Dawna: 8
Pixie: 5

Tell me which one is worse
Living or dying First
Billie Eilish; you should see me in a crown

It was way past midnight, but the little Princes could not yet sleep. Her eyes were not tired, even though her body most certainly was. Her eyes kept looking at the beautiful ceiling above her, where little angles and small hearts were drawn. A long time ago, her mother made them for her beloved children. The angles represented her and the way she would always look at them and offer them safety and comfort. The tiny hearts represented her love for them as well as the love she hoped they would feel for each other.

A small sigh left the Princes lips as she turned to face her older brother, whose breathing was steady and calm. He was sound asleep, just like he always was. The little Prince had been the first to be born, which automatically made him the next in line for the crown. Their father would never say it out loud for the sake of his little girl, but he loved his boy more. He would step into his footsteps; he would wear the crown and the crown jewels; he would be surrounded by the most important people in the country. She would not.

A thick silence laid in the room as the little girl once more turned over, hoping to find a suitable position. Her mind often drifted off to their mother, whom she had never met. The closest thing she had to a mother was her aunt, her mothers sister. She was always around the beautiful castle somewhere, walking and talking as is she owned the place. It did not bother the little Princes, at least now she had some sort of mother figure who loved her and took care of her the way she imagined a mother would.

'Damien? the little girl,' whispered softly. 'Damien are you awake?'

It was quite obvious that the little Prince was not awake and did not want to be awoken, yet she could not help herself to call his name a few more times. Part of her hoped that he would wake up to comfort her, or to tell her that she could sleep in his comfortable bed. Unfortunately, he did not awake.

With her eyes focused on the ceiling again she felt yet another sign leaving her lips. It could be midnight at that point, which meant that their father was likely to still be awake. However, it also could be way past midnight, which meant that he would not be pleased if his little daughter woke him up that late in the night. A king needs his sleep, was something he would always say while rubbing the palm of his hands through his eyes.

All of a sudden, a very loud bang sliced through the silence, destroying it completely. Shortly after this loud noise had filled the chilly air, the Princes found the courage to slip out of the woollen blankets that had kept her warmup until that point. Slowly, her small feet started to make their way towards the window when, yet another loud bang filled the air. This time, however, the entire castle started to shake. The sound of small stones falling to the ground filled her ears and suddenly her heart shrunk just a little. Lights from all over the castle where turned on and the Princes saw how many people walked towards their windows as well to see what was creating those loud bangs. There was nothing to be seen in the darkness of their beautiful garden; something that did not necessarily calmed the little girls nerves. Something was not quite right; she could feel that in her bones. However, as an eight-year old she did not have any real power to do something about the restless situation.

In the corner of her beautiful and bright blue eyes, the Princes saw a big, black ball coming their way. It all seemed to go very slowly. Suddenly the ball hit the castle wall on the opposite where they were sleeping, creating a big hole into the stones. Many people now started to shout, some even cried loudly. Not knowing what was happening, the little Princes stood still as the sound of the air alarm filled her small ears. It was only when she noticed a large group of people dressed in black clothing coming their way that she knew that something was off. The people looked nothing like the royalties her father would invite over for supper.

With fear running through her veins, spreading as quickly as poison she understood that it was important to find their father. It was her first instinct. Slowly, her little feet carried her over to her older brothers bed where her hands tried to shake him.

'Damien, Damien come on. Wake up,' her soft voice hissed. Part of her could not understand how it was possible that the loud noises that where now coming from everywhere had not woke him up yet. 'Damien, you better wake up now!'

Slowly, her big brother who was only ten-years old opened his emerald eyes and looked with confusion to his little sister.

'Dawna? What are you doing?' his raspy voice asked sleepy. 'Do you have any idea how late it is?'

'Men are coming,' was all she could say. Suddenly, the loud noise of the alarm dawned on him, waking him better than an ice-cold bath could ever do.

'Come on,' he said, slipping in his woollen slippers. 'We have to find dad.'

His massage was loud and clear and now that the two had a mission they slipped onto the hallway. Many people where now running around, as if they had just lost their sanity. No one seemed to notice the two most important children in the castle as they tried to sneak up to a floor above them. Their fathers bedroom was on the third floor; theirs on the second.

The beauty of the castle seemed to be never ending, yet no one dared to appreciate it in the chaos. More bangs filled the air and the castle kept shaking lightly. Guards were running towards the stairs, trying to go to the ground where the real fight was happening. Some walked over to the windows where they tried to kill or hurt the attackers with their arrows.

