Prologue

SCREAMS can be heard throughout the area as fire and smoke as it filled a specific silver-haired's vision, pressing her palm on the glass and watching helplessly.

The view in front of her was considerably different from what she had become accustomed to seeing when she had stared out the same window for the previous 10 years.

The beautiful and flourishing country of greenery that extends out to the horizon was now nothing more than ashes, the entire kingdom wailing in agony and revolt.

For the royal family, it marked the end of an era.

Everyone, except the culprit himself.

The woman sighs deeply, her heart aching and breaking at the sight unfolding in front of her. She had a premonition that this was going to happen even before it began, and it was all because of power and the throne.

All because of greed.

"I look beyond the horizons

As a witness, both my will and soul ashen

Explosions of fire, blood, smoke to ashes

How am I still alive in the midst of all of this chaos?"

She sang the first stanza of a song she had heard a while ago in a scratchy voice while witnessing the horror imprint itself in her consciousness.

She can't help but express her thoughts in song, a song composed by their forefathers as a warning of impending disaster.

"I saw the end, the fall

Rain poured in heavily withdrawn

Swords are drenched, armors creased

Dear, save yourself from this misery."

Her voice was soft, yet scratchy and frail. Although this doesn't stop her as she sings from her heart, the sorrows she felt were conveyed in every tone.

Before everything happened, before the kingdom has fallen, the woman who is singing was known for her voice.

The woman was thereafter dubbed 'the Songbird.'

She is a stunning beauty, one of a kind. She has silver locks that move with her body and ruby-colored eyes that appear to be precious jewels, shining brighter in the sun.

In elite society, she is the flower among the thorns, a butterfly towering alongside them. She was so stunning that men would be awestruck and women would be envious of her.

She was widely known; her name was all the talk of the nation.

Her name is Amerielise Hivanya Lovette.

Now, she is nothing like her past self.

The filthy clothing she's wearing is smeared with dried blood and grime, and it doesn't fit the woman's light skin. Her hair is in a single untamed ponytail, her eyes are sunken, and her lips are nearly blue.

She coughed and clutched her palm to her weakening heart as she finished her song.

She knew she was dying slowly. She, too, wanted to die because she was weary and weak. Her loved ones were murdered, her family was executed in front of her, and her people were slaughtered by the knights.

Because of that man, she was the only one who survived...

"Amerie." His voice echoed the empty room.

Speaking of the devil.

The woman abruptly stopped coughing and turned her head to look at the source of that voice, only to discover the guy she had trusted her whole life approaching her.

"Keres..." She whispered weakly.

The guy, the one responsible for the devastation engulfing this nation, and the only reason she is still alive.

Her captor.

Valorian Keres Joaquim, the crown prince of the kingdom himself.

Amerie saw Keres' real nature despite his golden-threaded hair, sky-blue eyes, and angelic features.

How could she not? She had been with him for ten years, unable to support anybody other than him.

"Aren't you proud of my feat, watching the performance from the finest seat in the house?"

Amerie, the woman, turned away from him and glanced at the burning nation.

"I'm watching how you stupidly burnt down the entire kingdom."

Even with her poor health, Amerie is still fighting. She is near death's door anyway; she is not afraid to retaliate.

Heavy footsteps were heard behind her, she sensed his presence close to her but said nothing.

"I destroyed this place just for you, my songbird." He muttered to her like it was a love song.

Amerie clenched her hand and stared at him, her crimson eyes clashing with the flames outside.

"No, you destroyed it and blamed me for it."

He laughed wickedly, "You are always clever, Amerie."

She understood what he was up to, why the conflict started, and how it all started. She was his confidante; therefore, she knew everything.

In some ways, she was responsible for all of these shambles.

She was also at fault, but she was never to blame.

She felt him move away from her, which she heaved a heavy sigh in relief.

She turned around to face him, indifferent to how filthy she appeared in his eyes.

"Are you satisfied now, Keres?"

