The Great Truth

Prologue

Artioch had fallen.

It's crimson flag lay burnt on the black soil, so coated with blood that it smelt of metal and burgundy, flames rampant on the ground chocking the air and the grass, the knights alive waiting for death.

Judith Artioch, Third Princess, Second Moon of the empire was in the dungeon.

"You must survive, your highness."

The maid's black hair stuck to her forehead in clumps, the boiling heat of the underground like sparkd amidst the fire above. 

Little Judy stared at her nanny, tears of blood and water running down her dirt laden cheeks, her mouth was gagged. The sound of her breath echoed too much in the silence of death. 

"You must avenge the empire. You must take back what was ours." Nanny smiled, her wound dripped wet, slick drops pooling at the mucky ground.Her hands were calloused as pulled out the dagger.

"My princess, you must now become someone who cannot be destroyed. Be the destroyer. Be the man." 

Princess Judy sobbed but no sound left her gag, no sound betrayed their voice. Nanny carressed her cheek, "I have my son's clothes with me Princess." she smiled again serene, "Will you live his life for me?"

She shook her head. Desperate. Devastated. No. She wanted to run away, no. She didn't want this, any of this.

"Run past the twelfth column, hide under the pillar of the lion, when the moon rises the door will open. Cut your hair, princess. You must shed what you were and wear your new skin until the dawn rises in the empire." Heavy thumps echoed in the halls above, sand and mud fell crackling on their head. The rubble, debris vibrated. The spearmen had come.

"You must run, moonshine. Go." Nanny freed her gag as Judy burst out sobbing but she clamped her hand over her lips when the door creaked open and long shadows crept over theirs and took them into the darkness. "Go." Nanny snarled and Judy picked her swollen, beaten legs past the ground and urged them to run. The bag slinged over her neck, breathless, what pillar was it? the dark was too black to see through it. The wind was hollow in her ears, it wasn't anything like the meadows she ran at, the wind didn't whistle, it growled and pounced and hunted. She didn't want this. She didn't know what was happening.

She ran and ran until her legs fell apart strand by strand, muscled stretched until it snapped, crying dried until she knew nothing but pillars, huge stone pillars circling her. Judy was sure they'd break on top of her, like ghosts reaching from the potraits. Judy tripped on the ground and fell. Her breath was short like, grass cut too soon, her sweat pooled at her forehead dripping like rain after fire, unsalvageable, she wanted to sleep right there, but her brain kept moving. Forward. Forward. The spearmen were moving, their shadows were only so far, move move, she rolled down the side and bumped into marble. 

Judy winced, pain rang through her nerves and looked up. The lion. It was the lion, long mane and saber ceramic teeth. She pushed her weight against the marble, Judy knew how to open the door by instinct, Mary and her used to play hide and seek all day. Thump. She screamed. The voices, noise grew closer until her vision was blurred and her ears broken from the clanging of shields. She banged her fists against it, rammed it. Her vision was clouded, dark looms spinned against her head and something weird ran down her lips, her ears. 

Judy fell through

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When Princess Judith, Moonshine of the Empire woke up, the tiny chamber dug deep deep inside the dungeons was filled with light. Judy had been taught to follow order.

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So when her eyes saw the moonlight swimming in the heating cavern, her actions were almost mechanic, something bad had happened, and Mother or Father were going to come and rescue her. But she had to cut her hair before that. Nanny had promised, they would come and Nanny never lied. Jude took out the knife and edged it closer her to her neck. The knife was bloody but she had seen that colour one too many times to wrinkle her nose at it. SHe sheared it off, like the barber had done to Father's hair, and off and off until her blonde lucks curled on the edges of her soles, her toes her body. She quickly stripped of her nightgown and lugged the trousers on from the bag. Judy had no idea how to button up the shirt so bunched up her silky, cloudy nightgown, now dried, flaky and grimy, pulled it round her waist and tied it.

One side up, one side below, inside, loop and out.

One side up, one side below, inside, loop and out.

One side up, one side below, inside, loop and out.

She repeated the seamstresses words until her lungs struggled to gasp, or breathe, until it felt as if she were back on Mother's lap, ballgown spread out past her leags, trains held up by the maids and the corset tied back up firmly.

Safely. 

"Follow what you are told to. Do not think about what has passed, do not think about pain. Pain makes us weak, pain is forgotten." Judy was thirsty, when the tears came she licked it desperately, not letting a drop fall on the ground. It was salty, quiet. It was only her and Judy had no idea what to do.

Then she remembered what Nanny had said, and crawled, stomach grumbling, clawed on to the door. Her eyes were almost shut, but she had follow Nanny. She had to forget. About everything she saw, everything she had heard. 

The little escape door latched open with little effort but great noise, but Judy didn't care. She was hungry and thirsty, and her body was hurting, so hard that it felt tight to breathe. No that was the corset wasn't it? 

Judy climbed past and fell to the grass.

Right at the metal feet of a spearman. She gasped, her eyes drew open instantly as she tried to get up but the spearman grabbed Judy by the hair and pulled her face up. 

"What's your name lad?"

"Please. Plea-" Judy struggled to breathe, the armour burnt through her eyes, she saw the armour that had burnt the palace down in her mind as she bit and fought and struggled. But the man was stronger, he pinned her against the wall, "When I ask your name, tell me your name." It was a threat and she could feel his eyes burning through her every muscle, bone and vessel.

"J-jude. Sir."

The man pursed his lips. "How did you escape?"

"The dung-dunge" Judy broke out in sobs, snot running down her nose.

The spearman wrinkled his nose and let go of her. She fell down at his feet crumpled into pieces. "It doesn't matter, I suppose." He picked up his spear and pointed it at her face, poking her into a sitting position. "You have magic." 

It was a statement, a statement like you'd say about the sun and the earth, and about god. Jude inched back.

He looked at her dead straight and said, "From now on, you will be my son and my apperentice, Julian Haywaorth, third son of Duke of Hayworth, conquerers of Artioche, I swear this on the moon and the stars, and the god watching over. So mote it be."

Something shimmered in the air, Judy felt a chill rumble through her spine, anticipation bristled through the air, as if waiting for something to happen, like a cat waiting for the hunt, nature stood silent as it watched the two silhouttes swear something unbreakeable. As destiny unfolded, only time would tell if Magic's chosen would survive the ages to come or if death would bury another skeleton down the drains of history.

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A/n- sorry if it was cringy but imma edit it. lol. comment prbly ad vote ig. im too lazy to make aesthetics so please make them for me? pretty please? no? thats fine we can be lazy buds tgthr 4ever!
srry i m kinda feelng crcky today. lol😭🫢😤🙁👏😤😟☹️😦

did i just put random emojis? i did coz i can becuase i can that's democracy for all us crackheaads!!!!!!!!!! lmao. what the hell am i doing right now. ANyways i hope you have  a good day/ night.

Lazy writer, signing off:

Astra

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