Lokriveii was a place that people avoided talking about.
Death was something better than to speak of the wretched lands.
Perched on the edge of a cliff with a views that stretched many miles and more, Claudia could see why.
Winter in Lokriveii was like a dark curse, where there was white snow everywhere else, it was black here.
The clouds were black with no signs of a storm, acid rains were common, people died by just inhaling the putrid air, the volcanoes didn't help the situation, forests were destroyed way before she was born.
From her viewpoint, she could hear the simultaneous steps of both sides as they marched, she could see the metal clad armor, the flags, the canons, the catapults, everything.
Their choice of battling was a desirable one in the winter, a dead desert that streched thousand of miles, no life signs other than the vultures that flew high in the sky awaiting their food, Claudia thought they were quite smart creatures.
Hopefully, neither her nor anyone she loved or cared for, would be their meals, winters were supposed to be cold but the princess felt the opposite of a chill, there was no water in this heated land.
It felt like a furnace, if there was a hell like people believed, she would imagine such a place as this, the rocky ground had cracks that threatened to devour anyone which added to the fear of both sides of an excruciating death.
Claudia knew that there was no turning back, her enemies were here as were her allies and they would have to fight their fiercest to survive.
Her eyes on the barren desert, now shined with the polished armor of Ceryscathia and Wilhestia on the right, she tried to decipher all the familiar faces there was.
At the very front of it all, riding Phobos, armed with the most prestigious metals and weapons was her Marcus. She couldn't see his face as it was helmeted, his glare was fixated on the other side.
Following her lover's eyes, it came to the other side, the people she once called family, Dominicia.
Arlus was saddled on a black mare, arrogantly deciding to avoid a helmet, his face wasn't clear to Claudia but anyone could make out the pompous expression who thinks he could win anything without much work.
Claudia wanted to be the one to end him, she wanted him to suffer, she wanted to feel the steel burn of every time she sliced, she wanted him to feel what Fenix had felt for months.
If anyone had told her that ten years from when she was eight, that one day there would come a time where she would stand against those whom she held a title over.
She would've never believed them.
Eight year old Claudia was a naive one, for her Dominicia was everything and she took pride in being part of such a kingdom, one she would later loathe.
Claudia felt like a goddess watching over the war, like Athene.
Like a thief in the night, Dominicia came for Ceryscathia, to them it felt powerful to draw first blood.
She heard the thundering roar from Marcus, as he raised his sword, pointing it at Arlus.
"ATTACK!"
All two thousand of Ceryscathia and Wilhestia charged forward with their weapons, Marcus went directly for Arlus as was any war where the two leaders would go against each other.
Claudia watched with bated breaths as Marcus skilfully slashed through the infantry on Phobos.
The artillery from both sides made their moves as canons were shot, hundreds of narrow spears pierced the air, ultimately landing in the hearts of men.
Quite literally, Claudia watched as men and women from all sides fall, her heart raged for those of Ceryscathia and Wilhestia and maybe even some of Dominicia for they were just following orders.
Her violet eyes scanned like an eagle, Arlus, like a coward, was being encircled by soldiers, as Marcus followed by whom Claudia assumed was Alexei and King Remus of Wilhestia pushed their blades through, cutting Arlus' protection.
Taking a deep breath, Claudia stood up knowing it was time for her descent, it was time for the warrior princess to make her in history.
For the young princess, she didn't hear the sounds of metal meeting metal, the puncturing of daggers or the smashing of axes, the volley of canons or catapults.
It was silence, as she stood at the edge of the cliff, right below her were Marcus facing valiantly with the spineless leech called Arlus.
Above her she heard the cry of the vultures hungry for flesh, at that moment she felt like a vulture, hungry for her brother's blood as she tore through his skin, she would feed it to the craving vultures.
Raising her arms to the side, she thought of her father, she felt him laughing behind her, she remembered when he once made her jump down a waterfall, she was following his words, what he said, other than that she she didn't why she did it.
Right now was different, this time it was for vengeance, she knew why she had to take a leap.
She recalled the one simple word her father had whispered to her ear, chuckling as he supported her arms.
"Claudia...."
"Father." She trailed off with a faraway smile.
"...Jump."
And so she did, the ear piercing cry of a vulture echoed through the battlefield, soldiers from all sides watched as the mysterious armed person leaped from such a height that one would die from.
Their breaths were caught as the graceful figure was diving straight for the Crow Prince of Dominicia.
Marcus watched from right above him to which he hadn't noticed as he was too lost in the fight, the daringly familiar figure landed right on top of Arlus as the leech cried in agony as he was dropped to the floor, the weight on his back too much for him to bear.
Soldiers of Dominicia after seeing this were charging straight for them, but that was when they were met with another surprise.
A war horn thundered through the entire battlefield as Dominicia were met with another wave of Ceryscathian soldiers marched into the battlefield that stunned them.
This was the secondary troops.
Claudia, however, could care less about their reinforcements, she had her prey pinned under her arms, squirming to escape.
