Cecilia sat up in a snap, her eyes widening.
Her mories were hazy, and she couldn’t rember much of why she was here and what had happened, but the previous mory of her waking up and being dragged to the courtyard was crystal clear in her mind.
Her head moved this way and that, taking in her room. Her four poster canopy bed sat against the wall, the curtains opened wide. Her golden trimd vanity mirror sat atop her costic table, reflecting the bright room around her.
She scrambled out of bed, making her way to the window. She threw open the thick curtains, unlatched the window, and swung it open. She needed to get out of here!
Sticking her head out the window, she realized sothing she’d forgotten in a hurry. Her room was several stories up. If she jumped, there was no way she would survive the fall.
At that mont, the door exploded, sending splinters flying around the room. Cecilia turned to face the opening, eyes filled with panic.
"No, no, no, no, no." She chanted like a mantra as she searched for an escape route.
Her eyes landed on her collection of jeweled hairpins at her costic table. With their sharp ends, they could double as a weapon.
The soldier stood at the door for a mont, following her line of sight to the table. The mont she scrambled for it, he moved.
Cecilia ran across the room, almost crashing into the table. As her hand reached for the nearest hairpin, she was yanked back by the back of her dress.
"Didn’t you know, princess?" The soldier said, tone flat. "Kids shouldn’t play with sharp objects."
Cecilia grunted, twisting and trying to kick the man’s knee. Her heel smashed into the plate armor protecting his leg, a dull thud filling the air.
The man didn’t even flinch. He was a mage whose body had been enhanced by his bonded beast. He couldn’t be hurt by a normal human girl.
Cecilia struggled, but the man simply dragged her behind him like a sack of potatoes. She didn’t stop, her brain searching for a way to get out of his grip when a loud tear filled the air.
Riiiiiip!
Cecilia slamd softly into the floor as the back of her dress tore open, freeing her from the man’s grip.
She imdiately scrambled to her feet and began running, but before she could take three steps, a blow landed on the back of her head.
She crashed to the ground, slamming her face upon stone. She cried out in pain, her vision blurring and blood seeping from split lip and broken nose.
The soldier didn’t bother to be gentle this ti, simply grabbing her by the ankle and began dragging.
Cecilia cried out in pain as the ground scraped against her body, fingers clawing to save herself until they began bleeding. Soon, she was thrown into the courtyard, with the other won and children.
Her mother found her once again, pulling her into a protective hug and whispering reassurances in her ears.
’Is this it?’ Cecilia couldn’t help but wonder, despair filling her veins. ’Is this all I’m ant to be? A little girl to be protected and confined? Why? Why do they keep doing this to ?’
She quickly cald herself, her mother’s words finally piercing through her consciousness.
"Don’t worry, Cecilia. We’ll be alright."
But she knew that those were just empty words. And so she whispered to herself. "Don’t worry, mother. I’ll save you."
"Torch them." The lead soldier commanded, and once again, they were enveloped with fire, their screams of pain filling the air.
***
Cecilia’s eyes shot open, the sa cracked beam in the ceiling sitting innocently above her head.
She sat up, imdiately throwing off the blanket, and running to the costic table. She imdiately selected the hairpin with the sharpest end, and looked around for where to hide.
She couldn’t hide behind the door, as it would be destroyed. So, she needed sowhere she could hope to take out the soldier.
Her eyes landed on her wardrobe and she ran, pulling it open. Her gowns, dresses, gloves and shoes stared back at her.
She dived into a space between the dresses, arranging them to cover herself before trying to swing the door close.
The door to her room exploded, startling her, so she wasn’t able to completely close the wardrobe door, leaving a small sliver of space for her to peek through.
She watched as the soldier walked in, heading for her bed. The man frowned when he saw it empty, her blanket thrown to the side.
He moved to the window, seeing it latched closed, and turned, making his way out. Just as he reached the door, he paused, as if sensing sothing.
He turned, his gaze sweeping through the room, before landing on the wardrobe. His eyes narrowed and he slowly made his way there.
With a yank, he opened the wardrobe. Cecilia sat frozen, the clothes covering her.
The man’s gaze moved through the clothes, before going down to the dresses. He tilted his head, reached down, and moved the dresses out of the way.
Cecilia burst out of the wardrobe, plunging the hairpin into his eye.
"Arrgghhhh!" The man yelled in pain, clutching at the bleeding eye.
Cecilia scrambled past him, racing out of the room. Her bare feet slapped the stone floor as she made her way down the corridor. She glanced back just in ti to see the soldier storm out of the room, his face twisted in rage.
"I’ll kill you!" The man snapped, just as she turned the corner.
She continued running, the sound of plate armor getting closer. She should have plunged the pin deeper and with more strength. She’d have pierced his brain and killed him in one strike.
She turned another corner, about to slip into a nearby room when the ground rose up like paste, forming a stone wall in front of her.
She looked back, eyes wide, to see the soldier standing there, arms outstretched. He’d erected the barrier.
"Got you!" He whispered, a savage grin on his face.
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