~Year 983
The King receives news of blood bath in Ardenurve. The King worries over the fate of Ardenurve but is unable to interfere.
-The Royal Archives-History of Vallarta.
Myrina Arden stared blankly at the wall before her, not reacting in the slightest to the sound of the door opening and shutting, it seemed as though she had not even noticed it.
"Rina...are you alright?" Kare's voice barely reached Myrina through the haze of devastation that consumed her very being, drowning Myrina in sadness and self loathing.
Kare released a sad sigh when Myrina did not respond.
"The funeral arrangements have been concluded, the council have decided to send the lord and lady off in four days....they seek your consent and hopefully your presence in the audience hall." Kare informed Myrina,
Myrina passed her protector a blank look before returning to her aimless staring, however her mind was consumed with troubling thoughts.
'They seek my consent? How pretty their words are, it had only been seven days since my parents passed away and they wanted me to preside over their funeral, a funeral they decided to have all on their own without seeking my consent!'
The young Arden knew of the constant meetings the nobles of Arden held in the audience hall for the past five days and she was equally well aware of everything they discussed there.
Kare had made sure to keep an ear out and keep his mistress informed...of how they dared discuss the issue of succession, already planning to usurp the young Arden's inheritance in her time of misery.
'The heir was too young they said, she was too inexperienced, too impulsive and she was only a girl.'
Those who had not dared disapprove when Myrina's father had appointed her as heir suddenly gained guts to air their opinions...
'Slimy bastards they all were, thinking I Myrina Arden will be sidelined so easily would be their downfall, the leadership of Ardenurve would never fall out of the hands of the Ardens...not in my time... not ever.' Myrina vowed within her rage filled heart.
"Rina... traitorous movements have been going on around the city, private armies and mercenaries are being summoned into the city, they seek to over throw you... your father's loyal subordinates led by general Rago await your orders." Kare informed Myrina, once again, Myrina did not respond.
Kare released an angry growl when Myrina did not react to his words, storming up to her, he grabbed the young Arden's shoulders in a painful grip.
"Get your act together Myrina! Your parents are dead but you are still alive!... Ardenurve is falling apart! Everything the Arch prince and the Lady as well as all the previous lords of Ardenurve worked so hard to build is falling apart!" Kare exclaimed in distress.
" The undefeated legacy of the Ardens is about to be dragged through the mud by the very people who conspired to have your parents killed!"
"I understand your grieve, but this is not the time to crumble Rina! We need you now more than ever! Your parents need you to be strong and defend the Arden legacy! Ardenurve needs you! Hell, the entire Vallarta needs you! The people are waiting for their true mistress Rina!" With each word Kare spoke, he shook Myrina vigorously as though he was trying to shake reason into her.
"Your father named you the heir because he trusted in your abilities! His loyal warriors are just about giving up on you! Are you really going to stand by and let that happen?! Are you going to disappoint him more than you already have?!" Kare hissed furiously at his mistress.
Myrina flinched at her protector's words but the young Arden knew her protector was right.
However what he was wrong about was the fact that the young Arden had no plans to let her father's enemies have their way but Myrina had indeed been acting like she had no intentions of doing anything,
And to Kare who was an orphan and had been by her side from birth, Myrina understood that her parents had been his as well, Little Myrina could understand her protector's fury but...
"Get your hands off me minu kaitsja...else protector or not... you shall loose them." Myrina spoke in a low but terrifying tone, her voice cracked from disuse over the past week.
Kare's eyes widened slightly as his mistress' fierce gaze landed on him before his lips stretched into a slow grin.
"It's good to have you back, young miss." Kare said happily with a bow,
Myrina kept her gaze on her protector for a moment before turning away.
"They have summoned mercenaries from the unclaimed lands, the iron claws and the raging axe to be exact, although the raging axe is yet to arrive." Kare informed his mistress.
The Iron claws and the raging axe were two of the most deadly barbarian tribes that prowled the unclaimed lands, frequently attacking cities and border villages just for the fun of it.
What made them so terrifying was the fact that they bore no loyalties to any kingdom nor stood for any cause.
They killed and plundered just for the fun of it. They were the scum of all scums, the one enemy all kingdoms had in common despite the fact that some kingdoms sometimes hired their hands to do their dirty work, just like in this case.
The disgusting bastards did not mind though, as long as you fulfilled their outrageous demands, they would kill anyone and anything for you and they would love every second of it.
Myrina could not help but wonder what exactly her father's enemies had offered the barbarians that was worth stepping into Arden territory.
The barbarians knew this to be a death sentence, Myrina figured news of her parents passing must have spread, it was the only way the barbarians could be so daring, they were disgusting killers but they valued their lives too much to test the Ardens wrath otherwise.
That being said it would not be surprising that they accepted this mission without seeking anything in return,
Just to finally rain their terror on Arden territory and gloat about it, after all, they had been constantly defeated by every generation of the Ardens for countless years and now, the only Arden left was a seven year old.
"Underestimating me will be the last thing they do minu kaitsja. I will kill them all... I swear it." Myrina promised coldly, Kare nodded in agreement.
"As you should, young miss." Kare replied in a furious tone.
"Should we prevent the raging axe from entrance? If the order is given now, we might still be able to stop them." Kare suggested, Myrina shook her head calmly.
"Why alert the enemy unnecessarily, minu kaitsja?" Myrina asked her protector quietly, Kare stared at his mistress in confusion.
"This subordinate does not understand." Kare said, the young Arden chuckled darkly, although a tinge of sadness still reflected in her tone, a tinge that would never really go away.
"What I mean to say is....let them come, entrance is easy... leaving however..shall be a completely different matter." Myrina replied slowly, a savage glint in her eyes, Kare's eyes widened in understanding.
~To be continued