Chapter 2

KIANNA

The world is startlingly obscene, lewd even.

I watch helplessly as the brutes cutý down the guards at the door. Then they move briskly through the pandemonium cutting down every one of her people in their way. Men, women, nobody was spared.

Pure hatred fills my heart as I see my people being brutally murdered like chickens before my very own eyes. Behind me. Erica is gasping profusely, I follow her eyes to where Keith is being stabbed in the heart by an abnormally large warrior with a disturbingly feral smile on his face.

I glance sharply at the throne only to see my mother crouch gingerly under a table, her hands covering her bulging stomach. That's definitely not good for the baby. I idly think, feeling as if I'm dreaming…this can't be real.

I try to push open the door, about to go help my mother, when she shakes her head profusely, a pleading expression on her face. 'Run away!' She mouths now crying gingerly.

I feel Erica holding me back from taking any more steps further into the hall. Distractedly, I glance everywhere in the hall looking for my father when I see him lying bent on the floor, his hands bent at an unnatural angle. There was blood everywhere around him, there wasn't even a distinction in colour on him.

Crying out, I fall to my knees and weep as I see my once vibrant father lying in a pool of blood. I inadvertently fall through the doors, the pain in my chest too real…too much to bear. My father's once beautiful robes were so soaked in blood that it was now red.

At that moment, Erica starts dragging me out of the hall but I push back forcefully. My eyes still stuck on my dead father. At this moment, I don't mind if I die with them. After much struggle, Erica manages to pull me out towards the opposite direction, just in time for me to see a soldier drag my mother out from Under the table, crying and screaming. He pulled her with such force that she got impaled on his sword. I stare trancingly as her blood gushes out rhythmically. Erica pulls me towards the secret tunnels I just showed her last week as we were now surrounded, blood and gore everywhere. These people fought almost with an otherworldly strength and brutality.

Erica drags me and I follow her willingly, still in a trance-like state.

We reach outside and I dazingly observe the pandemonium that is my kingdom. Everywhere I look, soldiers aggressively cut down, maim and stab my people while some are burning down buildings. 'They don't even like houses I smile disheartening at the chaos.

Erica shakes me out of my funk and drags me across the vast fields. I follow her daringly watching the movie-like destruction that I know of my home.

We finally get to my favourite oak tree and I stare dustraughtly at it. Erica wastes no time in Pushing me into a small, bushy groove. She warns me not to come out and to wait for her to be back. I stare at her dispassionately wondering when this garish nightmare would be over.

When Erica turns head back to the palace,I hold her arm and beg her with my eyes not to go. I don't want any more if the people I love get hurt. But alas! Erica doesn't listen, she just shrugs me and walks certainly towards the palace. My heart jumps to my stomach as I stare mournfully at her retreating back not knowing if I would see her again.

Hours, minutes have passed by and I'm still rooted in my hiding spot. Crying softly while witnessing my people being ravaged and killed. I look on into the pile of dead bodies, gasping when I see some people I'm familiar with.

My mind wanders to Erica who hasn't returned since she stepped bravely into the palace like an avenging angel. Tears leave my eyes as I imagine what had become of her. There was no way she would survive these animalistic brutes and knowing Erica, she would barge in noisily and fight till she goes down.

I mourn Erica silently, a bout of tremendous pain passing through me as happy images of us flash through my mind. I should have held her down to prevent her from going back. But knowing Erica, she would have gone anyway. My heart breaks at how helpless I feel now. I hope her death was swift and painless.

I wish I could be as brave as she was. But all I'm fit to do right now is your huddle in those trees, praying that I wouldn't be found and killed or worse taken because I presume that would be worse.

I hear a sharp, anguish filled cry. I turn sharply to my side, almost hitting my head on the tree just in time to see Mr. Luke being pushed on the ground and stabbed repeatedly till what seems to me like a river of blood soaks him. I mourn his death silently, Afraid that one of the wicked brutes would hear my cry and find me. Mr. Luke was such a nice man. Always smiling dotingly at me whenever we pass each other in the palace hallway. He had a wife and two loving kids who I played with whenever I visited him.

Mr. Luke was a kind-hearted man. He usually got me cookies baked by his wife, Dina, anytime he came to the palace, which has been a lot recently. There had been lots of recent celebrations and my father had needed his expertise on the Royal family's attire. He had solely delivered. He had even been the one to sow the velvet gown I had on now . I look down, another bout of tears flowing as I glance at the irreparable damages done to the material. Mr. Luke had given it to me as an early birthday present. Blushing gingerly when I hugged him and peppered his cheeks with pecks.

