Page 1 of Vanish

CHAPTER1

Lisette

Tension cloaked our traveling entourage the closer we drew to the border, the last defense between us and the fate that awaited us the moment we crossed. We collectively held our breath as the jostling carriage rolled across the border, leaving our kingdom’s protection and ushering us into the doomed land.

I expected the curse to immediately descend upon us, but the carriage continued forward without any change. Even so I remained rigid, waiting, before slowly lifting my hands to wriggle my fingers experimentally. I could still see myself, an unexpected marvel.

From her place in the seat across from me, my handmaiden, Aira, released a whooshing breath of relief as she ran her eyes anxiously over me before twisting to take in her still visible body. “We haven’t vanished.”

At her confirmation my tense posture eased, yet only slightly considering the looming danger hadn’t passed. Instead it only escalated the deeper we ventured into the kingdom of Brimoire, traveling towards our doom rather than fleeing it. In contrast to the comforting familiarity of the quiet that often accompanied me, this shrouding silence was choked with unease, broken only by the rattling sound of the wheels against the road.

Though my servants had been well-trained in these extended silences, our current anxiety was too heightened. Drawing a laden breath, Aira met my eyes. “It’s not too late to turn around; it’s too risky to venture any farther into such a cursed land.” Despite my handmaiden’s façade of calm, her hands twisted in her lap, betraying her nerves.

The tension paralyzing my limbs eased just enough for me to scoot closer to the window and peer tentatively out at the passing scenery. I searched for the dangers said to be lurking in every corner of the kingdom that was to become my new home…but saw only Brimoire’s picturesque landscape of rolling hills, no sign of thenothingnessrumored to be swallowing everything it touched.

Aira’s voice wavered as she continued. “Perhaps the whispers of a disappearing curse are nothing more than trite gossip. Surely His Majesty wouldn’t send his only daughter into such danger.”

I didn’t have the strength to contradict her foolish hopes; speaking of Father’s indifference for my wellbeing out loud would only make my plight more real. I averted my gaze and said nothing. Thankfully silence was a typical response for me, so my handmaiden didn’t peel back its layers to glimpse the vulnerability hidden beneath…though I felt her watchful gaze and wondered just how much she’d already observed.

The fear that had been our constant traveling companion ever since our departure swelled as I glanced out the window again, urging me to order my entourage to turn back before we ventured any deeper into a land rumored to be gradually vanishing. With an effort I ignored the compulsion, as unfortunately such a request would be impossible—despite my role as a princess, my wishes had never been my own. Even if I could act on them, I had no life to return to.

Failure wasn’t an option, especially when Father weighed duty of far greater importance than his shy, awkward, and disappointing daughter whose sole purpose was to create a beneficial alliance. Whereas everyone else saw a doomed land on the brink of extinction and wouldn’t dare send a member of the royal family directly into danger, my kingdom’s monarch only sought an opportunity to secure his hold over an easily conquerable land through a political arrangement.

Should the worst happen and the curse overcome us, I would be nothing more than collateral damage, which Father could also turn to his advantage by seeking revenge from the throne he considered responsible. Regardless of the outcome, he would get his way…and I would be doomed. I heaved a wavering sigh at the depressing thought. Just how many more breaths did I have remaining before my fate befell me?

“Are you well, Princess Lisette?” My handmaid’s brisk tone penetrated the tense stillness.

I looked up to discover fear whirling her bulging gaze, the only hint betraying her usual stoic expression. By her knowing look, I wondered whether she’d understood the words I hadn’t spoken out loud…but at least she’d noticed my faltering emotions rather than pretended otherwise, like so many others. I realized, to my surprise, that her fear was not just for herself but that she felt concern for me as well.

I shifted beneath my attendant’s scrutinizing gaze and wished as I had countless times before that I would seep into the velvet cushions of the jostling carriage and simply…disappear. Such a condition would finally free me from my burdens, the most pressing being the dreaded destination looming closer with every turn of the carriage, where I would finally be forced to face the expectations placed upon me, the expectations I had no hope of fulfilling.

