You never did like how bright the morning sun was. The window has no panes, so it makes it difficult for you to do much to keep it out of your eyes. The best you can do is roll onto your side and pull the blankets over your head. However, the sun continues to shine. Considering the sun is an inanimate object located in the heavens, there is nothing you can physically do to shut it off. [[Sleep more]] [[Get up]]

It proves to be barely fruitful, but it never hurt to try. You barely manage to fall back asleep when a maid bursts in, startling you. The maid begins to address you, but stumbles and drops all the clothes in the pile. You get up to examine what was dropped. Two articles of clothing stand out to you: a male's sapphire colored coat and a female's lavender dress. Which of the two items do you pick up? [[The sapphire colored coat]] [[The lavender dress]]

As you so dutifully chose to rise from bed, you begin your daily routine. However, as you are about to examine yourself in the mirror, the door to your room bursts open. The mirror is placed across from your room, so you have to hurriedly walk across the cold stone to get there. The door to your room is in the middle of the wall between your bed and mirror, and the maid running in walks right into you as you make your way across, sending clothes flying. The clothes the maid had were both yours and one of your siblings'. On the stone floor are a male's coat and a female's dress. Which one do you pick up? [[The coat]] [[The dress]]

The coat you picked up belongs to you, and it happens to be your favorite. "Crown Prince! Forgive me, I hadn't seen you!" The maid wailed, hurrying to gather the dress of one of your sisters. You felt bad for the maid, and it wasn't out of your character to help a maid, so you assisted in gathering up the clothes. The others loved to mock you for being so empathetic to the servants, but the king, your father, praised your kind heart. "Thank you, I promise it won't happen again! I'll fetch your breakfast!" She bowed her head and hurried out the door. You barely thought much of it. Clumsy maids tend to happen. Everyone can get clumsy, it's only part of being human. You barely began to leave the room when a different maid came to your room. It was the head maid, basically your nanny. She looked sullen and kept her head bowed. This wasn't normal for her and you knew it. What are you going to do, though? [[Ask about it]] [[Immediately attempt to comfort]]

The dress you happened to pick up belongs to you, not to mention it is your favorite. "Princess! Forgive me, I was clumsy!" The maid bows her head and scurries to pick up the rest of the clothes, most of which belonged to your brothers and sisters. She seems to be distressed, trying to pick up all those clothes. It's practically a mountain, as there are six children of the king, including yourself. [[Do nothing]]

"You were always such a sweet boy." She mutters to herself, gladly accepting the hug you offered. "Now my dear," she begins, out loud this time. "There's . . . oh how it pains me . . ." She drifts off, tired eyes turning away from you. [[Ask about it]]

You? Help //peasants?// Just the thought of it makes you want to retch. You're better than that and you know it. The maid is clearly frazzled, but that's her problem, not yours. Neither of you exchange a single word as she gathers the clothes and exits while you watch every movement. With that interruption out of the way, you continue with your morning routine. At least, until the head maid comes in. She practically raised you, so you generally hold less contempt for this one. She seems very sullen, and you don't like that. [[Order her to speak]]

The coat you pick up off the floor is yours. Your favorite coat, at that. You had been waiting for it to be washed so you could wear it to the upcoming ball being held in your father's honor. The maid scrambles to her feet, gathering the rest of the clothes. "I'm so sorry, your highness, may God forgive me!" she sobs as she runs out before you could offer to help. She was always a bit neurotic. And even if you did help, your siblings would have mocked you for it. Weak, they would've said. Unfit to be king. The maid who fell upon coming in isn't the only visitor to your room. The head maid comes in shortly after, with her head bowed. She is usually upbeat and warm towards you, so this was rather unusual. "Crown Prince," she begins, "There's something you must know." [[Ask about it]]

