chapter 9

I walked towards the injured people staring at them one by one. A middle-aged man who was unconscious with a broken arm, a little girl aged four to six with a blind eye and an amputated leg and the worst of all a baby who died before they were even born.

"Your majesty may I remind you that looking at them won't help" Calem stood beside me leaning close while he had his hand clutched onto my arm squeezing it tightly.

"And what else should I do? Pretend I don't even see them" I scoffed at his words yanking my arm away from his grasp.

"Please understand that these people are just wanting your attention, your majesty! If you ignore them everything will go well!" He raises his voice as the people hear his words.

Sometimes I feel like higher rankers like us treat everyone differently, while I get the treatment of happiness and love and they only get death and punishments.

"DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND! THEY NEED OUR HELP, THEY NEED OUR CARE AND YOUR SAYING THAT WE SHOULD PRETEND EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT! BECAUSE NOTHING IS ALRIGHT! EVERYONE IS DYING OUT THERE AND EVERYONE IS SCARED WE NEED TO BE AT OUR BRAVEST AND HELP EVERYONE AROUND US BECAUSE WE ARE A NATION!" I turned to him shouting as loud as I could.

Everyone in the shelter immediately stared at us and some even turned away. My voice echoed around the place and through the tunnels.

I gritted my teeth in hatred clenching my fists together as my whole body shook to the core. Calem was a smart person but he was selfish in many ways.

"I would advise you to stand down princess" I looked to see my father standing behind me with a serious face.

"You finally show up, don't you father?" I chuckle lightly.

Calem was stunned and immediately rushed to my fathers side.

"You didn't have to be that mean you know" He said in my ear as he waited for my fathers command. I regretted shouting at him but what he said was disgusting and cruel.

"Why don't we talk somewhere else Marissa?" He eyed me.

Hearing him call my name harshly broke me but I did yell at someone and being a princess meant I shouldn't be out of place.

"Of course father".

I calmed myself down and followed my father to the corner of the shelter where my sister was sitting on the hospital bed with a bandage wrapped around her head.

"Alina what happened to you..?" I took her hand in mine sitting on the bed beside her.

"Lets just say I had a little accident" She laughed gently as I tried my hardest not to cry again. "You really are a silly girl aren't you Alina" I rub her hands in a sweet manner as she sat up straight while Calem got her another pillow.

"I heard you girls were talking privately to each other a couple of hours ago" Father interrupted us standing menacingly.

"Yes and what has that got to do with you?" I said straightforwardly.

"Marrisa, don't talk that way to father!" She demanded.

"It's alright. I understand your pain and what is happening now will scare you but don't worry we have it all under control".

"What do you-!" My sister quickly tugged at my dress, not letting go. She wanted me to stand down and she was already injured so I couldn't say no to her.

My father looked at me worryingly but knowing my anger he forgot about it and walked to the commanders.

"Why did you raise your voice at him? This isn't normal of you!" Alina finally let go of me positioning herself as a lady would do.

"Because he is a liar!".

"Of course I know that! Ever since mum died he always acted like this!" Alina's voice screeched a little as the doctors and nurses came by.

For privacy, she closed the curtains so it would only be us two talking. "What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Father has been lying to us from the very beginning. Do you think the reason I acted like this was because of mums death!? Father has been doing stupid things and once I get older I can aid him and save this nation from destruction. Marissa don't you understand! You are still a child and every time I tried telling you, you were always on fathers side".

I sat there looking away from my sister. "Marissa I didn't mean to!" She tried to apologise to me but I didn't care, it only hurt to hear it from her own mouth.

"Don't worry it isn't your fault. Father was like this from the beginning. We can't change the way he is" I sat up straight smiling awkwardly.

"Are you sure? I understand your pain but don't you feel angry right now?".

"Of course I feel angry. Being betrayed by my own father is like being killed by the hands of your own soldiers" I said in a low voice as Alina felt the pain I had as well. Our father betrayed us both but we still don't know what his connection to the red cloaked people was.

"Do you think father had something to do with all of this?" Alina looked confused as I was more confused than her. "He definitely was. It would be surprising if he didnt".

"I wish we could be a normal family again.." Alina sighed as I put a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault all of this happened. Everyone has family problems so there is no need to feel bad about this".

