Chapter 3
I first met Kaden when I was seven. I was on a butcher’s block.
It was a time of famine, people were losing it.
Boiling water was being poured right in front of my face. The butcher was playing with the knife, measuring me.
Then, a flash of silver, and my ropes were cut clean off.
I looked up and saw Kaden.
His eyes were sharp, the pupils almost pure black, and his whole vibe was cold. He looked down on people with a rarely showing
expression.
He was on a huge, fancy horse, white clothes, and silver dragons on them. He had so many bodyguards, he was dazzling.
He wasn’t the king yet; he was the youngest of the princes. He had everyone kissing his boots.
I ran towards him, got his clothes:
“Please, sir, take me with you! I’m a hard worker and will do anything for you!”
Kaden was ten back then. He looked down at me:
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“…What’s your name?”
“I, um, my name’s Ginger.”
“What kind of Ginger?”
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“My dad said I’m a waste of money, so it’s Ginger the Waste of Money.”
“Wrong.” His tone was a little impatient.
I panicked and looked at him.
He used the sheath of his sword to poke me, cold, a little cocky:
“Your dad’s a moron, he’s wrong. It’s Ginger the Nation–Destroying Beauty. You got that?”
I just stared at him.
He was the greatest, bravest, and most handsome guy in the
whole world.
At seven years old, I knew what I was going to do for the rest of my life.
I was going to follow Kaden. Even to my death.
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From then on, Kaden took me with him.
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When I was fourteen, and Kaden was seventeen, the King died, and it was time to fight for the throne.
His biggest problem was his older brother, the third prince.
He had a lot of power and it was clear Kaden was going to lose.
The strategist gave him an idea:
“Sir, no one can resist beauty. Ginger is beautiful beyond compare. If she seduces the third prince, you can poison him, which will give us a huge advantage.”
Kaden didn’t say anything.
The strategist frowned:
“Sir, you’ve been keeping her around for so long because of this! I said she would be a beauty. You saved her because you knew she’d be your best weapon. Now’s the time to use it.”
The strategist was relentless:
“Sir, you can’t only think of yourself! Think of Princess Ann! She’s always supported you! If you don’t take the throne, the third prince will have her killed!”
Princess Ann had saved Kaden in his childhood. She was his
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true love.
Whenever he heard her name, he’d soften up.
When Kaden and his strategist came to me, the maids were making fun of me:
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“Ginger, it’s so crazy outside. If there is no food, and the prince has nothing to eat, what are you going to do?”
I answered without hesitation:
“The prince can eat me.”
Everyone froze.
Kaden’s eyes went wide. He stopped.
The strategist was jumping for joy:
“Sir, she has been through so much fear, yet she’d say that for you! She’ll do anything to seduce the third prince!”
Kaden was silent for a long time.
When he spoke, he wasn’t answering the strategist, he was warning the maids that they weren’t allowed to joke around like that ever again. Then he left.
Kaden never went through with that plan.
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A month later, the third prince sent troops to surround Kaden’s
mansion.
Kaden was heavily injured and almost dead. I pulled him out of the pile of dead people and we went on the run.
Kaden was on the run, lost contact with all his people, and the only one with him was me.
He was gravely injured, unconscious all day. I went to the restaurants to pick up leftovers, begged on the streets for anything to help him.
One time, I couldn’t find anything for three days. Kaden had a high fever.
I closed my eyes, took a knife, and cut off a piece of my leg. I made a soup, and fed it to him.
He got better.
We went on like that for a while. Then, his men found him.
Kaden led them back to the city.
I helped him a lot!
One time on the battlefield, I took off my veil.
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The general of the other side stared at me like a deer caught in headlights. He forgot to breathe and died.
The most intense battle, Kaden didn’t want me to go. I said:
“I have been in snow fights, and I did my duty. I am ready for war…”
Before I finished, everyone laughed so hard they cried.
I still got into the battle and took a weapon for Kaden.
It hurt so much. Kaden held me.
His hands were shaking. He is usually so composed:
“Ginger, what are you doing here?”
I said: “I was worried, and I snuck in…”
My friend, Jade, corrected, crying: “You mean, snuck in carefully.”
Ugh, I messed it up.
In short, we won. Kaden became king.
The first thing he did was bring Princess Ann to the palace, he was going to make her the queen.
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Everyone was busy preparing her ceremony.
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Princess Ann came to talk to me, and put her hand directly onto
a candle flame.
The palm of her hand burned.
I stared at her:
“Are you going to cook yourself? You must be starving.”
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