Ballad of Silence and Wings

VII Wings

With a wave of the Queen's hand, the throne hall was plunged into mists of mauve. The brume enshrouded the Princess's surroundings, markedly lessening its visibility. No longer could she see the Queen, or the Star Children for that matter.

Having most of her vision obscured, the Princess focused her attention to the sounds, relying instead on her sense of her hearing.

"Not to worry, darling." The Queen's voice loomed over the mist. "I have no intention of stretching out your life, as I did with your brothers. Only sweet death for you, the maiden beloved by my son."

As the Queen's voice drifted away, the Princess prepared herself, drawing her gold glaive. Then, out of the mist came two men whose faces she thought she had long forgotten. The recognition froze her; it could not be so. However, as much as she wanted to be wrong, she could not be mistaken.

They were her brothers. The eldest brandished a sword and shield, while the second eldest clutched a spear, their age preserved from the day she had last seen them. By years she had already overtaken them, for her eldest brother had only been eighteen when their palace had been overrun by the Queen's forces.

Without warning, her second brother went ahead of the first and charged at her. The Princess met her brother's attack and deflected it, shaking off the shock from meeting her brothers again. There was neither room nor time for second thoughts. Shifting backwards to regain her footing, she charged forward herself.

They fought as two clashing whirlwinds, striking and breaking each other's defenses. The mist concealed the duel from the onlooking Star Children, leaving them to listen to the clanging clamor of spear against glaive, of brother against sister.

She searched her brother for any trace of his former self, yet there was none. Any glint of life was missing from his eyes, thus confirming her suspicion: That it was not her brothers she was facing, but hollow phantoms invoked by the sorceress's mist, mere vessels of the Queen's malice.

The Princess had, after all, seen what had become of her true brothers.

With revived vigor, she advanced to disarm her second brother, and he fell into her ploy when he held his position defensively, leaving an opening to his other side. She seized the opportunity and slid underneath him, swinging her glaive while in motion.

Her small figure enabled her to move swiftly, more so than most, and it was her advantage. The glaive, however, slashed through mist instead of flesh. Upon being hit, her second brother turned into purple haze, and dissipated altogether.

Before the Princess could recover her stance, the eldest brother dashed towards her.

The sheer strength of his weapon's impact against hers had her stumble backwards. She jumped back. Too much time had already been lost from engaging her second brother. She would have to make haste of her battles, lest the power of her Silence run out ahead of her confrontation with the Queen.

The blazing Princess sprinted towards her brother and leapt high with glaive in hand, ready to deliver the blow. She spun in mid air, evading his piercing sword, and hammered her glaive against his shield.

The ferocity of her strike permeated through the metal. With a blast of purple smoke and golden spark, her eldest brother's body also dispersed.

Barely had she landed when she heard a swoosh through the air. The Princess had just enough time to move slightly to the side, so that the arrow missed its intended mark that was her heart. It shot through her left shoulder. Her third brother, who had once been the kingdom's champion archer at fifteen, had appeared.

Her third brother shot arrow after arrow at her direction. She dodged them as she plucked the arrow from her shoulder, wincing as she did so.

Though the pain was excruciating, it was only temporary. Once the obstruction had been removed, the golden fire that enclosed her mended the wound. Two minutes had already passed.