Collapse, Scene v1

Kismet weaved through the trees as quick as she could, making her way east toward the capital. Undoubtedly she left a trail even an amateur could track, but not in such darkness. For half an hour she kept her pace, keeping close to the road in order to have one less side to worry about. No one could’ve followed her for so long, and the wound in her shoulder was sealing. The arrow was difficult to reach. She broke the shaft and threw the tail end to the side with a curse.

It was a long run back to the castle. Lucas’ urgency was unsettling, and she wanted to go back to Yuin for his horse, but it would be too dangerous and the Kival may have already stolen it. It wasn’t until after dawn that she reached the castle.

The castle was in chaos. People rushed to the barracks and dining commons. Everyone was in a panic, calling for help. She was too late. Whatever the Kival had planned, it was already in action. Kismet asked for General Raze and the royal family, but they ignored her to tend to the hundreds of unconscious people. She ran toward the dining commons, praying the generals weren’t unconscious. Amidst the commotion, stood Delphi, frightened and confused.

“Kismet! They—everyone…they just started collapsing!” she cried.

“Do you know where General Raze or Devin is?”

“N-no. Why, what’s going on? You have blood all over you!”

Kismet gently placed her hands on the young princess’ shoulders, in hopes to calm her down a little. “What about your family?”

“I—I don’t know. I think Father is in the garden.”

The Catheran ran off toward the inner garden with Delphi right behind her. Kismet nearly ran into General Raze on her way there. “General Raze, where’s His Majesty? He may be in danger.”

“He’s in the gardens. I left four guards—”

“We have to get to him. Lucas was murdered. Just before he died, he told me the royal family may be in danger.”

The three of them quickly rushed toward the gardens. At the rear, three guards rushed King Marcus into the greenhouse with a dagger at his back. “Father!” cried Delphi.

They sprinted after them, stepping over the bodies of four fallen soldiers. Through the glass door, the captors pushed the king toward the back corner. “Get down there, now!” they ordered. The doors were locked. Kismet wrapped her cloak around her and rammed through the door, shattering the glass.

“Damn it, hurry up!” cried one of the abductors, while one of the second one was descending a ladder. When the three drew near, the captor on the ladder of the hidden passage slammed the door shut. The only one remaining grabbed for his weapon in a panic, but it was too late. Kismet pounced at him, slamming his head onto the ground with a crack.

General Raze pulled at the wooden trap door, but to no avail. She stomped at it desperately, but it gave no sign of cracking. “Break, damn you, break!” she roared.

Delphi watched helplessly, sobbing in a panic. Kismet moved General Raze aside and crouched over the door. Placing both her palms atop the wood, she closed her eyes and focused her thoughts on the wood. The wood cracked and splintered beneath her hands. She climbed to her feet and stomped at the door, but it wasn’t enough force. She jumped on it with all her might, and with a loud snap, it broke. Kismet fell through the door as it gave way. The splinters sliced her legs, and tore at her torso. Delphi’s cry was hardly audible through the loud clatter when Kismet crashed into the floor with the broken wood.



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