StarfrostedFox

The Hunter and the Hunted (Raptra x AutumnFrost)

Fights always ended up becoming a blur to some degree or another in the end, a series of actions and reactions, motions and attacks. And even though Joshua hadn’t wanted to be part of this fight, the wolf in his blood responded to the scent of fear in the air, the sounds of his pack attacking and hunting. He had struggled at first against the desire to bare his fangs in an attack or raise his claws to cause injury, but the animalistic nature of his beast was growing stronger than his self control and eventually he found himself leaping into the action, a snarl sliding from between his exposed teeth.

at one point, he found himself biting down on the leg of a man that had fallen to the ground, and Joshua had just enough time to react to the human‘s sudden movement to dance out of the way of a blow from a spiked mace, though the weapon managed to slash a few cuts across his shoulder before he had completely gotten out of range. Hissing through his teeth at the sudden sharp sting, the red werewolf had just prepared himself to leap onto his attacker when a sudden yelp exploded from behind him, completely distracting him. Whirling around, Joshua caught sight of Brandt staggering to one side, the hilt of a knife poking through his fur on his ribs and a figure running away from him into the trees. Almost instantly, he ran forward, pursuing the figure into the forest.

An arrow thudding into one of his hind legs slowed Joshua down almost instantly, an involuntary cry of pain torn from his throat as he stumbled. Snarling fiercely, he clamped his teeth on the shaft of the arrow, just able to sync his fangs into the end near the feathers and yanked it free of his skin, golden eyes instantly hunting for the wielder of the bow. But before he could locate them, another werewolf ran past, refocusing his attention on the trees and the person who had attacked Brandt. Temporarily torn, Joshua eventually decided to pursue his first target in favor of the one with the arrows, not exactly keen on the idea of getting hit with another one. With a limp to his stride, he followed after the other wolf, picking up traces of the human that had run into the forest, the smell of blood mixing with their fear and adrenaline. Ears perking as he caught the sound of heavy breathing, Joshua watched the other wolf step out into a clearing, angular head swiveling back and forth, jaws parting in a threatening growl.

Blood in the Moonlight (Orynae x AutumnFrost)

True evening had fallen by the time Raith retook to the streets, rubbing his hands together as if to remove some sort of residue clinging to the skin. He certainly felt as if he had been doused in oil, Omiar’s crooked yellow smile burned behind his eyelids. With a shiver that ran the length of his spine, Raith hurried away from the rats nest hole in the wall building with its deceptive medicinal herbs and remedies front, shrugging his cloak closer to his neck and ignoring the impulse to look back over his shoulder every couple of steps. Unpleasant as the reunion had been, it had served his purpose. He now knew for a fact that the captain of the queens guard was innocent. All that remained was for him to secure her release. And he highly doubted that his asking politely was going to be enough to get the job done.

A quarter of an hour later saw the young man near the center of town, standing in the shadow of a building and looking up at the high wall that surrounded the palace grounds proper. Biting at his lower lip in thought, Raith’s hazel eyes swept over The seemingly insurmountable barrier between him and the palace, assessing his options. After several moments, he approached the wall, stepping between the pools of firelight cast by a pair of stone braziers set atop The wall, running his fingers over the stone. Slipping his other hand into an inner pocket of his cloak, he withdrew a dagger, Balancing the small blade in his fingers for a moment before testing it’s point against the grout that cemented the blocks of stone that made up the wall together. With some effort, He managed to get most of the blade in between the stones. It wasn’t a perfect plan, nor was it the fastest, but it was the best he could come up with on short notice. Pulling the dagger free, he began circling the wall, in search of a better location to make the climb.

He found the perfect spot rather quickly, a brazier’s flame guttering lo from lack of fuel darkening the shadows on one corner, Raith started his climb, pulling out a second dagger to assist him. Slowly, carefully, he began ascending the wall, face flushing with the effort of pulling himself up and bracing himself against the tiniest cracks. Not moving faster than he was able, he didn’t want to chance an unfortunate fall, Raith wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he finally reached the top of the battlements and grabbed onto the edge of the wall. Wiping away a trickle of sweat from his forehead on the sleeve of his shirt, the young man took a moment to look around, searching for any sign of a passing guard patrol. Luck still inexplicably holding, he didn’t see anyone in his vicinity and was able to pull himself up and over the wall in one quick movement, pausing only long enough to retrieve his daggers and stow them away in his cloak again. Then, with a deep breath of warm night air, he hurried off along the battlements in a slow crouch, making his way towards the nearest staircase.