"Maybe all this is just a dream. A dream we can't wake up from" Alina laid her head on my shoulder as the nurses shouted at each other in madness. "Father never moved on, did he? He is stuck to her like glue yet something about him feels different from before" I said as father looked our way for a mere second.

"Well yes it's true but I heard it has something to do with those gods".

"Gods? What did they do now?".

"Stirred up some shit thats what! This morning they stormed into the village looking around every inch of dirt for some prince" Alina cursed loudly which shocked me as a lady like herself would dare not even say it.

"Common Alina don't say such things! You should be lucky you're even alive!".

I thought about it so hard. Out of all days it had to be this one and yet i'm still wearing the same smile as always while others had died.

Being with family really does put a smile on your face even when death is knocking by the door.

I stroke my sister's hair ignoring the sounds around us. I felt happy at that moment knowing my sister is alive. The loss of too many people were on my mind as my hands were pale, shaking everywhere. I didn't want to show my family my weak side. My sister would probably be worried sick about me and I could tell she would burst in tears.

"What happened to that little crush of yours? Did he die or did he leave you to die?" I say in a cold voice, seeing that he wasn't here in the shelter.

"He saved me, that's what. Some really hard piece of metal bashed against my head so I fell to the ground unconscious. The last thing I saw was him picking me up and taking me to a safe place" She blushed a little, smiling under her breath.

"Well isn't that adorable" I chuckle.

"Oh shut up! You never fell in love before unless" She grins from side to side staring up at me.

"Unless what?".

"You and Warren are now a thing!" She nudges me as I plaster, an annoyed face right at her.

"Oh be quiet! Me and Warren are just friends there is nothing going on between us" As she continues giggling I ignore her stupid laughter and watch her closely as she smiles for real for the first time in this shelter.

I wish I could make this all end but there was no way I could stop it myself unless that prince was able to fight with me side by side.

I looked over to see the lonely prince leaning against the wall as he looks towards me. I used my hand to signal for him to come over but there was still an uneasiness in his face.

Being nice to him wasn't going to work so I got up from the bed and walked towards him, eyeing him up and down.

"What's up with you? Did this place shake you already?" I said grinning. "Of course not. Things like these are normal to me. It's just that your captains are suspicious by the look of it" I followed his eyes as he looked towards the high council or as he said the captains.

"I guess they kind of do look suspicious by the look of it but I'm kind of tired to be worried about them" My eyes were already poofy and the tears that ran down my face were dry and cold. I couldn't even bother caring about what they were talking about, all that was on my mind was the death and tragedies going on outside.

To pass the time I would think about how many bodies were already piling up outside yet I felt sorry for them. Some may have fulfilled their destiny and some didn't even start there one. I wanted to yell at the top of my voice but I knew it would be all for nothing. I knew something no one else did and that thing was the reason for this attack.

Some of it was my fathers fault and some of it was mine. I couldn't even be angry at him yet the person inside me despised him to the very core. "You can say that again. I came to this nation to find answers and what do I get. Some shitty war I have no link to" I laugh at his words trying to hold it in but what can I say this was the human nation after all.

"Don't worry about that. We have more problems than you can think of and one was where a mysterious prince came to this nation hiding from his own family who stormed in here like they owned the place" I say as we both had a moment to each other but we never looked at each other in the eye.

"That mysterious prince must be charming eh?".

"You can say that I guess. But he can be a bich sometimes".

I never spoke like this to someone before. Yet it was calming though. I could feel like myself when i'm around him and I could let all that anger inside me out. He then turned to face me looking at me for one minute straight. I wondered if there was anything on my face. I felt uneasy very quickly so I changed the subject immediately. "Also while you were running away a locket of yours fell out so I kept it safe with me until I could find you again" I rummaged through my purse to find a locket that was kept safe with a handkerchief.

I was going to expect him to say at least a thank you to me yet all he did was grab the locket and hold it in his hand admiring it. "Aren't you going to say something to me?" I raise an eyebrow leaning back.

"Oh right thank you" He put the locket back in his pocket, keeping it safe. I wanted to ask him about the woman in the photo but I knew asking would be rude of me so I ignored it and went back to listening to the sounds of the shelter.

