I Will Rise

There was silence. Not just the silence where you can hear crickets and the trees rustling far away, but the silence of death and destruction.

The castle had been hit. Badly. No one could have seen them coming in time. The catapults had come too fast and fires had broken out, taking the rest of the walls down.

Felicity coughed away the dust and rubble that had made their way into her mouth. Her lungs struggled to grasp new air and her brain scrambled to understand what had happened.

The throne room.

That's where she had been before. And still was here, lying at the base of the throne. It was probably the thing that saved her.

She tried to get up, pushing the rubble from her body, and cried as she did so. There was blood amongst the dirt that caked her skin. There was no telling where it was coming from. She held the throne tightly as she sat there gasping, the tears didn't come though. Not yet.

Once she stood up, Felicity looked around at what used to be a light-filled room, filled with marble floors and pillars. The large, open doors that opened onto the sunlit terrace. Now gone.

She leant against the throne, wheezing now, but determined to stay upright.

"Mother? Father?" Felicity called out to them, unable to see them in the rubble. They had been two feet away from her so where were they now? Did they get out?

She scrambled to find them, moving the heavy bricks out of the way until at last, she could see a hand. One ring bearing the family crest, shattered, but still on the hand it had been every day since he became King. A smaller hand lay underneath his where he had protected his wife. They looked peaceful, but the blood trail gave away.

Felicity thought of his sudden gaze after they heard the first screams, but then hadn't been able to react to it. She stood there now, in her bloodied gown, staring at her parent's hands entwined for the final time.

And wanted revenge.

Who wouldn't want revenge after someone killed your parents, your people, and also tried to kill you!

Felicity scoured the entire castle (albeit not much of it was left), and found only a handful of people. They were horribly injured and confused, but glad to see Felicity alive. They were maids and stable hands that had been in the gardens when it had happened, hit by the falling rocks. She did not tell them that the King and Queen were dead. She wandered away from them in a daze.

Her bedroom didn't exist anymore. She found her bed, her jewelry box, and an embroidered pillow with her name, halfway down a stairwell and into the corridor below. They were partially burnt and destroyed.

She tripped over a large pile of rubble that used to be the door to the castle, and gasped as she hit the floor. Felicity lay there for a few moments feeling the sting in her palms, and thinking about what was left of her home. Then finally, she got up, wobbling as she did so, and screamed.

2 Years Later...

Felicity pulled her hood tightly around her face, settling onto the roof of a tower. The torches were lit along the barracks below and all the windows were becoming dark one by one.

The moonlight was strong tonight, and this time, she would make her move. She had been watching the castle for weeks, studying every move and every routine. Now she was here, and she was ready.

Felicity drew her bow and arrows, waiting for each sentry to show themselves and then taking them down. One by one they fell with a short cry. And she smiled.

Felicity scaled down the tower and onto the barracks to the far side tower, where the General slept. His light wasn't out yet but Felicity didn't want to wait. She pulled herself through the window, drawing her sword as she did so.

The General spat out his tea, leaping from his chair. He tried to set the cup down on the table but it fell in his haste, spilling the rest of the tea onto the carpet.

"Who the hell are you?"

Felicity scoffed. "Interesting that you should forget me so easily after destroying my entire kingdom!"

The General blinked, but didn't look shocked.

"It was my orders," he said, quietly. "But it also doesn't excuse what your Father had already done."

Felicity gritted her teeth.

"What do you mean?"

"He killed the Princess-"

"And that gives him the right to kill so many of my people, including my parents?"

The General coughed. He pressed his lips together before answering.

"In the manner that it was done, I don't agree, but perhaps your Father should have thought about that before he hurt an innocent woman."

He suddenly made a choking noise, his hands clinging fast to his throat where blood was streaming out. Felicity looked at her own knife where it was coated red.

She closed her eyes, lips trembling, and wiped her blade clean on his clothes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and blew out his candle.

Felicity felt her gut churning with every step she now took towards the King's quarters. She suddenly felt hot and sick. But she pushed on, determined to end this quickly and understand what the General had meant.

Getting to the King's quarters wouldn't be easy. It was on the far side of the castle and had a balcony that faced the sea. Felicity knew that using the balcony would be the easiest step, but getting there would be the hard task. She would have to go through the castle to get to the outer wall, it was quieter inside the castle than outside. As much as the fire burned inside her, her fight wasn't with the soldiers who were protecting others.

Felicity knew she wouldn't have too long if anyone discovered the sentries or the General, so she quickly climbed through a window, and landed within a small library. She held her breath as she touched down onto the carpet, looking each way before moving forward. The books were watching her, beckoning her to read them. It transported her to her own library, at home, when she used to sneak back down to finish the book her father had begun to read to her. He had been called away but she needed to know what happened at the end. Her mother had found her nestled in between the shelves the next morning, using the book as a pillow.

Now, Felicity was turning her back on the books she loved to find answers.

