Kirana woke up with strong dizziness, and her body hurt horribly. She looked around all the mess with tear-soaked eyes. Apparently, the frightening nightmare she lived last night wasn't just a dream. She was inside the wagon along with Vadim, Samaria, and other people she did not know; who still seemed asleep or unconscious and were lying on a dirty layer of straw and leaves, with their hands tied.

She was silent, and the only surrounding sound was the gallop of horses on the stone road. Only a dim light came in from the small window of the wagon, giving a desolate feeling to the small cabin that was transporting her and her friends. Hundreds of mixed feelings were running through her head.

She felt guilty, as she had left the children alone before all the inclemencies of a big and dangerous world that they had not yet been able to discover. But on the other hand, she knew that there was no option.

Her husband during his time on Earth was convinced that great things were waiting for the pair of children, and she also felt the same. That feeling was a force that emanated from inside her heart and was too strong for holding back.

The wagon continued its monotonous pace over the muddy road that turned into a cobblestone street. The dull silence that had surrounded Kira during the trip had turned into a busy bustle of voices, horse hooves, music, and screams, showing that they had already left the quiet forest to enter the city.

The noises heard from inside the wagon were remarkable enough to deduce that the van had already reached Ulan Shang Kov, the capital of the Empire. Kira carefully approached the tiny window -trying not to step on her compatriots- to confirm her suspicion. From the small hole, she could see the imposing red walls of the Kremlin and its lavish towers of the same color, decorated with green tile roofs and crowned by golden tricephalous eagles.

Suddenly, the door of the wagon opened abruptly, making Kira fall on Samaria and Vadim, who woke up due to her impact. The clarity that suddenly entered the wagon managed to irritate the eyes of the captured ones, who had already become accustomed to the darkness or were still sleeping.

Several soldiers dressed in a black uniform, combined with a dark fur coat and a cape of said color, were waiting outside. Those soldiers were accompanied by several men dressed in a similar way - which meant that they belonged to the Dark Army, but in addition, there were also several young men dressed in orange military uniforms, whose faces she could not tell apart.

"Do not try to resist or flee if you do not want to get hurt," an indistinguishable voice was heard among the army men.

The soldiers rushed into the wagon and dragged Kira and the other hostages out, twisting their arms violently- enough to leave them scarred - while everything spun before their dazzled eyes.

Kira, just like her companions, was too exhausted to grant resistance, so in a few minutes, she was already next to Vadim and Samaria being loaded into the North Tower by two of the men in colorful uniforms, who were accompanied by several of the soldiers of the Dark Army. After spiral staircases and labyrinthine corridors, they reached the cell assigned to them in the dark dungeon, which had its door wide open.

The Kozzakhi managed to regain their sight when the clarity of the cloudy sky dimmed inside the tower, and they noticed that those men in different uniforms were part of the Royal Guard, the regiment in charge of guarding the Royal Palace.

Both guards had beards, although one of them was of medium build and had short orange hair; while the other one possessed a large build and had short jet black hair. It was Volk and Ugor, respectively, who -as always- were doing the work entrusted to them by the soldiers of the Dark Army. They typically showed themselves in an apparently cold countenance and did not question the orders to which they were subjected.

However, when it came the time of leaving the prisoners inside of their assigned cell, their countenance managed to be broken. Ugor held Kira to throw her inside of the cell, but looking at her face he could see the pain through her eyes, which were irritated by crying and bad sleep. The serious expression that he used to put on his face to show rudeness and insensitivity in front of his superiors turned into a gesture of sadness for a second. Meanwhile, Volk had to do the same to Vadim and Samaria.

Having already finished their cruel task, Volk and Ugor closed the cell door with their padlock and its strong restraints. They headed towards the exit of the dungeon and once the heavy door of this was closed, Ugor broke the ice.

"I don't remember if I've ever told you, but I'm not feeling comfortable here anymore," the sturdy Guard turned his gaze to the eyes of his comrade Volk, and then sighed heavily while trying to hide the obvious tears that welled up in his eyes.

"I must tell you that I agree. Lately, I've been feeling overwhelmed by all the suffering we see. I don't think I'm good with it" the other guard replied, turning his head slowly and then looking at the shields hanging on the red wall while taking Ugor's hand.

Ugor looked down at his axe, he put a finger on his beard and nodded silently. He fully agreed with Volk. A feeling of dislike towards his obligations began to spring up inside him and was becoming stronger by the time, although he tried very hard to swallow it. Both men had been serving as Royal Guards for years and as such, they had sworn absolute loyalty to the Crown of Moskova, and obviously to the Grand Prince later turned Tsar. Their role in the Royal Guard shaped the lives of both of them, but the excitement about working to defend their motherland had turned into reluctance. A moral conflict broke out inside them both when they had to get more involved with the Dark Guard.

"If someone ever asks me what is the right thing to do? I wouldn't know what to answer, because I don't know anymore. I just want a sign to show it to me," Volk thought, observing his reflection on the helmet of an armor that was part of the decoration of the corridor that led to the North Tower's Dungeon.