The two little children were not old enough to understand the situation completely, the only thing they did know was that they had to find someone who could take care of them as soon as possible. The guards did not seem to notice them, which made that option worthless. The only person at that point who would notice them would be their father.

With Damien walking in front of Dawna, their hands intertwined as they tried to climb the stairs with a speed that kept rising. Suddenly, Dawna felt one of her little feet swipe from one of the steps, causing her to tumble and to almost fall from the high stairs. Luckily, her brother had held her hand with such a strong hold that it was nearly impossible to fall without him feeling it. He quickly turned around, grabbing her arm as he pulled her up again. The little girl with the white hair now had a light, red colour on her pale cheeks.

'Sorry,' she whispered.

Her older brother smiled with a reassuring smile. Both their bloodstreams where filled with another load of adrenaline when their small eyes looked through the windows, discovering that now the entire garden was filled with angry looking people with black clothes. Guards were attacking them from all fronts, but they did not seem to stand a chance against the big number of enemies.

'We need to find our father,' the oldest of the two spoke with great concern lying in his voice. 'Come on, no time to waste.'

The pale Princes nodded, knowing that he was right. They had to find him before it was too late.

No one seemed to notice the two little children as their little feet carried them all the way to the floor above them, even though they were moving into the opposite direction as them. Screams filled their ears as they reached their fathers chamber. The wooden door looked at them angrily before their small fists started to knock on the hard wood, repeatedly.

'Daddy, daddy open the door!' the youngest of the two screamed desperately. 'Please open!'

No answer came from the opposite of the door, causing the two children to feel even more vulnerable and stressed. More guards where running past them, until finally one of them seemed to notice the desperate siblings.

'Prince Damien and Princes Dawna, what are you still doing here?' the older man in uniform asked them, slightly confused but overall worried. 'Your father must be very worried about the two of you, come on. I will show you the way to the shelter room.'

They both nodded their small heads, agreeing out of desperation. Someone had to take care of them, they were simply too little to do so themselves and the guard seemed to be their best option at that point.

'What exactly is happening, sir?' Dawna hear her brother ask the man. She rolled her blue eyes, knowing that he was talking the way father had taught him. 'Are we under attack?'

It was more a statement than a question, yet the young Prince seemed to demand an answer from the man.

'Indeed, we are, my dear Prince. A group of rebellions are trying to take over the castle, I am afraid.'

'Why?' the young Princes asked inquisitively, her blue eyes staring at them both. 'Did daddy do something wrong?'

'Something like that, dearie,' the guard spoke, straightening his shoulders. 'Come on now, both of you must give me a hand so we reduce the chance of losing each other in this chaos.'

And chaos it was. People were no longer only screaming but crying and praying as well. Destroying the beautiful paintings, ancient pots and other very expensive ornaments. It scared the little Princes and gave her shivers down her spine.

'Sir, what is your name?' Dawna asked, trying to replace the sound of panic in her ears by the voice of the unknown guard. 'You know our names; it is only fair if we learn yours.'

Her question visibly caught him off guard as a frown appeared in the clear skin on his forehead. For a moment, the young Princes took her time to look at him. The man had light, red hair coming from under his helmet, a round nose, big brown eyes, thick eyebrows and a small scar in the middle of his two eyebrows. In that moment, the young Dawna had no idea how important the memory of his face would be to her, later in her life. Her decision to look at his face properly in that moment would not only cause her more vengeance, it would also cause her to have countless sleepless nights.

'You may call me Sem; it is short of Semual.'

'You have a pretty name,' the young Princes replied, allowing the name Semual to sink into her memory.

Glancing over to her brother, the little girl noticed how he looked concerned. He had done a better job at covering it earlier, however, as their distance to the ground floor grew, he seemed to lose that ability.

'Why are you taking is to the fight?' he asked with fear in his voice. 'You are not trying to get us killed, right?'

'Don't be so silly, my boy. Of course, I'm not,' the man simply replied, not facing the young Prince.

The closer they came to the ground floor, the bigger the panic and chaos seemed to be. The air was thick and smelled like blood. The floors were painted with deep red splashes, dripping slowly to the ground where they left a trail of misery and death.

'Do not look,' Dawna heard her older brother warn her with a stern voice. His big eyes looked up to the ceiling, trying not to face the slaughter field on purpose.

A stomach-ache attacked the little Princes, causing her to grab her stomach with her free hand. Whining in pain, the little girl looked over to face the guard. 'My tummy hurts,' she whispered softly, hoping that he would stop walking so fast.

