True Queen Short Story: Soon To Be Freed

Part One
Palace guards surround me as we march towards the Throne Room. The old, crystal and stone walls glittered against the pale dawn light that flickered in through a window. The door to the Throne room neared. I had no choice but to enter, even though fear impaled me with every step.
My father sat in his usual place on the Dias. “Be strong, Be strong,” I kept chanting to myself. His usual disappointment as he looked at me caught flame, but at the same time, I could tell that he was happy about something. I never saw my father in true excitement, it was always a mask of clouded judgment. He was a cruel King indeed, but I was his bloodiest victim.
The reason he hated me was that I was not a son but a daughter because in his old country it was not acceptable for women to learn the ways of sword fighting. I was a fighting prodigy. They always said the only one ever to beat me in a fight was my father.
“Hello, Lucy,” he mumbled, nodding to the guardsmen to leave.
“Your Majesty,” I whimpered looking at my feet.
“I have news for you,” Then he just continued without waiting for my reply “You’re going to Celvera.”
He stood, making me flinch. I heard him walk up to me, he swiftly grabbed my chin and squeezed. I was used to his abuse by now and did not shed a single tear.
“You’re going to be courted by Prince Richard,” I was astonished.
“Prince Richard, but wouldn’t you rather me marry the King?”
His hand swung across my face, tearing against my skin.
“ I myself have not found you deserving of a Queenship, or would you rather stay here and face my wrath?”
“No, of course not your majesty,”
“Then it’s settled, go and pack, your two ladies will come with you.”
“Yes, sir.”
With that I briskly walked away, meeting the guards -who shed with full sympathy for me- at the door.
Part Two
Clara and Marlene, who were my two ladies, waited for me at my chamber door.
“Are you okay?” Clara asked. I was quite quick in my following words.
“Yes, now let's just pack and get out of here,” they nodded in agreement and we collectively gathered in my room along with a servant or two and a strange lady with silver hair and gray eyes.
“Ah, ah, ah,” the woman said wagging her finger when we opened my wardrobe. She motioned to a few servants in the hall who brought in a rack of new clothes. They immediately began to pack up the clothes. I managed the get a glance at one of the dresses, and my eyes nearly popped out of my head. They were obviously aimed towards seducing the prince of Celvera.
Marlene smirked, “Finally, these dresses are right up my alley!”
I glared at her and we moved on.
Strangely, these dresses were so very different from the rest. They were mature and regal, just what you would expect a future queen to wear. Maybe my father had his eyes on the high prize after all. The thought kept me busy for only a few short seconds while my ladies dressed me in sleek riding trousers covered by a fine, midnight blue cape.
“We must ride to the bay where we will board a ship taking soldiers to Celvera,” Marlene explained. “We leave within the hour!”
I swallowed, knowing the tasks at hand. Nodding quickly, I went to the window with eyes fraught with sadness.
“Lucy, are you alright?” Clara asked, “You’re not your usual, questioning self.”
She looked thrown.
“Yes, I’ve just got a lot to think about,” I explained.
She nodded understandingly, brushing my dark hair out of my face.
“Yes,” she said, “we all do.”
There were so many things that I didn’t know, nor could I have known that day. The events that would follow. Though, the only thing that I did know for sure was that this was only the beginning of my journey to being Queen...