A/N: To the side is the trailer that @HippeLove123 made for me! It's showing my profile pic as the thumbnail, but it's not in it. It's like a movie trailer. Check it out!
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October, 1418
There was the whiz of an arrow and a pause, and then a piercing scream. Liliana heard her mother, Clara, sobbing over her father's tunic, now covered in blood.
"Peter! Peter, don't leave me!" Clara cried. Then there was the sickening smell of death after another arrow flew, lodging itself into her mother's back. Then there was the fear and panic that Liliana felt as she hunched motionless with her back pressed against the wagon seat, lest she see the horrid images matching the grotesque sounds.
Liliana crouched in a state of panic. She covered her ears, willing herself to block out any more. She shivered as the October wind blew her black locks across her face, sticking to her cheeks by the tears that fell.
She thought she felt a hand brush her arm, and she yelped, startling herself back. As she peered through her messy hair into the driver's seat, she saw something red, rising and lowering. She pushed the hair out of her face and found herself staring at her dying father. His arm was flopped over the back of the bench, thus brushing her arm. He looked at her with strained eyes. But for some reason, though blood was still spurting out of the gaping wound in his neck, his eyes still held the warmth Liliana had been accustomed to. When she looked into her father's eyes, she felt all fear vanish. Between painful breaths, he spoke.
"Go to....the castle...safe there..." He rasped.
Liliana took his hand. "Father...what do you mean?" She was sobbing now. "Papa, what's happening?"
"Go," he whispered. "We...love...you."
A horrible shudder overcame his body, and his next gurgling breath became his last.
Liliana felt her stomach weaken as she stared in shock at her father, with his handsome face and capable hands, now gone. She remembered how he would spin her up in the air after a long day of work at the castle, and carry her inside their home on his shoulders. Her numb gaze shifted to her mother; her beautiful mother, with long, jet black curls and loving, nurturing personality.
Liliana shrank back into the corner of the wooden wagon in shock and slumped numbly against the seat, unaware of the roll of thunder and sudden downpour of rain. She could have sat there for minutes, hours, days; she would not have known the difference. But suddenly she felt the need to run. She needed to get away, out of the terrifying grips of death.
With clumsy movements, she threw herself out of the wagon, stumbling on to the rocky dirt path. Her hands and knees stung after catching herself, and mud flew into her eyes. Liliana pushed her self up, studying her surroundings to gather her bearings. All around her stood shops and bakeries. To her left was a run down inn that had been empty and gathering cob webs for years; to her right was the city wall that rose a hundred feet above her head. She could hear the roar of the Cretian Sea tossing waves to shore. Ahead continued the roundabout path to the castle. Although the sky was dark, Liliana had traveled this road many times in her ten years of living and knew her way to the castle like the back of her hand. Castle Creed stood majestically on the tallest cliff overlooking the ocean. With its tall spires and beautiful gardens, it was a palace fit for a queen.
King Edmund and Queen Isabella were now much like family. Liliana remembered how her father, a common garden tender, and his family had become close to the king and queen of Creed. Her father had one day managed to defend the king against a small band of raiders; they called themselves the Rogues. As the memory came to her, her foot caught on a brick, nearly tripping her. She took a breath to focus, but the event was one she would never forget. It came back, and she was lost in thought.
She had been five years old; old enough to remember a faint account of what happened but not able to understand what was going on. She and her mother had tended the gardens, planting seeds and trimming bushes. Her father worked all over the palae grounds and had happened to be delivering large pots of dirt. It was that particular day and time that Edmund and Isabella took a stroll through the wild berry bushes and budding cherry blossom trees, the very path Liliana's father used to bring the rich soil needed. It seemed to be a perfect day; the sun was shining, birds were chirping, and the weather was fairing well. Liliana held on to her mother's skirts with one hand and dropped flower seeds into the newly tilled earth with the other. As they passed a large berry bush, Liliana was certain she saw it move. She looked deeper into the tangle of greenery, she could have sworn she saw two beady eyes watching her.
"Mother," she had said, childish worry coating her voice. "Look." she pointed into the blossoms with concern.
"What is it?"
"Someone is in the flowers, Mama!"
"Oh, Lana, dear, it's probably merely a raccoon. No need to fret."
"Yes, Mama." She answered, though still kept an eye on the peculiar bush. Suddenly the bush moved. This time it was more than a simple rustle.
Out of the bush jumped a man in dark clothing. He looked menacing, with eyes black as fire. He met Liliana's eyes for no more than a millisecond as he lunged, not for her, but for the approaching king and queen. Liliana and her mother screamed. Her father was naught feet away. As if it were an instinct, he tackled the scary man an they landed with a thud on the warm August ground. Father grabbed him in a choke, and he flailed about, desperately trying to escape the iron grasp. As the man's arm moved, his sleeves shifted, and on his forearm was unmistakably a tattoo of a snake wrapped around the royal trident of Crecidia.