As he reached the foot of the stairs, Raith froze suddenly as a burst of laughter sounded nearby, his Head shooting up quickly. Approaching his location, a group of five soldiers were coming around the corner of one of the inner buildings, torches held in their hands, clearly in the middle of an absorbing conversation. Cursing under his breath, Raith hurriedly ducked into the space beneath the stairs, pressing himself as far as he could against the wall and praying that he hadn’t been spotted. As the first of the guards started to pass, he had to suppress the reaction to sigh with relief when he saw that the man wasn’t looking in his direction, eyes focused ahead. Raith filtered out there conversation, something to do with a hidden brothel in the city, and instead reached once again inside his cloak. This time, he pulled out a small vial of some sort of bluish green liquid, slowly pulling out the Needle that had been concealed within before he re-Stoppard the bottle. He had been planning on using the needle as a last resort, should one of the soldiers happen to look in his direction, but found himself considering an alternative use when his observant mind picked out The tidbit of information that the man in the back of the group, the most nervous looking of them, was a new recruit. The older, more seasoned fighters were currently teasing the other mercilessly, though none glanced in his direction, Instead choosing to make sidelong comments and snarky remarks over their shoulders to one another that had the younger man shrinking in on himself and falling steadily behind. Just as the group was almost out of his reach, Raith made up his mind and hurried forward, sliding one of his hands over the young man‘s mouth while simultaneously sticking the end of the needle into his neck. The man jerked with surprise, but didn’t even manage a muffled cry before the solution he had been injected with had taken effect, his eyelids drooping as he fell into a deep sleep. Levering the weight of the soldier so that his armor didn’t clatter, Raith carefully dragged the man backwards into the space beneath the stairs, holding his breath once again as he watched the other soldiers marching on obliviously.

~*~

’I hope that leaving him there wasn’t a bad omen,’ Raith thought darkly to himself some time later as he walked quietly into the palace, freshly dressed in the new recruit‘s armor, it’s unfortunate owner left snoozing beneath the stairs next to the battlements.

Walking purposefully and looking straight ahead, Raith eventually was able to make his way down into what he hoped was the dungeon area of the castle, no one having stopped him. That was part of the secret of getting around someplace you really weren’t meant to be: look like you were supposed to be there. People were less likely to question your being there if you looked like you had a purpose. Eventually, He found himself at a door and he paused, gathering his strength. Silently hoping that whomever was on the other side of the door wasn’t likely to put up a fight, Raith tapped The wooden surface sharply.

“Oy, change of shift,” he grunted, Lowering his tenor voice into a gravelly baritone. “New Captain says I need to get some experience in the dungeons.“

Portals to the Nether (Fetzen x AutumnFrost)

The city of Eversong was awashhh in the glow of early evening sunlight, the white marble walls reflecting the changing colors of the sunset brilliantly. The brush, grass, and trees glowed almost orange in the reflected sunset, the Silvered River running close to the road appearing to have jewels fragmenting across the surface. All in all, creating a rather romantic setting. Perhaps a Little too poetic for some peoples liking, but who didn’t wax poetic every now and then? On the back of her steel gray stallion, Branna Winter quirked up The corners of her mouth as she surveyed the capital city before her, one of her hands shielding her eyes.

“Maybe I take the dramatic musings a little too far sometimes, wouldn’t you say Storm?” Branna mused out loud to her horse, casting a quick look down at the back of the stallion‘s head. He cocked an ear at her, but otherwise chose not to respond. “Thanks for that,“ she huffed, grinning as she dropped her hand from her eyes to rub briefly at the side of her companion‘s neck.

Branna wasn’t the most beautiful of women, but she did all right for herself if she put some effort into it. Granted, that wasn’t very often, not with her occupation, but at least she didn’t scare the strangers she met out in the country. She was short of stature, just managing to pass five feet, but was lean and fit. Her skin, suntanned from all the hours she spent traveling, bore several scars across her forearms and two parallel lines that marred one of her cheeks, but was otherwise free of blemishes. Her midnight dark hair, pulled back from her face in a braid that trailed nearly to her waist, offset the only feature she liked about herself, her clear blue eyes. Tugging at the front of her leather jerkin and passing a quick look over her dusty travel worn breeches and cloak, she had to admit that her current appearance screamed adventurer. Not that she minded. The more she looked like a capable ranger, the more likely she was to be hired to escort some nobleman or rich merchant.