I wasn't good at starting or ending conversations so I pretended to look somewhere else that had interested me, but everywhere I looked was the blood of injured people.

"I'm sorry about what happened back there".

I looked at him as he felt the pain of what he had said before.

"It isn't your fault remember. Nothing about this has to do with you. I mean it's not like you mysteriously planned the attack right?". I hesitated a little about asking that question. I knew it was rude of me to asume of him being a part of it but I felt something about him was connected.

It may only be my thinking so jumping to conclusions wasn't going to help anyone. "Of course I didn't. War must be played fairly and an attack like that was child play" He said softly as his gaze landed on me.

He was probably wondering why I said that but he knew well that even the people close to you can betray you. Even though you help others, no one will help you when you really need it. That line haunts my dreams whenever it echoes in my ear. I shiver at the sound of it knowing that even when you help others at their darkest times, when it comes to you they won't care and leave you behind like trash.

My sister and I knew that line fluently. When we were born we heard those words for the first time. We still don't remember who said it but whoever they were knew something that we didn't.

Remembering the past shivered my bones to the core.

"Seth" I whisper quietly.

"You're still using that name? I thought you would call me by my princely name". "Then should I stop calling you that?". "No it's alright. I like the name Seth. Seth the normal boy who likes eating dragon fruit and playing chess to win bets". We both laugh quietly as laughing in a shelter wouldn't be the best thing to do.

Out of nowhere Warren shows up with bandages in his eye. "Warren what are you doing here!?!" I jump in surprise rushing towards him. He was injured but was able to stay on his own two feet. One eye was wrapped around in bandages while his leg was in crutches.

"It doesn't matter about me! What about you!?!" He was limping like a dog and it didn't suit him well. I could tell he was in pain but his words were like he was trying to hide it from me. "It doesn't matter about me! You look terrible right now with those bandages all over you!" I protested back at him like a child crying over a toy.

"These bandages are nothing compared to what I usually have! I just hope nothing bad happened to you or your sister" He held my shoulders looking all over me.

He was inspecting me like a rare figure to see if I was broken or even damaged yet I was completely fine. I was alive and all my body parts were still intact so I wondered why he was worried about a person like me.

"Yes, I'm totally fine. But my sister on the other hand has a big lump on her head so we don't know anything about that". "I'm sorry to hear that. I hope she gets better" He finally lets go of me but the tension in his voice was overwhelming. He was trembling all over but just looking at him he was totally fine.

I was so caught up about the whole attack that I forgot about Warren and if he was alright. But if I told him that he would probably feel down and having a sad Warren wasn't going to be useful.

"You know I am here right?" Seth interrupted us crossing his arms together looking annoyed at Warren. I guess I should have introduced them because now they both looked like angry kids.

"Who is he?" Warren raised an eyebrow to me while I stood there awkwardly trying to break the tension between them. "Seth meet Warren and Warren meet Seth" I chuckle uneasily shrinking back into my den. Right now was a bad timing, especially with Warren's anger issues. "You never told me you had a servant Pumpkin" Seth interrupted me.

"Pumpkin!?! What kind of name is that!" I yelled in his face feeling embarrassed. I mean I thought we could finally get along well but now he is already getting on my nerves. Pumpkin was worse than being called angel-face which Warren kept on calling me that ever since we were kids.

"Pumpkin? Look I don't know who you think you are but she has a name you know" Warren moved me aside pointing right at Seth. I tried to calm Warren down but if I told him Seth was the sole heir of one of the most powerful nations he would probably murder him or even worse tell everyone in the shelter.

"He is only joking! Also he has a girlfriend so there is no need to worry!" Those words blurted out of my mouth. I quickly shutted my mouth knowing I shouldn't have said that.

"A girlfriend?" Seth said in a confused tone of voice.

I was thinking about the beautiful girl in the photo that I completely forgot about where I was now. I mean she looked like royalty so maybe she was his girlfriend. Having a locket of a girls photo in there was usually for lovers to do.

"Yep! Silly Seth you should introduce me to her sometime!" I chuckle uneasily.