The dress you pick up is yours. Your favorite, at that. You were wondering where it was, as one day it just vanished from your closet. You turn to give your maid a reprimand, but she had gathered the clothes and booked it before you could. She is wise, avoiding you. You have a nasty temper on you and everyone knows it. The head maid comes in just a few minutes later with her head bowed. Something doesn't feel right and you know it. However, you are still angry about the entire incident from earlier. She seems like a perfect target for your anger. [[Yell at her instead]] [[Wait for her to talk]]

"Your highness, it's your father. He's dying. He asked me to send for you as soon as he could gather the breath. It's imperative that you go now." Your father? //Dying?// Just yesterday he seemed healthy, laughing at the table with his chalice filled with wine. You're very close to him, so you heard nothing after being told he was dying. In your heart you know you should go to him, but seeing him die before your eyes might be more than you can handle. [[See him]] [[Don't see him]] [[Ask maid]]

Your vicious words clearly hurt her, and tears begin to roll from her cheek. "Please, princess, there is something you must know! I beg of you, cease this!" [[Demand to know]] [[Keep going]]

Not a word leaves her mouth, as she seems to be too devastated to speak. Something definitely happened, you're sure of it. But you don't have all day to find out what the problem is. [[Demand to know]]

God, you're a heartless soul. She takes off crying, and nobody comes and sees you for the rest of the day. Maybe it would have been wise to [[demand to know]]?

"Your highness, it's your father. He's dying. He asked me to send for you as soon as he could gather the breath. It's imperative that you go now." He's . . . dying? You are the favored daughter, and get preferential treatment. If he dies, what will happen then? You can only bear to imagine what could happen to you if he dies. If you go and see him, you can try and make sure he protects you in his will. If you don't, then you're going to have to take the aftermath as it comes. [[Go see him]] [[Don't]]

You make sure to give her a brief thanks as you bolt out your door, dressed only in your nightclothes. Changing clothes is unimportant in the face of such horrible news. Your only thoughts are of getting to your father and being at his bedside upon his death. As you make your way down several flights of stairs and through weaving hallways you know too well, you don't expect someone to be standing in the middle of the hall. Your body collides with theirs, and you hit the ground. "Watch where you're going you little shit!" you hear an all too familiar voice roar, barely a foot away from you. [[Apologize profusely]] [[Say nothing]]

Since you cannot handle the mere thought of it, you sit in your bed in denial. And you stay there until another maid brings the news of his death. She comments that he said he wished his favorite son was there, and that was enough to make you break into hysterics and be inconsolable for days. 😢 ''Weak princes make weak kings.'' 😢

"Your highness, that is a decision I cannot make for you. He's your father, and whether or not you want to see him is entirely your choice." Her wrinkled hand is gently placed on your shoulder. "Do what you think is best." [[See him]] [[Don't see him]]

You practically push the maid out of your way as you bolt towards the door. You've never ran so fast in your entire life, and everyone who sees you coming is in a rush to get out of your way. Those who couldn't get out of your way in time were shoved aside and yelled at to get out of your way. Nothing was standing in between you and getting to the king, until getting grabbed by a passerby that is. You find this angering and upsetting, as they don't seem to understand the rush that you're in. [[Fight them]] [[Yell at them to let go]]

You don't need to see him! You can handle yourself! So you get dressed and go about your day until a guard informs you that he has died. The days afterwards pass silently, until one of your siblings accuses you of attempting to poison them. Your father put in no protection for you, so your remaining family could do as they pleased with you. Not to mention that your mother isn't fond of you, in fact she hates you, so she uses this as an excuse to imprison you and have you executed. And as you sit in the afterlife, you regret your poor life choices. ⚰️ ''Maybe you should consider protecting your interests.'' ⚰️

"Oh! If it isn't Crown Prince Lorens, my beautiful eldest son!" Turns out it's your mother, who had been admiring a painting. Your mother was a strange one. She claims to love all her children but talks badly behind their back and berates them at any indiscretion against her. You've learned to look past it, but always wondered if it's something you should be concerned about. After all, rumors have been flying that there have been sons before you, but she had them murdered. Of course, she vehemently denies this, but it's something to consider. [[Warily greet her]]

