

    When I looked up, the princess had a tear rolling down her cheek, and more formed in her eyes. She smiled, waiting before speaking in a soft tone.

    "That's beautiful."

    She rushed up to me and embraced me in her arms.

    I could barely move. I felt her face buried in my shoulder, her body pressed against mine. After a bit, I wrapped my arms around her body. Her body shifted a bit as she inhaled, and she spoke again.

    "Do you love me, too?"

    A silent gasp slipped through my lips. Her body trembled in my arms. The princess sniffed, and a tear dropped on my shoulder.

    "Do you love me like your sister? Or do you love me as the princess. . . Or do you love me as somebody else?"

    I bowed my head a bit, trying to respond.

    "I. . ."

    My heart churned.

    "I love you. For you."

    She laughed a bit.

    "That's so cliché. . ."

    Both of us laughed lightly as we pulled out of the hug, looking down awkwardly. For a few seconds, though, the silence was beautiful.

    But she broke it.

    "I bet your sister is jealous."

    "Huh?"

    I looked up at her.

    "The prince of blue has been told of her. He has not yet met her, and yet she already has an impression on him. He is weary of you. As if he knows something that the rest of us don't."

    And my gaze moved down again. I remembered what I had to do.

    * * * *

    From far away, the clock struck twelve. The ringing of the bell could be heard throughout the kingdom and the surrounding area.

    * * * *

    "That is one thing I am concerned about." She looked directly into my eyes. "That perhaps, your sister is upset that she has been unable to present herself, and therefore she may have no chance to create a good impression for the blue kingdom."

    I looked down, my breathing becoming shaky.

    "Does something bother you as well?"

    That was when I felt myself shatter. My body trembled.

    "Princess. . ." I shook my head. "I. . ."

    "What is it?" She grasped my sleeves in her hands, looking up at me.

    "I. . . have to. . ." I slowly reached into my jacket. It almost wasn't possible, for my hand was shaking almost uncontrollably in fear, in terror, in worry. But I did.

    I grasped the two items tucked into my pocket and pulled them out simultaneously in one swift motion.

    The princess only stared at the two items. The dagger and the rose, two items contradicting each other.

    ". . .Why. . . Did she. . ." She looked up at my downcast face. My eyes were shut, my teeth clenched. A tear ran down my cheek. A soft, shuddering hand brushed the tear away. Suddenly, her tone was darkened, a serious tone that I could never imagine from her.

    "She told you. You don't want to."

    I pushed the hand away lightly with my free hand. "Just. . ."

    "Do it."

    My eyes opened, widened, though my gaze remained down.

    "You are doing it under your sister's orders. I can tell. You are a loyal person. You live to protect and serve the ones you love most." Tears began to cover her face. "And you love your sister the most."

    Entirely speechless, I almost dropped the items. "No. . ."

    "Do it." She bent down, trying to make my gaze meet hers. "Don't you see? Are you too naïve, too busy, locked for so long in the castle, to look at your own kingdom? Your sister's image is tainted as if she had murdered already. Refugees speak of revolt. It doesn't matter what you do. This will only trigger the inevitable."

    I allowed my eyes to match with hers. "You mean. . ."

    "A war."

    The silence rang in my ears, and those words rang in my mind.

    "So do it already!" Sobbing, she walked quickly over to the tree, opening her arms towards me.

    I stood frozen, facing away from her. I moved the rose to my other hand, gripping it tightly.

    "DO IT!"

    My teeth clenched harder than ever, my own chest rising and falling from sobbing.

    Finally, I spun around, rushing towards her. I held the dagger to my chest, the blade facing out. I stopped when we were face-to-face, the dagger almost touching her chest, almost cutting through the threads of her dress. We stared at each other's sobbing faces, hers with a light smile.

    My other hand intertwined with hers, the rose slipping between our fingers.



    My trembling hand pushed the dagger into the princess's chest.



    Her eyes widened, her smile slightly shifting. Almost as if she were grinning.

    "Thank you."

    As her figure fell, I left the dagger in her chest, quickly shifting my arms under hers to move her slowly down against the tree. Tears fell from my cheeks onto her dress. Her teary eyelids slowly closed. Blood trickled from the impact point, staining her dress. I kneeled down, watching her, her breathing eventually ceasing. Her face paled.

    Until the last second, she held onto the rose.

    The princess of the green kingdom was dead.

    I slowly stood up and backed away, staring at the beautiful, pale body of the princess.

    What have I done?

    I quickly ran away, down the path, back into the village where the carriages waited. The driver, knowing what I had done and of the haste I needed to make, began the journey to the yellow kingdom.

    What have I done?

    * * * *

    When I arrived, I could barely face anybody. A servant walked up to me - "Did you. . .?" - and I could only nod before rushing on, returning to my quarters as soon as I could. I couldn't do anything else.

    I didn't even look at myself in the mirror before changing into my night clothes and going to sleep.

    * * * *

    The next day, the princess sat proudly on her throne without a care in the world, watching me as I walked down the long, yellow carpet of the room, holding the midday snack on a silver tray.

    "Today's snack is brioche."