I stood over a pile of bodies as I watched the house burn before me. A man struggled to crawl towards me as he tried to stab my foot with a dagger but he was too slow and on the brink of death to do so.
“Y-you.. w-will pay for this…” He was looking right past me full of anger and hate.
These were his last words as he took his last breath.
I squat down to check if he is still breathing, the others were clearly not.
“Don’t mind him, Zero. He and his family were essential for the new era we dreamed of,” he then chuckled to himself, “Well, of course, mine and my ancestor’s dream. We were meant to rule this world and get rid of the existence of anomalies.”
He came forward and touched my cheeks gently as if he was my father.
“With our recent technology and your existence, we can get rid of what is not desirable in this world. Of course, it is ironic, isn’t it? We are wiping the existence of this power through using the self-same power – the power of the dragons.”
I woke up immediately from my dream or was it a distant memory from my previous life?
I tried to remember more of it but the dream slip past me. All I can remember are those last words – “power of dragons.”
If it was an old memory of mine, then why were the dragons mentioned?
I felt my head aching as I tried to remember more of it until I heard hurried footsteps from outside my chambers.
I stood up and slowly walked to my door but before reaching it Omorfos suddenly barged into my room.
“Princess!” He entered and then kneeled down, but there was much urgency in his voice.
“What is going on Omorfos?” I lifted him up as a gesture for him to know that he can stand.
“We need to leave,” Omorfos held my hand firmly as he looked me in the eye.
“Why? What’s going on?”
“We need to leave immediately”
“Where are the others?”
“They are also being protected by their knights and dragons. The Emperor demanded that you and Princess Fae are specifically protected.”
As he led me to my closet, I saw Ser Wayne enter my chambers too, and did a salute. He was followed by several other knights.
The maids entered together with Cecil as they prepared clothes for me.
“Princess,” Cecil smiled lovingly at me but the worry in her eyes can be seen clearly as the noonday.
I let them dress me into comfortable clothing as the knights waited outside together with Omorfos.
“Where are we going, Cecil?”
“I also do not know Princess, I am very sorry.”
*****
“Have you contacted Duke Occidens yet?” The Emperor asked Earl as they made preparations.
“Yes, Your Majesty. He has prepared the knights of the west as they waited for the imperial knights. Before sunrise, the siege would be complete.
“Good. Have you contacted the head of the noble houses?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Messengers were sent to their different houses.”
“Good, we need a lot of advice regarding the exchange demanded by the enemy.”
“Your Majesty, I am not challenging your decision but do we really need to discuss this matter with other houses?”
“What do you mean, Earl?”
“I do not want to relay any information to Your Majesty without verifying its credibility, but there have been rumors circling around the empire.”
“What rumors, Earl?”
“Ever since the incident six years ago, other noble houses are becoming suspicious in their endeavors.”
“Suspicious? What do you mean by that and why was I not informed about this?”
“We were busy with the dragon stones and the Vinculum ceremony recently and those rumors are not yet confirmed but the citizens have been whispering about them on the streets.”
The Emperor raised his eyebrow and gestured to Earl to go on.
“The line between the regular citizens is becoming clearer and clearer ever since the shortage of resources. Nobles have been exploiting the poor in a way that they were offered opportunities but their family members never heard of them for months, some even took years before coming back to their families.
“How about their wages? Did their families receive them?”
“Ah, yes Your Majesty. I heard they were given wages monthly.”
“But what is it that is bothering the citizens if they were being paid, as promised?”

“The people who went to work came back years later but they were not themselves anymore.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m sorry Your Majesty but that’s the only information I have. I have tasked someone to dig up more details about it but it seems someone is keeping the citizens’ mouths shut. Other informants went missing.”
“Who were the noble houses who offered these ‘opportunities’?”
They continued their conversation as they made preparation for the siege and the meeting that is to be held earlier that day.
*****
We walked through the night towards the underground room. The last time we were here there was an explosion but now, it was too quiet and no one knew why we were being sent here.
“Omorfos,” I whispered to him.
“What is going on?”
“I’m sorry princess but I cannot disclose any information.”
I looked at him with a raised brow, “Who do serve, Omorfos? To whom did you swear your loyalty?”
I do not like using this card but I do not want to be kept in the dark.
Omorfos looked down and then looked up at me again as we continued walking.
“First to you then to His Majesty, Princess.”
“Good, now tell me.”
He looked around but it seems the knights paid no mind to our conversation. They were busy being alert as they surrounded us while walking. Over the distance, I saw the twins with their knights and dragons.
Maybe Nix and Fae are already there.
“The enemies took over an entire town in the west,”
I can feel my hands getting cold as the words “took over” echoed in my mind. Taking over an entire town would mean they are taking those people as hostages. Even before Omorfos continued talking I knew immediately what they want in exchange for the hostages as I remembered the specific instruction that the Emperor gave.
“They want both me and Fae, don’t they?”