"I should have you hung by your tes-- Crown Prince Lorens, my wonderful eldest son!" You swear you feel your soul leave your body when she screams her head off at you. After all, she's your mother. She isn't very popular in the palace, all the staff are severely afraid of her and do their best to keep her children away from her. You've heard a few rumors that you're not actually the oldest, and she's killed the ones that came before you, but nobody is that cruel, right? [[Warily greet her]]

You turn and throw a punch at the other person without even thinking. It hit them in the face, and you make sure to hurry on your way. Though judging by the sounds of the angry yelling, it might've been your mother. Whoops. Admittedly you don't feel too bad about it. She blatantly treats you poorly and takes every presented opportunity to humiliate you in front of important visitors and your own siblings. It felt kind of good now that you think about it. You push the door to the king's room open, and there he lies, surrounded by your siblings and several guards. "Bring to me my daughter." you can hear him gasp. "Which one?" a guard has to ask. You have two other sisters, so he was justified in asking. "Princess Torhild." was his reply, followed by a cough. Well, that's you. [[Run over to him]]

"Don't you dare speak to me in such a manner you demon!" Oh, that's your mother. She doesn't like you very much, and you don't like her either. You just can't figure out why she treats you so harshly. If your father wasn't there to protect you, she'd have killed you ages ago. Your mother always tells you that you'll amount to nothing because of your shameless aggression and sharp tongue. She's blatantly shown favor to her other, more 'ladylike' daughters, and it angers you to no end. Merely being in her presence riles you up. The way she speaks to you makes you want to just clock her, but if you are to violently do something againts Her Majesty, you'll be the next person on the public execution block. You can feel her grip tightening, and you're in a rush, she has to let go of you. But she isn't going to unless you do something about it. [[Force her to let go]] [[Don't speak]]

"Your father is dying, my child. Go to him." She motions towards his bedroom door, stepping out of your way to allow you to pass. You make sure to thank her and run for the door. You push it open to discover all of your siblings and a few guards standing around your father's bedside. "Lorens, where is Lorens?" You heard him cry in between the harshest coughs you've ever heard. He's asking for you, and the hidden agony in his voice breaks your heart more and more by the second. [[Hurry over to him]]

You push some of your siblings and a couple of guards out of your way to stand at his bedside. "Torhild, my sweet." His hand weakly touches yours. "I'm so sorry that you must see me like this." It's overwhelmingly painful for you to see him like this, so you merely nod and hold back tears. "I know you're sad. Your siblings are sad, your mother is sad, the kingdom is sad. But it's merely my time to go." "But you were healthy yesterday!" You hear the crown prince cry in a heartbroken voice. You see the pain on your father's face when he hears his son speak. [[Agree with the crown prince]] [[Tell him to shut up]]

It's a good thing you have long nails! You use them to dig them into your mother's skin until she lets go to hold her hand and howl in agony. You take this as your chance to escape, and book it out of there. With that out of the way, you can now to go your father's room. When you enter, you can't see him. But you're certain from the gathering of your siblings and several guards around his bedside that he's lying in bed. "My daughter," you can barely hear him gasp. "Bring me my daughter." "Which daughter?" asks a guard, gesturing to the two princesses standing at the bed's footboard. "Princess Torhild." came the answer, a harsh cough following afterwards. That's you, and you know you have no time to waste. [[Run over to him]]

You hold your tongue as your mother screams and chastises you, and she goes on for hours on end, even when a guard informs her that he's asked for her. By the time you arrive, you discover that he's already dead and the party that's gathered around his bedside is disbanding. Your mother ruined any chance you had of getting last minute protection from her. 🗡 ''Why are you going easy on someone who treats you like garbage?'' 🗡

His hand weakly touches your face when you get close enough, and it's only then that you realize how fast the warmth is leaving him. "Lorens, my boy," he wheezes, struggling to make eye contact with you. "My time here is shortening by the second, and there is something I must ask of you before I pass." [[Ask him what it is]]

