Think about this: You have the ability to survive anything. That is why, despite all the storms made of pain and loss, despite all the chaos that you have to had endure you are still here and you are still going strong.
- Nikita Gill

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- Victorine -

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As expected, I woke up when it was still dark outside after going to bed early yesterday. Immediately I got up and gathered the leather bags with my provisions. I armed myself with a sword, some daggers, a bow and a crossbow. I stowed a weapon wherever I could fit one more.

I left a short note for my brother on my bed. It felt wrong to leave him here as the last of the family. But I couldn't stay here.

Packed full and as quietly as possible, I left the room. I crept through the hallways, wondering if I would ever return here. Involuntarily, I shook my head slightly. At any cost, I would bring Crescentia back home.

The patrols inside the castle had been reinforced, so I had to be careful not to be discovered. Finally, I climbed out of the window of the kitchen on the first floor.

The soon to be full moon cast faint moonlight on the castle courtyard. I waited a few seconds, and when no sound was heard I crept to the back of the castle. It was a relatively long way to the adjacent mountains where the dragons lived. But I had no problems walking it even in these light conditions.

After walking through the forest for some time, I arrived. As expected, there were no signs of battle here. The soldiers of Tenebris were strong, but not stupid enough to attack a dragon's nest.

I put the bags down for a moment and looked around. There were dangerous creatures walking around here at irregular intervals during the night, so I unsheathed my sword and looked around in all directions in alarm.

"Deidamia," I then called out half loudly, just so that she should hear me but I didn't draw the attention of all the forest creatures.

For what seemed like an eternity of consecutive seconds, there was complete silence around me. I looked toward the mountains, hoping that Deidamia would soon appear. For a moment I remembered my childhood, when we had spent so much time together.

She had not been fully grown herself when we flew around the mountains and I told her stories all night long. Actually, only long trained dragon riders could tame a dragon. But my skills had been a huge advantage for me.

The next moment I heard a sound and exhaled in relief when I identified it as the beating of wings. The mighty dragon landed gracefully a few steps away in front of me, and as always, I marveled at how big she had grown.

"Hello Deidamia," I greeted, gently stroking her head as she leaned over to me. "Would you be up for a  longer ride?" I asked gently.

The dragon lowered her head a tiny bit and snorted, the warm steam from her nostrils giving me my answer. By now, I didn't even need to use my skills oh her. In most times, I knew how she thought and what she felt. She let me climb on her back, then I made sure my luggage and weapons were securely fastened to me and signaled Deidamia to fly off.

It was good that we flew under the cover of darkness. I relaxed a little on the warm back, but still kept a watchful eye on my surroundings. I was riding a fast, strong dragon, but you could never be sure who was around.

With horror I remembered the stories of hunters who captured dragons and other magical creatures to sell and force them into obedience. My parents had never wanted me to learn about this so early as a child. But with an older brother, it hadn't been so easy to prevent.

My throat scratched as I allowed the memories of my family to come back.

Deidamia noticed my change in emotion and turned her head briefly towards me. I gave her a slight, reassuring smile. We knew that I would not let anything stop me. I was embarking on this journey to find my sister. To stop Cephas from his cruel deeds once and for all. And to sever his head from his body with my favorite blade.

Sighing, I went over my plan in my mind. I was not foolish enough to sneak into the most powerful kingdom in the land alone. My first stop was Sanguis. There I would convince King Nicolas to work with me. I needed strong soldiers, sharp weapons, and a lot of vengeance for my goal. And I knew it was Nicolas' goal, too.

But for a moment, I faltered. What if this was a trap? What if Sanguis was just trying to worm his way into our trust during his saving act yesterday? But I had no other choice, I was dependent on this cooperation.

Still, I could trust absolutely no one. Good face to bad face.

I was an expert at it.

For the rest of the flight, I focused on Deidamia's flapping wings and her deep inhales and exhales. It was starting to get a little brighter, which caused me quite a bit of concern. I was all the more relieved when the Kingdom of Sanguis finally appeared on the horizon.

It was the largest castle I had ever seen. The dozens of stone towers on top of all the huge foundation buildings rose high into the sky. The adjacent village must have been twice as large as ours was.

