The Jewel of the Five Kingdoms

James Raymond Elliot

I pulled apart to look at him, my words suddenly seemed to have escaped me. He had disappeared so early in the chaos that I had feared the worse.

"August!" I said in a shocked whisper. "Thank skies you're safe." I say as I pulled him in for another tight embrace. He smelled like sweat and burning embers and I wondered how long he had been searching.

  August was silent for a moment before he pulls apart and clears his throat. I noticed he was wearing a frayed army uniform and hat over his messy curls of red hair.

If seems he has taken command in my absence. Now that is a prince.

"I am so glad you're alive, James," he turned to Nella and blushed scarlet. "And I am glad you are as well, m'lady." He adds with a small bow of his head.

Nella nods to him with a smile, obviously pleased with his comment.

"What is happening? Where is our other siblings? What is the state of our kingdom?" I ask all in one long breath.

"The Waterwalker's were destroyed. Once. . ." his voice trailed and I could tell he was almost unable to finish his thought. "Once Mother and Father were shot the people rioted. It seems the Waterwalker army hardly made it across the river." Relief flooded me and I braced myself for the next answer.

"Ana is still missing, but I believe she is hidden in one of these safe rooms as well as Prince Arthur. Alex and Philip stayed with me... Philip didn't make it, neither did Charles." He said in a whisper.

I stumbled for a moment, luckily Nella was there to support me or I would have fallen to the ground.

Charles and Philip are gone. I almost didn't believe it. I wouldn't of believed it if I hadn't seen the evidence.

I brushed a tear from my eye before it could fall. "Is Alex...?" I knew Alex would be even more devastated than the rest of us are over the loss of his identical twin.

Alex without Philip is like Alex without half of his own personality.

August shook his head sadly. "He went into shock. His leg was injured fairly bad in the battle, but nothing the doctors can't fix. Though, I'm not sure he will ever be the same." August trailed off, staring at an empty space just to the left of my head, and I knew he wasn't talking about Alex's leg being the same but his own personality.

I shook my head. "None of us will be."

August began to lead Nella and I out of the safe room and I squinted at the light. The hallway was a wreck in itself. Broken furniture pieces scattered the hallways, broken stones covered the floor and dust so thick it was visible through the light floated through the room. I coughed when in inhaled the polluted air, and my noise caught the attention of several guards who gaped at mine and Nella's appearance.

"What about our kingdom?" I asked after a moment.

"That, I'm afraid is going to be quiet a problem to restore. The people are devastated that so many members of the royal family..." he trailed off again and shook his head as if refusing to voice the fact that our family is now only four when it used to be eight. "They want Ana to take position as Queen as soon as possible, and they want better protection on the boarder of the Waterwalkers."