“It Came from The Sky”

There were five kingdoms in Harvia. Norwich lays in the north, The Guard in the middle, Tanzine in the east and Badham in the south. The Kingdom of Norwich is currently ruled by King Tarin of House Kyra. He resides in the Pureblood Court which is situated in the capital of Norwich. The king has two children: Prince Avan and Princess Willow.

Avan traversed the long, winding halls of the castle which would seem like a labyrinth to any commoner. He always carried himself as if he had somewhere to be. Interestingly, this time he was heading to his chambers. One of the many castle servants frantically appeared from a door in the hall and stood right in front of his path, forcing him to stop.

"Prince," the servant said, "His majesty requests your presence in the courtyard. You mustn't be late."

"What does my father ask of me this time," he complained. "Inform him that I shall be right with him. I must fetch something from my chambers."

The teenage prince took off in a hurry, leaving the servant to contemplate what was just said to her. It did not take Avan long to reach the entrance of his chambers. The wooden door towered over him and on it, ran floral patterns made from what was assumed to be gold. You see, Avan kept his prized pair of swords of which he nicknamed 'The Twins', on a rack inside his chambers. He was a master swordsman at just eighteen years old. He grabbed them off of the rack which hung on the wall near his window. The light in the room steadily decreased, alarming him. This was impossible as it was nowhere near nightfall yet.

He glanced through his chamber window and shot his head up to the sky where he noticed that it held an emerald green tint. It was nothing that he had ever seen before. His eyes were drawn to his younger sister, Willow, who was busy drawing under the Felter Tree. She, too, glanced up to the strange occurrence in awe. Something about the green sparks in the sky was intriguing, luring her from under the protection of the sacred tree and into the open. This would prove to be a mistake as a neon green bolt descended straight towards her.

"Willow!", Avan shouted "Get out of the way, quickly!".

However, his pleads fell on deaf ears as her unconscious body sank to the grassy floor. It did not take long for Avan to be storming out of the castle doors with a barrage of royal guards swiftly behind him. The prince dropped his swords and rushed towards his incapacitated sister. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him as her almond brown hair lost all its colour. A bright green shade infected her frazzled strands of hair. His eyes filled with tears. Willow was the only person that Avan cared for. His father was a sadistic tyrant and an unfit ruler of Norwich. Avan's mother was executed right in front of his eyes when he was twelve years old. This made him despise his father even more, vowing to get both himself and his sister away from this kingdom forever.

"Willow!" Avan shouted, vigorously shaking her arms. "Wake up!"

With this method not yielding any results, he picked her up into his arms and ran past the stunned guards to rush her to the castle's apothecary. On his way through the familiar winding halls, Willow's eyes slowly staggered open with her irises glowing a faint green hue. Avan did not notice Willow had awoken until she tried to release herself from his death grip.

"I'm fine," said the teen. "You can put me down now."

Avan was stunned that his sister was completely fine, even after getting struck by lightning. He stopped running so that she can get down and stand on her own.

"For a 16-year-old, you're pretty resilient," he chuckled.

She wiped the stray tears from her brother's cheeks. He could not help but stare at her strange new hair colour, making Willow concerned.

"What's wrong with my hair?" she asked, with a raised brow.

Avan's silence prompted Willow to grab a strand or two and lead them in her line of sight in order for her to examine it. This was perplexing as they had never seen or heard about anyone in Harvia with green hair before. It was impossible.

"I like it," he said, flashing an endearing smile at a flustered Willow.

"What will father say?" she panicked, rushing back to her chambers in shame, leaving her brother alone in the empty hallway.

Enamoured in thought, Avan quickly snapped out of it, recalling the terrifying sight in the sky. He made his way outside of the castle walls and looked up to the seemingly normal skies. He made his way back to the Felter Tree where his sister had been struck and picked his Twin Swords up from the grass. It was strikingly odd that there was no evidence that this event had even occurred. It was obvious that Avan needed time to take in all that happened but that was a luxury that he could not afford as he quickly remembered that his father requested his presence in the royal court.

He strolled through the grand doors of the court and noticed his father sitting impatiently at the throne. Avan was surprised that he could even fit in it, given that his father never much cared about his weight. He constantly ate big feasts and consumed barrels of wine imported from Vanguarden, located in The Guard. Avan made quick work of kneeling to his father.

"I'm here, Your Grace."

