Eloisa had butterflies in her stomach as she danced with Prince Amaranth. She was smiling more than she meant to, but she couldn't help it when he looked at her while their bodies moved in tandem. Amaranth's hand firmly held onto Eloisa's waist, as he led them elegantly along with the music.
"Isn't your coming of age ball a bit late? You are already 22, correct?" Amaranth's warm voice hid the scrutiny, he softly spoke loud enough for her to hear him among the music and noise.
Eloisa's shoulders stiffened, she nodded with a nervous smile. "Yes, it was… Put off for a bit."
Amaranth cracked a smile that would have been seen as sinister, had Eloisa not been so smitten with the Prince. He knew she was a sheltered one, but he was elated to find that she was a complete fool. A few charming smiles from a handsome man, and the girl was practically eating out of his hand.
"Well, whatever the reason was, I'm honored to be here, dancing with such a radiant and beautiful princess such as yourself." He mustered up his softest smile, not meaning a word of what he just said. But he was sure, this would help him gain her trust a little more and make her guard come down.
Eloisa inhaled in surprise and lowered her head as she felt her cheeks burning. "Thank you, Prince Amaranth."
While Eloisa lowered her head he took a moment to make an eye signal to a guard near a window on the farside of the room. It was quick, but the guard noticed.
Unfortunately for Amaranth, so did Namida.
Her hidden arm under her cape grabbed a throwing knife from her belt as she gracefully stepped in front of the king and queen. A quick flutter of her cape hid from most eyes that she threw the knife at Amaranth.
Eloisa looked up as Amaranth suddenly stopped dancing, only to see a knife plunged into his neck, she backed away in horror and screamed. Amaranth was choking and gasping for air, it was then that Eloisa saw the knife shining in his coat sleeve.
While blood poured from his neck, the ballroom was thrown into a frenzy, guards closed in on Eloisa as the prince slashed at her before falling to the floor gasping for air.
"My guests! Please remain calm!" The King shouted as he drew his sword from behind his throne. Obviously, no one was going to be calm as they ran to flee.
Namida moved across the floor in a red flash to Eloisa, killing 2 guards that were behind Eloisa with quick stabs into their necks with knives from her belt. Namida grabbed Eloisa and kept her behind her as her gold eyes darted between the guards surrounding them, keeping her guard for any movements and openings.
"Namida, what is going on? Did you kill the prince?!"
"No time to explain." As a guard moved to attack, Namida unsheathed her sword, her cape swinging upward with it as the sword stabbed right through the guard's weak point in his armor on his neck.
Eloisa pinned herself against the wall behind them, watching Namida kill their guards that were for some reason trying to get to the princess. She looked at a sword that skid across the floor near her as it fell from the hands of a dead guard. She looked between the fighting, the panicking guests, her father fighting a noble to protect her mother. It was as if time was in slow motion, she wasn't even sure if she was breathing.
Her heart was thundering in her chest and her legs felt stuck to the floor beneath her. She urged herself to grab the sword. As Namida managed to kick one of the attackers back and caused them to topple over a prince behind them, Eloisa tried lunging for the sword, figuring she had some type of opening.
Namida turned just in time to see Eloisa grabbing for the sword. She dodged a thrown knife from an undercover assassin and rolled to grab the sword herself before Eloisa's hand could get ahold of it.
Eloisa fell to her butt as Namida swooped in.
"Let me help! I can use a sword!"
Eloisa's words fell onto deaf ears. Namida clashed blades with the prince who was toppled by the kicked guard, much to Eloisa's horror she watched helplessly as the prince was disemboweled. She felt her blood run cold as his guts splattered the floor only a few feet away from her. She stared at his hollow eyes as he fell in a hard slump.
"But.. He.. Reynold, he was a nice prince!" Eloisa was nearly hysterical. This was nothing like what her training suggested fights would be like.
Namida impaled a guard that lunged at her with the sword she picked up. Shoving him aside she quickly yanked Eloisa up and started dragging her to the throne area where her parents were.
"It seems, in my ignorance I miscounted the amount of spies in my men. I didn't torture them enough to ensure loyalty." Namida's cold words shocked Eloisa.
Haisella waved Eloisa over as she was hiding in a hidden door behind a tapestry right behind the thrones as Kraven guarded her. He was wounded but still standing.
"Get them both out of here Namida. I will rejoin you when I can." The veteran soldier was hurting, his side was bleeding as was his shoulder and a cut on his face.
Eloisa tried pulling out of Namida's grasp so she could go to her father. "Let me fight alongside you! Please! I'm not a weak child!"
Kraven swung his sword upwards, deflecting a thrown knife from an assassin they could not see. "Don't be senseless! Escape while you can! Running away to live another day is all you can do for now."
Kraven looked around the blood covered white tiles. There were bodies scattered about. Guards, fake princes and nobles. And even servants who got caught in the fighting. It was a massacre, a slaughterhouse. As Kraven squeezed his sword hilt he felt there were many eyes watching him at this moment. There was no way he could escape this. The best he could do is buy them time.
"Go. Our kingdom may fall today, but it can be rebuilt if you survive." With a quick last look at his family his heart ached. He looked back to where he could see shadowy figures sneaking up from the main entrance hall.
"I love you both so much. May we meet again, and if we don't, you must live."
Eloisa's heart shattered as her father said what sounded like a final goodbye. She screamed as Namida dragged her through the hidden door with her weeping mother. Everything was crashing around Eloisa, she collapsed in the secret passage. She couldn't even hear her mother call for her to get up.
A hard slap on her face woke her from her mind sinking into darkness. She looked up, holding her cheek. Being yanked back up by Namida who stared at her with an intense golden glare.
"Pick up your skirt and get running princess. You can mourn later, when you aren't on the verge of being killed." She harshly shoved her to Haisella, who hugged her daughter tightly.
"We have to run my dear. This escape route is a labyrinth, Namida will show us the way." Haisella held her daughter's face and kissed her forehead.
Eloisa's mind started clearing, she shook her head up and down slowly.
Namida started looking down the passageway, pulling on Haisella's arm as she held onto Eloisa to urge them forward. "We can't sit here while you have a touching moment."
They remained pretty quiet as Namida led them through the labyrinth that went beneath the castle. Namida was trying her best not to move too fast, but she knew the assassins must have been on their tail by now. A Labyrinth wasn't going to slow an assassin down for long, even if they got lost momentarily.
The labyrinth was lit by torches that were widely spread apart, the guards that usually were stationed down here must have already fled, or were killed. Which was increasing Namida's instinctive feeling that they were about to be ambushed.
She was soon proven right.