Chapter 13: Chapter 13

REYNA

The first thing I saw was the seven stone carvings of women in sensual postures holding daggers, the immortalized carving of the first Roses. There was something about it that drew the eye and held my attention.

“Late on your first day, Reyna, and you still find the time to admire the sculptures,” a familiar voice chastised softly.

I whirled, and standing behind me were Sabrina and three other girls my age, right outside the village hall. I hurried to them and greeted her.

Sabrina was the leader of the Roses. She was a beautiful woman in her mid-thirties, with long dark hair and a kind smile that belied the strength in her eyes.

Just like the other Roses, when she walked it always looked like she swayed or glided. Despite her fragile veneer and soft voice, there was something about her—besides her beauty and her utter sensuality—that commanded attention.

I’d always admired her and the others not only because of how they carried themselves with grace, poise, and litheness, but because of how they were always willing to sacrifice their lives for this queendom.

I couldn’t help staring at the girls who were all ahead of me in the training. They were uniquely beautiful.

I knew Olivia because we lived in the same castle. She was Amara’s granddaughter and also a witch.

The other two I’d seen around at the training grounds. What instantly raised my curiosity about them was the long leather gloves they wore on their hands.

It struck me as odd that all three wore these gloves.

“This is Reyna. These are Danielle and Selene—you already know Olivia,” Sabrina introduced.

We smiled at each other.

“From now on, these girls are your sisters. As you train and learn, you’ll come to depend on each other, and one day you’ll protect this queendom with them by your side. This is what being a Rose is all about,” Sabrina said as she led us inside.

“This is where your induction will take place, if you are able to complete your training,” Sabrina explained when we entered the common hall.

Sabrina continued walking as we passed the rows of chairs and down a couple of stairs. We followed her closely.

We didn’t stop at the hall; as I suspected, we headed directly to the secret room at the back.

She punched in the password on the pad right outside a door, and we walked inside a room that was nothing I’d ever imagined. I’d been here before, a long time ago.

Though I’d never come this far before I was discovered and sent back.

“You don’t look all that surprised to see the secret room. How long have you known it was here?” Sabrina asked conversationally.

“A few years. One year during one of the ceremonies, I decided to come this way, see if there were more portraits or carvings, and I somehow found the secret door to the room, but my mother caught me.” And I was punished for it.

“Well, no one is allowed to come back here. There are things that the public aren’t meant to see and you weren’t ready to see at the time,” Sabrina said seriously.

I understood this much—the mystery behind the Roses sisterhood was something only a few knew. The Roses were trained the same as everyone in Marlenia.

Except there was a special training only the Roses underwent before they were inducted into the sisterhood, which wasn’t public knowledge.

There was a rumor circulating that they were trained in some art that gave them power over men and beasts alike, that they used their bodies as weapons against the beasts. I honestly had no idea what that meant.

When I asked the castle maids and my nana, no one would explain it to me.

There was another, even more ridiculous, rumor that their kiss was the kiss of death—that to kiss them was to forfeit your life. That they had poison in their blood.

While I had never seen people kiss in real life or experienced it myself—not that I had any interest in that disgusting act—but yes, I knew what a kiss was. I saw a picture a long time ago of two people with their lips connected to each other’s.

It didn’t look dangerous to me, just weird and a bit gross. Which was why I didn’t believe it could kill anyone.

If they’d told me they bit each other’s mouths and bled to death, that I might believe.

I felt like people made up these rumors because of how unique and different the Roses were. They were all exceedingly beautiful women, each unique in her own way.

They walked as if they were goddesses come down to earth and spoke with sultry, lilting voices—not to mention, they were lethal in combat. This, however, didn’t mean they were poisonous women.

The sisterhood was a group of thirteen women who were trained to defend Marlenia. Always putting their lives in danger, they were sent to the outside world to scout, scavenge, and find supplies every once in a while.

There used to be seven Roses, but the numbers had been increasing throughout the years. Now there were thirteen.

We lost five Roses a couple of months ago; no one knew how they died. Cassandra only said, “They died in the line of duty.”

Joining the sisterhood was actually the only thing that I was looking forward to as an adult. I admired what they did.

Even though I was the heir to the throne, deep down, being the queen was never my dream. Whenever I dreamed of my future, I always pictured myself as a guardian or a Rose, protecting my queendom.

I was one of twenty-five girls who went through the same training. Five were chosen to undergo training and become Roses, to replace the five Roses we lost months ago.

The rest of the girls were sent to join the infirmary and learn to care for the sick, join either the farmers and help grow more food, or the technicians, castle maids, or the guardians’ ranks.

My eyes took in the maps that adorned one wall. On another wall, there were portraits depicting the outbreak that almost wiped out the world seventy years ago.

No…not just portraits…murals. They depicted a story of war and violence, of good and evil, of a world long lost and, with it, a great wealth of knowledge.

A big shelf was lined with several vials filled with colorful liquids of only God knew what. Paraphernalia lined a large table pushed to the wall.

There were so many other wonderful things I couldn’t make sense of, though I recognized some all over the room, like the candles, weaponry, the ceremonial red dresses of the sisterhood, and the portraits on the walls.