The feared Crimson King

38. Meeting the king

The young princess was panting heavily as she looked down on her blood covered hands. The ringing in her ears suddenly grew smaller as the sound of Jaxons voice and her sanity returned to her.

"Alice!" She had gotten off the desk but only now her senses came back to her. She mustn't think about how this was something people were doing everyday during the war.

"Alice!!" Jaxon had gotten up and grabbed her, pulling at her dress, looking up at her, being scared.

Her "yes" came out more as a breath, than an answer but she finally reacted.

"We need to hide!" Jaxon pleads.

She mentally slaps herself out of it and nods at him. Parcival had not moved from the spot on the floor, being to weak to do anything, but in the quick look he shared with his sister, she realized that the feeling of going mad when taking your first life, was something he'd also felt before.

Alice turned away from Jaxon and quickly pushed closed the door to the study. If anyone where to see a dead body from outside they'd definitely come checking in here.

"Where's the secret passage way?" She asked hectically.

The boy nodded and ran to one of the bookshelves tearing books out of the two bottom rows until a hole in the wall, hidden behind the books becomes visible. The young boy grabs the wooden board which is now empty of books and singles it out of the shelve. It is a small entrance but a good hiding spot.

Alice and Jaxon then drag and carry the wounded older prince into it. Behind the entrance you could sit upright for the room of the passage turned more spacious. Alice told Jaxon to get in after Parcival.

She started lifting the board back into the shelve, "What are you doing?" Parcival asked panting.

"I need to go save the King..." she spoke quietly.

"Are you mad?! No, get in here!" Parcival coughs vigorously, while trying to convince his sister to stay.

"Stop it." She puts her books back into the bottom shelves when Parcivals hand stops her. She shakes it of.

"What if this was about Emily?" Alice asked, knowing that bringing up her brothers wife would make it easier on her.

"But we're talking about him! If you even get to him Alice! You could die. Also this isn't you war!"

"I know that, but Theodore doesn't!" Parcival didn't understand his sister but he remembered that no matter what he tried she'd always win if she set her mind on something.

He wanted to stop her, but he understood that she needed to try. Try to stop the doom of her bonded for he was everything for her as Emily was everything for Parcival. Just the thought of Emily being in danger brought anger into his heart.

He slipped his hand between the bookshelf to hold hers, slowly this time. Their eye-to-eye contact said more than words could ever in that moment and Parcival nodded at her before slipping his hand away one last time before she started putting the books into the shelve almost completely.

"Jaxon?" Alice whispered as she finished with the last book, which fit perfectly into the shelve. "Yes?"

They couldn't see each other but they could hear. The books fitted the shelves perfectly leaving not one bit of space for anyone to look through. It was ingenious.

"I promise I'll try to save your brother, but can you promise me to take care of mine?"

"I promise." Jaxon whispers, with determination in his voice.

With that Alice grabbed the blood stained sword, stepped over the body of the lifeless man and slipped into the hall.

As she ran through the halls with her heavy sword, she contemplated on where she would find the young King. If he was still alive that was, but something in her made her feel like she would've known it if he'd died.

While she snuck around the castle halls she found several bodies. She didn't want to look at them but she had to be sure that one of them wasn't the King. She'd seen knights and servants of Walzenor aswell as the intruders of Sermon scattered around the halls.

She thought of hell and how the sight before her probably resembled that of hell itself, or off ones worst nightmares.

That's when one body made her stop on her tracks. It was a small body laying lifeless on the ground, the normally tidy bun was scattered and the uniform crumpled and soaked in blood.

Alice's eyes grew into tears as she hurried over and knelt down, let go of the sword and turned the body on its back. She didn't want it to be true but it was. Mrs Jane's eyes were no longer sparkling with joy and her usually pinkish cheeks were white as chalk.

Although Alice had felt betrayed by Mrs Jane before she'd learned to love her too. She'd been kind to her when others weren't and she always had a smile left for everyone, even for the King.

Alice sobs loudly clutching the dead woman in her arms, memories of their times together flooded her head.

"...meeting my husband has brought me nothing but prosperity, which is why I believe that I will one day be able to say Queen Alice to you."

Her voice echoes in the princesses head as the tears fall on the face of the older woman. A woman like her didn't deserve to die the way she did. She was to good for this world.

Alice stayed that way, holding her, mourning, until her hurt diminished a bit and no tears were left to cry. It was not a moment to soon as voices could be heard coming from around a corner.

With anger and sorrow in her heart she'd grabbed her sword, turned around and ran towards the next corner, leaving the deceased woman on the ground behind her. She didn't care about her surroundings. She was mad. How many more would have to suffer the consequences of this war? How much pain would it still cause? She then saw soldiers sword fighting the intruders in front of the Kings chambers. She used this moment to run past them and slammed her side into the door as hard as she could stumbling into the Kings chambers.

She catches herself before falling to the ground as the door swings open and four eyes turn to her.

Panting and in pain by her shoulder, she finally saw the young King.

Both of them plagued by anger and pain in that moment from their individual situation.

And as if they'd been the same person they both said "You!"

His voice was traced in rage and hers in relief, and discontent.