CAPTURED

I am not a queen because I rule, I rule because I am THE QUEEN.

Birthed in my heart. Alive in my veins…

****************

Ten in number when they headed to the South but only four were made to see the light of the current day.

Their journey was a definite one and one they couldn’t return from without -the answer. To return was to announce doom to the remaining life in the North and these persons just couldn’t.

They were considered the last hope for the people of the North.

The Prophecy had explained that he was alive –the one chosen by the Heavens, the one whose life was capable of healing their land, the one hallowed to take them beyond past glory - but he existed in enemy territory.

It was a baffling Prophecy, the first of its kind, and the only agreement the people could come to was that he must have been held away by the forces of the South.

They didn’t have the resources to match the South the way they could decades ago and their only solution had been to send spies to escort their chosen ruler.

While the South is known to have numerous leaders guiding different portions of their land, the North is the exact opposite.

One ruler, over the vastness of their soil, to lead the whole of the people!

Not anyone could be the Chosen Ruler as a peculiar trait must be present in a person or the seat of the Crown would reject such an individual. This rejection is usually an instantaneous death – something no one was willing to risk.

And while there were elders who were currently controlling the affairs of the land, it went without a doubt that the land was dying and was in urgent need of its true ruler.

There were tangible rumours that the South who couldn’t stir a torch at them, during the era of their previous ruler, was beginning to make plans to raid their land and turn them into slaves.

It had happened before and that period was referred to as The Veiled Age – it was a dark time for the North as they couldn’t even rely on their powers. Every Northerner was petrified of it occurring again as they knew they had zero chances of winning.

In the crowd where six acclaimed people from the North had been beheaded, four enshrouded persons looked on. Wrath replaced life, bloodlust accommodated cloudy visions and three swore to see this act repaid with many times the number lost.

The dead persons had been captured as Southern soldiers chased after them a few nights ago. Those six persons had stayed behind so the four of them could escape. They all could not have tried to hide or the brutal Southern soldiers would have sought them out endlessly.

‘‘My Son! My Son’’ She breathed.

“…MY SON!’’ Lady Kiya shrieked as the reality of her dead son slammed into her with a formidable force.

He was only starting to be likened to a man and the reasons he had been selected to go with them were due to his outstanding swordmanship and acute intuition – it was a gift most persons didn’t possess.

But what had it cost him? What had it cost her? There hadn’t even been a need for him to use them!

Before anyone could figure out what Lady Kiya was about to do, she had jumped over two rows of sitting structures. Both hands stretched towards the executioner who had delivered the blow to her son’s neck, and two balls of fiery amber lights, each the size of a fist, shot from her palms.

It was when there was a burning hole on the executioner’s shoulder and in his midsection that the joyous frenzy in the arena turned into a fright and flight situation.

Immediately, Zorgan threw his hand over Nadezhda as he pulled her downward with him.

Nadezhda was bewildered at the turn of events, and her heart thumped hard. She had seen the fire travel before it hit its target. She knew she had seen something like that before but she couldn’t remember where.

‘‘I knew those animals were around!’’ Evadne cursed with a yell as she covered her head with her hands.

‘‘Stay down!’’ Zorgan commanded Nadezhda as his hand fastened on the hilt of his sword.

A quiet but persistent thrum within her was leading her to know what was going on.

It was past her usual inquisitive self –everything that had been happening since she set foot in the arena, was like a tale of something she had heard long ago.

‘Where did they come from?

Have they found their ruler?’ Zorgan thought quickly. There had been no news of a crowned ruler to the North, so what was the purpose of the attack?

The next dart of fiery lights aimed for another one of the executioners and he was lucky to be on his heels before it slightly grazed his back.

When Lady Kiya screamed, only those who were cloaked as she was heard her because every other person was screaming in ecstasy from the death of citizens of the North.

Those she had jumped over had even seen it as an act of glee and had not known her intention.

‘‘Over there!’’ A soldier screamed, his sword pointing in their direction. The arena was now in an erratic topsy-turvy as people began to run for their lives.

Soldiers from all over began to navigate en route to that radius.

Zorgan coughed out orders.

‘‘Mael, guide the King and Queen to safety. Slay whoever approaches that you know not, even if they wear a Valcresh emblem…

San do the same and lead Evadne out of here’’

He turned back to Nadezhda whose eyes were taking in the running officials. He took her wrist in one hand and lifted the seat he was formerly sitting on.

Giving a curt nod to Nadezhda, the both of them rose as they sprinted towards one of the entrances, the seat as a shield to protect them in case of an attack.

The General closed his eyes as his lips recited the old tongue - as the others did- but there was no reaction.

The lack of his ruler and his presence in the South had completely eaten off the remainder of his power. He had no choice but to rely on his sword to fight off the soldiers.

They shouldn’t have come to the arena. But Lady Kiya needed to know the fate of her son.

Escape was within his reach but he couldn’t leave his comrades behind so he stayed behind to battle the pouring soldiers of Valcresh.

Some of the soldiers had camouflaged as ordinary citizens and sat down with the crowd. They had looked forward to the arrival of their arrival after they had captured the others.