I gestured to Deidamia to land some distance away in the shelter of the woods. Then I slid down from her back and buried my provision bags under the soil and foliage. If my plan failed, then I would come up with a new one.

Then I said goodbye to Deidamia. I was not worried about her. It wasn't like I was abandoning a dog. She would enjoy her time in the air, hunting and bellying up.

Determined, I moved each weapon into its proper place and strode through the forest with my sword drawn. It wasn't as if I was afraid of any magical creatures that might attack. I had already killed countless of them. It would just be a waste of time. Every second counted if I wanted to save my sister.

Without any incidents, I reached the village. I oriented myself by the tall castle towers to get closer to the interior of the village. It amazed me how lively the inhabitants were here. Children were playing in the streets, some residents were selling wood and trinkets outside their front doors, there was fresh bread for sale in the village square so early in the morning.

No one paid any attention to me as I moved on, clearly looking around. Carrying many weapons was probably nothing unusual here.

Finally, I reached the castle gates. My jaw almost dropped in bewilderment when I saw that they were unguarded. Who did they think they were? The second most powerful kingdom, which would not be attacked anyway? Where were all the guards?

Uncertainly, I moved across the deserted castle courtyard. Why was there no one here? I had no time to look at the beautiful gardens and the fountain. I couldn't help but to wonder if I had fallen into a trap.

Cautiously, I looked around for a back entrance and discovered one that apparently led to a laundry room. Relieved, I spotted the older ladies working here. I cleared my throat to draw attention to myself. The ladies turned in surprise, but I was even more surprised when a sharp dagger blade was pressed to my throat from behind.

"Gotcha, spy," someone hissed in my ear while I noticed this foul breath on my skin.

He had strong arms, but I was absolutely sure I could turn around, take the dagger from him, and ram it down his throat. But a corpse was probably not the best welcome gift.

"I want to see the king," I demanded calmly.

The male person behind me laughed contemptuously. "Don't think you can fool me. That's exactly where you're going. I can't wait to see what he has planned with spies today."

"What are you talking about?" I started to get angry. "I'm not a spy, I just want to talk to the king!" I fumed, suppressing the urge to violently attack my threatener.

"Come along," was all he meant, and he shoved me forward. I felt the blade press against my neck, felt a painful twinge, and decided to just go along with it and not resist any further.

He pushed me up staircases and down corridors until we finally stopped in front of a huge, reddish double door. With a free hand, he opened the door and roughly pulled me into the imposing hall.

As he took the weapon from my neck and closed the door, I felt the slightly torn skin on my neck and looked at the back of the blond, strong man. He was really damn lucky he hadn't slashed my neck with his stupid, clumsy hand.

Then I turned around. On the solitary throne in the otherwise empty hall sat a man. It was the most handsome man I had ever seen. I looked at his striking face, black hair, and what appeared to be green, sparkling eyes. His lips were pressed into a thin, serious line.

"Put down your weapons," the blond man suddenly demanded from behind me.

I hesitated, but then reluctantly and angrily began to lay down my weapons. First the sword, then the bow, then the crossbow and a dagger.

"All of them," the king ordered.

Wordlessly, I pulled out three more daggers from my clothes. Now I was truly unarmed. Not even my powers would help me in battle. I felt defenseless and naked.

"So, is that her?"

"Yes, the suspicious person we spotted in the forest. She just gained access to the inside of the castle when I surprised her," the blond man reported. "Spy," he then spat out even more contemptuously.

Angrily, I clenched my hands into fists and turned to face him. "Are you hard of hearing? I already told you I was looking for the king!" I thundered.

"Enough of this," Nicolas said.

A shiver ran down my spine. I had never met such an intimidating person. Of course, my father had been just as much a king. But he had still been my family. And not as domineering and cold as this person here....

"So, what do you want here?" he asked.

I didn't like the way he was looking down at me. His face had a slightly condescending expression. But, Victorine, you have a purpose. Stay purposeful.

"Honored King Nicolas Talesin Artemas of Cadwallader of the Kingdom of Sanguis," I said aloud in a firm voice, even bowing. "I am Victorine Zuleika of Arphaxad of the Kingdom of Spero, daughter of Almeric Mortimer Ulric of Alphaxad, and I come to you with a request."