'Don't worry my dear; we will soon be with your father.'

His words did not reassure her at all, yet she kept walking. The red-haired guard seemed to be taking them towards the garden, causing both to feel even more worried.

'Sir, is there a reason why you are taking us to the enemy?'

'Just, trust me, your father will be there as well.'

Their worry only grew as they entered the garden where many more bodies lay on the cold ground, blood dripping out of their wounds. The young children tried their hardest not to look at their bodies nor faces, fearing that they might recognise someone. At the other side of the path stood some black-clothed people whose eyes seemed to light up as they saw the two children reaching them.

'Guess who has done his job right after all?' one of the men shouted loudly. His eyes where almost as black as the night, looking hungrily at the two small children.

Loud cheering filled the air as Sem forced the two of them into the arms of the unknown, black wearing people. Dawna cried out for help as one of them grabbed her small arm, forcing her to fall on her knees in the damp grass. She lost sight of her older brother, the only person who could calm the nerves that were eating her from the inside out.

'W-What is happening? Sem, what did you do?' the little, white-haired girl heard her brother ask with panic in his voice. 'Who are you?'

'None of that is important,' the guard who had betrayed them spoke as he took off his helmet and jacket, revealing the dark clothes that he had been wearing underneath them the entire time. 'Now we're in control of the situation. All we have to do is hope that your dumb father will take the bait.'

A few minutes later, their father had taken the bait. Walking out of the castle with his arms risen in the open air and guards following him from behind. People had stopped running away when the news broke that the two royal siblings had been taken hostage by the enemy.

'What do you want?' Dawna heard her father's familiar and raspy voice call out. 'Let my children go, and I will be willing to talk to you and listen to your demands.'

'Our demands are simple,' someone shouted. 'We want you to distance yourself from the throne!'

Once again, loud cheering filled the air. As if they had already won this unfair fight.

'You have threatened to kill our children for far too long, now we threaten you! How does that feel, your majesty?'

The king did not reply to this threat. Instead, he turned around to discuss the issue with his counsellor, forcing the two children to face the ground with fear for their lives running through their veins. Never before had Dawna felt so vulnerable and scared, she absolutely despised it so say at least.

At last, the king turned around and with one nod all the guards, all the woman and man from behind the windows pointed their arrows towards the attackers.

'I would say that you have a choice in this matter too,' he spoke with a steady voice. 'You can either kill my children, knowing that you will die too, or you will return them to me, knowing that you will live.'

'Live?' Sem shouted with anger in his voice, not surprise. 'Do you honestly believe that we are dumb enough to believe that lie? We will not live after this; you will destroy every single one of us just to make us pay. We would rather die!'

The black-clothed people started to shout once more as the king watched them with cold eyes.

'Fine,' he said, raising his hand. All he had to do was lower it and the enemy would be killed. More blood would be spilled and for once, the chance that the royal siblings blood was amongst it grew.

'Are you sure that this is how you want this to end?' the man who held a knife against the young Princes neck asked angrily. 'It will only take a small slice for you to lose your next in line. That would be a shame now would it not?'

This would be yet another moment in young Dawnas life that she would never forget. In the heat of the moment, with strong anxiety and confusion rushing through her veins she had hoped to find support in her fathers words and deeds. Unfortunately, for her, the King turned out not to be as kind-hearted as she had originally hoped.

'Go ahead,' he spoke with a cold voice. 'Children I can replace, the thousand years that my family has been in possession of this throne I cannot.'

All of a sudden, the man sliced his knife through the soft flesh that belonged to her brothers thumb, causing him to cry out in horrible pain as the blood started dripping from the open wound. Where once his right thumb had been, was now an open wound that was bleeding angrily. Damien started to cry even louder, realising that this moment could mean his end. Dawna glanced over to see her brother in absolute pain, fearing for his live and praying to not die. Suddenly the realisation that he was actually a human being whose life could end within a few seconds hit hear, causing tears to escape her eyes.

'Stop!' she shouted loudly with fear in her little heart. 'Stop, please! You are hurting him!'

No one even seemed to hear her silent cries, no one expect her older brother whose eyes found hers. She saw the way his lips curled into a smile as he whispered something to her very softly. After years of practising, sneaking around the castle and giving each other secret massages during their suppers when they were supposed to be quiet had taught the young Princes how to read his lips as he whispered. Therefore, she was the only one to understand what he said to her.

'Go ahead,' the king dared them again, as the bows of his guards tightened themselves once more. 'Because I will end all of you.'

