Emily remembered the night.
It was quiet and peaceful as the kingdom of Allison went to sleep. The day had passed and now was the time for rest from the hard wrought labors, whether it was farming for food, building tools, or constructing buildings for housing and work.
Everyone had a role, everyone had a purpose. Plans were put in place for the betterment of the kingdom and how to bless everyone. When things went wrong, they knew what to do. They didn't complain and degrade people. They were calm and they knew how to solve the problem.
But, that night, it all went out the window.
Emily had turned eight a few days before and was relishing the fact that she was growing up and being treated more like an adult. As princess of the castle, she was used to getting what she wanted, but she yearned for the baby talk and slow speaking to end. She wanted the respect and admiration her father, the king, had and wanted to emulate such traits. As she lay in bed, barely asleep and plotting a way to raid the royal kitchens, however, she heard the sound of thunder through the air.
Jumping up and racing to the window, Emily could see streaks of red light gracing the sky. They looked mesmerizing, like the fireworks her father would launch every once in a while. As they got higher, they seemed to slow down, though, and hurl back down to the earth. Emily had never seen such a thing before. Weren't they supposed to explode?
A shrieking noise sounded as the streaks, now speeding very quickly, descended toward the kingdom. Emily was unprepared for what happened as the streaks hit the buildings. Large, bright, red and orange explosions lit up the city, terrifying noises of crashing and burning replaced the quiet serenity of the night. She screamed and jumped back as something so beautiful suddenly transformed into something terrifying.
More explosions sounded as Emily tried to focus on what was going on. The door to her room abruptly opened as the king and two soldiers entered. Emily turned back, initially scared, but settled down a little as she recognized her father. He was walking briskly to her.
"Em, we need to go," her father said, leaning down to pick her up.
"Daddy, what's going on," Emily asked, confused. She was up in the air and held closely to her father.
"I'll explain later, pumpkin," came the response.
The king was now hurrying back to the door with Emily in his arms. The tower suddenly shook like an earthquake, almost bringing the father-daughter duo down, but they started rushing down the stairs, the soldiers following them.
"They're hitting the castle now," one of the two soldiers called out. The group moved faster now. If one of the cannons hit the tower, they would all be dead.
"Can you have the back gate open," the king breathlessly asked as they finally reached the door. He seemed to kick it open as they rushed into the hall. It was a large second floor hallway with a set of doors behind them. Orange light flashed through the stained colored windows. The scariest part was the muffled noise of screaming now partly audible.
"We can," the other soldier replied.
"Take my daughter," the king ordered, setting Emily down. "Make sure everyone makes it out of here."
"Your Majesty, what about you?"
"I have to get my wife," the king replied. Looking at Emily, his eyes had fear in them. Emily had never seen her father so terrified. He was normally a confident man.
"You go with these men and you get out of here, do you understand, Emily," he shakily said. Emily promptly nodded, not fully understanding what was going on. The king sighed, a little settled, and kissed his daughter's forehead.
"I have to get your mom. I'll see you soon," he said. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Emily replied.
"Be good," the king said, smiling a little. The smile disappeared as another explosion blew a hole in a wall not too far away. Chunks of stone and glass fell onto the floor, breaking into smaller pieces.
The king stood up and started heading to the large doors, yelling to his soldiers, "Get her out of here!"
"Your Highness, we must leave," the first soldier yelled, grabbing her hand leaving in the other direction. He was moving so fast, Emily felt like she was almost dragged along. They reached another set of doors and opened them, entering the outside air.
Moving along the stone wall, Emily could see the full carnage of the city. Most of the buildings were on fire, fireballs streaked the sky with a screaming descent. It looked like the apocalypse had come to her home. The cries and wails of her people also echoed like a terrifying ambience.
"We're almost there," the soldier yelled, trying to raise her spirits. They quickly descended the stone stairs down to the ground, where the back gate was shut not too far away. As they approached the gate, however, they could set a large group of men barring the gate, trying to hold it closed.
The door suddenly seemed to bump, knocking some of the men over. They quickly got back to try again. An inhuman roar sounded as the source of the bump. The soldier froze and Emily slowed down, not quite sure what that noise was. The door bumped again, this time harder and with some wood splintering. One of the soldiers at the gate noticed the two and yelled, "Get away from here! They have a troll!"