"The first daughter of the king, interesting," Nicolas remarked with a sardonic grin, rising from his throne. He wore no robe, but metal armor. I could see from here that he was at least a head taller than me. "What brought you all this way to see me?"

His evil grin almost confused me, but I reminded myself to stay strong.

"I thank you and your soldiers for helping us last night," I began. I didn't even have to pretend. I didn't want to know how much worse things would have been without that help. While I had been lying useless in the sewers....

"But surely you didn't come all this way to thank me?" the king inquired cuttingly, descending the steps of the elevation on which his throne was placed.

"No," I agreed, concealing that the way was not so long because I came on a dragon. It was always good to have an ace up one's sleeve. "I offer you my support in the fight against Cephas," I clarified.

"Spero's support?" inquired Nicolas, raising an eyebrow.

"No, mine," I repeated seriously.

Blondie behind me laughed quietly, but I ignored him completely. I knew what I could do and of what value I was.

"Oh," Nicolas went on, although he didn't sound surprised at all. "How do you intend to be able to support us?" he wanted to know, slowly stepping closer and closer. I looked into his green eyes and broke free from the spell they seemed to cast over me.

"I can read the minds of living beings," I then confessed.

Now I felt even more naked than I already did. I no longer had any weapons. Nicolas now knew what my ability was. And it was not something I could defend myself with. No one revealed their abilities to strangers. It was like revealing your entire deck of cards in a game of life and death.

Nicolas stepped even closer. He now stood a little less than an arm's length in front of me. I looked at his perfect face and slightly lifted chin, his confident and proud posture. "Prove it to me," he demanded.

Astonished, I looked at him. It surprised me that he would take the risk of letting me read his mind. But then again, of course, he had to be sure.

"All right," I confirmed and raised my head a little as well. Then I focused on his face, his eyes, and....

Nothing.

It felt like a wall of stone. I pounded on it, pounded, I scraped my fingernails across it until they chipped off one by one. The wall did not collapse. The wall could not be broken.

I started to panic. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't read anything. Beads of sweat came to my forehead. I looked into his cursedly serious eyes and just saw nothing. This had never happened to me before.

"You're losing my interest," he said slowly, pausing for a moment. "And that could be very dangerous."

For a brief moment, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I had to get him out of his composed, stony stance. And that would either win me the victory or cost me my life.

I opened my eyes and spat on Nicolas' shoes.

Then there was dead silence in the room, I was absolutely sure that for a moment neither of us was breathing.

I looked at Nicolas. He looked at his shoes and my saliva on them. Very slowly, he looked back up at me, his eyes narrowed into slightly angry slits.

My hands drummed on the wall, on the strong, unyielding stone. But then I realized it wasn't stone, it was slate. I reached for it, I tore and pounded and hammered at it until it splintered piece by piece.

Finally, after incredible effort, I had knocked a tiny hole in its protective wall.

Nicolas bent down in a flash and picked something up, ramming it into me. I wrenched my eyes open, wrenched my mouth open, but only a gasping sound came out. I saw myself lying on the floor. One of my daggers on the floor had pierced through my heart. Nicolas bent over me and pulled the weapon out of my chest, blood pouring out. He wiped his shoes on my body.

Nicolas bent down in a flash and picked something up, I grabbed his arm and another dagger at the same time, just as he got hold of the weapon. I jerked his arm around and pressed one of the daggers to his chest, the other in his hand to his neck.

Nicolas did not move. He stared at me, completely expressionless. We were both aware of what would have happened if I had not read his mind.

I felt a pointed object against my back. "Move away from him," Blondie threatened me, his sword putting even more painful pressure on my skin.

"No," the king objected harshly, looking at him for only a tiny second. Then his gaze was on me again.

Another piece of slate.

"There's roast venison tonight?" I asked, as I took the first thing out of his mind that was most within my reach.

"Yes," Nicolas confirmed with a grin. Then his mind was completely closed again. He whirled around, faster than I could react, took both daggers and pressed me to his chest. He ran one of the icy cold blades over my collarbones, the other stabbed uncomfortably between my shoulder blades.

"You are invited to dinner."