Alliar

I woke suddenly hearing the screams echoing through the castle walls like the wind. With my eyes wide and my heart beating in a panic I turned my head from side to side as if searching for the threat right in front of me but there was no one here, just me. Pushing the soft covers off of me and letting my feet find the floor as I wondered over to the window feeling my heart stop and my breathing catch at the sight. The castle was burning, people were rushing everywhere and the sounds of metal on metal echoed almost as loud as the screams.

My door burst open making me jump and stumble back until my back was pressed against the cold stone and I was facing the door. Out of the shadows Jenifer entered my room, her face in a panic as her eyes were wide with worry.

"Princess, we must leave, there are men in the castle." She said urgently to me as she grabbed a hold of my hand and started pulling me out of the room with nothing but my night gown on - which meant this was a lot more serious than any previous raids I have lived through.

"What's happening?" I asked as we rushed down the hallway to Kya's room.

"I don't know, I only know that we have to get out now. You don't want to find out what they do to little girls during a raid." She told me, her voice full of wisdoms as we pushed into Kya's room just as she was waking up.

"Kya, quickly get up." I said to her pulling her up and out of bed and dragging her over towards the door while she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Kya kept quiet while we ran down the hall following Jenifer as she led us through to the tunnels that were said to get us to safety. Turning a corner Jenifer went to open the secret door hidden behind one of the tapestries in the main hall but fell after trying to open it with all her force. She shook her head and frowned her brow, confused. "I don't understand, they were open only yesterday." She sounded befuddled.

"Are you sure you have the right one?"

"Yes, I was made to refill the oils to the candles only yesterday, they were..." She trailed off.

The loud sounds of yelling and swords clinging together had me clutching on to Kya, I wanted nothing more than to tell her everything was going to be okay and she was going to be alive and well by the end of this but I honestly couldn't, because I didn't know how much longer we were going to live for. Looking around the room I suddenly remembered when I was a child and doing one of my mother's treasure hunts, she had laid down the challenge to meet her at the side gate without using a door or a window. While Tristan had so elegantly climbed down off the roof I had lifted a loose stone in the floor and found one of the hidden tunnels that ran under the castle.

"Over here!" I whispered to Jenifer as I was wondered over to the corner of the room and dropped down on my knees to begin feeling at the stones. Catching on to what I was doing, Jenifer started to help, searching for the loose stone that I hoped they hadn't filled it in just yet. Feeling a paver jolt as I pressed on it I finally found my breath, curling my fingers in the sides I realised that this was a lot easier when I had smaller fingers and pushed the stone up and over to the side.

"Kya, you go down first." I told her as I grabbed onto her hands and went to slip her into the dark hole.

"No I don't want to go without you." She gripped onto me with deathly strength that surprised me.

"I'll be right behind you, I promise." I said giving her a quick nod and placing her down the hole gently. "Jenifer, your turn."

"No Princess you have to go, your life is far more important than mine."

"You know the best way out of the kingdom and where to go, I don't so you have to go and help my sister. I'll be right behind you." I assured her but my tone gave away my uncertainty. I had no idea if I was going to be right behind them because I didn't know how much time we had, the sounds of fighting sounded so near that I feared that they were right outside the door.

Jenifer nodded slowly and then did as I asked and jumped down into the dark hole. Just as she let go on my hands and hit the ground the doors to the room burst open with armoured men flocking in and headed in my direction. I couldn't jump down the hole because I would led them right to my sister. Sliding the paver back over the hole I felt it click into place and then jumped up to my feet, turning around quickly I saw the intruders flock into the room with black armour and stern expressions. There was only one other way out that didn't involve me side stepping the large horde of men or leading them to my sister and that was the window a good level up from the ground.

Taking a deep breath I broke out into a run praying that the pile of hay that was there earlier in the day was still there now. Jumping through the window I tucked myself into a small ball, bracing myself for the painful impact with the ground. I landed in a pile of mud with a only a small amount of hay on the ground but it wasn't enough to soften my fall, there was a loud sound coming from my side and I knew I had broken something in that moment but I didn't have time to think about it. Groaning, I pulled myself up off the floor and broke out into a run, I didn't know where I was running too but I just needed to get some distance between me and the castle.

Running through the castle I made it out of the gates and through the town without much trouble, most of the town remained untouched it was mainly the main square and inside the walls that was hardest hit with the dead plaguing the streets like rats in the sewers. Feeling a tightness in my chest and my legs begin to shake I knew I was reaching my limit, coming to a stop I leaned myself up against one of the walls of a small hut in the town made mostly of clay. I bent down and put my hands on my knees to focus on my breath and try and calm my racing heart.

"Pst. Princess." A voice sounded from just behind me making me jump and spring back to my energetic self. I spun around and saw a middle aged woman wearing a brown ratted clock over a yellow piece of cloth that acted as a dress. "You need to get away, Princess, they'll recognise you here." She whispered to me as she reached out for my hand.

I looked at her unsure. I was always told not to trust people but we were in the same situation here, if they found her she would be in as much trouble as me, the only difference is that I may be able to be used as a bargaining tool. I looked into her cool grey eyes and thought I hadn't any other choice but to trust her.