I close my eyes briefly, breathing in and out reiteratively till I feel not ready to burst with the amount of grief in my soul. A flood of rage floods as I look on helplessly as the good people of my kingdom are killed like chickens, while begging to no avail for their lives.

A chilling shudder racks through my body as I bear witness to a brutality in these men that I've never seen before. I've always heard timorous rumors about their savage ferociousness but it is still astonishing to me how they can so heartlessly kill innocent people, even women and children…they certainly had no heart.

Erica had once told me that she had heard that their usual style is to kill all the occupants of a kingdom and burn all visible buildings. She had whispered to me that she heard they ate any few human slaves they took too. I had scoffed at her, earning me a playful swat at the back. I couldn't believe such garish stories about human beings. But looking at the nass destruction that was taking place before my place, I could almost believe it.

Another rumor that spread like wide fire especially between the servants was that they sacrificed seven virgins to the moon goddess on each full moon. I had also disregarded that one too. But maybe I was naive to do so.

There had been lots of disparaging horrors told about them. The most chilling of all had been the one where the leader had supposedly killed his whole family in order to become the Alpha. I vaguely marveled at such cruelty.

All the anguished cries around me remind me of my own misfortune, my parents now lay dead in their own palace. Despair crushes through me as I think of my baby brother or sister who hadn't the chance to even so much as been born before a bunch of poor excuses for human beings killed him. Tears gush streaming from my eyes as I mourn my dear family. I cry for a while, the cries of victory over my people's anguished ones too disheartening to bear.

My tears finally exhausted. I collapsed to the ground with a whole lot of grief in my chest. My father was such a good father and ruler. Every one of his subjects loved him. I think back to a certain occurrence last summer when there was a case of two warriors fighting over a girl. They had stormed into the palace girl in tow, with such venom in their eyes as they fought to explain what had happened in no time. My father had them laughing and talking like brothers in no time.

I remember how beautiful my mother was. In and out. My father had told me once that it was her kind heart that drew him to her. He had later gotten to know her and wooed her constantly for about a year before she had accepted to marry him. Contrary to the beliefs of my grandfather, my father had gone after his heart against all odds. Till today, their marriage was still a marvellous thing to behold.

I remember my mother's disheartening expression as she vehemently shook her head for me not to come to her aid. I remember the look as life drained from her. She didn't even look scared. She looked almost welcoming. My mother had always been such a brave woman she was my role model.

Waking up some hours later. I look at the bright, blaring sky and note that it's morning already. I had collapsed after crying profusely and slept a fitful sleep. Looking at the sky, I can almost think that last night was just a very poignant nightmare. I look around the village and see that smoke is everywhere now. Squinting through the fog, i notice that

all the buildings are now piles of ashes on the ground.

There's an almost serene quality to the alarming silence. But there was another note of despair in the silence. My whole village looked like something out of a horror film.

I shudder to think what I look like now. I felt like blood was in every place in my body. My hair was matted with blood as I gingerly patted it down. My once beautiful dress is now torn and bloodied in different places.

I slowly get to my feet and gingerly crack my stiff bones. After some seconds, I step forward and look around my hiding spot, eager to see the extent of last night's plunder. I sight a gold and red emblem and dash out of sight praying silently that the brute hadn't seen me. But alas! My prayer was ignored as an enormous pair of boots appeared in front of my vision. The boots were attached to a man on a black horse

I glaringly look up to meet a pair of dark crazed eyes. The man's eyes would be pretty though if there weren't such malice in them. He smiled cruelly at me, tilting his head to the side as if in thought. I could hear my racing heartbeat as I stood in front of him like a deer in headlights. I hated this feeling!

I gingerly look at the man. Taking notice of the empty horse he had at his side, I gasp internally, a new fear dwelling on me now. I think I know what he wants. I fume despairing as I glare at the man with hatred. He was going to take me with them!

I looked sharply to my right, about to make a run for it when the brute staked at me shaking his head with such a fierce look in his eyes. And I knew it would be a horrible idea to get caught by this man. I perused his strong frame. He looked fit enough to give chase if I ran and I didn't want to imagine what horrors would befall me when he did.