In years of prosperity, the Empire of Savour had its share of well-being and nutrition coming from the Glass Kingdom and Kingdom of Rustland as of the seventy year pact put out by High Seniors of the Age. The mother queen bore seven healthy children, six dazzling girls and a handsome boy. Avis, Diane, Rachel, Katarina, Taiga, Sophia and Kae all nurtured to the brink of their existence, ready to conquer the world, lived together under their parents, mighty rulers, guidance.
Avis was prepared to be ready for taking over the throne and rule above the siblings. Diane, for taking the ancient archives guidance. Rachel, for military resources. Katarina, for arts patron. Taiga, for advisory studies. Sophia, for agriculture. And lastly, Kae, for people’s attendance.
The sisters lived comfortably, as much as the dynasty family could live, each of them raised to be fit into the role. Thought years apart, they seemed to get along with each other not more than acquaintances would; alas, it would make them a better fit governor. The only brother spent his days training to be the royal advisor to the next queen, being highly regarded by the servants, not so much by most of his siblings.
However, things did not go as the rulers thought it to be. There was a certain misfit that did not exactly fit her role, or should we call it, exceeded it greatly. The fourth sister, Katarina, declared arts patron, by far exceeded expectations when it came to other things as well. Some may say, she perfected things the same time her older sisters did while being younger. Her hunger panged gaze licked the blades of swords, the books of ancient kings and grasped the finest of jewellery. Even the entourage saw it so. She should have stayed in line, just like other sisters did, however, the royal pair encouraged it as they saw it would be fit of a future queen, should the sisters fall ill.
Each of the sisters had their own plans and each of them wanted to grasp something for themselves, the blood of their ancestors raging in their veins in need of competition. Each of them wanted to have power, more or less, but Katarina’s hunger was far greater than any other, it was the hunger of wanting everything to herself, to rule, to be the governing hand of the Empire and to lead it to its greatest glory ever seen, even exceeding her own noble parents.
Her ally was their brother, Taiga, whom she had befriended very early. The closest of age to each other, they have been inseparable, much to dismay of other sisters who treated the boy as nothing more than a lackey to their aid. A truly pitiful sight, as the empire prided itself on bigger equality despite being a matriarchal place.
She told him stories of how she wished to be an empress, a queen to rule above it all, how she hated being put in the place of just arts protector, how she wanted more. The brother claimed he would also love to see her in the place of their older sister, whom frankly, wasn’t to his liking. They would dream of ruling in their own place.
However, the second sister, Diane, was more than aware of the danger the fourth sister could impose on the order they had established. Being power hungry herself and wanting nothing more than to discredit her older, privileged sister, she understood she had no chance against the younger, she simply did not have so much talent for grasping knowledge. Sick and driven to the brink of insanity, she had thought about the solution. The plan was to eliminate the nuisance of the sister in one swift go, assassinate her using paid measures. The plan was foiled by accident, and it took no time for the young Katarina to understand just whom decided to get rid of her.
Her bloodthirst raised, her inner desires flamed up and soon she became a devilish version of herself from the past, lusting for power, greedy for knowledge, loving the sound of her own voice producing the sweetest lies to her sisters. She had too, planned. She did not deem her sisters as worthy of the throne anymore; it was hers and only hers, and nothing could stop her from getting it. As soon as the brother came to know of the sudden change, when realized just why, he came to her assistance.
First, she decided to carry out the revenge on the spiteful second sister who was her biggest enemy. Just a gentle trick of a paid off servant to the horse’s saddle and Diane had been paralysed, unable to walk, only able to move her head in fear and spitting out profanities at the servant. Katarina came to aid and protected the servant with her wit and tears and begged for them to not be sentenced as she had been with them since she was born. The parents listened, and the second sister died in the miserable husk of her body months later, cursing the fourth sister’s name into eternity.
The third sister saw what was going on, as she was no fool, and decided to stop the bloodthirst of the younger. She attempted to talk to her, but was scowled at by a vengeful Katarina, causing the sisters to duel. None of them could be let down, and soon Rachel had to realize she could not be stopped. The realization dawned on her when she was held in cuffs for the dirty secrets the fourth sister dug out from underneath the sand, like gold hoarding she had only done once, or that trade that did not go well enough to be settled. Soon she died, imprisoned in the mighty tower, never to be let out again.
By that time, the fifth and sixth sisters have been raised by the fourth to her own personal liking, as she spent most of her time with them and the brother. They would pose no threat to Katarina’s plans, as she promised them lands of glory in exchange for their undying support. The sister agreed, and it was what had saved them from sharing the gruesome fate of their older siblings.
Avis, the nominated, had realized Katarina had too much power in her own hands, eliminating the younger sisters, being the next to the throne, people believing she was a kind, merciful being, loyal servants who started glancing at her menacingly. She had to put a stop to that. The royals had to know about the supposed madness. She had called a meeting, claiming the fourth to be insane, vengeful witch whom did not deserve to be held to any gratuition. To her surprise, the younger sisters declared they want the fourth to be their ruler, and their brother even stepped up to their mother, claiming unyielding loyalty to the fourth, not the nominated.
It was the last streak of insanity for the oldest. Soon she began obsessing on how the fourth will take her out, and decided to act quickly. An assassination in the broad daylight would be the perfect way to set an example. In her blind rage, she forgot she did not have enough power anymore to have loyal servants, willing to carry out such task. They did, but they failed miserably, and in the light of the day she had been publicly ashamed of being a criminal.
The fourth did not deny the gossip of just why the oldest wanted to eliminate her, however the deed the oldest did was unforgivable by even her parents, and soon she found herself on the pedestal, ready to be cut down from existence. The fourth smiled menacingly and in her final moments, Avis understood she had failed herself, she had been caught in a trap she had set, and cursed Katarina’s name like her two other sisters did.
The rumors spread out again, and soon the sixteen year fourth had been called the ruthless princess. She never denied any of the accusations that she had been the one to bend the fate into her own biding, not even to her parents. However, she had exhibited enough wisdom, kindness to her people, political talent and military governing that people could not help but wonder if what she had done hadn’t been the necessary measure for them to have the best ruler out of six royal sisters. The gossip went through and now the Fourth Sister, Katarina, had been nominated for the Empress title for more than four years, gaining respect from everyone around her. It was a truly vengeful but kind, insane but wise princess, feared for the past, respected for the future. It was a true sister bloodbath she had caused, however people were more than pleased to have her as their next Queen, Empress, to see the beautiful, fruitful country grow even more in her hands.
