※ Chapter 7 ※

Meihua's POV »☆●

"May I present King Jackson Wang of Wangluan, and his heir Prince Karry."

King Wang nods in acknowledgement as they're announced. We were about to begin our greeting, but to all of our surprise, the prince suddenly strikes the announcer, knocking him to the ground!

"Bow when you announce us, boy!" he growls.

I frown, not being able to interpret what just happened. Anger bursts inside of me. My fist getting tighter as my stomach twirls.

Without thinking twice, I slap Prince Karry, my ring cutting the flesh of his cheek. The entire crowd gasps, almost in sync. Even the courtiers, and father stares wide-eyed.

"We still honour the rules of the castle, and even sniveling princes are not above them," I warn.

"Is this the greeting we get from Wuluan? I'll see you burning for this, wench!" he growls dangerously, the whole castle falls into an awful silence with only the echoing of his harsh voice.

"Hold your tongue, Karry. This is Princess Wu you're talking to," King Wang says coldly.

"I don't know what has gotten into my daughter! Meihua, apologize!" Father says in a shaky voice, sweating and panicking.

"I won't," I announce strongly.

King Wang shakes his head politely, "That won't be necessary. I admire a princess who can defend her people."

Father nods but I can see he's still stressed about it. To make the situation lighter, he moves to the center and addresses the assembled crowd. As everyone's attention goes to him, he begins the speech.

"For too long we've fought amongst each other, squabbling over land while our shared enemy abroad grows stronger. Today, we gathered here to change that. Today, the Five Kingdoms become one, a clenched fist that'll stand strong against all threats."

The assembly cheers. And to my surprise, a massive crowd shows support to his proposal. He raises his glass and gestures the crowd to slow down.

"To seal the alliance, please raise a glass with me to a brighter future, for us all!"

The assembled crowd, along with the Monarchs cheer in support. Everyone raises their golden goblets and drinks..everyone but King Wang and his heir, Prince Karry.

Father frowns at him, "Is there a problem, King Wang?"

King Wang nods, "Yes. I'm afraid there's a big, big problem."

King Wang steps forward, glancing at the crowd, then back to father, "Before my father died, burned alive by the Thunder Empire, he told me one thing. Our lands will never be safe from them until we're one kingdom, one king."

He drops the glass from his hands, looking forward, "There'll be no alliance. There'll only be my kingdom."

As he speaks, I hear the clank of armor coming down the hall..then the screams of the servants.

"How's this possible? The gates are sealed and the bridge is drawn," I ask.

"The secret passage into the castle," Aunt Victoria shrugs.

Father frowns, "How? The only people who know about it are me, Hera, Seungri, and.."

Aunt Victoria moves next to King Wang and stares icily at us, "And me."

"You witch! How could you do this to us?" I growl aloud, ready to murder her this instant.

"You'd be amazed at the secrets a person spills to get what they need," Prince Karry smirks.

King Wang takes father's goblet from his hands and takes a sip, laughing, "King Wu Yichang, your reign is over."

My blood boils. Before I can process anything, the doors fly open. Men in strange, glistening armor charge in, leveling crossbows at all the assembled guests!

"Take cover!" Father commands.

Arrows zip through the air, striking the crowd. Their shouts echo in the throne room. I look up, just in time to see Prince Karry gleefully disarm and cut down another nobleman with a flurry of quick strikes.

Aunt Victoria bars the door to the outside hallway. She hefts a massive axe. King Xiu tries to flee, but Aunt Victoria swings the axe at him, beheading him instantly. Then, she spots me.

"Oh my little flower blossom, you're next," she smiles evilly.

"Try me," I growl.

She laughs, mocking me, "You think you can fight because you practiced a little swordplay on your fancy little backyard? Face it, little girl. You know nothing about a real fight. All you know is-"

When she was engrossed in her stupid blabbering, I look for something to use against her. I grab a goblet of wine, and fling the goblet's contents into her face. When her eyes burn, I drop her dead with a gauntlet to the skull.

Stupid woman, thought she could get away by betraying father. Maybe she wouldn't have died if she stuck to her principles.

"See, father? This is why I tell you to-"

I turn and see a bolt pierce straight through father's heart, his eyes going wide as he falls to the ground.

"FATHER!" I scream, running towards him. All the voices and screams of help mix into a horrifying vibration in my ears as I see him fall.

"D-Daughter... "father rasps.

"The King is attacked! Somebody get over here!" I call out, but my voice dies in the rising angst of battle and scream of people.

Father grabs my hand, "There's no use. You're just risking your life by drawing attention. One of us needs to be alive, my girl."

I shake my head, tears tickle my eyes, warning to come to surface, "But father-"

"Look at me, " he cups my face, "Who are you?"

"I'm a warrior, " I repeat the exact words he taught me to say since childhood as the answer of who am I.

'Yes, you're a warrior and I'm proud of you, " his eyes glisten and I'm suddenly engulfed in his arms. His blood smudging my gown. My heartbeat drops.

"I love you, my girl..please remember you need to-" he coughs loudly, "You need to survive at any cost. You're special, and the evil will search for you. Don't let them get to you. Don't..let anyone..steal the good in you.. Save yourself.."

I crawl across the stone floor to father, "What are you trying to say? Are you really telling me to leave you like this?" I sob, swallowing the lump over my throat. I reach a hand towards him.

"There's no choice, " he shoves my hand away from him, "Go now, go before it's too late..l'll meet you later."

I know he's lying. I could sense that I'll never see him again. My hands shake, my heart pounds loudly in ears, and my throat feels so dry I can barely swallow.