'I guess we will just have to take that change.'

With that said, total chaos broke down once more. All the little Princes could think of was her older brother whose life was even more in danger than hers. All of a sudden, even before the royal guard had a chance attack the little Princes noticed how the man holding Damien hostage moved his knife dangerously close to his neck. A loud scream of desperation left her lips, one filled with so much power that the fear was completely replaced with a strange, tingling sensation. It was a nice, calming feeling that seemed to replace every other emotion she had ever felt during her short little life and as she shouted loudly once more, she could feel it leaving her body. The black-clothed people who had been surrounding her were suddenly thrown in the air as her scream filled the air. The power that had left her body was strong enough to knock at least ten grownups out, leaving her unguarded and free during the opening of a battle.

However, it was far too late for her father to call of the fight as arrows flew in the air, straight into the flesh of their enemys. The only thing on the little girls mind was her older brother, who was currently still surrounded by deadly man.

As unnoticeable as possible, Dawna let herself fall on her knees to crawl through the pool of blood that was forming itself underneath her in the grass. More death followed, leaving bodies to fall on the ground lifelessly. With panic and strength flowing through her veins, the little girl made her way towards the spot where her blue eyes had last seen Damien, only to find the guard who had held him to be dead too. His lifeless body hung over something that seemed to be a little child. The only thing she could see was a small leg, one that was clothed with a silk pyjama. Her brothers pyjama.

'Damien!' she cried out happily. Knowing that she had finally found her brother gave her some relief, now she only had to reach him successfully. 'Damien, can you hear me?'

His little foot moved, his toes wiggled, causing Dawna to laugh silently. At least he was still alive.

However, before she could reach him someone grabbed the collar of her silk night gown, pulling her up in the air, taking away all the air in her lungs leaving her breathlessly and at the mercy of an unknown enemy.

'Not so fast, Princes,' he hissed, his breath dangerously close to her face.

'Let me go,' she wanted to scream, but fear only allowed it to leave her lips as a weak whisper.

'I'm sorry, what was that?' he wondered out loud as he spit on her face. 'Next time you speak, make sure that I can bloody understand you.'

Feeling his salvia slowly crawling from her cheek to her neck caused a sudden burst of anger to flow through her system. No one had the right to spit so rudely on a Princes.

'I said let me go!' Dawna yelled this time, causing the man to stumble to the back as yet another wave of energy and power left her small body.

His grip on her shoulders weakened as he fell on the ground. The little Princes also hit the ground pretty harshly, whereby a cry of pain left her plumb lips. She quickly crawled away from the man, daring to look at him. She could feel her breath hitch in her throat as her eyes discovered the way his face had been mutilated. The left side of his face had turned into a bloody mess; his left eye had completely disappeared from his face and she could see parts of his skull even. There was no doubt that this man was dead, and that little Dawna was the cause of this dead.

Not wanting to waste even more time, the pale girl crawled towards her brother once again as the sound of a horn filled her ears.

'Withdraw! Pull back!' she could hear the people in the black-clothing scream. They left the battlefield as quickly as their feet allowed them, some were killed in the process. More death, more blood filled the air as the fight ended silently.

Dawna, however, cared little about the fight around her. All she wanted was to see her brother's emerald eyes again, giving her comfort by just looking at her.

Pushing aside many heavy bodies, allowing their blood to cover her now completely soaked night gown she crawled towards the place where she had last seen the brother. The body was still on top of his much smaller body. Panic rushed through her veins as she noticed how his little toes were no longer moving when she called out his name.

With the little strength she had left in her body after her outburst, which she still did not understand, she pushed his heavy body of his brothers, feeling her breath hitch in her throat once more as she took a look at the mutilated face of her brother.

There was blood dripping from a giant wound on his head, colouring his entire face with a deep red colour. However, this was not the thing that made the pale girl doubt whether or not he was still alive; no, it was the large arrow whose silver point had sunk deeply in her older brothers belly. No blood came from this wound, yet she could tell that it had done more damage than any other wound. His chest did not seem to move, not even a little and his arm was twisted in the weirdest position.

'Damien!' her voice asked, once more filled with panic. 'Damien, wake up! Wake up! Wake up!'

Her voice repeated the same words as earlier that evening, when the massacre had started. He had woken up then, but not this time. This time his emerald eyes stayed close, the blood continued dripping from his head to the ground, the arrow stayed right where it was, and his chest remained still.