"Look I don't care if he has a girlfriend or not but he should know that when speaking to royalty he should think about what he is saying" Warren showed a disgusted face plastered on him while I stood there shocked. It was the first time Warren spoke like that to someone. Everyone knew that I didn't mind if they were speaking to me casually but what Warren said was completely unexpected.

"Warren there is no need to act like this" I stepped in front of him even though I was shorter than him. I kind of felt embarrassed to stand next to him but I couldn't let his anger be used on other people. "That's right Warren, why don't you be a good boy and speak to me nicely?" Seth budged in again as I stood between the two of them.

Clearly this wasn't getting anywhere so I shoved them apart making room for myself.

"If you guys are gonna be a pain in the ass then please excuse me since I have better things to do than listen to two big children fight" I stomped out of there exhausted from them.

I went towards the injured people trying to aid them. I didn't have any magic for healing so I tried to do whatever I could to save them. Some didn't make it out alive. I was heading to another patient while an old man grabbed a hold of my clothes.

"Thank you for helping us, your highness, we are truly grateful to you" His voice was croaky and out of place like he just ran a marathon coughing more than usual.

"Oh its alright I don't mind" I tried to smile but I felt so sorry for him.

He was frail and old, he couldn't even stand.

The other patients despised me and even gave me a dirty look as I walked past.

It didn't even stun me at this point, I was so used to everyone hating me that I forgot what it was like to feel sad and embarrassed.

A memory flashed to my mind as I remembered something important.

I was around five years old just before my mother was kidnapped. My mother took me to the village to buy pastries. I would have expected them to treat my mother with respect yet every time I looked at someone they snarled at her and even made cruel jokes.

But when they looked at me they were disgusted by my looks and even spat at me sometimes when my mother wasn't looking.

I couldn't tell her the truth because I wasn't able to talk. People thought I was mute because every time they tried to communicate with me all I did was get a notepad and wrote down words instead of speaking.

But I always told myself, if I could write down on a notepad why haven't I told her. But it was my mother that kept me quiet.

She looked towards me bending down and brushing my hair to my ear.

"Marrisa don't worry about what they say, alright? Even if they come to hate you remember to always help them" She was a cheerful person who always loved everyone even if they didn't like her.

I took my notepad and pen out of my tiny bunny shoulder bag and wrote some words there.

It wrote, "Mother, why should we help them? If they hate us shouldn't we hate them back?". "Marrisa you should be the bigger person here. Promise me that even if people hate you and use you, always be kind and help them no matter what" She smiled gleefully as the memory vanished away.

What mother said was the only thing that kept me back from hurting these people.

I haven't fully forgotten about my mother. Because I knew that even though she isn't here with me now she is probably somewhere on this planet roaming around waiting for me to find her. It was stupid for me to say it but that is the connection I had with my mother.

As I looked around to see no one staring at me any longer I rushed towards an empty closet that was probably not used anymore.

As I locked the door I sat on the ground rummaging through the crate of boxes. Soon I had found three coundles which would be enough for me to use. I lit them up with the match boxes I had in my purse and made sure it was bright enough for me to see in a dark place like this. I took small deep breaths and recited the words that I remembered for years. "For the power of darkness I summon you Lilith" my voice cold and secretive.

I was about to lose hope until a book flashed in front of me revealing its black cover with golden patterns of a dagger piercing a heart.

"You have summoned me master" A voice of a girl echoed to my ears, sad and calm.

"Well if you didn't take your time making an entrance then yes I have".

"What is it that you need? You always need me if you want to bake something which is absolutely disgusting as I'm not a cookbook" She said in a mumbled tone. "Don't worry you won't be my cookbook for today. Instead I have something important I need you to do for me".

As I said before no one in the human realm could use magic but magic can bring itself to people. It was a secret I hadn't told anyone and it would be a secret that I never wanted to tell people but it was my only hope in saving everyone.

It may be a sin that I have chosen but there is something more to power than freedom, it was life.

After my mothers death I didn't go out of my room for weeks and barely ate anything that the maids had given me. I shut myself out from the world and wanted to die at that very moment, until one day my hunger was growing and I had the urge to sneak myself to the library to find a cookbook so I can bake myself something without anyone knowing.