"I understand your suspicions, but I doubt it will have any affect at this point." His hand finds his way to your long, loose blonde locks, entangling his fingers in them. "My precious daughter, before I go, I must ask a favor of you." [[Lean in closer]]

"Don't talk that way towards the Crown Prince!" He snaps, which is followed by a loud cough from the king and a collective gasp from your siblings. "Now come here, child, I must speak to you before I pass." [[Lean in closer]]

He opens his mouth to speak, but all that comes out is agonized coughing and unintelligible speech. There is nothing you can do to stop this, so you sit by his bedside and watch him attempt to pat your face and struggle to speak before his hand drops and goes limp on your lap, quickly growing as cold as the stone floors of the castle. Your mother enters the room upon being told of the king's death, and casts a gaze upon the body. After a moment's delay, she breaks into over the top hysterics and flings herself at you for comfort. [[Attempt to comfort]] [[Get out of the way]]

Your mother does quite a good job at generating false tears to appear very upset, and she clings to you with the tightest grip you've ever known. Every attempt you make to pat her back or tell her that it'll be okay are ignored and ultimately not worth the effort. The king's favorite daughter speaks up, eyeing the dead body with a bit of contempt. "Now that he's dead, what shall we do with the crown?" "Don't speak unless you're spoken to." Your mother hisses, digging her nails into your skin. She never did like that daughter, it is clear for anyone to see. The daughter glances at her with heavy dislike, making her feelings clear. "Do any of your kids have your father's will?" She asks aloud, calming down as fast as when she became hysterical. "He said he made serious changes before his passing." The middle sister steps forward, holding a piece of parchment. "I do, Mother, but I cannot read." You, however, can read. Not to mention you're the Crown Prince. All your siblings' eyes fall on you. [[Read the will aloud]] [[Look at the nearest sibling]]

You are scared that your mother will try something on you, so you hurriedly step out of her way. So, she instead goes into the arms of the youngest guard. Not even a minute later, you see your mother's hands slip into his pants. You don't like how she's trying to slip her hands under his clothing right in public view, but there are more pressing matters at hand. Which, in this case, is the will. "Do any of you children have your father's will?" She asks, sighing and resting her head on the man's shoulder. The middle daughter steps forward with a piece of parchment. "I do, but I cannot read." You can, and everyone knows it. Their eyes all fall on you the moment she finishes speaking. [[Read the will aloud]] [[Look at the nearest sibling]]

"My daughter," he begins, "It is my duty to protect you," His voice starts to grow weak. The rapid deterioration of his health is beginning. "I therefore want," He has to pause to cough, and he struggles to keep his eyes open. "to grant you," Another cough and a pause for him to fade out of consciousness. When he revives, his words are barely understandable. "free will and reign over yourself," Another pause to fall unconscious and to wake back up. "so ordered by the king." He mutters something else completely unintelligible before his hand goes limp in your hair. Your mother enters the room shortly after a guard breaks the news of the king's death. She takes one look at the body and breaks into over the top hysterics, flinging herself at you. [[Comfort her]] [[Move out of the way]]

A sharp pain in your back confirms your inner expectations. "I never wanted you anyway." Your mother whispers into your ear, dragging the knife down your back. You can tell by how everyone in the room looked at you that they are too shocked to help you. Not even the guard a foot away does anything for you. Everyone quickly disbands, and your mother locks you in to ensure that you bleed out and die at your father's bedside. 💀 ''A princess can't become a queen if she's dead!'' 💀

You are wise to get out your mother's path. She stumbles forward and ends up in the arms of the youngest guard. You easily notice her hiding something shiny under her coat, and you can only begin to imagine what that something is. Your nose scrunches in disgust when you realize that she has her hand down the guard's pants. "Do any of you have your father's will?" She asks with her face buried in the man's shirt. The middle sister, only three years younger than you, steps forward. In her hands is a sheet of parchment. "I do, Mother, but I cannot read." You can, though. You eavesdrop on your brothers' lessons and taught yourself to read and write through what you were able to hear. That's what the tutor gets for leaving the door open when he teaches. Your eavesdropping is public knowledge at that point, so all eyes fall on you. [[Read the will]]

