Prologue

The loud boom of the thunder outside caused all the animals to fall still and children to shriek. Among them is the cry of a young girl, as she huddles closer into the folds of her mother's dress.

"Sh." The woman, Orabelle, picks up the child's shaking body, her long fingers stroking the girl's soft blonde hair. "It's going to be all right."

In her mother's comforting arms, her tremors slow. She focuses on the repetitive motion, her curls tickling the back of her neck as they shift. "Mommy?"

Orabelle lets out a small answering hum to urge her daughter's question forward.

"Can you sing me something?" the girl whispers.

Orabelle sighs before pulling her daughter close, the tiniest smile visible. "Just close your eyes the sun is going down. You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now. The morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound."

Suddenly, a loud boom fills the silence, closely followed by screams. The noise is shocking and the girl squeals in surprise. All the fear that had slowly started to recede comes back in full force, only this time, it is reflected on her mother's expression as well.

Orabelle looks down into her daughter's deep golden eyes. "Go into your hiding place, little mouse. And don't come out until I tell you to."

The girl looks up at her mother with confusion. She has only been told to go to her hiding place once in her life. Orabelle never mentioned it and she couldn't bring herself to ask. However, this time, she inquires, "But why?"

"Because you must, Aria. For once in your life, listen to me," Orabelle says quietly, but firmly as she sits the child onto the floor. "Go."

Aria stares up at her mother, and something in those grey eyes stopped her from asking another question. Backing away, she flees, her small feet pattering against the wood floors as she takes herself to her regular hiding place. It was one that she had found when she was mere toddler and she used it ever since.

Carefully drawing open the small wooden pantry, she curls herself into a ball and slides herself into the tiny space. With one finger, she closes the door until nothing more but a sliver of light shone through the darkness.

She peeks out from the small slit, following her mum's movements, her eyes widening slightly when Orabelle grabs the sword on the table. All her life, she had been warned to never touch it. It was a prized item in their household, her mum only taking it out to clean and sharpen the blade.

Now, she watches in amazement as Orabelle unsheathes the sword, the gleaming metal staring back at her.

The front door slams open and Aria instinctively shrinks back inside the cupboard. Her breaths were incredibly shallow as she wills herself to stay silent.

The candles that lit the room flicker, forcing the shadows to dance.

"You broke your word," the intruder says to Orabelle in a low voice as he points his sword at the woman. "Where is the girl?"

Aria blinks. The man can't possibly be looking for her, right?

"She's not here," Orabelle replies in a level voice. The only sign of fear is the hand that clenches the sword a tad too tight.

The man snorts. "Liar. No one had left this village in days."

Orabelle simply gives him a small smile. "When your sister can turn herself and others invisible, I think she can sneak a small girl out."

"So she's at Isa's then?" The man looks disgruntled before he grins. "Then it's all the better that she won't be here to see this."

In a sudden movement, to quick for Aria to see, the man plunges his sword through Orabelle's chest. "This will be your last use to us. Let this be a message to all those that cross us. After all, I'm a man of my word."

Pulling his sword out, Aria stifles the urge to throw up as she watches it come away with blood. Her mind was still unable to comprehend that it was her mother that was lying dead on the floor.

Red blooms along her mother's white blouse, spreading like the unfurling petals of a flower.

A trickle of blood leaks down the wooden floorboard and she stifles a scream as it slowly creeps its way toward her.

She wants to run forward, and grab her mother. Fear holds her back.

Her fingers clench tightly into a fist, her nails digging into her skin. The pain keeps her in the moment and she is forced to watch as the man approaches Orabelle.

The man looks down at the dead woman with disgust before wiping his sword against Orabelle's skirt, the same one that Aria had huddled into for comfort a mere ten minutes ago.

Sheathing the blade, he casts a look around the room before grabbing Orabelle's fallen sword. He turns it around, his eyes widening slightly before putting it in its sheath on the table.

He proceeds to carefully wrap the weapon before picking it up and leaving.

. . .

Aria wasn't sure how long she spent in the cupboard. She had sat there, too terrified to move, simply staring at her mother's pale face. Orabelle's eyes are still open. They stare up at the ceiling, the light behind them gone.

Blood stains the floor, its shimmering red surface had dried to a dark brown.

The silence outside was overwhelming. Not a noise could be heard, and no one had come on to investigate.

Ever so slowly, the candles shorten, their bright flame dimming before finally they flicker out.

Every time Aria closes her eyes in an attempt to sleep, all she can see was her mother's expression before she had fallen down. She sees the blood that had stained her shirt crimson.

She wishes desperately that it was nothing but a nightmare. A vivid, long nightmare, but a dream no less.

Maybe if she simply waits a little longer, she'll wake up in her mother's comforting arms. Yet with each and every horrifying moment that passed, she knew it was true. Even she cannot deny the body that lay ahead of her.

As the room brightens, Aria watches as the sun slowly began streaming its brilliant light through the open windows.

The night had passed yet she is still stuck in her living nightmare.

Suddenly, Aria hears faint footsteps come closer to the front door.

Shrinking back into the safety of her cupboard, she watches as a woman with long silver hair steps in. Her face hidden in the shadows of the hood of the cloak, yet Aria can hear her let out a small gasp as she comes to kneel by Orabelle's side.

Reaching out, she cups the woman's face gently as though handling a newborn babe. With two fingers, she closes Orabelle's eyes and looks around at the seemingly empty room.

Aria's breath catches when she slowly walks towards her cupboard.

The woman slowly pulls open the door, her silver eyes gentle as she took in the girl's shivering figure.

"Hello, I'm Isa," the woman says in a soft voice as though she were trying not to spook a frightened animal. "You must be Aria."

Aria looks at the woman warily before nodding slightly, her mind working to figure out what the name meant. Finally, it clicks. It was the name the man had mentioned. "Did you know my mum?" she whispers.

Isa nods. "I'm her sister."

She glanced down at her dead mother and then back up at this strange woman. It fit everything that was said by the man.

Aria lets out a long, shaky breath. "What happened?"

Isa smiles grimly. "The rebels happened."