I thought that maybe one of mothers treats could heal my heart but as I was looking for the right book something from the corner of my eye had my interest. It was a book with an aura of darkness. Black waves of deathly smoke surrounded it and got me more curious than I ever had before.

As I walked slowly towards the bookshelf I touched the cover of it carefully pulling it out. It was a book I have never seen before and I was mesmerised by it. But I could not tell the full story but a short version I can. I made a connection with the book which would give me powers beyond existence. All I had to do was sacrifice one thing and it had to be something close to me.

I didn't even take a short breath to think about it but the thought of having the power to find my mother was the only thing that I needed.

You probably want to hear the whole story but that would be for next time when the real story unfolds.

"What do you need? It is quite unexpected for you to summon me for a different reason" the voice said.

"Well what can I say switching up wouldn't hurt". I use my fingers to open the book rummaging through the pages to find the right one. After skimming through it for a little while I had found the right page that I needed.

"Lilith about that power. I always wondered who could wield it?".

"Wielding it? I choose who I want my master to be and yes it can be anyone as long as I want them to hold my power." She was straight to the point and didn't care about thinking about it for a second or two. "It does make sense since we made the connection with each other. But it doesn't make sense why you chose me out of everyone on this planet".

"It's quite easy actually. There was an unsensing aura of yours that I could smell a mile away. I had to observe you for a couple of months but you seemed to be much more powerful than my last masters so I thought it wouldn't hurt if you would be the last person to have it '' Listening to her voice was soothing like a young child's voice.

She was always able to answer my questions and never asked for anything in return as if nothing in this world seemed to be in her liking.

She was an unusual one of course. Most magical books were filled with magic that was stable and easy to use depending on your rank but mine was different. The magic was filled with dark magic instead and it was hard to use.

It could corrupt you at any moment once it senses a lot of weakness. I did cry back then alot but it wasn't enough to fully crack me into losing myself.

I knew what my limit was and I was nearly on the verge of breaking it. "The last person to have it? What happened with the others?" I demanded an answer as I blurted the question out of curiosity.

She seemed to dislike my language but being stuck in a book didn't give her the courage to talk back.

"They were weak. They may have been different than everyone else but they were always corrupted with magic and ended up getting themselves killed".

"But wouldn't you have been destroyed as well? With connecting to a person the same thing that happens to that person goes back to you, isn't that correct?".

"Indeed it is but at the last minute I was able to break off the connection and let me tell you this the last five people that I had were total idiots and they nearly got me killed every single time. Thankfully I got a holiday and I was able to become a cookbook instead of a weapon of destruction" She mocks my words and starts to talk sarcastically at me.

It wasn't my fault she chose a six year old who went through total shit and nearly murdered alot of people with just a single arrow. I remembered what my real goal was right now.

I took deep breaths and pulled the knife from my leg. I looked down at the words engraved on the book and recited it three times until I used the knife to cut my hand. "Mooka Mala Samito Lakio Wilama saiko" The words were as silly as the last ones I read but it was from a secret language even though I did not know myself.

As the blood dripped from my hand to the book a light flashed vigorously as I waited for my experiment to happen. I begged that it wouldn't be a total disaster crossing my fingers tightly. The room grew more silent than ever and I truly wondered if Lillith was dead or unconscious.

I opened my eyes to peer down at a small figure waking up from its nap. I golfed it in my hands to see it was the size of the palm in my hand. It looked like a pixie with small wings and a dark red dress. She resembled a rose, beautiful and elegant.

As she woke up I looked down to see her staring right at me.

"Lilith I asked?" Whispering quietly.

"Yes what do you want?" She protested back for the first time.

I smiled brightly, laying her on my shoulder gently. "What happened?" She asked. "I used one of the magic spells to turn you into your physical self". "My physical self?" She flew to a broken glass shard standing on the ground to look at herself. She was already in awe amazed by her looks as if she hadn't seen herself in years.

"You used the whispering spell?" She didn't say anything else for a long time until I had replied. "Yes I used it and I know you said it was only for emergencies but this one is a really big one so I need you to help me got it?". She still didn't talk for ages until she could catch her breath again.