You step forward and accept the parchment from her. She meekly nods and steps back to signal that you now have the floor. Holding up the paper and facing your siblings, you begin to read. Nothing seems out of the ordinary, just some designations of who gets what property, who will become duchess or duke of where, things like that. Of course the king's favorite daughter is leaning in, waiting to hear something regarding her. If the king verbally decreed it, it isn't in the will yet. You are just about to stop and say that that was all that was written until you discover the final passage. And what's written, suspiciously with bolder ink than the rest of the parchment, not to mention that it doesn't look like your father's writing in the slightest, states that the most able bodied sibling will be crowned the new ruler of Valkyria on coronation day. You don't recall saying it, but when you look up, all your siblings' faces are white as sheets. So apparently, you must have. "Coronation Day is in seventeen days!" The youngest son cries, panicked out of his mind. Seventeen days is all that echoes through your mind as you drop the parchment onto the nearest table and exit the room alongside everyone else. You have seventeen days to become the new King of Valkyria, no matter the cost. 👑 ''PROLOGUE END'' 👑

As much as you attempt to take the attention off of you by staring at the king's favorite daughter, who can also read, all the attention is still on you. You try to pedal it off to her, but she pushes back at you. "Just read the damn thing, we don't have all day." Well, now there's not much of a choice now is there? [[Read the will aloud]]

You don't wait for her to pass it off to you, you're too eager for that. Instead, you walk right over to her and snatch it out of her hands. Holding it up, you begin to read. So far, everything is just about who gets what, and what noble titles will go to who. A quick glance reveals that nothing in the will protects you, so you're quick to interject what your father said to you before he died. And just as quick, someone cuts you off to challenge that claim. "He never said that, you just want to stay the favorite!" The middle son points at you in an accusing manner. The king said it, and you know he said it. You're more than willing to start an argument with him, but you have a trick up your sleeve: Your youngest sister. She leaned in with you, so surely she heard it too! However, who's to say that she won't turn against you and say that it never happened? [[Argue with him]] [[Use the youngest sister]]

You've developed quite the skill when it comes to heated debate, and every argument he tries to offer is immediately shot down. However, for reasons you don't really understand, he keeps trying to prove you wrong, one reason after another. "Stop! Stop arguing, I heard him say it!" Your youngest sister cries, stamping her foot on the stone floor. She never liked arguments. The middle brother immediately stops talking and glances the other way. [[Continue reading the will]]

You look at the your sister, mentally pleading for her to side with you and say she heard it. She looks at you and seemingly contemplates what she wants to say. Tenseness hangs in the air until she finally speaks. "It's true, brother. I heard him say it." He stands down from his argument, quietly muttering for you to proceed. That'll teach him to pick fights he can't win. [[Continue reading the will]]

You continue reading, disinterest present in your voice. There is nothing in here that really applied to them, so you are about to call it quits until you see the last paragraph. It takes you by surprise, in all honesty. The crown wouldn't go directly to the Crown Prince? The most able child would be crowned the new ruler on coronation day? This looks very suspicious. The ink looks extremely fresh in comparison to the rest of the will, and the handwriting of the last paragraph doesn't match the rest of it. You are unsure if you read what you saw aloud until an agonized voice broke the silence. "Coronation Day's in seventeen days!" The youngest son shrieks before bursting into tears. The other siblings, judging by what you see upon glancing at them, are white as ghosts. You take the will with you on the way out of the room, with everyone else trailing behind you. However, your mother's hand lightly grazes your shoulder as she makes her way past you. "May you fare well." is her cryptic excuse for a goodbye. It creeps you out, and you are sure to take the hall opposite of her. Coronation Day is all you could think about the rest of the day. It's you against the world, but you must do it. You must become the very first Queen of Valkyria. ⚔️ ''PROLOGUE END'' ⚔️