Violet met violet as Arlus realized who his assailant was, he refused to have her meddle in things again, to outshine him once again.
He pushed her off as hard as he could but even her stumble looked elegant and skilled, not a single breathe was wasted from her body.
"Claudia, father's daughter, how proud he would be to see you here." Arlus sneered, his acidic words made Marcus, Alexei and Remus stare at the mysterious woman in shock.
Claudia chuckled, taking her helmet off, her pale white strands hanging loose on her face from her braid, her violet eyes gleamed with rage that was surprising to Marcus.
"I wonder what he would think after seeing what you have done to Dominicia." She retorted, unsheathing her sword.
"Even now, patronizing me." He growled.
As the two siblings stared each other down, their spectators couldn't help but think how similar at the same time how different they looked.
One inherited her father's brave and kind spirit while the other, his mother's rude and manipulating one.
Claudia's sword danced as she charged, cut through the brittle armor of her brother.
His lazily slashed, she dodged the first strike and the second was met with her broadsword, the force of her hit sent him tumbling down.
Claudia slashed downwards at his chest but he parried it with one of his gauntlets, the metal clanking with metal sent sparks flying into the air.
Grabbing his sword he quickly got back up, and swung mercilessly at his sister, Claudia sidestepped right in time as the blade passed a hair's breadth from her face.
Claudia pulled out one of her daggers backing up to a distance, aiming at him and threw it in haste, she grit her teeth as the sharp edge missed him.
"You've gotten better, but not as good as me." He smirked.
What happened next was so unexpected that no one had time to comprehend what it was.
It could have been the tremors of the ongoing battle that made the unstable rocks quake because, as Marcus watched the siblings duel waiting for a moment to step in, the ground underneath them shook at an alarming wave.
Knowing that the rocks would be their downfall, Marcus shouted to Claudia as Alexei grabbed his arm pulling him back.
"Claudia! Run! Now!"
Claudia could barely hear his words, as she was too immersed in her battle with Arlus, as she blocked an attack from him.
Looking above, her eyes widened, the quaking earth had sent a landslide of rocks that were tumbling down from the cliff and right onto where she and Arlus were standing.
Arlus followed her gaze and saw the rocks that would lead to his death, but his maniacal heart wasn't scared, instead a grin formed on his face when he saw his sister backing away.
Claudia should've heeded Marcus' words sooner, she turned to where he was screaming for her to run, she could only stare at him like a deer caught in headlights.
She moved to sprint to him, but then she felt Arlus' wrap his arms around her waist pulling her back.
"If I'm going, I'm dragging you down with me." He cackled as she thrashed in his arms.
Claudia stepped on his foot to run away buy the bastard grabbed her ankle and pulled her down on the ground as the earth plummeted down them.
The suffocating silence mocked Claudia as she closed her eyes, praying that Marcus would be safe, it was true, her life did flash before her eyes.
All the memories, the good ones with her father, Moira, her joking around with Fenix, meeting with Marcus, kissing him, adopting Lila.
Marcus screamed in agony, as he watched as the rocks collapsed beneath her and Arlus, Dean and Hela who were so absorbed in their own fights, rushed to Marcus who was enraged beyond compare and then to where Claudia was supposed to be.
Hela covered a sob from her mouth as Dean went to embrace his sister.
"S-She can't...n-no.." Marcus was in denial as he pushed away Alexei and ran but Dean suddenly held him back.
"Marcus.."
....
Claudia's ears were ringing from the blast, she felt herself stuck to the ground, dust clouded her sight and entered her lungs as she coughed, struggling to sit up.
She heaved, confused and disoriented looking around her to see that she seemed to be in some sort of cave.
Her mind was blurry as she tried to recall everything.
The battle, fighting Arlus, Marcus screaming for her to run, Arlus pulling her back, her concluding that this was her end.
As she shakily stood to her feet, she could still hear the roars of the battle raging on.
The rocks may have collapsed around them, or it could be some explanation that only a person of science could answer, right now she only cared about her survival.
She was relieved when she saw dull light escaping through a hole in the cave, it was large enough for her to cram through.
Claudia looked for her sword only to find it bedded and trampled by a pile of rocks.
Cursing, she felt for any of her daggers and sighed in relief when she found two left.
Her arrows were scattered all around the cavern, groaning she went to pick it up but yelped when a strong kick on her back knocked the breath out of her.
Before she could do anything else, she felt someone harshly grab her hair hurling across the cavern screaming when she hit her head on a rather sharp rock.
Blinking tears away, she looked up to see Arlus stalking towards her with a dagger, she barely moved out the way but he held her down.
Claudia shrieked when she felt his dagger impaling into the flesh of her abdomen, she kicked him away with the power she had sending him flying back.
She looked down to see his dagger painfully lodged into her belly, hot tears fell down her as she fought against the pain to stand up, leaning on the rock wall for support, she pulled the knife out her gut, screaming again at the sharp sting of pain.