A Rogue.
Another noise sounded beyond the king and queen. Two other men jumped out from behind trees, ready to charge. But just as they did, a couple of the King's knights disarmed them. The trio of Rogues were halted; not to say that one of the knights didn't have a bloodied nose as a result.
Liliana recalled how King Edmund and Queen Isabella had rewarded her father's bravery. He had refused the many gifts that were given, but instead, gained their trust and friendship over the years.
It was only when a guard at the entry of the castle walls called to her that she shook herself out of the memory and was aware of how close to the castle she had gotten.
"You there! Where are you going?" the guard's tone of voice demanded an answer.
"Please, sir, bring me to King Edmund! Please, I must see him!" she whimpered. The rain beat down on her small form, plastering her hair to her face and thin dress to her body.
"Miss Fenton, is that you?" the knight's voice had changed. It now seemed more tender now. After years of visiting the castle regularly, Liliana's face had become familiar with most of the staff.
Liliana looked up at the knight. He looked familiar, but she couldn't remember his name. "Yes, sir." She tried to maintain the control of her voice, but with no luck. Her words caught in her throat.
"Let's get you in, out of the rain." He put an armored arm around Liliana and turned to the other knight standing guard. "Can you spare me for ten minutes?" The guard glanced around then gave a curt nod.
Liliana was lead numbly across the drawbridge, gazing absently into the mossy moat. A frightened tear trickled down her fair skin like a pearl in a vast spread of silk. She let the knight lead her up a set of stone stairs and through heavy wooden doors with bulky metal knockers. Before she knew it, Liliana was being seated in the kitchen with a steaming cup of hot cocoa placed in front of her. A pair of hands wrapped a large, warm cloth around her. It wasn't until then that she realized she had been shivering. Her soaked hair dripped on the old oak table. Quickly, she downed her drink and sat as patiently as possible while a few servants fussed over her.
Suddenly the kitchen doors burst open, and in walked Edmund, followed by Isabella. Both looked majestic in navy blue and crimson evening clothes.
"Liliana? What is the meaning of this?" asked Isabella, though she was not angry. No, her expression showed more confusion and concern than anything.
"Where are you parents, Liliana?" questioned Edmund.
Liliana slumped in her seat and tried to cover her eyes with the towel. Inside the security of the plush fabric she let heartbroken tears fall.
"Oh, dear," Isabella murmured. She pushed past her husband and laid an assuring hand on Liliana's back. Liliana wept even harder. From under her veil of tears and towel she felt, more than saw, Isabella wrap her arms around her shaking body.
Suddenly, Liliana spoke, though she didn't know where the words came from. "They're dead. Mama and Papa are dead. They were killed."
There was utter silence.
"We will find who is responsible for this. And...you will live with us." said Edmund quietly. It was a simple statement, but his voice carried a mix of dismay and confusion, yet certainty shone clearly in every word.
This brought Liliana out of her hiding place. She looked from Edmund to Isabella, and the to Edmund again. Isabella shot her gaze to her husband. "Edmund," she trailed off.
It was more a statement than a question. That one word carried the weight of a thousand. Edmund looked Isabella strait in the eye.
"Isabella, my love, you know it is the right thing to do."
"Yes, but-"
"She has no other family. You and I...we're the closest thing to family she has left. It's our duty."
Isabella sighed. "Of course. I care for Liliana as much as you do! Never would I send her away! But-" She glanced down at Liliana's wide eyes. Slowly, she continued. "What will the people think? They will see her unfit, even though we know she isn't. I just don't know that it is the best option." It was not that Isabella disliked the thought of Liliana living in the castle; she actually favored the idea. What made her hesitate was the probability of discrimination against young Lana.
"Then what would you have me do? Throw her to her own luck on the streets?" His voice rose slightly. "No. Never, under my rule, will I allow a child to face the cruelty of living alone. She will live with us until she chooses to leave. But until then, she will live as our daughter."
Isabella nodded. Of course Edmund was correct. Liliana needed a family, and they were the ideal choice. She wrapped her arms around the still shivering Liliana. "Would you like to be a princess, Lana?" she asked with a smile. "Just like those fairy tales you love to hear?"
Liliana's eyes suddenly held a certain maturity. They became sorrowful and hard. "Mama and Papa are dead."
Isabella immediately sobered. Her lip quivered and a tear fell. Immediately Edmund jerked his head to the Knight standing in the doorway. "I want a search party sent out immediately. We do not rest until the man responsible for this is found."
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A/N: Well, what do you think? I'm really excited for this! Please leave your thoughts/comments/ critiques! And don't forget to vote! Thaaaaaanks(:
-Brianna