Robbin's POV
It took me a moment to recognize the vibrations correctly. The way it rattled felt like an echo coming from somewhere in the castle. I quickly flew my door open only to be greeted by four guards coming toward me.
"What was that," I asked, pushing passed though only for them to follow me down the hall.One of the guards grabbed my arm in an attempt to restrain me but I quickly pulled myself free, sending him a quick glare. "Please, stay in your room, your grace.""People could be hurt."
I continued hurrying for a few moments before he grabbed me again and I finally saw what he hid in his free hand. My hand retracted once again but made a fast jab to his neck, making him choke. The hairs on my neck rose in reaction to the other guards behind me. I kicked my leg backward at one of them and that started it.
They all tried to attack me but couldn't compare to the level of combat I had. I knocked them all out and realized what they were doing. They must have been part of this.
I left there sleeping bodies and kept running. I what to bang on Phineas and Olympia's doors only to find them open and empty. They were closer to the stairs so I assume they went to check what was happening, too. I followed and suit, charging through dozens of corridors, and countless steps. More guards appeared and every one of them and I found myself, cautious. I couldn't trust anyone anymore.
It seems though that none of them had the same intentions as the ones that greeted me at my bedroom door. I ordered some defined the source of explosion and others to come with me to check on our guests.
The obliged and we finally make it outside. The only way to get to the south side of the castle was to travel through one of the courtyards. Once we went through those doors I commanded them to be on guard. Someone planted a bomb and there could be more. There could be people lurking in the shadows, waiting to catch us when we didn't expect it.
Quickly but quietly, we made our way through and entered the south wing. I directed some of the guards with me to do a head count. There were 1,654 Northerner citizens staying with us at the moment. I needed that number to still be the same.
It was quiet as we went room to room. Was there only one bomb? I didn't have time to check the casualties. The explosion happened On the north side of the castle. That wing was full of ballrooms, royal quarters, and the communications center.
Only two of those would be a good target, but the explosion didn't happen on my floor, I felt the quakes below me.
Attacking our communications means cutting off our connections to the world. We had the source for everyone in the Northerner kingdom. If we went dark, everyone went dark.
"This is going to take forever," I confessed as we finished another round. "Water set off that bomb could be getting ready just got off a few more."
A guard entered the room in a hurry. "Your grace, we have confirmation that the communication center was the target. We're offline."
"I need to declare a national emergency. Do we have any backup power?"
"The Northerner territory east of here runs on a separate server, but we don't have a way to contact them and they're too far to mind link."
Looks like we're leaving. But can I? I can't just leave. My home was just attacked. I couldn't leave them.
"Find my brother and send him there, and tell my sister to-"
The building rattled violently as I spoke. Loud explosions erupted outside, closer than the first one. The ground cracked and began breaking apart, which was bad since we were on the third floor.
I backed up quickly but one of the guards was standing too close to the split. "Look out," I shouted as I leaped to the side and pulled him away in time.
"Thank you, your grace."
More explosions went off. "The castle needs to be evacuated right now." I shielded my head as pieces of the ceiling fell. "Right now. GO! And somebody find my family!"
The guards and I scurried out of the room, evacuating people. I grabbed sleeping children and shouted at everyone to get up. When I had enough people with me, I led us outside and towards Vision. A piercing alarm rang through the night sky. Across the courtyard, I finally spotted Olympia wrestling a guard to the ground.
I handed the children to the guards and rushed toward her.
"There you are," I exclaimed, watching her punch the light out of her captive. She rose to her feet and dusted herself off.
"He tried to stab me."
"Yeah, I had a similar encounter. Did you find whoever set off that bomb?"
"No, but we shouldn't stick around. This place is coming down."
I nodded but just as we were about to take off, a distant screaming caught our attention. It came from the building that I was just in. dammit, how could we forget someone?
"I'll get them," I told her, already moving toward the door, "Find Phineas and get to the dragons. I'm right behind you."
