(A Reignofblood character story.)

Moving down the hall from her room, Skyla noticed the quiet that had overtaken the castle. The staff could be heard in other rooms, and hallways but never seen by her own eyes. Slipping into the kitchens to make herself a large pot of coffee Skyla settled into the routine she had done a million times. She was planning on spending the remainder of the day in the library. 

Silence fell over the halls once more and at first, she thought nothing of it, the time of day made sense. The inhabitants of the castle were still asleep and not quite moving around. So the staff was either taking a break or cleaning other rooms of the castle that needed it. No one would be preparing for the evening for another couple of hours. Pouring the pitch black liquid into a large mug she turned to leave the kitchen and head towards her initial destination.

Stepping out into the hallway, her world slowed down. The cup in her grasp shattering against the stone floor spraying the hot liquid over everything in its path. Her pale blue eyes locked on the figure before her. "Marcus." His name fell like a weight in the air between them "You-You can't be here." She hissed out between teeth. "I killed you." She managed to get the words out before he reached her. She couldn't feel her body, couldn't command it to move and grab one of the many daggers strapped to her form. Couldn't conjure any weapons to herself as her sire's blood would allow.

"Am I dead Skyla? Really?" He asked, voice soft like velvet. Moving to circle her, he placed a hand on one pale cheek making the glamor disappear around her. "Such a stupid girl. Don't you think if I was truly dead, I wouldn't be standing here? I wanted you to think that I was so I could be free of that hell. Only you could have done it." He snapped stepping away.

"No, I watched you die, watched your body burn that night." She argued and fell silent as a sharp slap hit her cheek knocking her into a wall. His body pressed her against the cool stone as lips moved against her ear. "No, my dear stupid sister. You watched A body burn. It wasn't mine, the bullet missed and the blood you saw was fake." Pushing against her he stepped away pulling her back into him. "You are just too stupid to realize you were fooled." His laugh echoed down the hallways like poisonous nectar drawing in the closest beings nearby, the first was Dove. Seeing her sister she struggled to get to the woman before Marcus could. But something seemed to stop her, no matter how she struggled she couldn't move any closer.

The faint glint of a blade caught her attention and Skyla screamed out. "Marcus! No!" Her own voice bouncing back like a slap to her face as the metal blade glided against her sisters pale flesh opening a wound in her neck, severing the jugular. Watching her twin laugh once more before licking the skin of the now dead woman, she fell to her knees as the body thumped against the floor at the far end of the hallway. Crawling towards her sister, Skyla called out to the woman. Tears streaked her face as she reached out only to be held in place on the floor by what looked to be hands.

Looking back up she saw her, Natsume leaning over the corpse her her dead daughter. Eyes looked back to Skyla accusingly as if Skyla had been the one to do it. The bloody dagger now in her grasp instead of her twins. "N-no...N-Nat...it wasn't me.." She started trying to pull herself free from the hold. "Please momma..." She pleaded with the woman still trying to pry her body free from the hands that had sprung up from the floors.

The click of a gun being loaded caught Skyla's attention. To her left were the tan boots of her twin, when she looked up she could see the black metal of a colt in his hands. Watching him walk over to Natsume she fought harder. "Nat-Momma run! He's going to-" Bang. The shot rang out, Natsume's body crumpled to the floor next to Doves. "NOO!" The heartbroken scream echoed around them as Skyla crumpled to the floor herself. "No, they never did anything to you!" She sobbed reaching for the woman she held closest to her heart.

"No, they replaced me." He snarled, his voice sounded from right next to her and yet from everywhere. The lights around her flickered leaving her in darkness. Someone, more than one someone had grabbed onto her and slammed her against the wall lifting her up into a standing position. Screaming and fighting to get them off her, Skyla realized she couldn't see. Normally she thrived in the dark, preferred it to light. This, she couldn't see in this. Moving to knee someone she felt it make contact and the grunt of an injured person met her panicked ears. More hands grabbed at her to pin her to the wall forcing her legs apart.

The lights flickered and turned back on, leaving her against the wall with the staff standing outside the kitchen in various stages of hurt. Looking to the far side of the hallway she pointed almost begging one of them to help the bodies that were no longer there. "N-Natsume and D-Dove...were...they were there!" She yelled wanting someone to explain to her what had happened. The only person brave enough to step free from the throng of servants and speak with her was Meredith. The head of the servants might have spoken with her had the man been there, but Meredith was Dove's ladies maid and would know if her sister was alright.

"S-Skyla.." She started moving slowly towards the red haired woman while waving the other staff away to deal with their injuries and to be out of range of any more violence. "Skyla, Dove is fine. I was just with her in her chambers. So is Natsume, I passed her on my way down here. Hun, they are fine, it was just a bad dream." Shaking her head Skyla refused that explanation. "No, he was here. There is an intruder in the castle. He was here. Not dead. Not gone." Skyla shook her head sliding to the ground.

Meredith knelt down in front of her. "Do you want me to call Raamiz? Or maybe Natsume and Dove? Skyla, tell me what you need, tell me how to help you, dear." She whispered reaching out to touch the woman's hair. "He is here. He is going to kill all of them." Skyla started muttering again rocking back and forth shaking her head and burying her tear stained face in her arms that she had crossed over her knees. "Make him go away. Make him stop." She finally whispered.