Being invisible would have at least prevented me from drawing the notice of the crown prince. In truth it wasn’tIwho had captured his attention but all that I hid behind—my title, my kingdom, the benefits from a carefully negotiated contract. I still had yet to fully understand the benefits of our union—understanding wasn’t required for obedience to the duty I’d been raised to implicitly follow, so I’d learned from an early age that questions were unwelcome. My own wishes were an out-of-reach luxury for a princess, nothing more than a mere, powerless pawn in a strategic game of chess.

Though an arranged marriage had never figured into my girlhood dreams, aside from the peril overshadowing the kingdom like a dark cloud, my circumstances wouldn’t be much different than the life I was leaving behind…only I would be replacing my role of useless daughter with that of an unwanted wife. Memories of my fiancé’s usual indifferent expression filled my mind before I forced the painful images away; despite the approaching danger, I couldn’t weaken my resolve.

Yet for all my effort I couldn’t dispel the unease that suddenly assaulted me. I fumbled for the ancient heirloom that had once belonged to my mother, which I always kept on a chain around my neck ever since I’d taken it from the royal treasury before embarking on my journey, craving an anchor of reassurance midst this sea of uncertainty. I stroked my finger over the faceted, flame-colored stone that nestled within intricate gold scrollwork.

Though my faint memories of the stories about its mystical protective powers Mother used to weave to lure me to sleep as a child were likely nothing more than the whims of make believe created to entertain her daughter, I needed to imagine the amulet served as a protective charm against the unknown I drew ever closer to…the very force that would soon abruptly engulf our surroundings.

At first nothing in the scenery betrayed any hint that my passing fancy would shortly come true, but as the hours drifted by and we ventured deeper into Brimoire, I began to wonder if the rumors had been exaggerated. While unease still coiled deep inside, my rigid tension slowly relaxed into mere disquietude…until I sensed a sudden shift in the air. I peered back out the window, but saw nothing except the trailing dustclouds stirred by wheels against the dirt road, which vanished the moment they hit the air, as if swallowed up by a force I couldn’t see. The green hills decorating the horizon had also disappeared, leaving the surrounding land almost entirely barren.

An unsettling sensation slithered over me at the sight that was so unlike the lush kingdom from my memories of all the times I’d traveled to Brimoire to meet my betrothed. I unrolled the map on my lap and followed the inky lines of our travel route with my fingertip, pausing at the mark signifying one of Brimoire’s most bustling trade centers several hours from Thorndale’s border.

I looked between the window and the map. I thought we would have arrived at this town about now. It wasn’t just the town—the characteristic rolling hills and defining landmarks I’d grown more familiar with each trip were also missing, vanished without a trace, as if we’d taken a wrong turn and traveled down a completely different road. My foreboding deepened as my eyes scanned the horizon for the familiar sights, searching for the tall warehouses that stored the crops, minerals, and lumber that Brimoire exported.

My entourage had often stopped in this town to stretch our legs and purchase treats from a bakery before continuing the long trek to the capital, or to browse the shops for keepsakes. I was always too shy to barter for the beaded necklaces or silk shawls, nor did I have anyone in Thorndale to purchase souvenirs for, but I enjoyed observing as Aira and the others cheerfully haggled over the proper price for the leather goods. But now the sights, sounds, and smells had melted into nothingness; even the soothing trill of birdsong or the breeze whispering through branches had been replaced by an oppressive silence.

“Princess Lisette?”

Aira’s wavering voice drew my attention towards her. My own worry was too acute to remain bound by my usual reservation. “Something feels…off. Can you sense it?”

She pressed her hands over her mouth to stifle her gasp before swallowing and pulling them slowly away as she took a hesitant look outside. “Could it be the curse?”

By the trepidation slowly eroding my calm, I feared it might be. I pushed the window open in order to better investigate, ignoring her frantic plea for me to stop lest the curse slither through the opening. I wasn’t entirely certain of what I expected to discover, considering a disappearing curse was likely as invisible as everything it transformed by its touch.

The land stretched around us without any sign of vegetation or buildings against the endless landscape. I glanced behind the carriage to stare down the road we’d traveled…only to be met with nothing. I twisted towards the front, craning my neck so I could speak to the guard who’d been riding alongside us.

He was gone.

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