"Robbin-"
"Olympia, go!"
I raced back inside, following the voice calling out for help and ignoring the groundbreaking beneath me. The staircase I wanted to go up had a gaping hole in it, so I charged it and jumped the distance to the other side; my hands holding on with all of my strength. I pulled myself up and continued down the path to the source.
The halls were filled with rumbles and unsettled dust, with a hint of cries from whoever was still up here. A room at the end of the corridor seemed the loudest of them all. I finally bust through a door and look around. The windows were shattered and there were cracks in the ceiling and the floor. A whimpering sound came from the closet. I opened the door and sitting in the corner of it was a small child.
I bent down to the young boy and he looked up at me with wide eyes.
"It's okay," I assured him, "Come with me. It's not safe up here."
I held out my hand for him but he seemed too terrified to move. There wasn't any time to comfort him. This place was going to fall. Quickly, I lifted him up and carried him out of the closet.
Another explosion went off, scaring him out of my arms and retreating to the closet again."Wait," I shouted. I tried to grab him, but the floor finally gave in and collapsed, creating a divide between the two of us. The hole was too wide for either of us to jump across.The boy was frozen in his place, gripping onto the curtains for stability, and an idea popped into my head.
"It's going to be okay. What's your name?"
"Ma...Maxwell," he stuttered out.
"It's going to be okay, Maxwell, but we need to work together if we're going to get out of here, okay? I need you to yank down the curtains. We're going to use them as a rope, okay?"
Maxwell nodded and began tugging at the curtains.
"You need to pull them harder than that."
He tugged and the rod finally fell loose, sliding both curtains down. "Good, now tie them together tightly. Hurry."
Maxwell fidgeted while he tied them. The rumbles grew louder, making him cry with fear."Alright, now I need you to tie the other end to your waist."
He did so and bounded the fabric tightly around himself. "Now, throw me the other end." he did, but not hard enough. It barely made it to my palms. "That's okay. Try again."
More cracks began spreading across the walls, spreading to what was left of the floor. Max tossed it again but I couldn't grab it. By now, more splits formed around us. The floor was about to give in again, but I wasn't going to give up on him.
"Throw it again! Throw it now!"
Max threw the rope as the floor began to crumble again, and I caught it, only to have the fabric brush through my fingers and fall along with the boy.
"No!"
I subconsciously jumped back as where I was standing fell apart as well, along with a large chunk of the ceiling. When the pandemonium began to die down, and the dust settled slightly, I shout for max, trying to find any sight of him, though I already knew his fate.
There was nothing for me to do. I couldn't help him. he needed me but I couldn't save him. I could only save myself at this point. It was horrible but what choice did I have?
If I didn't get out now, then there wouldn't be anyone left to rule the country. I closed my eyes and summoned Vision. it was time we go.
I kept going up. The higher I was the easier it'll be to escape, though for a moment I thought that I wouldn't. Everything was falling; breaking as the explosions continued to go off.
The floor beneath me demolished at my feet. I had to keep moving forward. I didn't have a choice. It's not like there was anyone to go back for.
By now I was on the top floor of the castle. I kept running but realize that was the problem. There wasn't anywhere specific I was trying to go and was being lead downed endless corridors. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings but when I finally did notice, I saw a floor-length window at the end of the hall.
I charged right through the window and it broke instantly. I worried for a moment that vision would I find me in time but when I heard his powerful Roar, I felt relieved. Vision flew beneath me and I fell on his back hard. I didn't have time to process the pain. We had to leave.Shame ran through my body. The loud collapse of the castle through my eyes backward. It was gone. The entire structure fell to the ground, leaving nothing but dust and an echo of turbulence and its wake, along with a spreading fire along the trees.
Moments of Silence passed before more roars screeched in the sky. I looked up and saw my siblings are their dragons, carrying a handful of people with them.
As we kept flying away, I wondered where we were going. We couldn't trust anyone in the Northern kingdom anymore. I guess that meant that we were going home.