"Wangluan will burn for this, I SWEAR IT!" I growl through my dry throat. Rage bursting through every vein of me dangerously.

"I believe in you. My strong girl, you know you were born to fly high. Remember I'll always love y-"

The hair on the back of my neck suddenly stood up, and a tingle swept down my spine. My hand trembles, my body starts shaking terrifyingly as father tightly grips my hand and drops his last breath. Tears blur my vision. I freeze at the spot.

I frown as I feel something. An excessively fast wave of air coming at me, carrying something in it.

I roll to the side, just in time! The bolt from a crossbow slams into the wall right where I was standing. I stand up and turn to escape before someone catches me.

But before I leave the room, I turn back to find a soldier with gold trim on his armor looting my father's body. My eyes immediately notice his fingers.

No ways, my father's signet ring..

It's very special to father. It's the mark of his nobility, of his status that seals his place in history. I know he protects it at any cost. And a replica would never have the same value.

I hear footsteps approaching. There's no time. Father told me to save my life at any cost..

Forgive me, father..

I push the thought of saving the signet ring away and run to escape. As I look back one last time, I see the soldier take the ring. My heart aches inside my chest.

As I flee into the corridor, the skirts of my hanfu tangle up. I crash to the floor.

Ugh, why the hell did I agree to wear it?

As I help myself to the feet, I see more blood on my gown. The floor is slick with the blood of slaughtered royals and their companions.

"Dead..all of them..the entire royalty wiped out of existence.." I whisper to myself. No rebellion against King Wang is possible. We lost everything.

"Probably not all of them are dead," A voice rings from behind. I turn around to find a wounded Prince Xiumin with the sweetest and most odd smile I've ever witnessed. Or maybe it's odd because he's smiling at a situation like this.

He takes steps towards me, "As you know, my father is dead and as you can see, I've survived so far. Do you think I could-" he trails off when suddenly an arrow shoots him right on his hand.

"Die, Xiuluan scum!" the archer yells.

"Not without a fight," he responds and brandishes a torch at the soldier.

I've got to help him. But isn't it too risky? I'm the future Queen of Wuluan afterall. I must live.

But what kind of Queen am I if I leave him behind?

I shake my head. This is no time to have second thoughts. He could be valuable if I'm to ever march against King Wang.

I grab a massive shield from one of the fallen guards and dart toward Prince Xiumin. I slam the side of the shield into the archer's helm as hard as I can. He crumples to the ground.

"Princess Wu!" he mutters surprisedly.

I smile, "I promised I'd find a minute for you, didn't I?"

He smiles, "Who knew it'd save my life? Looks like you really are as fierce a warrior as you claimed!"

I sigh, "Looks like you could not charm your way out of this fight."

He nods, "Actually, I did try to be friends with the soldiers but they were shockingly unreceptive."

He holds my hands, "I owe you, Princess Wu. My Kingdom owes you. I swear on my life, should you ever need me, I'll be there with 200 of Xiuluan's finest soldiers at my back." As he speaks, he winces.

"Is it serious?" I frown.

Suddenly, a bunch of Wuluan soldiers burst in and approach me "Princess, they're coming!"

Prince Xiumin shakes his head, "I'll be fine. You should get going."

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As I enter the dungeon with our army, I see three soldiers rushing by, all carrying weapons wet with blood.

Wait, that one..that's the one that stole my father's ring!

I always carry a few things with me. A few wooden stakes, daggers, spikes etc. I never use them. My father advised me to always carry them for self-defense as I can be attacked if I'm mistakenly left alone even once.

I pull out the dagger and my blade catches the soldier right where his helmet meets his armor, plunging into the base of his skull. He falls dead as the others seek cover.

There it is..my father's signet ring.

I grab the ring, dodging the crossbow bolts as I retreat down the stairs.

Yes, all this over a ring. Never underestimate the importance of the right accessory. The ring commands respect and strengthens my claim to the throne..but well, I need to be alive to use it.

I use the passage they used to get in, to get out. I push a brick into the wall. Stones shift and the rock wall swings open, revealing a secret door. After a series of tragedies, betrayals from the trusted, help from the strangers, I manage to flee.

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An hour later, I'm riding through the forest, in search of an underground tunnel. It was built by Uncle Seungri and Father when they were young. Father informed me about it before, because my father knew what's gonna happen and so he prepared me for this.

Since my childhood, I felt a different aura around Uncle Seungri. He radiates dominance and power. He's different from the other friends of father that I've met. Soon, I happened to find out the reason of this difference. Uncle Seungri is a werewolf, the Alpha of a pack named Fire Moon that resides in Mingluan - the closest Kingdom to Wuluan and the biggest Kingdom too. His family lives there. He served as a marshall in Wuluan for father but he was often busy with pack so he kept a coordinate to assist him. This year he was supposed to retire.

I come to a fork in the path. Behind me, the lights of Wuluan recede into darkness.

My home..

I sigh, I've to be strong, now more than ever. Now, I only know I'd avenge them. Now, I promise myself that I'll take Wuluan back.

Once I reach the bunker, I crawl into a fetal position and cry for hours. Somehow, I knew I'll lose everything but I wasn't ready to accept losing people I love.

King Wang took my family. My father, my people.. He destroyed everything I've ever owned. I'll put his head on a pike. I will kill each and every Wangluan soldier who crosses my path. And I'll destroy every supernatural creature who tries to hurt me. They'll curse the day they come in front of me.

Blood. Will. Flow.

To Be Continued »☆●