Nudging Storm into a gentle trot, Branna guided her mount towards one of the large gates leading into Eversong, digging around in one of her saddlebags as she went until she retrieved her formal residency papers. Security had been tighted around the capital the last several weeks and most suspected it had a lot to do with recent attacks on outlying cities. No one was sure if enemy forces had infiltrated the country or if a capable bandit group was responsible for the devastation, but the citizens were increasingly nervous. Branna had even heard a rumor that Freeport, The largest and most economically profitable port city in the kingdom, had fallen under attack. It was when she had gathered this information that Branna had decided to head back towards the capital. With any luck, she’d be able to find more solid information about the current happenings. Showing her papers to one of the guards on duty at the gate, she was waved in a Quick moment later, joining the throng of citizens already in residence.

The interior of Eversong was even more radiant than the exterior of the city had been. The majority of the buildings had been constructed of white marble, edged and laced with gold and silver, with the rest of the construction made out of pale gray stone blocks. Even the edges of the river, which ran through the center of the city, had been lined with marble and stone, creating a natural canal. The river was spanned in several places by tall arching bridges, connecting The Northern and Southern halves of the city. All of the structures, theresidential buildings, the businesses, the government buildings, were maintained and kept clean fastidiously, giving the entire city a glow all of its own. With her horse‘s hooves clacking against the cobblestone streets, Branna couldn’t help but smile as she looked at her surroundings, finally feeling as if she had come home.

“Let’s Head over to the Griffin’s Wing and see if Stanley has any information for us, shall we?“ Branna queried allowed to her stallion, clearly in the habit of talking with the beast after spending so much time alone with him, mentioning one of the more popular inns within the city. Storm snorted, almost as if in response, then turned down a side street as his reigns were gently tugged, picking his way through the crowd.

The Hunter and the Hunted (Raptra x AutumnFrost)

As dusk and then true night fell over the forest, Joshua listened to the five other sets of lungs working around him increase in tempo as excitement flared. His own breathing didn’t change in response, though in the past it might have, instead, the end of his tail began twitching, much like the flicking an irritated Kat might display. Digging his semi retractable front claws into the forest mulch, he focused his attention on the moon to calm his rising unrest. For although he couldn’t see the silvery sphere rising into the sky, he could still feel her song in his bones, Her music calling to his wolf. It helped for The moment, but uncertainty still nagged at the back of his thoughts.

All at once, The breathing around him was suddenly silenced, the other werewolves holding their breath. Reacting to the sudden absence of sound, Joshua stopped his own breathing, pointed ears pricking. Faintly, he caught the sound of soft footsteps and hushed breathing heading in the pack’s direction. He even caught the soft click of what sounded like a bolt being loaded into a crossbow. Concern prickling beneath his fur, Joshua instinctively cast a quick look towards Hale, meeting the alpha’s gaze for a brief moment. The gray werewolf curled his lip and flattened his ears, Clearly stating without words that Joshua had better do his part or there would be bloody consequences. Briefly tilting his ears back, the rust colored wolf looked quickly away, paws kneading at the ground again.

It didn’t take long for the humans to show up themselves, preceded by the sounds of their passage, quiet as they were. Joshua quickly passed his golden gaze along their line, unable to keep himself from pulling his lips back from his teeth when he saw their wide array of weaponry. He saw Hale open his jaws after the first couple of hunters had gone bye and he tensed, readying for action. With an inhuman roar, the gray wolf launched himself from the bushes, paws outstretched for one of the middle hunters. To either side, other werewolves were doing likewise, snarling and howling as they attacked. With a deep breath through his muzzle, Joshua ran forward, aiming his body towards the leg’s of the nearest Hunter, planning on knocking them off their feet.

Blood in the Moonlight (Orynae x AutumnFrost)

Smells of warm bread, stew, and ale hung thick and tantalizing in the air of the Sunhaven Inn, adding to the already pleasant atmosphere of the scene. Most were there enjoying their evening in pairs or small groups, punctuated with excitement at the possibility of a game breaking out or a bard showing up to perform, but off to one side, a young man chose to sit alone, absorbed in his solitary meal. He was rather plain overall in his appearance, mild features that were easily forgotten, light brown hair and hazel eyes that blended in with the majority of the local population. Even his attire spoke of simplicity, dark browns and blacks with no flashy accessories, cut simply to look just like everybody else. But that was how Raith Telbourne preferred things.