"You are late," said the King as he took a rather large gulp of the wine that one of the servants had poured him.

The beverage did not linger in his throat for long as it came rushing through the entrance of his mouth in disgust. His sharp eyes only seemed to grow darker and emptier as he raised his fist and struck the female servant who had poured him the drink.

"This tastes like hog-wash!" he roared. "What do you take me for!"

He stood from his throne and held the servant by her neck, making her gasp for air as she pleaded her life. This proved futile as her scrawny arms were no match for King Tarin's strength.

"Useless whore!"

He unsheathed his sword and pierced it directly through her chin, forcing the blade up through the topside of her head. The servants in the court witnessing this atrocity looked away in disgust. Pints of blood splattered onto the king's face, but that only excited him as he held a menacing smile.

"To- towel, my king?" muttered another servant, still in shock.

The king grabbed the towel and wiped the blood off of his hands and face then wiped his blade clean. He then sat back on to his throne feeling no remorse or guilt for what he had done. Avan witnessed all of this in pure horror. His father always took the opportunity to execute people in Avan's presence in order to show him what a 'real' man was. Avan walked cautiously towards his menacing father as the guards dragged the servant's corpse away.

"Yo- you called, father," Avan stuttered.

"As you know, the menagerie and I have been planning to topple the bloody fool in Vanguarden as well as his supporting lords in the perimeter of The Guard. Damn fools have the gall to swear fealty to that blonde-haired piss toad."

King Tarin was one that was constantly greedy for power. He despised anyone that opposed him but do not be mistaken, he was no fool. He knew how important it was to keep up appearances, biding his time until the right opportunity to tear down his enemies. His disdain for King Horas of Vanguarden only strengthened when it was made known that most of the esteemed families in The Guard chose to follow Horas. The lands of which his kingdom covered were some of the most potent. Perfect for growing, processing, and supplying fine wines and vegetables to other kingdoms in Harvia. It was widely understood that whoever controlled Vanguarden, held the true power. At a moment's notice, if the king decided to cease the export of food then famine would soon plague those in the north as well as the south.

"Our silent attack was meant for the spring, but I was notified of a sign from the God Cain himself. Heaps of green plastered the skies not too long ago. Now is the time," the king added. "We're to leave in two weeks' time."

"Bu- but my training hasn't concluded yet, father," Avan replied. "I'm not ready."

Avan regularly concealed his true mastery of the art of sword fighting in order to protect his sister and avoid fighting in meaningless wars in the name of his devious father. It was not as if his father needed him. Not when the most feared soldier in Harvia as well as the commander for the Norwichian forces was his father's right-hand man. The king's guard.

"With Daemon leading the attack, you'll be his second in command." said the king. "Be bloody useful for once."

"But fath-"

"Enough!" screamed Tarin, slamming his hand onto his throne which echoed through the whole courtyard. "Get out of my sight!"

The young prince bowed and made his way to his chambers where he passed through the lonely halls once again. He sat on his bed and flung his swords to the floor in frustration.

"What the hell do I do?" he wondered, passing his fingers through his long, dark hair.

Being put in a position like this forced him to consider his vow. Avan had always wanted to escape this nightmare with his sister but first, sufficient preparation was needed. So far, he had saved one hundred coins and hid them away in the castle's kitchen. There was a loose stone tile that opened if lifted correctly. Avan hid his most valuable items there, except for his Twin Swords. This was far from his goal of a thousand pieces but there was no more time.

Avan had no reason to remove the King of Vanguarden nor invade The Guard for that matter. Having his sister safe was priority number one. If they could travel to Vanguarden to warn the King of his father's plans, then they may have a chance of defeating him before too much damage could be done. Vanguarden's army was one of the strongest in the five kingdoms. Only a surprise attack could overpower their army therefore it made sense to alert Horas before the looming strike.

Avan planned their escape in his chambers until nightfall when it would easier to blend in. With one last sigh, he lifted himself off of his bed, grabbed his weapons and made his way across the room towards his desk. He took a silk cloth and used it to tie his long dark hair which now draped down the side of his face. He sneaked out of his chambers and quietly made his way down the hallway. Lamps plastered the walls, giving off a faint warm light. Nearby footsteps alerted him, and he ducked into one of the many doors that lined the hall. He looked through the crack of the wooden door until he saw the shadow disappear.