Arlus staggered back up, his violet eyes brimmed with malice as he inched closer to her.
"Why do you rebel so much? Why can't you accept the fact that you're dying here...alone?" He chuckled watching his sister writhe in pain, she was too weak to even stand properly.
"I'm n-not alone." She groaned, feeling lightheaded as she felt the life being sucked out of her. She accepted her demise, she didn't rule out the possibility but she wouldn't leave without ensuring peace for her daughter and Marcus.
"I have my father, a mother, a lover, a daughter, a sister and a brother....You are the one who is alone...Arlus." She smirked.
Arlus stomped over to her, his hands coiling around her neck, choking her.
"I have my mother. She loves me." He growled.
"You w-were nothing but a pawn." He detected the humour in her voice which angered him more than anything.
"No!" He screamed.
"Goodbye, Arlus."
Arlus was ignorant to his previous actions, he was too ignorant to notice the dagger in Claudia's hand, the same he stabbed her with.
"Wha-
Claudia, not wasting a second, raised the dagger with all the strength left in, brought it down to his neck and stabbed him.
She watched as his eyes went into a state of shock as his arms around her necks loosened and dropped as he fell on the ground, dead.
Claudia's was still in peace even though she knew she would also die today, she had already lost a lot of blood but before she felt, she had a few more things left.
She had to get out of this hellhole and win this war.
Glancing at the now dead Arlus, she couldn't carry his entire body outside so she went for the next closest thing.
A war was like a game of chess.
If the king dies, the game is over.
....
The war still raged on outside, the majority of the Dominician soldiers didn't understand whether or not their prince was dead and still fought.
For Ceryscathia, the odds were against them, as Marcus had lost himself after watching Claudia being dragged to her death by Arlus.
Dean, Hela, Remus and Alexei were in a circle around Marcus protecting him as he looked so defeated and in despair without his Queen.
Hela was the first to notice pale hair poking out of a rock as they crawled out of it successfully. They were carrying something and her eyes almost fell out it's sockets.
"Claudia?"
Marcus, hearing Hela say the name, as he pulled his gaze up, he looked at the figure in shock, standing up, he pushed poor Alexei out of the way to get a closer look at her.
It really was her.
Claudia was on the verge of death, she couldn't make out anything clearly just the mass of soldiers to whom she raised the decapitated head of Arlus.
"THE PRINCE OF DOMINICIA IS DEAD! SURRENDER NOW OR YOU MAY JOIN HIM!"
Her fierce and loud voice betrayed her dying body, even she didn't know where such strength came from a dying woman of just eighteen winters.
Slowly, swords and bows started to drop around the battle field as soldiers knelt and hung their heads down as Ceryscathia and Wilhestia cheered for the princess.
But something was wrong.
Marcus knew it.
He was probably the first to notice that she was bleeding from her torso and that it wasn't Arlus' blood.
Running over to her, he pulled her into his arms, his heart dropped as he felt her weaken under him.
He caught her before she fell, he pressed his palm on her wound to stop the bleeding, screaming at Dean to get a doctor.
Marcus, with his tear filled eyes looked back at Claudia to see she was smiling.
"M-Marcus." She shakily raised her hand placing it on his cheek, as he didn't hold back anymore and sobbed freely.
"Don't cry.." She whispered, seeing him so broken made her want to cry too, she thought she was ready to die but seeing him in such despair made her hesitate.
But death won't be waiting for her to come willingly.
"You're l-leaving me...again." He cried, his head resting on her chest, as she weakly ran her bloodied fingers on his hair.
"I'm n-not leaving y-you. I'll a-always be with you.." She didn't want to leave at all, she wanted to see them all for the last time, she wanted to see Moira, her only mother who believed in her and to Lila, to stay strong, to Fenix, and apologize to him for breaking her promise.
She wanted to tell them that she loved them all, one last time.
"What about Lila? She needs her mother!" Marcus sobbed, he wanted to never let go, she was too young to leave this world.
"She n-needs her f-father too.."
"I can't do it without you! Please don't go!"
"Of course you can...tell her that I love her so much...promise me..that you'll stay strong...for her."
Marcus stared into her dull violet eyes, that for him shone like a thousand stars. "I can't-
"Promise me..."
"I...I promise..."
"Tell her...every day and every night that I love her..."
"I will..."
She felt death standing beside her, looking solemnly at them but there was nothing neither it nor her could do.
Hela, Dean, Alexei and Remus watched from the sides, everyone was crying, that was how heartbreaking it was.
The armies from Ceryscathia and Wilhestia, even Dominician soldiers who loved the princess couldn't bare to see her leave so young.
History would write her down as the brave warrior princess who sacrificed herself to ensure peace upon every kingdom.
But the every man and woman who watched the broken king cradling his dying princess, knew better.
Marcus would take her words into his heart. He would be strong for Lila and for Claudia.
"M-Marcus?"
"Hm?"
"I love you...so much. When you...feel like...you are....alone...remember...I will...always be...by your side."
"A-Always?"
"Always..."