"All kingdoms fall, eventually."
Chaotic.
That would be the word that Alvina would use to describe that night. The night that she lost everything. Her parents, friends, and her kingdom. She could still smell the smoke from the burning city, the screams of her people as they cried for their lost love ones, their cries as they beg for the Ybierrians to spare them.
Faerchester Castle, Proham, Capital City of Nydecia | Year 1297, the Regal Era of Io
That night, Alvina awoke to the screams of people. Before she could even think of what might be happening, her personal maid, Esther, had burst into the room, looking disheveled.
"You have to go, Your Highness!" Esther said as she packed some clothings on a small bag.
"What is happening, Esther? Where are my parents?" Alvina asked but it seemed like Esther did not hear her as the maid continued to pack her clothes. Her maid was rushing and did not even bother to fold the clothes, just shoving it into the bag. Alvina grabbed her wrist and made her look at her. "What is happening?" Alvina asked again as she glared at Esther.
Esther's eyes were teary as she answered her.
"The Ybierrians have sieged the city, Your Highness," Esther said.
Alvina would have collapsed if Esther did not held her. She grasped her maid's hand as she asked another question. "What about my parents?"
"The Queen has ordered me to fetch you, Your Highness. She told me to take you to the cellar. There is a hidden path that will take you outside of the city," Esther said as she put a cloak on the princess.
"Did my mother order you to help me escape? To abandon the kingdom and my people?" Alvina asked, her voice rising. Run away and turn my back on my people? She thought.
"Your Highness," Esther grasped her hand. "You running away does not mean that you are turning your back to your people. If you die, then the blood of the Krasimir family will end. The royal family of Nydecia will cease to exist. You have to live so that there would be a chance for Nydecia to rise again. I know that one day, you will save your people. But for that day to come, you first have to run away now. Survive."
Alvina's tears started to fall. Esther's right. I need to survive. I cannot save my people now but there will be a day that I would be able to.
She nodded her head and spoke, "Help me pack up some of my jewelries. I would need to pawn them for some gils." She wiped her tears as she walked towards her dresser. She opened one of the drawers and took the medallion that contains the insignia of the Krasimir family, a proof of her identity as a Princess of Nydecia. She tucked it in her bosom to hide it and so that she would not lose it. She made her way into the balcony and was stunned by what she saw.
The city was burning.
The screams were getting closer. Esther led her away from the balcony and they hurried to leave the room. As they made their way into the cellar, the encountered dead bodies along the way. The smell of blood hung heavily on the air, making the princess' stomach churn.
Esther opened the door of the cellar and led Alvina inside, making sure that she locked it before they continued to walk into the room. There were torches inside, lighting the dark room. After about ten minutes, Esther stopped in front of a torch and pulled it down. I heard a rumble before the wall in front of us opened, revealing a narrow passageway.
"How did you know the right torch to pull?" I asked started to walk. I did not hear an answer so I turned around. I found my maid still on the cellar, not stepping a single foot inside the passageway. When I saw her touch the torch again, I knew what she intended to do.
"Don't do this," I asked. She smiled at me and slipped the bag inside.
"Forgive me, Your Highness but I cannot go with you. My orders are to take you here. There is a knight waiting for you at the end of this passageway. I am going to stay here and wait for you to return and save us. Good luck, Your Highness. May the gods bless and protect you."
The wall closed as she said those words. As much as it pained me that Esther decided to stay, time was running. I picked up my bag and I continued to walk down the passageway. It was dark. The pathway was damp and I could no longer hear screams. Just as my eyes were getting used to the dark, I saw a faint light. I started to run towards the light and I found a wooden door. When I opened it, I saw a knight waiting outside the door.
He was tall. I did not get to see his face as he was wearing a helmet and it was dark so I could not even see a glimpse of his face.
"Your Highness," he bowed as he addressed me.
"What did the Queen order you to do?" I asked.
"The Queen ordered for me to take you out of Nydecia, Your Highness," the knight answered.
I looked back at the door of the passageway and made a vow.
Mother, Father, I would come back. I would come back and save my people. I would not let the Ybierrians occupy our lands for long. Tonight, I have lost everything. But there will come a day that I will take it all back. Until the day that I am strong enough, please guide and watch over me.