Taking her hand she pulled me — quite forcefully — into the small hut and threw a makeshift green dress at me. "Quickly slip into this, with the mud on your face and this dress you should pass as a servant."

I wasted no time and quickly did what she said and started slipping into the dress, thanking the gods that the dress tied in the front so I could get into it all on own and without any aid. Pulling an old cloak over me I followed the lady out a back door and over to a carriage that was packed with people, being drawn by only one tired looking old horse.

"Quickly now, on you go." She told me pushing me up into the cart and following me up and pushing her way into a seat.

The cart started to quickly move as we headed out of the kingdom to only the gods know where. I fiddled with my finger nails and started to glance around the cart as we sat in an eerie silence. There were two older men in the corner, both bent over and coughing their lungs out, to my left sat a younger girl possibly about my age, her skin was an array of red, brown as she no doubt has been working the fields. Looking down at my own skin I saw it was mainly white and pale showing that I was often inside and not in the harsh sun of the fields — maybe I could get away with saying I was a severing girl or a kitchen wrench, yes that should work.

The cart jolted and jumped making me squeal as I almost fell off the cart but was quickly grabbed by the lady who had saved me, thanking her I quickly looked up at my saviour. She looked tired and was most likely once a very beautiful woman with long blond hair and grey eyes.

"Where are we going?" I asked her in a small whispered voice.

"Lord McKinley's lands over near the coast, the raiders shouldn't wonder over there, there isn't anything of value over there." She informed me.

"Raiders?" one of the older men scoffed and he lent towards us, his gaze flicking between me and my rescuer. "They're no raiders, didn't you see the crest?"

"No one in these lands wears a Griffin for a sigil, they must be from over the sea." She shook her head and rationalised with them.

I thought back to my lessons and couldn't think of anyone wearing the Griffin as their crest.

"The Reaper King does, the wings of an eagle from his father and the body of a lion from his mother."

I looked over waiting for a recant but the ladies face drained of all colour and paled to a ghostly white as she processed the information. I hadn't heard much about the Reaper King except for what I had overheard from the guards or my brothers 'secret' conversations — that weren't as secret as they thought. He was a sickly King so I've heard, not sick in the body but in the mind, a tortured soul stolen by the devil as the sisters would say. He was known for his cruelty, hatred and violent beatings, who killed for enjoyment and amusement, no one lived after he decided to kill them.

The cart fell silent after that, no one had courage enough to speak. I was almost falling asleep with the rocking of the cart but the loud crackling of fire and screaming made me jump to attention just as it done earlier. Looking around the sun was on the rise and the sky was a beautiful orange and yellow setting a glow over the small town that was now burning a blaze, the smoke turning what was once a beautiful sun rise to a dark cloud of smoke.

The cart stopped abruptly as a wave of peasants started running from the town and made the horse jump back. We all jumped down and I looked over at my rescuer for direction, I didn't know my way around here and I wasn't familiar with these woods, I was dead if she left me now. "Run!" She screamed at me and left me there gawking like an idiot. Mentally slapping myself for not following her, I broke out into a run, unsure of where it was I was really heading and getting lost in the crowds. I was running but got pushed to the side by a wave of people and soon found myself being stopped by a strong muscular arm padded in heavy armour.

I screamed and thrashed about as the man picked me up and pulled me back, lifting me off my feet. "Put me down!" I screamed and kicked out, my hands trying to grab hold of some flesh or hair so that I could scratch at him or inflict some pain on the man but my short arms proved no match for his large frame.

"Why aren't you a feisty one, we're going to have some fun with you." He chuckled as he slammed me into a wall making my head bang against the clay wall and sending me crumbling down to a limp heap on the floor. I whimpered as I felt the blood enter my mouth and my head began to ache from the impact.

I went to pull myself up with hopes of running away but the man just picked me back up and started dragging me into a house. I kicked and out and screamed but it was fruitless efforts, I couldn't over power him and nor could I run away fast enough if given the chance. He threw me on the ground and as I went to get up his hand collided with my check sending my head snapping back and a stinging feeling to take up residency on my left cheek. I bit my lip as I tried to stifle a cry, pushing myself up a little I looked over and saw a collection of other girls lined up, down on their knees with their hands folded behind their backs and their heads down. Some dared to look over at me and gave me sad, pained look that made a chill run through my bone as if an ice cold bucket of water had just been dumped on me.

I didn't know what to expect, I had never gone through a raid or a siege or whatever this was — or at least I didn't remember ever going through such an experience. The men started to argue and I tuned out of their conversation as I caught onto their subject. We were lined up here for their picking, the spoils of war didn't just mean gold, it meant woman too, and ones you killed when you were done with them.

I closed my eyes and tried to come to terms with my pending doom, raped and murdered, not the way I thought I was going to die — but at least Kya would be safe from their clutches, Jenifer would have gotten her out, I'm sure of it.

I went to move into a more comfortable position when a hand connected to my face once again and I was thrown back into the dirt, this time unable to stifle the cry of pain that escaped me.

"Don't you dare raise your hand again?" A deep voice boomed through the room making the rest of the men fall silent.

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Another chapter up! Things are beginning to get interesting. If you have any comments or critisms do let me know so I can make this story more 'readable'. Thank you.

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