When he was relatively sure that it was safe, he continued down the hallway. He dashed into the kitchen and sneaked against the wall towards his secret hiding spot. He managed to dislodge the half-empty wine barrel, revealing a slightly raised stone tile underneath. He lifted the plating and grabbed the large leather sac that sat inside. He ran to the other side of the kitchen and opened one of the cupboards where he grabbed three loaves of bread.

"Should last us three days."

The teen stuffed the loaves into the sac and shuffled to the large barrels that stood next to the food cupboards. He pried open the lid to one and dunked two empty leather cannisters into the water. Afterwards, he returned to the secret hiding place and grabbed the rest of items that were hidden in there which included a map of Harvia, a sketch of his mother which Willow had drawn as well as an extra suit of clothes and two unlit torches. He slid the stone tile back over the hole and quietly did the same to the barrel and made his swift exit of the kitchen area.

He approached Willow's chambers and slid inside, making sure not to open the door too loud.

"Willow," he whispered. "Get up."

The sleepy girl mumbled and slightly opened her eyes.

"Come on, we have to go," he said.

"Wh- what?"

"I'll explain later. We haven't much time."

Willow sat up on the bed and rubbed her eyes. What was her brother doing in her chambers this late? All she wanted to do was fall back into a deep slumber, but she trusted him.

"Get changed," Avan said.

Willow nodded, jumping off her bed. She made sure to grab her mother's necklace, placing it around her neck.

"Also grab an extra change of clothes," he added.

While stuffing her garments into Avan's leather sac, she noticed the pouch full of gold. They both exchanged glances and she finally realised what was happening. The siblings quietly trekked down the stairs of the castle that led to the caverns. Avan took the lead as they approached a broken desk which sat against a rocky wall plastered in cobwebs.

"Help me push it out of the way," he asked.

"Okay," she whispered.

The pair grabbed the edges of the desk and pushed it out of the way, revealing an opening in the floor. He peered down at the hole and lowered Willow inside, tossing the sac to her before quickly following her in. His feet landed on cobblestone which was partially covered by dirt. In front of them, stood the intertwining tunnels which were spread out under the castle. These pathways were remnants of old mines that had went unused for centuries. Avan had discovered this place as a child and explored it multiple times. Enough times to know the way outside the castle walls without being noticed. While traversing the many pathways, he caught Willow up on what was happening.

"Are you sure that we'll get there in time?" Willow asked.

"We have to," Avan replied "There's no telling what could happen."

"He's pure evil," she said, frowning.

Their father was an emotionless monster. Unbeknownst to Willow, it was her own father that had her mother executed. Avan never told Willow the truth as she was out on a tour through the capital when it had happened, and it would only cause her more pain. As far as she knew, her mother was mysteriously poisoned. Tarin's hatred for King Horas went further back than most people know. He thought that wedding Horas' sister would give him access to Vanguarden, but he was gravely mistaken. Creating two children for appearances at the end meant nothing. What use did he have for their mother if she did not bring him closer to what he truly wanted?

They made their way up a narrow slope which fed to the formal entrance of the tunnel, finally emerging at the back side of the castle.

"There's the forest," Avan pointed out. "Hurry!"

The pair jumped to the nearby rocks and then onto the grass below. They ran across the dark, empty field towards the forest. Willow staggered and grabbed her head, kneeling in pain. Her eyes faintly glowed green before returning to its normal state. It was a few moments until he realised that Willow was no longer behind him. He rushed back to his kneeling sister's aid.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. Let's keep moving before someone sees us."

Avan tightly gripped her hand as they continued across the field and disappeared beyond the tree line. When they were far enough into the forest, Avan lit a torch so that he could comfortably see the map of the kingdoms. Scoring this map from the castle library was the best thing Avan had ever done. He would have loved to see Master Tundrin's face when he notices that it was missing.

"So, we're currently here, in the northern part of Norwich Forest…" said Avan, pointing at the map. "…but we have to head south here."

"How long should it take us?"

"A week at most," he replied. "We should stop at Greyholt on the way for extra supplies."

Willow nodded in agreement as they resumed their hike through the terrain, dodging branches and leaves as they ran. Avan pulled his cloak over his head and instructed Willow to do the same. Anyone who notices a girl with bright green hair, especially the princess of Norwich, would surely bring unwanted attention. The prince had his twin swords prepped on his back, ready for any sign of danger that may come their way.