Picking up a thick slice of bread from his plate, Raith began spreading a dollop of butter over the nut studded slice, Appearing to be completely focused on his task. in reality, he wasn’t thinking much about what he was doing beyond appearing to be enjoying his meal, all of his attention was focused on the talk of the people around him. Because that was one thing he was good at: gathering information. Information on trends in the market, secrets for blackmailing, which up and coming noble was in the market for hired labor, the information itself could widely vary, but everything was important. Raith was a spy, or a purveyor of reliable tips, or even a procurer of items of interest. It all depended on what his clients needed him for. His only lines were murder and enslavement. If those were off the table, Raith was the man to hire.

Taking a bite of his bread and turning over one of the pieces of parchment he had on his table as a prop as if reading, Raith listened for a moment to a farmer talking about his load of grain before overhearing the innkeeper mumbling about an overdue tab. Interesting details, but nothing important for the time being. Running his thumb over the edge of his plate, The young man focused his attention on a pair of newcomers to the establishment, a couple of guards down from the castle by the looks of them. Lifting his eyes from the table on the pretense of taking a drink from his mug, Raith swiftly scrutinized the two men before looking down at his plate once more. That one glance told him quite a few things. Something bad had happened at the castle, early this morning if the tired circles under the guards‘ eyes was anything to go bye, and The resulting after math was almost guaranteed to be a dire announcement when word finally got out. The only question was, what that something was. Luckily for him, the guards seemed to be keen on discussing the matter with one another, though they did so in hushed voices, which was the unlucky part of the situation. Fortunately, Raith had trained long and hard with his skills in observation and was able to piece together the majority of what passed between the guards. And what he understood made him frown.

’The Queen is dead and they honestly believe the captain of her guard did the dirty deed?’ Raith wanted to roll his eyes skyward at the very idea of such a possibility. From everything he knew about the captain, she didn’t spend 10 years of her life devoted to the protection of her majesty only to suddenly snap and murder her on a whim. True, The guards hadn’t said what sort of evidence they had on the captain, but even then he doubted he would believe anything they could present.

Rising from his table, Raith collected his papers and folded them carefully into a leather satchel before making his way over to the innkeeper and passing over a coin for his dinner. He then collected his cloak from where it hung near the front door, swung it over his shoulders, and made his way out into the still early evening. He had a man to visit before the night was out, in search of information that made his skin crawl, the ghosts from his past stirring restlessly. But with any luck, he might be able to save an innocent life.

Blood in the Moonlight (Orynae x AutumnFrost)

Clear silvery light that spilled from the face of the full moon, the night air hung muggy and warm, punctuated with the chirping of many nightly insects. Within the royal chambers of the King and Queen of the kingdom of Lethvia, the Lady Ismari stirred restlessly beneath the covers within the four poster bed, an almost silent sigh passing through her lips as she stared at the canopy overhead and listened to the gently rumbling snores of the King laying close by. She often found herself coping with troubles sleeping, So it was not surprising in the least when she came to the conclusion that sleep would continue to be an elusive companion until she had had the opportunity to relax more fully. Which meant only one thing: a walk in her private garden.

Quietly as she could manage, the young woman slid out from between the sheets and rose from the downy mattress, fingers reaching instantly for a dressing gown she kept hanging from a peg nearby for just such an occasion. Stepping into a pair of silk slippers, Queen Ismari gathered her golden tresses back into a loose ponytail that trailed down one of her shoulders before she quietly slipped through The door in the bedroom, slowly closing it behind her, and headed towards a pair of rose colored glass doors that faced out onto the immaculate palace gardens awash in moonlight. Almost as soon as she stepped out into the close night air, a soft smile of contentment spread across her lips as her gaze swept around the flowers and bushes, Immediately lingering on some of her favorites. Gathering her robe close to her body, the queen began to move among the carefully tended flora on silent slippered feet, her fingers trailing over the petals of blossoms, the leaves of The foliage.

She never saw the figure that slowly stepped up behind her.

