"A long, long time ago..." The old woman in the basement caressed her granddaughter's head on her lap, running her rough fingers through her black hair.
"When the sun brightened us when water flowed to reveal our thirst, and when the fruits grew for our hunger..." The old woman's hoarse voice could defeat the whispering prayers of the girl's mother.
"The king ruled the paradise with his brave warriors. They lived in a beautiful palace. The walls touched the sky, and you do not need a mirror to see yourself, but the floor would be enough." She pinched the little girl's chin.
Her father, who carried the axe he used to chop the firewood, stood on a wooden chest, reaching the small window that was smaller than his face near the ceiling. He was thankful to her mother-in-law for stopping her daughter from asking why they were hiding in the store room where she was prohibited to set her foot in.
Through the window, he saw nothing but emptiness in the roads.
"In the majestic palace, the king sat on the throne while his warriors went on a journey to defeat the evil monsters. They rode their strong war horses, passing rivers, mountains, and forests. And the king was alone in the palace. Without his warrior friends, he felt very lonely. One day-"
One split second of darkness cut off her words. A passer-by shadow in the outside road blocked their only source of light, the small window. The old woman glanced at her good-for-nothing son-in-law with her sunken eyes.
"What happened next granny? Did he find a friend?" The little girl rounded her eyes eagerly. Her father again became the watchdog, clenching his axe and ignoring the leaking muddy water. Because of the somberness in everything, only the little girl's ears filled with a fairy tale.
Every other ear was echoing their own heartbeats and breathings.
"Yes, dear, he walked around his palace to find a friend. He wanted to hear someone talking. He wanted to eat supper with someone and hear someone singing until he fell asleep. But no matter what happened, he could not find one."
"He must have been sad,"
"Yes, dear... And one day..."
Her father sighed, glancing at the piece of the sky he saw between the buildings. It was his first time seeing the capital without a single soul in the streets in his lifetime of three decades. Silence as it was dead, wafting the breathed air of grim reapers. That wind brushed every closed store, house, gate, and mansion.
"When the king saved the woman from the wolf, she fell in love with him. She agreed to marry and live with him and helped him to get rid of his sleepless sickness. On that day, bells rang louder than ever. Birds-"
"Like we heard in the morning?" The little girl asked, clenching her grip on the old woman's scarf. "Is our king marrying a woman, mama?"
"Uh-oh!" Her mother stuttered. How could she say anything when they tolled bells to their funerals? She was just a little girl. "I don't-"
"Maybe, dear." Cursing at the mother inwardly, the old woman said to the little girl. "Maybe we will see a gorgeous wedding in the temple. You saw that kind lady in the temple, right? They say the prince has fallen for her." When Granny whispered the last words to the girl's ear, she gasped.
"Really?"
The basement darkened again. Outside, next to the father's set of eyes, there were a couple of sabatons. The father signed his family to be quiet. The armoured imperial knights were stationed all over the capital streets. Squads of archers marched toward the walls. Sky groaned. A blanket of dark clouds appeared.
The soldier at the top of the southern watch tower ran his eyes over the grassland beneath him and saw his empty horizon drawing a line of darkness. When the rain began hitting the capital, the soldier blew his horn thunderously.
PLOP!
A droplet after another droplet, rainwater mustered at the corner of the cracked ground, making a puddle. Rivienne silently watched it getting bigger and bigger. It grew well enough to reflect the misery in the sky.
No one was guarding her. The dungeon was deserted.
She had not moved an inch for an hour or two. Her one leg dangled down from the rough surface she was sitting on. And other one was folded, revealing her pinkish upper leg. The nightgown was stained with dirt, and she did not care if it was on her or not. She leaned back on the wall making herself home, and her hands just fell next to her.
Yet, her eyes were set on the wrinkling image in the water. The drops grouped with others, making a stream lurking through the wall with slime. When the puddle overflowed, the water that wiped all the filth in the palace began to run under Rivienne's dangling feet.
She heard the footsteps.
Heels?
She glanced at the iron bars.
Not Vivienne, yet a ghost appeared out of the blue. A ghost of a maid who wore her mob cap upside down. She heard the clinking of the keys and her panting.
What is going on... for the hundredth time?
Complaining in her heart, Rivienne was going to stand up.
"W-What?" The maid spoke, and Rivi froze. "I-I was going to-"
"This is very dangerous princess!" Someone shouted, startling both of them. "Shouldn't Your Highness be with the empress? And are you helping a criminal to escape?"
"What? She is your sister! I've been in the possession of Avalon bastards. How could you-"
"She is not!" Killian shouted. "Princess, I will escort you back safely. Please come with me,"
"But-"
The image of the sky in the water stained all of a sudden. Swirls of blood invaded the water. The sky was bleeding. Red spread in the filthy water. After that, Rivienne's feet touch the floor. "Brother! Is that you?"
Killian who was almost carrying Princess Daniella, and Daniella who was on the verge of bursting into tears, turned their heads at the same time. The princess shook off his hand and fell on her knees, grabbing Rivi's hands.
"Oh! Lea! Are you alright? Are you hurt? My Goddess! You've become thin,"
"Yes, yes, I am alright, princess," Surprisingly, her hands were warm, and the tears that dropped on Daniella's hands were icy cold. And Killion's stormy grey eyes were colder than that. He was disgusted by seeing Rivienne touching Princess Daniella. It was such a fortune that he decided to check on the princess. On the way to her chambers, he saw this weird-looking maid running into the dungeons.
"Brother! Brother, please get me out of here! Please! I beg you,"
"Who's brother are you talking to?" Killion asked, shooting the utter hatred towards her. He was scarier than ever. "I thought you would refrain from your petty actions even after you were engaged. And here you are poisoning the saintess. You deserve to rot in hell..., Excuse me, princess!"
Yes, that was the wise thing to do. Otherwise, all of his family would be damned, along with her. His father did not do about this and kept silent. He must have finally abandoned her. If Avalonian armies were to barge into the palace, she would die. That way, this eyesore would never come again.
"Brother, please!" Ignoring Rivienne's pleas, Killion dragged Princess Daniella away. "No! Do not leave me here! Cough! Cough!" Their footsteps and princess's crying faded for the time being.
Rivienne tapped on the iron bar, biting her bottom lip, with no blood or tears on her face.
It was silence again.
Her tapping continued.
I swear to goddess, if no one were to come now, I ...
Jeremy who was hiding in the shadows, stepped into the light.
"Oh! Fucking finally..." Rivienne grumbled.