I climbed on the horse and ordered, "Let's go."
The horses gave a cry before it galloped into the woods.
We have rode for days and nights, only stopping for a few hours of sleep or if the night is too cold for us to travel and if we needed food. As we were riding, I often thought of how just a few days ago, I was enjoying the comfort of the castle, eating delicacies, sleeping in a soft mattress and now here I am, running for my life. I was thanking the gods that the person that was sent to help me escape, the knight, was very patient.
The knight, I haven't known his name yet as he does not answer personal questions, was very silent. He only talked when I asked him something, save for his personal life. There were some days that he did not even talk at all. He was just patient.
After more a week, we have arrived at a small village near the outskirts of Belgevin. As much as I needed to sleep and bath, what I needed the most was a drink. We found a pub near the inn and sat at one of the corners of the pub, away from the drunken men.
"Two cups of ale and the food that you offer here," the knight said to the waitress.
It did not took long before the waitress came back with the ale and some bread. The bread was not the kind of bread that I usually ate but I did not mind it. I was hungry and weary of the days of riding. The knight was silent as he ate his fill, not minding that he was in front of a royalty.
Before we have arrived here, I have made some plans. But before I can start those plans, I needed to know if I can fully trust him.
"I know that the Queen has ordered you to keep me safe, you have done that for the past days. Now, I am giving you a choice. You can leave now and do whatever you want, or you can continue to follow me. If you decide to follow me, you need to become my tjener, your loyalty lies not on Nydecia, but to me," I said, staring straight to his eyes, my voice resolute.
"I am an orphan. The King has given me a place to stay, and a purpose to live. My loyalty was never to the kingdom, it was only to the King. Now, the King is gone. Tjener or not, my loyalty lies only to you, Your Highness."
I smiled at his answer. I took the small dagger that he has given me a few days ago and used it to cut my palm. I put a few drops of my blood to the cup and offered it to him. He drank its content in one swig.
He has taken the tjenerian vow. I have become his herre.
When a person become a tjener, his life would be bound to his master. Unless his master dies, he will never be free. He will take no other master and will only be loyal to one.
"How long would it take to go to Nabrasca?" I asked him as I wrapped my palm with a cloth. I did not feel the pain when I cut my palm but it stings now.
He took another swig at his cup before answering me.
"By land, it will take us more than a month, Your Highness. But if we take a ship at Belgeven, we will arrive at Merriport in two week, then a few days ride to Nabrasca."
It is safer to travel by sea. The lands will be more perilous as there are nomads in the mountains. And the faster we will arrive at Nabrasca, the better.
'"We will take the ship. The sooner we get out of Nydicia, the better. The Ybbierian soldiers might be after us," I raised my eyebrows, indicating him to state his name.
"Akoni, Your Highness."
"The Ybbierians might be after us, Akoni. I cannot let them end the royal blood of Nydecia. I swear upon all the gods that I will reclaim my kingdom, whatever it may take," I spit out those words with determination, my eyes darkening at the thought of those Ybbierians that was now occupying the castle.
The very next day, we arrived at Belgevin, a big port in Nydecia. I have ordered Akoni to pawn my jewelries for gils. As much as I love jewelries, I cannot enjoy their splendors now that I have become a pauper, a pauper princess of a fallen kingdom. When Akoni returned, I did not waste time and immediately rode a ship.
As I stood at the deck of the ship, I stared at the seemingly unending horizon. I have never left the safety of Proham but now here I am, sailing towards Rabanastre, a foreign kingdom, away from my own.
For Nydecia, I will do anything.
I am not sure of what will happen in the future but what I do know is what awaits at the end of this horizon, is the king of Rabanastre, Lukas Grimaldi.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Terminologies:
Io - the world
Tjener - a personal servant of a royal. The tjenerian vow is when a person takes the oath of tjener by drinking any liquid with the blood of the person he vows to follow or serve. He/she will swear upon the gods to protect his herre and to never take any other master as long as the herre is alive. Most tjeners are knights but there have been tjeners who were not.
Herre - the tjener's master.
Places that was mentioned:
Proham, the Capital City of Nydecia
Belgevin, a Nydecian town that serves as a port
Nabrasca, the Capital City of Rabanastre
Merriport, a Rabanastrean Port