~Year 983
The Royal House of Vallarta
receives devastating news.
Lord Torsten Arden of Ardenurve and wife, Lady Tora Arden are brutally murdered within their castle by an unidentified group. Bearing witness of this gruesome occurrence is their young heir and her protector.
-The Royal Archives-History of Vallarta.
Myrina skipped back home excitedly, it was already dark and past the curfew time, the streets were lonely and devoid of life, everyone was within their homes but Myrina was not worried, she had Kare with her.
Myrina had spent the day at the market in disguise, her father wanted her to observe the lives of the people and report back to him, this way she was having her fun and performing her duties as heir at the same time... killing two birds with one stone,
Myrina had met a lot of interesting people, she could not wait to tell her parents all about it.
A feeling of unease grew within Myrina the closer she got to the castle, Myrina increased her pace, rushing to the hidden gate that lead to the garden, this was the place little Myrina used whenever she wanted to leave the Arden castle without people noticing.
Myrina pushed aside the curtain of leaves camouflaging the entrance and unlatched the lock, pushing open the wooden door quietly, she got in and Kare followed, locking the door behind them.
The little path to the door was surrounded by snow rose bushes, the thorns on the roses would deter anyone from trying to see what lay beyond the thick covering and even if they did,
The door on the other side was also obscured by a curtain of leaves that blended into the bushes completely, it would not be easily discovered.
Myrina had discovered this path when she was four and her father had been shocked to find out such a place existed, he immediately tried to demolish it but Myrina insisted on him keeping it,
Lord Torsten was unwilling but eventually gave in and soon enough even he began enjoying the benefits as it was the easiest and most direct escape route for him and Myrina's mother to take whenever they needed to escape from their responsibilities for a while.
Myrina headed out through the false bush that looked every bit like the rose bush but the thorns were strategically placed leaving a little space to push through.
Myrina looked around the garden, her brows furrowed in worry, the Arden castle was quiet...too quiet.
Although the Arden castle had always been a quiet place as the Lord of Ardenurve enjoyed serenity, but it was a comfortable and welcome quiet, not the eerily silent quiet it currently was.
A feeling of dread blossomed in little Myrina's heart as she rushed towards the castle doors.
Myrina came to a sharp halt at the sight she stumbled upon at the castle doors.
Little Myrina's eyes widened in horror as she took in the sight of the headless bodies, the heads of the two guards of the castle doors had been completely severed and their bodies lay in a pool of their own blood, the white snow all around them dyed red with their blood.
"Oh blessed East!..." Myrina exclaimed with a shocked gasp,
Her hands flew up to her mouth as her stomach roiled uneasily, her dinner threatening to make it's way out, whilst she stood frozen in shock untill Kare shook her back to reality.
"The Arch prince and the Lady!" Kare exclaimed in alarm, Myrina's eyes widened as she snapped out of her reverie and dashed into the castle.
Myrina ran down the hallways, keeping her eyes away from the decapitated bodies, each looking more grotesque than the former
Turning a curve in the castle hallways, Myrina fell to the ground in horror, clasping her hands over her mouth to hold in the scream of horror at the sight before her.
Myrina took in the sight of the body before her, her nanny lay there, her soulless eyes staring upwards, her stomach had been ripped open and her innards spilled out all around her,
Myrina tilted her head to the side heaving out all her dinner.
"We have to keep moving!" Kare spoke up, his voice laced with urgency as his gaze darted around frantically.
Kare gripped Myrina's arm tightly, shaking her back to reality.
Myrina nodded numbly, stumbling as she tried to stand, tears rolled down her cheeks but Myrina knew Kare was right, they had to keep moving, they had to make sure her father and mother were safe.
Myrina quickly stepped around her nanny's body, quickening her steps, she rushed for the audience hall.
Myrina came to a halt again at the sight of four masked men guarding the door to her father's audience hall.
"I will hold them back, you go in." Kare whispered quietly.
Myrina gripped her protector's arm tightly, shaking her head in terror.
Kare glared sternly at his charge, before shrugging her hand off of his, he drew his sword and attacked the masked men with a yell.
"Go Rina!" Kare shouted as the sound of swords clashing echoed down the hall.
Myrina dashed past them and stumbled into the audience hall, her eyes once again meeting a horrifying sight.
Myrina released a gasp at the sight before her. Myrina's father, Lord Torsten Arden was lifted by his throat off the ground, he seemed to already be bleeding from multiple places.
Myrina's eyes hurriedly searched the room, desperately trying to locate her mother before finally her gaze rested on a crumpled body at one end of the audience hall.
Lady Tora Arden lay in a pool of her own blood, there was a large gash on her head and a gaping hole at her lower abdomen.
Myrina's gaze moved quickly to her mother's chest and her heart trembled when she was unable to notice any signs of breathing, even from this distance... Little Myrina knew her mother was dead.
~To be continued~