"What is it? Because I know you know the price for using spells like these" she said in a serious tone flying back to my shoulder. "The kingdom is under attack by a group of people. They are equipped with dangerous weapons and luckily for now we are in the shelter safe and sound but I feel like if we stay here for too long someone is going to find out" I looked worried and my voice was uneven enough for Lilith to be able to realise it.

"What did they look like?" She interrogated me. "They were wearing these long dark red cloaks and they had these mysterious cone shaped hats" I tried to memorise what I saw but all the smoke on the streets were too much for someone to see as if they wanted to keep themselves a secret.

Lilith's eyes opened wide as if she remembered something important from years ago.

"They aren't just anyone Marissa. They are a cult called the red skulls and there is nothing to be proud about. I can't quite remember but many years ago they suddenly popped up from nowhere causing troubles for all the nations. Sadly my previous partner was very powerful but their motive was something dangerous. I can't quite put a finger on it but I remembered it had something to do with scarification so my master killed himself so none of them could use this type of dagger to kill him for his power" I could tell she was trying hard to think but nothing was coming to her mind.

"Are you sure that's all you remember?".

"Of course it is. Every time I get a new partner a piece of my memory is whipped away and only a little of it is left" She looked more frustrated than me.

We both tried to calm down but we weren't getting close enough to know the truth.

I would have used my power to destroy every one of them but I couldnt use it properly. My body isnt used to this type of magic so every time I used it my bones would feel like they were breaking apart. It was as if I was too weak to handle it. I was able to do spells easily as it only had to use my blood but summoning a power from memory was the hardest.

Magical books were seen many, many years ago. When the fist king held it in his hand to defeat his evil brother.

I did my research on them to understand what their origin was. It was told that every time a powerful or worthy person had died they didn't immediately go to heaven. They were able to choose a path were themselves and their power could be turned into a book and they were able to choose their masters fighting alongside them with magic.

I never knew Liliths past as she rarely talks about it but even if I try to ask her she immediately goes back into hiding.

We then heard banging and gunshots on top of us. I could tell the cult had moved to the village nearest to us and we didnt have alot of time left until they found us.

I quickly summoned the book back into where it came from while Lilith was by my side as her pixie form.

She was worried because of last time with her master but I knew it would be different because I wasn't like them and none of them were like us.

"Lilith it's time we both face our first fight" I grin as she looks at me, getting off my shoulder to use her wings to fly.

I knew she was ready and I bursted out of the room quickly rushing towards the exit. Warren and Seth immediately grabbed my arms from each side wondering where I was going.

"Do you think going out to fight them will help? You will only injure yourself more" Seth replied. "You need to trust me on this one! We have a trump card in our hands so I need to get up there as soon as possible" I begged him looking straight into his magnificent eyes.

"If you're going to fight I'm coming with you. If anything, having a swordsman's son would give you the upperhand in this fight" Warren chuckled like a child laying a hand on my head. Seth pushed between us making his way to the exit as well.

"You will need me to" He doesn't say anything else and continues to walk towards the exit until we were at pace with him.

We knew we didn't have enough time but as long as the people in the shelter were safe we still had hope and luck on our side.

The exit was way too long as the tunnel was getting steeper and darker as we made our way towards the hatch. Lilith hid behind me not wanting Warren or Seth to see her until the fight began when I summoned her to my side.

I know she didn't want to do this as it was my first time but my people were in danger and I couldn't let myself to see them all suffer especially not general Helio and his courageous act.

Seth opened the hatch and we all crept up locking it back up as we ran towards the village smelling the burnt smoke and hearing the arrows and gunshots. It wasn't a pleasant sight to behold but the flames felt much less dangerous as before.

As we arrived at the village we stood there waiting for them to approach us. Warren had no weapon and I didnt have one on me, only Lilith my cookbook.

"Here take his I have one extra on my belt" He threw the sword at Warren smirking at him remembering the words he said back there.

"So you must have stolen it, am I correct?" Warren laughed gently. "Let's just say it was a souvenir from the demon nation. The local folks love me" Seth joked. But me and Warren knew that if it was from the demon nation a lot of magic must have been engraved on there.

It would be the first time Warren had used magic before.

"Well if it isn't our lovely princess Marrisa Hollow" A voice sinister and cruel crept up on our spine. We all held our weapons ready and guarded for what was coming next.