*****

Kira was feeling a deja vu. The day had passed so quickly, but her situation had not changed at all. Despite having already left that ugly wagon, she ended up in a dirty cell worthy of the worst criminals, but not for her or her friends. Her condition was deplorable, as she still felt weak, hungry, and thirsty.
She got up from the floor slightly and settled herself against the wall of the cell in absolute silence. Meanwhile, Samaria gave her an indignant look and rummaged among the bricks of the wall looking for a kind of secret passage. As for Vadim, he used his last bits of energy trying to open the door of the cell by pushing and pulling the gray and metallic bars. Sadly, he did not succeed. He snorted, rolling his eyes in discontent.

"I need to know where my little girl is, please. I just wanna know if she's okay", he said in frustration, referring to his daughter, Dylara, and tapping on the cell grate.

"I'm wishing the same", Samaria stopped groping the walls and stroked her husband's face, showing the same feeling of anguish on her face.

Kira watched her comrades as she tried to hold back her tears and come up with some plan to escape despite her low energy. She tried to crawl across the dirty floor towards the grate to help Vadim break down the door. However, she ended up surrendering to the overwhelming power of sleep.
A bright pale blue light interrupted her uncomfortable rest, while the touch of a soft, light object on her face almost made her sneeze.

"We just need a signal, just a little signal" her mind pronounced repeatedly. When she hardly opened his eye, she found that the mysterious object was a small yellow-orange feather, which emitted a fiery glow.
"Is this a feather of the Firebird?" Kira thought surprised, focusing on the mysterious feather. She tried to take it with her hands but it evaporated into thin air.

Immediately, the glow that bothered her while she was sleeping became more intense and it was almost impossible to ignore it anymore. As if that mysterious wisp was no small thing, a whispering voice began to call out her name several times.
Kira raised her head and directed her gaze out of the cell. The mediocre lighted dungeon became very lightful. She could not clearly distinguish the figure of that ethereal element or creature in front of her.

"Excuse me? Do you know me?", asked her, kneeling in fear.

"Kira," answered the delicate voice coming from the light."We have felt your pain and we have heard you cry out for a sign. The kids are fine. Do no fear for them"

Kira's sky-blue eyes watered down in a waterfall of tears, and her nose became stuffy. She raised both hands and placed them on her heart.

The impressive flash, which seemed suspended in the air, rose and disappeared as if it never existed.

Kira opened her eyes after feeling that her neck hardened due to the horrible posture in which she was lying on the stone floor. Samaria was watching her with a hopeful look and a slight smile on her face

"At last, we had a signal", murmured the chestnut-haired Samaria, pointing to her swarthy husband

"I saw her too", the blonde Kira replied in a whisper.

Suddenly, the sound of keys trying to open the dungeon door was heard, and the door's heavy dragging on the floor. The three Kozzakhi were startled.

"Go and wake up the prisoners right now!, a male voice with an apparent bad mood was heard from the hallway, before his voice was shut up by the door's closing," How do you think you can be interrogated while asleep? Hit them if you have to!"

The prisoners began to pretend everything was okay just to throw off whoever opened the door and avoid any kind of retaliation. Vadim, who was known for his good humor, wanted to give a brighter color to this awful situation and began to pretend that he was wasting time by playing a children's game. The others followed suit.

"I spy with my little eye," the man crooned, shifting his eyes from one side to the other.

"What do you spy?"

"Something beginning with...S"

"Hmm, Let me guess, the dirt around us, right? We have already been playing this for four hours straight and it is always the same!" Samaria answered annoyed while some laughter could be heard in the distance, possibly from other prisoners

The footsteps that had sounded since the door had been closed became closer Once again, Volk and Ugor appeared in front of the cell occupied by those who had been their victims a few hours ago.

The three Kozzakhi stopped what they were doing and were completely uncomfortable when they saw the guards again, bending down and bringing their arms to their heads in a sign of fear and displeasure.

The two Royal Guards understood their reaction because they had already seen it hundreds of times. Fear was definitely one of the most human things that were possible to find in such an inhuman environment.

But the Guards wanted to try to show themselves progressively less savage in front of the hostages, skipping the rules that they used to strictly obey. And one of the ways to do that was with music. Ugor used to carry his balalaika to accomplish such tasks.

"Shall I tell you a secret?".Volk said to the new prisoners with laughter" We, the guards, have a song about the Emperor's Spoiled Kid!"

"Oh No! He's going to sing playing the balalaika again!", a criminal booed from a nearby cell.

"And he does play really badly! Whipping hurts less than his music!!", said his cellmate by covering his ears.

While the thugs complained and Ugor began to strum the three strings of his instrument, Volk began to sing:

Don't be fooled by his appeal

his heart is really an outrage

He's malicious, mean, and evil

and everything he does

is to chase

the rabid dog's tail!

All the people who were hearing Volk's singing facepalmed along.