Dawna, who was only eight-years old, had great difficulty understanding the situation. Why was her brother playing this game? Why did he not breath? The little Princes tried to crawl even closer to her brother when someone suddenly picked her up from behind. It were two gentle arms, holding her in a gentle way as they pushed her up.

'Shhh, it is okay darling. We have to get you out of here,' the familiar voice whispered.

The young girl recognised the voice directly, yet she did not accept her gentle arms around her waist.

'Let me go! Let me go, Damien needs me!' her voice yelled. It seemed that her spirit had already left her body to go to her brother.

'No sweetie, you are coming with me,' the kind female voice spoke again. 'We are going to drink a nice cup of tea together while we let the men clean up after their mess, alright?'

'No, no, let me go!'

'You listen to me now, young lady,' the voice snapped, leaving Dawna no other option but to face away from her brother.

As she had suspected, it was her dear auntie who was keeping her from going to her older brothers body. Her bright blue eyes were greeted by her aunts amber ones.

'Auntie Delphi,' the little girl whispered, feeling defeated as her aunt dragged her closer to the castle and further away from her brother. 'I-I need to go to D-Damien. W-What i-is happening?'

'Not to worry darling, you are safe. Right now, that is all we have to care about. Come on, I will fetch you some tea.'

The little Princes had no real choice in the matter. Her aunt was much stronger. With her energy sucked out of her completely during the battle she could not do differently but surrender to her grip, leaving her brother behind in the garden that was painted with red rose paddles.

***

'Darling, I fear that it is time for one of our famous talks again,' the voice of her dear aunt broke the silent wall in which the girl had been sitting for days. The little Princes had been experiencing terrifying nightmares ever since her bright blue eyes had seen her beloved brother lying on the grass. It was almost as if Dawna could see the arrow that had shoved itself right into his flesh in every room. There were far more guards, but the little girl had lost her trust in them. The King was far too busy making sure that nothing like that night could ever happen again and therefore had no time for his broken little girl.

The only person Dawna trusted at that point was her auntie Delphinium, who was always there to catch her before she could fall too deep.

'What is it about?' the eight-year-old asked. Her bright blue eyes did not spark the way they used to, however.

'About what happened on the field.'

A dark feeling took possession of her little body once again. The pale girl tried her hardest not to show her weaknesses and sat up straight to face her auntie.

'Okay.'

'I want to talk to you about the things that you made happen that night. Can you recall anything?'

The little Princes simply shrugged and looked at her aunt with big, questioning eyes.

'There is no easy way to explain this to you so if you do not understand something, I tell you, you must tell me that immediately. Alright?'

'Okay, auntie.'

'Alright,' the woman with the honey blond hair started. 'You have magic inside of you. That is why you have those bright and sparkly blue eyes; everyone who can do magic has a pair of unnatural bright eyes.'

'Magic? Like fairies?' the pale girl asked, suddenly a lot more interested. Her aunt only laughed at her words before nodding.

'Something like that, yes. Only fairies can control their magic whereas you cannot. Do not worry, darling, magic is nothing to be ashamed or afraid of. You will only have to learn how to control it.'

The pale girl looked with a frown in her small head to the older woman. 'Is it hard?'

'It can be, but you are not alone. I will guide you every step of the way.'

'Can you do magic too?'

'Do I have bright eyes like you do?'

The little Princes shook her head in disagreement.

'That means that I have no magical power. Your mother on the other hand did; that is how I know my way around magic and especially magical outburst. What happened to you on the field was one of those outburst; you will get to experience those a lot more often if you do not learn how to control it.'

The little girls mind was spinning because of all the new information her auntie told her. Some of the words sounded foreign for her, others did not.

'Are there a lot people who can do magic?'

'No, only a few. Most of them are hidden inside the mountains or dark places where no one will ever find them,' the woman with the amber eyes spoke. 'Not everyone is as accepting of people like you as I am. Some people fear your power whereas others are jealous of it.'

Suddenly, a worried feeling settled into the little girls stomach. 'Auntie, I will not have to live in a cave, will I?'

Delphinium only laughed at the sound of those words. 'Why of course not, darling. I will keep you safe for everyone that tries to harm you until you can take care of yourself.'

'Will I get those outburst again?'

'Probably, but do not worry your pretty little mind too much about it. Once you get the hang of it you will be one of the most powerful Queens this realm has ever had.'

'I do not want to be Queen,' the little Princes mumbled. 'Damien is the King.'

A sad smile found its way upon Delphis lips. 'Not anymore, sweetheart. Not anymore.'