The shadow reached out with both arms carefully, the left hand glinting with the reflection of the moon's light off a blade they gripped in a gloved hand. As the queen bent over a blooming rose to sniff at its distinctive fragrance, the stranger closed strong fingers tightly around her mouth and chin, the blade of the knife sliding across her exposed throat, The skin parting easily and spilling Crimson over her neck and chest, droplets falling among the rosebush. The queen gave a small jerk of surprise at the contact, fingers flying fruitlessly to scrabble at the hand clutching her face, a muffled scream managing to escape. But her useless struggles quickly began to slow, Her body growing limp, and the black garbed figure quietly released their hold and allowed the dying woman to crumple to the ground, not making a sound as they watched her choking and writhing limply at their feet. As she finally grew still, eyes glazing over, the figure’s hold on the knife was released, dropping the blood spattered weapon onto the ground near the corpse of the queen. Without a word, the assassin turned away from the quickly cooling body, slipping back into the shadows and disappearing back into the night once more.

They found her body after several hours had passed, dawn light beginning to touch the world as the sun rose over the mountains. One of the palace gardeners, a diligent man who always appeared first thing in the morning to attend the queen's favorite plants, discovered the body soon after he began trimming the rosebushes, immediately sending up the alarm. Guardsmen swiftly gathered to investigate, the king notified, and the investigations commenced. But after one of the Younger recruits inspected the bloody knife that had been discovered by the body, instant recognition blossomed across his face and a look of true terror lit his eyes. It was shortly after this that the pounding on the captain's door began...

Blood in the Moonlight (Caliban x AutumnFrost)

Eventually, Edith had allowed her head to sink down onto her forearms, her arms propped onto her knee, her heel on the edge of the bed. She had almost given into crying once again, but bit back the temptation with a grimace and a sharp shake of her head that made her braid sway. Then she had shut her eyes tightly and attempted to sink into a meditative state of mind.

So by the time that a set of footsteps echoed in the hallway outside her cell, The captain had nearly found a state of calm in which she could start to except what had happened to her. She didn’t, therefore, react to the sound of someone approaching... until the key turned in her door that was. The instant she heard the scrape of metal on metal, her head shot up, eyes widening with surprise. She stared at the stranger that stepped inside the room, gaze flickering over his face and trying to place him in her mind. He didn’t look like a guard she knew... Nor was he dressed like a soldier. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion as he casually greeted her with a joke and a chuckle.

After a moment, she spoke. “Who are you?“ Her voice came out low, even and soft, hiding any hint of her wariness.

On the hunt for those who love to create! (SFW only)

I’m still interested in finding another story or two. :)

Blood in the Moonlight (Caliban x AutumnFrost)

For a long time, Edith simply stood in her cell, back to the heavy iron bars, silent tears running down her face. Eventually, after the tears had stopped, she slowly and stiffly stepped forward, collapsing into a seated position onto the wooden cot that had been pushed up against one wall. She looked miserably around at her surroundings with swollen eyes before her gaze drifted to the solitary sliver of a window that she was allowed. No more than 2 inches tall and a dozen inches wide, she could barely make out little more than a small slice of the sky and the cluster of weeds growing close to the building, but it at least gave her a sense of time. Slow and torturous it might be, but it was still time.

When the sunlight started slanting across the sky from The west and the colors started changing to orange, the first real activity since that morning occurred. A guard appeared outside of Edith’s cell, a tray held in his hands. His face was livid. streaked with red as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. Edith met his glare with one of her own. He snorted at her look of defiance before shoving the tray of food through a slot at the bottom of the door. But not before he spat in it first. Then he turned on his heel and marched away, not uttering a single word the entire time. Edith watched him go before eying the bowl of what looked to be broth and the crust of bread that had been given to her without a trace of interest for a brief moment before she once again looked towards the window. She had no appetite.

’What am I to do now?‘ She found herself thinking hopelessly, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists on her thighs. The guards clearly didn’t believe in The possibility of her innocence, so would there be a point to her arguing in her own defense? She had failed. In her mind, she as good as killed the queen in that case. But she hadn’t done it by her own hand...

...She wished she knew who had.

Blood in the Moonlight (Caliban x AutumnFrost)

Despite the wash of clear silvery light that spilled from the face of the full moon, the night air hung muggy and warm, punctuated with the chirping of many nightly insects. Within the royal chambers of the King and Queen of the kingdom of Lethvia, the Lady Ismari stirred restlessly beneath the covers within the four poster bed, an almost silent sigh passing through her lips as she stared at the canopy overhead and listened to the gently rumbling snores of the King laying close by. She often found herself coping with troubles sleeping, So it was not surprising in the least when she came to the conclusion that sleep would continue to be an elusive companion until she had had the opportunity to relax more fully. Which meant only one thing: a walk in her private garden.

