Screaming and terror reverberated throughout the palace halls, as the alarming scent of fire and ash wafted through the air. The heavy clash of weaponry and armour rung as the servants awoke in a rush, eager to try and escape if they still could. Although they hadn't seen the scene outside yet, everyone instinctively knew what had happened.
"Quvari's army has invaded the castle!"
"Protect the royal family!"
"Run for your lives!"
A cacophony of different panicked voices resounded in all directions, as the scent of death loomed ever closer.
Despite all the chaos, a lone figure stood behind a tall pillar, with nothing but a serene calmness imprinted onto her face. Dark hair the colour of the night sky was plaited neatly behind her back, complementing her soft eyes that resembled luminous stars. Underneath a dark cloak, she wore a plain peasants dress alongside sturdy leather boots.
When the sound of hurried footsteps had passed by, her figure had briefly flashed as she reappeared inside a nearby room, namely the palace kitchen. Swiftly, she made her way to one of the many storerooms, before pressing a hidden button on the wall three times, located unassumingly amongst piles of crates and barrels.
An ominously dark stairwell silently opened up from the floor, which Alorna dived down quickly before reaching a lone door at the bottom of the deep corridor.
Without knocking, she hurriedly pushed the door open and picked up the confused little boy still half-asleep from his bed. "We must go." Was all that Orna explained, before dashing back up the stairs hurriedly. Time was of the essence, they needed to escape by making use of the chaos erupting around them. If the castle was captured before they had left, things would get ugly for the both of them.
Luca immediately sobered up as he realized the gravity of the situation and clung onto Alorna tightly as she hurried her footsteps. Despite the sight of his home for the past 6 years rapidly drifting away, Luca felt no longing for it. There was nothing there of value to him, nothing that he had left behind that he cared about. There were only three things he had truly treasured in his time here. One was his mothers memento, an old rusty silver pendant that dimly shone with its dull amethysts. It was currently hung around his thin neck, since he never takes it off, even when sleeping or washing. The other two, were his nanny and Alorna, who both took care of him during his six long years trapped here. A pain stung his heart when he remembered Old Gerda, who had passed away only a year ago. But as they exited the hidden stairwell, his reminiscient thoughts were immediately thrown away.
His heart welled up with immeasurable excitement as he looked around him curiously. Even though they were only in an old dusty storeroom, how long had it been since he had seen anything other than his isolated room? Unfortunately their circumstances spared no time for him to analyze his surroundings, as Orna quickly dashed out of the room and into the hallway having affirmed she could sense no one nearby yet.
The sounds of battle had gotten noticeably closer and more violent, not to mention the screams of innocent servants being slaughtered indiscriminantly. Similarly, the faint roars of a raging fire could be heard from a distance. Orna frowned as she thought of her little companion, feeling the need to cover his ears. However, Luca seemed oddly calm. He was no stranger to this scene, having experienced it once six years ago. Orna's eyes were moved briefly, before she refocused herself. She knew what he had experienced was much worse than what a normal ten year old child should have, but she would paint over his painful past with blissful memories. She absolutely swore it.
Peeking outside the window discreetly, Orna cursed as she noticed that the perimeter was surrounded by Quvarian soldiers. Alstices army had been utterly defeated in the battlefield, hence only the royal guard was left at the palace. There was no way they would last against the powerful Quvarian army, not to mention their low morale from having heard of Alstices quick defeat in the war.
Clutching Luca tightly, Orna began whispering the words of the ancients as a dark magic circle materialized beneath her feet. Her eyes were closed in deep concentration, as she conjured up an image of thousands of reinforcements clad in Alstician armour pouring out of the palace gates. Naturally, the general of the Quvarian army was vividly shocked at the sight, before immediately sending soldiers from the perimeter to assist the forces battling the palaces front. He wasn't idiotic enough to send everyone towards the front, considering his hardened years of experience. Instead, he was wary for other traps and surprises, refusing to underestimate the last stand of this small kingdom.
Although the gap made wasn't much, it was enough. Despite her paled complexion from having conjured up such a large-scale illusion, Orna immediately made use of the opportunity to dash out from the opened window with her hood covering her face. She weaved herself amongst the treetops above the stationed soldiers, but even then, with the large amount of people watching out for the slightest movement, she was inevitably discovered.
"Someone's escaping with a child!"
"It must be one of their hidden forces, kill them!"
Fortunately, since the number of soldiers had been dimmed, it was relatively easy enough to dodge their initial volley of arrows amongst the intertwining treetops. With their heavy armour, they naturally couldn't keep up with her as she escaped into the darkness of the night. An army was not made for chasing after a single figure afterall. Although they fumed initially that someone had escaped using a mere illusion to trick them, they were quickly turned around by the sight of a kings head being shown before them all. With the news that the royal family had been eradicated, they deduced that the escapee had been no one important and didn't pay much mind to it.
Triumphant roars and cheers echoed throughout the dark forest, revealing to the pair escaping that Quvari had successfully captured the castle. As Luca gazed upon the burning flames devouring the palace from Orna's shoulder, tears unwillingly fell from his dark emerald eyes. He didn't understand why he was crying, he had never even stepped into that palace on his own two feet. Was it that his birth kingdom had fallen? Was it that he was finally free from the hateful clutches of the king? Or was it that his blood as a prince grieved for his people? He didn't understand why, but the sight of the burning castle against the starry night sky never left his eyes as it grew further and further away.