He paused for a moment, the silence ringing in Amerie's ears as she anticipated his answer. She clenched her fists and felt the heavy beating of her heart.

She was curious if he was pleased with the outcome of his scheme.

The guy in front of her murdered his family, the nobility who opposed him, and the commoners who backed the Duke instead of him.

Despite the fact that he was the crown prince, the people did not trust him. They had doubts about his ability to rule the kingdom.

The people couldn't detect any royal blood in him.

Amerie was the only one who stayed by his side, supported him, gave him her undivided attention, and treated him as if he were her brother.

She even turned down marriage proposals for him so she could continue to assist him as he requested.

Thinking about it now, it was stupid of her to do.

If she had married, she could have saved herself and the people she cared about.

"Satisfied...?" Keres muttered lowly as he slowly laughed at her question like it was a joke.

"Amerie, my darling sister, my songbird..."

He moved towards her, a broad grin on his face, as his blue eyes gleamed in the darkness with eagerness.

Amerie failed to notice the wrath and anger bubbling beneath the surface.

"Why would I be satisfied when the bastard Duke is still alive?"

He strikes his hand on the wall beside Amerie's head, causing her to flinch and turn away.

"And guess who freed that man from my cell?"

She was deafeningly quiet, cold sweat dripping down her back as she noticed something near her neck, mirroring her face in the darkness.

She swallowed the hard lump forming on her throat as her heartbeat became erratic.

"Want to guess who it is, my songbird?"

Amerie kept her mouth closed.

This ticks off Keres as he grabbed Amerie's jaw and forcefully made her look at him.

"Why did you do it, Amerie?"

Amerie wished for the Duke's survival because she wants to set things right just once. She thought Keres wouldn't notice that she was the reason the Duke escaped but he still knew.

"Why?!" He screamed at her, pulling her out of her thoughts.

Amerie looked at him and smiled, she bravely touched his cheeks as she continues to smile softly at him.

'Keres wasn't always like this.' She said to herself, after a long debate of silence.

'The pressure to get the throne ate him alive...'

"I did it so he can spare you mercy when the time comes."

Keres gazed at Amerie as if she had gone insane. She was aware, however, that Keres may die at the hands of the Duke.

Even in her current state, despite everything he had done to her, and despite the murders of those people.

She didn't want him to die, or to go through too much pain again.

"Amerie..." Keres softly called out to her.

She thought her words get through him, making him change his mind about all of this.

Amerie smiled once again and was ready to hug Keres when she felt a searing ache in her stomach.

It jolted her, the pain searing her body before her thoughts went blank, her body felt numb, and her legs felt weak

"You are a fool," Keres whispered to her, "A fool to believe in me."

She slumped to the ground slowly. She didn't detect it coming as he stabbed her with his sword.

All she could think of was the pain and the emptiness that followed it.

"K-Keres..."

She fell to the ground with a thud.

Keres stared at her coldly, his blue eyes firmly fixed on her as she stared back. The same hue as her eyes gradually emerged on her filthy clothing, blending in with the dirt and dried blood from earlier

"Amerie, you should not have deceived me. I would have let you live and be my consort, exactly as many said our ending would be."

Amerie felt chilly, her breathing getting shallower as she lost more blood.

She regretfully smiled to herself as she felt weaker and weaker, gradually surrendering to the sensation of calm.

"You are not supposed to die by my hands..."

Amerie shuts her eyes completely when Keres finishes speaking, her body slumping on the floor as her breathing stops.

She remained still, not moving an inch off the ground, a puddle of blood clinging to her skin and clothes

Keres knelt next to her, unconcerned by the blood that surrounded her, and stared at her face one last time.

"If only you stayed loyal to me, Amerie. If only you supported me like before."

Keres gently touched her face and sighs. He then rose and went out of the room, without looking back at the songbird's lifeless body.

Outside, the Duke looked at the window where Amerie once stood and clenches his fist.

He was too late to save her.

He watched the whole thing unravel and he even heard her sing her song.

The song that will haunt him for years to come.