Leaning down, she looked through the keyhole into the corridor to check if anyone was guarding it. She pulled down the handle slowly, wincing as she did, and opened it a crack.

The corridor was empty, only the sounds of distant snores and feet on the cobblestones elsewhere could be heard. Sighing with relief, Felicity sprang forward, keeping close to the wall as she felt her way towards the other side.

Felicity didn't come across too many people as she swept through the castle, but when she did, she flattened herself against the wall, her heart beating in her chest while they passed her. She had to stop a few times to catch her breath, but finally made it to the far window where she could climb to the balcony.

Putting on gloves for protection, she made sure the coast was clear before leaving through the window and scaling the wall. There were two balconies to pass before getting to the King's balcony, so Felicity made sure to take small breaks when she could feel her palms sweating and her skin breaking. But finally, she made it to his balcony, clutching onto the bottom rails as his doors were open, and she could hear people talking.

A sigh. "You're thinking about it again, aren't you?"

"How can I not?"

"Arian, it had to be done. They were a threat, and he killed our daughter, remember?"

"You remind me every day, Raev," he growled. "Do you not think that I remember holding my child in my arms as she lay on their marble floor? Dying? Bleeding?"

Felicity couldn't hear what else he was saying through his sobs as he grunted at his wife. She almost forgot to be angry until the Queen spoke.

"I went there, you know," she almost whispered. "To the castle after. I stepped through all the rubble, and the flags, and the limbs left behind."

I saw them lying there, underneath the stones in the throne room, and I laughed. Loudly. I wanted them to suffer, and I just hope they did."

There was silence for a while. Felicity almost peaked over the edge of the balcony to see if they were still there, but she was afraid to move. Her arms were beginning to strain but she waited.

"Were the children dead too?" Arian asked quietly.

"Yes, there were four of them in the kitchens - or the remains of them."

"There were five children, Raev," he said through gritted teeth.

"Maybe they were just completely crushed and I didn't see them."

"That's where you're wrong," Felicity said, standing now on the balcony at the edge of the bedroom, sword drawn.

"If you shout," Felicity warned as the king opened his mouth, "I will cut you down in seconds, and I really want to enjoy this."

The Queen had other ideas. She stood up, pulling her dressing gown over her nightgown and took out her own knife.

"So you're the one we left alive."

"Big mistake. I wish to know first, what happened with my Father and your daughter?"

"That's none of your business!"

"Isn't it?" Felicity asked, stepping towards her. "You burned and destroyed my home and my family because of it, so I definitely think it's my business."

Arian put his hand up to silence his wife before turning back to Felicity, his eyes dark.

"My daughter, Esmarie, was set to marry your cousin, Lonan. It was all set up by your Father, and they were ready to be the perfect match, to settle our kingdoms and their differences." Arian sighed. "But after they were married, Esmarie withdrew from us. They were supposed to live here, but we never saw her."

"We think Lonan was hurting her, keeping her away from us so he could keep his power over her," Raev interrupted. "We can't prove exactly what he did to her, but we went to your castle to ask the King to intervene, to stop him from doing horrible things. To get our girl back."

"And then?" Felicity asked breathlessly. She didn't know Lonan, not really, all she had been told was that he died suspiciously. But she couldn't be defensive without knowing all the facts.

"And then, the King summoned them both to the castle to arrive that same day. When we were all together, Lonan accused Esmarie of treason and falling in love with the King, pulling out letters and drawings as proof. We tried to stop him, telling them they weren't hers. But the King didn't listen. He ordered both of them to the dungeon." The Queen's lips trembled. Her husband placed his hand on her arm and continued himself.

"Esmarie suddenly went for Lonan, stabbing him in the stomach with gritted teeth and wild eyes that I had never seen on her before. She killed him for hurting her and accusing her. She screamed at him as he lay dying at the foot of the dais. Before she could stop, she was killed herself. A sword had been run through her by your Father's guards, and our child was gone in my arms in minutes."

Felicity's chest clenched. Her mind raced. Now, she felt stupid, the rage had dissipated and the guilt came hot and heavy.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she started. "I came here with a purpose, and that purpose has now changed. I have to be a better person and rise my kingdom from the ashes again." Felicity sheathed her sword. "Can we achieve peace?"

Both Raev and Arian looked skeptical, but after a while, the King nodded.

"I have bloomed into a better, and stronger person, and I will use this to be a wiser Queen.

And with that, she climbed down and left in the shadows.

In the remains of her old kingdom, Felicity stood and looked at the patches of burnt grass and stones left after the rubble was cleared away. It would take a long time to rebuild, but this was a new start, and she would be a better person.

Or at least try to be.

Felicity needed to contact the handful of people she had left who had survived the attack. But knew they would be grateful to come back to the home they once knew. She wanted to recreate the castle as it had been, and have memorials for her family within.

She sighed. She knew she had blood on her hands from the last two years, to find the answers she needed most. But now to change the rage and drive into her dream: a new home, a new life.