Immediately, the back gate split open. Some men yelled as a massive, large troll trampled over them, roaring in victory as it conquered the gate.
Suddenly, it collapsed down on the ground, breathing slowly before not even breathing at all. Several soldiers in black and red with large spears emerge from the chaos and stab the creature, confirming its death.
Other soldiers in black and red storm the city, slaughtering resistance in the way. There appears to be hundreds of them storming through the burst gate, causing havoc and reaping death.
Emily felt her hand tugged on and the soldier and her run from the massive army of death approaching. Suddenly, however, Emily trips and falls to the earth, accidentally letting go of the soldier's hand. The soldier runs ahead a few feet before noticing and turns around. Before he is able to do anything, however, he is shot dead and falls to the earth on his back, a massive cross bolt protruding from his chest.
Emily screamed and turned around, seeing the army. A black horseman throws the crossbow he was holding to one of his soldiers and notices the princess, tilting his head to the side. Emily saw that the horseman is completely covered in black armor, even the facemask with a red handprint on the right side of it hides his hunger for bloodshed. He looks inhuman, as if he escaped the hell he was imprisoned in. Even the horse has the look of emotional coldness.
He finally reached behind his back and drew out a long, jagged blade that seemed to gleam in the fire's glow. Holding it by his side, he then ushered his horse forward into a full on sprint. Emily didn't know what to do, she was paralyzed by fear. In a moment of unexpected calmness, however, she decided to run to the school behind her. It wasn't too far away and the rider would take a little bit of time before reaching her. With this resolve, she booked it for the school doors.
The rider also stormed toward her, bringing his sword back for the kill. Emily was running as fast as she could, but as seconds passed and the distance between her and the black rider decreased, she realized she wasn't going to make it. He was just going too fast.
The rider closed in, raising his sword into the air. He waits as the horse brings him to his target and swings down.
She woke up, screaming as she waited for the pain. After a couple seconds of terrified, abrupt breathing, Emily realized she was still alive and looked around, making sure the rider wasn't there.
She then felt her left shoulder, checking the place where she could usually feel it. As if on cue, she found the beginning of a long, deep scar that she knew stretched down along her back.
As her surroundings came into view, Emily realized that she was in her room at her new home, a kingdom known as New Haven. Fifteen years had passed since that horrid night and her people had assimilated into the society here since then.
It was a miracle she was still alive. The rider, after hitting his target, believed she was dead and rode off. She crawled her way to the back gate and was found by two soldiers, who were quick to address her injury. After what felt like hours, watching survivors dirtied and ash-covered arrive at the small encampment, her father arrived, also downhearted and covered in soot. Her mother didn't make it out.
Emily rubbed her eyes. The same memory haunted her almost every night back then, each time becoming slowly more vivid, slowly more realistic. She had spent a long time pushing it to the back of her mind, trying not to imagine the horrid picture.
Now, however, it happened again. Why?
A sudden knock at the door made Emily jump.
"Emily, are you okay in there," a recognizable voice called.
Emily sighed in relief, rubbing her eyes a little. It was her father.
"Yes," she replied. Realizing that she was only in her nightgown, she rushed over to the wardrobe and threw a robe on. The door opened as she finished getting decent.
Her father walked in, a maid not too far behind him. He was definitely growing older. His brown hair was turning gray and wrinkles began to line his face. He also appeared a little sadder, mainly due to the loss of Emily's mother, but he was good about keeping a jolly attitude around others.
"Just getting out of bed," her father asked, chuckling a little bit. Emily shrugged a little as her father walked over and opened the window shades. Bright sunlight shot in and lit up the room. Opening the windows, a warm, humid air rushed into the room. It felt nice in the morning.
"My, what a beautiful day," the jolly man said with a smile, looking out among the kingdom. Emily joined him by his side.
The seaside markets, the massive housing along the river, the massive elevation of the keep, New Haven felt like a different world when she got here with its crystal blue sky, and dotted clouds of pure white. It has since become a normal part of her life.
Looking out among the familiar sights, however, today felt like a different day. It couldn't be explained why or how it was, but despite the seemingly normal conditions, something felt alien, unique.
Something was going to happen today, whether Emily wanted it or not.