The day was rather too cold for a summer season. Vultures crowded the sky around the court premises with their eyes locked onto the ground. The smell of blood was still fresh into the air.
Silion was still fixed onto the mirror, trying to maintain her beauty. Nira thought she was so fond of mirror and making herself pretty for the 'vultures'. At one point they had gotten into an argument which almost turned up violent.
She was brushing her hair when Nira stormed into her room.
" As usual, the mirror!"
"What do you want? I must look pretty!"
" I see you are preparing for the funeral well!"
" Funeral, what funeral! Our parents' funeral is one week from now if that's what you..."
" Shh!" Nira cut her shot.
Footsteps echoed across the staircase of the exquisitely built palace, made of heavy Roman walls and decorated with jewels. She locked the door using a wooden plank then adjusted the room's curtain.
" What are you doing!"
" Listen to me, do not panick, Robin was betrayed and murdered in the court hall alongside two other Lords and now the bastards are after us. We have to move and we have to do it now!"
Tears poured down her soft tender cheeks as her green eyes wetted. She stared at the eyes of Nira in both agony and disbelief. Panick did not hit her, not yet. She tried to believe her sister but she could not, even though her heart was aware Nira was not the kind for humor, not even for the dark ones!
She was stuck in between confusion and disbelief for a while. As her sister tried to convince her to flee from the room, all she could think of were all the memories she had with her brother. Her brother was like a father figure to them, he gave them love their father King lacked.
The footsteps were nearing. This time, Silion too heard of them. She stood from the stool she was sitting on and held it firm in her soft palms.
"We are not running!" She uttered as she tried to regain vision from her river of tears.
Nira smirked as she took out a dagger from a scabbard hidden inside of her thighs. She was too dangerous for her age, sometimes too wild.
" Open the door Lady Silion, I won't bite!"
A man teased as he rapidly knocked onto the door. By this time the tragic news of the murder of the charming Robin the fierce was spreading like wild fire. The people could not hold in their concerns any longer. Noise and unrest filtered the air of the capital.
Two men with swords stood outside the door as another tried to convince the girls out of their hideout. After a while, the three men exiled their patience and decided to breach the door.
" Look their shadows, the sun is favoring us" Silion whispered.
" You know nothing about war girl.." Nira blankly whispered back to her sister. She made it to the window and pushed it open. She stared down to the view of a boiling war pot courtesy of the people, clearly their reactions were expected.
It was either they were grieving the death of quite a nice soul they hoped to be king or greed clouded their judgement and they all were thirsty to seat on the prestigious throne of Bernbute. Greed or reputation, grief or relief. She could not describe their feelings, she was not used to emotions.
Before she could struck an idea, the door was blasted into pieces. Wooden pieces tore the air. One landed just above Silion's eyebrow and immediately the stool she was holding crashed into the floor as she collapsed to the ground. Before the men walked into the room, somebody shouted "Fire" as a black cloud of smoke found its way around the air.
The men had as well dug their graves by allowing the chant to be a distraction to them. In a flash, they all laid down on their own pool of blood . Nira tried to get Silion back to her senses but it seemed the head injury was of much destruction. She only had a single option then, to drag her sister out of the freaking palace.
Smoke filled the palace gradually as she tried to hack herself and her unconscious sister out of the doomed high house. She had found her way to the staircase when two men came to their aide. They were their farmers' sons, Josh and Caleb. They were also friends with Nira , at least they thought she was their friend.
They helped carry Silion down the stairs in a fair struggle. She did not have that much weight but something to do with unconsciousness and body, the body tends to be heavier than its normal state. Nira held her dagger firmly as they walked towards the gates of the palace. Outside the walls was a hostile environment, the Bernbute city known for its peace was crumbling as women and children screamed and people ran to save their lives. It was the apocalypse, it was here.