You see King Balor was ten steps ahead of the South. He had discovered years before he attacked the South that he was infertile and he refused to raise a bastard to be the next King. Instead, as soon as King Balor realized he couldn't have children he ordered soldiers to go to orphanages in the kingdom, gather boys and girls, with his same hair and skin coloring, and were aged six to eight.
No one outside the castle could know why this was happening, and everyone was so scared of King Balor that they just ignored what he was doing.
He ended up with around 50 boys and a 100 girls. We were kept completely separate from each other so I don't know what the boys training was like, but I know that the girls were put through agony.
At first going to the palace was a dream, eating three square meals a day and sleeping in a warm place without any drafts, but then after a couple of days of interviews, girls started disappearing.
We tried to ask questions but the previously kind servants suddenly became indifferent. Then one day we were woken up before the crack of dawn with an angry yell, commanding us all to get up.
I remember being half asleep as I stood with the rest of the girls as our trainers examined us, growling at us to stand up straighter. Some girls started crying and were immediately escorted from the room to never return.
I don't know how long we stood there but my muscles had started becoming stiff and my mind had woken up.
Finally we were informed that what we were brought to the castle to serve the will of the King, nothing else. If we failed our duty there would be consequences.
The consequences became apparent when were led from the room to a bonfire of bodies at the back of the castle.
It was sick for sure but as the girls and I were forced to stand there and examine the bodies I realized that they weren't just nameless faces, they were the bodies of the girls who had not only disappeared over the last few days, but had cried earlier today.
I wasn't certain if I wanted to cry or be sick, but I knew that I couldn't show any weakness or else I would end up on the bonfire, and I wanted to continue to live. So I adverted my eyes and followed our new teachers
From that day on we were coached in the ways of diplomacy, grace, strength, and espionage.
However, the purpose of our existence was never revealed to us until after the war ended. By then there were only seven of us left, all hardened woman who had fought for our existence. We had three more tests, and whoever passed it would become the princess of the kingdom.
Those who didn't were backup in case that princess fell through. I was the oldest of all the girls so I knew that my chances weren't as good but somehow, despite all my micro-failures I was chosen to be the sacrificial princess.