ROYAL BLOOD
A thin cloud of dust puffed up around her like a final shroud.
Her body followed, collapsing in an awkward, lifeless sprawl, her gown billowing for a moment before settling over the dirt and stone.
Beneath her head, blood began to trickle down, slowly at first, then it began to gush out, pooling on the ground.
Her eyes weren't closed.
They stared upward wide open, unblinking, those crystal-blue irises catching the faint shimmer of the moonlight.
She died with her eyes open.
Those eyes, once sharp enough to command a kingdom, now reflected nothing but the empty night sky.