Mierea was born to King Jordan Albine, and his second wife Queen Castella. She was precocious, sweet, and full of smiles as a child. She was the kings third born, and only daughter, as she had two older half-brothers, Prince Rolo, and Prince Turron. Unfortunately the King's first wife Queen Halva, died from complications after giving birth to Prince Turron, and that was the start of his descent into madness. It would plague King Jordan for the rest of his life.
Prince Turron was four years older, and he quickly became Mierea's protector and best friend. She was never close to her eldest brother Prince Rolo as he left to start training as a knight when she was only three. Many days were spent in the gardens together with Turron, and her mother. Queen Castella would read the children poems, and tell them stories as they giggled and played. Most of her early years were spent barefoot and following Turron around, climbing trees, and running around the castle.
Mierea was only eight years old when her mother passed away after many months of illness, and being bedridden. She was old enough to understand that her mother was gone forever, and life seemed to change inside the castle. Her father grew even more cold, serious, and distant. His fits of madness, and self-loathing seemed to happen more often, and last longer. He blamed himself for the death of Castella, claiming he was cursed.
A year passed, and her father had no idea how to raise children without a wife, nor did he have much of a want to. After loosing Castella he knew he did not want to marry again. The king's adviser Lord Macon, and the children's governess Lady Madeleine were doing fine on their own, but he believed the children required a mother. That's when his younger brother Duke Astros and his wife came to stay with them. What started as a month long visit ended up with them coming to stay indefinitely. Thus a great part of Mierea's early education came from her aunt Duchess Bredela, who taught her sums, heraldry, ethics, reading, etiquette, dancing, geography, writing, philosophy, and the practical subjects such as running a household, weaving, and sewing.
As a youth Aunt Bredela, Lady Madeleine, Turron, and the cooks daughter Kyra were the people she was closest to. She spent her spare time riding horse with Turron, pretending to be a mermaid during baths, reading books in the library, playing with her dolls, and daydreaming about knights and princes asking to marry her. She and Kyra liked to sneak fresh cookies from the kitchen and have picnics on the roof of east tower. They would giggle about boys, and make up stories together. She taught Kyra to read, and Kyra in turn taught Mierea all of the names of the flowers and the medicinal purposes.
Throughout Mierea's childhood, Lord Macon negotiated potential future marriages for her. When she was only seven years old, she was promised to the young heir of the Licorices dukedom, but the contract was repudiated after three years. At the age of eleven, she was then betrothed to marry a prince from the Starch Kingdom, but the engagement was broken off within a few years as the Starch kingdom ruler was overthrown. Two more subsequent betrothals would take place over the next five years, both ending abruptly.
Her Uncle Duke Astros acted like a charmer for the first year he lived with them, but he slowly began to show his true colors as time went on. More then once little Mierea witnessed Duke Astros hit his wife. So Mierea made it blatantly obvious that she hated the man. She would roll her eyes when he spoke politely to others, and she would glare at him anytime she saw her aunt had been crying. Her father and Turron both told her that it was between a man and his wife. Duke Astros seemed to ignore her behavior, taking out his annoyance and anger on his wife more and more. Mierea was twelve years old when she got the courage to stand up to the man after seeing him backhand her Aunt for the final time. She threw her wooden doll at him, as she angrily screamed for him to leave her Aunt alone. The doll hit him square in the face, hard enough to bloody his nose, and he went off, picking Mairea up by her hair, and twisting her arm around till it cracked. Luckily Turron intervened.
Her father was who spent more time locking himself up in his room, finally showed himself, furious when he learned about the whole scene. He sent his brother Duke Astros away for a short time. It was no secret his brother had a temper, and no respect or care for woman. Duke Astros's own daughter Dyana died at his hand, not that anyone outside the family knew the whole truth. Several months later Duke Astros returned on his best behavior, and Mierea kept out of his way. Though she was refining the art of being passive aggressive and making witty snide remarks anytime they conversed. She could tell by the way he bunched his fist, and clenched his jaw when he smiled, that she was getting to him.
Once her poor Aunt Bredela started looking worse for ware again, with all the crying and bruises, Mierea took it upon herself to exact revenge by pouring ink into Duke Astros expensive rare wine collection. Later in the day her best friend Kyra received Duke Astros's punishment for the destroyed wine, when he knew full well Mierea had done it. Young Kyra had practically been whipped to the bone, and unfortunately she succumbed to a fever brought on by her wounds the next morning. Mierea blamed herself for the death of her dear friend Kyra. But she also would never forget who had killed her. After this Duke Astros seemed to be utterly calm and content for a long period of time.
Mierea made it her job to say out of his way, and Turron never seemed to leave her alone for fear of their uncle. Their father barely left his room now, and when he did his eyes always seemed soulless and hollow. Her eldest bother Prince Rolo returned, now an official knight of An'elle, and he took over much of their fathers Kingly duties. Duke Astros was sent away on a journey for the next year and a half. Time passed, and Mierea was fourteen when Turron left to train new knights outside the capital. Mierea made sure to not enrage Astros once he returned. Normally that just meant staying out of his way, and being cordial. Sickeningly Rolo and Astros seemed to get along like long lost friends.
She was fifteen when a maidservant found Aunt Bredela dead in her room, clutching her deceased daughters hair ribbons, and a goodbye letter. On the bedside table was five empty bottles of belladonna. Astros's list of innocent lives taken was ever growing. Mierea had resented her father for not doing anything in all these years to stop his brother, but a few months after Aunt Bredela passed he sent Astros packing, under the orders of reviving his own crumbling dukedom. Her aunt's death took a tole on Mierea. She refused two offers of marriage and even told her father she was contemplating a life as a priestess, for fear of having a husband like Astros. She was blossoming into a beautiful young woman, but marriage was off the table for the next year, as she mourned her aunts death.
She was seventeen when her latest betrothal fell through due to the young knight dying in battle, she wondered who the next possible match could be. Sometimes she felt like she was cursed to never marry, as every betrothal seemed to end in the grooms death or Lords reneging for finding love in another. Her father grew even more mentally ill. Prince Rolo had taken to drinking, and sneaking off to brothels. Thankfully Turron finally came home now married to Lady Thalia of the Drink kingdom.
She was now nineteen and technically getting past her prime in blushing bride years, when a series of misfortunes happened one after the other. Rolo died unexpectedly in the middle of the night, to what was later found to be cancer of the brain, Lady Thalia miscarried their first child, and then six months later King Jordan was found dead, as he had jumped from the east tower in the middle of the night.
Turron of course became King, and Lady Thalia became Queen. It has been just over a year now, and thankfully the Sweets Kingdom is recovering under King Turron's rule, though people question why he has allied with the vegetable kingdom. With Turron as king, she doesn't feel the pressure to marry for profit, title, or some kind of gain. If he asked it of her she would, but he has made it completely clear that he only wishes for her happiness, so though the past year was spent in mourning she has also become more free.
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