<div class="floatright">(http://24.media.tumblr.com/78ea537671c4293ea79d03c2e80d2b55/tumblr_mn29fkcp7x1qgheavo1_500.jpg)</div><br/>Princess Aelwen was the eldest child of her family and had been the next in line to ascend to the throne when her parents died. But that had always seemed to her like such a long time away. They were still young, in their prime, really, and there was little to any danger to the kingdom of Pelluria from the outside. Except that the danger came from within.<br/><br/>Her younger brother, Henry. How could he do such an awful thing? He had struck silently, killing their father first, and then their mother - but not before their mother the Queen had found Aelwen and given her the pendant, a family heirloom, and arranged for Aelwen's safe escape from the castle.<br/><br/>A few days had passed since she had been forced to flee the castle, and while she had been forced to maintain a composed facade during the day, Aelwen was still in tears most nights at the loss of her parents. She had loved them dearly, and loved her brother too, although it was clear now that he was not the same person she had thought him to be. So, effectively, she had lost her entire family in a day, completely out of the blue, and was now forced to flee the kingdom that she rightfully should be ruling at this point. Worse, she was entirely alone. Nobody else knew who she was; aside from perhaps the soldier who had helped to equip her, only her mother had known that Aelwen was fleeing the palace, and she was now dead. She couldn't try to get help, either, as announcing her identity would be met with people apprehending<em>her</em>for the murder of her own parents.<br/><br/>Since arriving in Fourtrees and beginning to stay with the Neicas family, Aelwen had spent much time at the local shrine. She had to pray for her situation, and for the souls of her parents, and for the soul of her brother who must have been corrupted by the desire for power. She helped the Neicas family where she was able, and thankfully they were offering her to stay there for free. She had very little, now, which was difficult to get used to after living the privileged life of a princess.<br/><br/>She was broken out of her thoughts by Varkas, a fellow cleric. He then confirmed what had been 'rumours' of regicide. Of course she knew the truth, but couldn't let on how much she knew lest she risk exposing her identity. What was worse was that people actually believed that she, the princess, was responsible.<br/><br/>"Thank you for the news, Varkas," Aelwen replied gently. "Although of course it is far from joyful news. The kingdom will mourn the loss of most of the royal family. We must pray for Prince Henry that he might rule our kingdom faithfully." Of course that didn't seem likely at the moment, but given how little she had, she didn't know what else she could do at the moment.<br/><br/>Her eyes widened about the mention of demonic taint. Could that be what had consumed her brother? It would explain the sudden change, at least in a better way than the other alternatives did - she wanted to put it down to demons rather than it being her own brother's choice to try to kill her and their parents. "I think we all hope that they are exaggerated, Varkas. Thank you for passing the news on to me. Did you hear how it was that Prince Henry survived the attack from the Princess?" she asked, reluctantly repeating that story out loud. It grated her even to say it.<br/><br/>