Quietly as she could manage, the young woman slid out from between the sheets and rose from the downy mattress, fingers reaching instantly for a dressing gown she kept hanging from a peg nearby for just such an occasion. Stepping into a pair of silk slippers, Queen Ismari gathered her golden tresses back into a loose ponytail that trailed down one of her shoulders before she quietly slipped through The door in the bedroom, slowly closing it behind her, and headed towards a pair of rose colored glass doors that faced out onto the immaculate palace gardens awash in moonlight. Almost as soon as she stepped out into the close night air, a soft smile of contentment spread across her lips as her gaze swept around the flowers and bushes, Immediately lingering on some of her favorites. Gathering her robe close to her body, the queen began to move among the carefully tended flora on silent slippered feet, her fingers trailing over the petals of blossoms, the leaves of The foliage.

She never saw the figure that slowly stepped up behind her.

The shadow reached out with both arms carefully, the left hand glinting with the reflection of the moon's light off a blade they gripped in a gloved hand. As the queen bent over a blooming rose to sniff at its distinctive fragrance, the stranger closed strong fingers tightly around her mouth and chin, the blade of the knife sliding across her exposed throat, The skin parting easily and spilling Crimson over her neck and chest, droplets falling among the rosebush. The queen gave a small jerk of surprise at the contact, fingers flying fruitlessly to scrabble at the hand clutching her face, a muffled scream managing to escape. But her useless struggles quickly began to slow, Her body growing limp, and the black garbed figure quietly released their hold and allowed the dying woman to crumple to the ground, not making a sound as they watched her choking and writhing limply at their feet. As she finally grew still, eyes glazing over, the figure’s hold on the knife was released, dropping the blood spattered weapon onto the ground near the corpse of the queen. Without a word, the assassin turned away from the quickly cooling body, slipping back into the shadows and disappearing back into the night once more.

They found her body after several hours had passed, dawn light beginning to touch the world as the sun rose over the mountains. One of the palace gardeners, a diligent man who always appeared first thing in the morning to attend the queen's favorite plants, discovered the body soon after he began trimming the rosebushes, immediately sending up the alarm. Guardsmen swiftly gathered to investigate, the king notified, and the investigations commenced. But after one of the Younger recruits inspected the bloody knife that had been discovered by the body, instant recognition blossomed across his face and a look of true terror lit his eyes. It was shortly after this that the pounding on the captain's door began...

Despite the fact that she had the morning off, the second in command overseeing dawn rotations, force of a long formed habit had driven Edith Vandilla, Captain of the Queen’s personal guard, from the warmth of her bed. She had dressed in a simple pair of breaches and tunic, done her chestnut colored hair back into a long braid that traced her spine, and had just finished tugging on her boots when the hammering started on her chamber door.

“What is going on?” Edith muttered to herself as she finished lacing up her boots quickly and hurried into the front room of her chambers.

She had hardly made her way halfway across the room when the door was slammed with such an outward force, that the wood splintered around the handle and lock, forcing the door open to slam against the wall. Edith’s entire body froze with shock for a split second before she instinctively reached for the sword at her belt that wasn’t there. Head whipping around to locate her scabbard, she froze once more as a dozen armor clad soldiers hurried forward into the room, quickly spreading out before her. Blue eyes sweeping over the figures, Edith was surprised to note that, Though the majority of the soldiers were of the palace guard, four were clad in the gold and white armor of her own Queen’s guard. What’s more, her second in command was present, though he ought to be overseeing other duties. Their eyes met and there was nothing friendly in the look on the other‘s face.

“What is the meaning of this?“ Edith demanded in a steely voice that, though not raised, caused the other queens guard to shift uncomfortably.

Her second, Lionel Millgrant, was the one to answer her question, stepping forward. “Traitor to the Palace and her throne, we have come to arrest you for the murder of her highness Queen Ismarie Nandier. As Proof of your Heynis crimes, your own ceremonial dagger was discovered near her body.“

Edith felt as if the world were slipping out from beneath her feet, her head spinning. Her queen was dead? She had failed? Falling numbly to her knees, the Captain barely registered any further words, her head buzzing with questions and shock. She didn’t fight the restraints placed upon her wrists nor the guiding hands clamped tight on her upper arms. She found she couldn’t answer any questions posed to her, though the interrogation seemed to go on For endless hours, and was eventually locked away in a cell beneath the palace, left alone with a musty cot and her wild thoughts.

’I have failed.‘