As we stand behind the double doors that lead to the grand staircase, I stand to Philip’s right and he takes his hand on mine and says

“Ready Elizabeth”

to which I reply

“I am never ready for this”

he opens his mouth to say something but he’s interrupted by the trumpets that announce our entrance and we smile as the doors open and hear our announcement

“Now entering, His Royal Highness Prince Matthew Alexander Philip James of Petrov and the Kingdom’s Allies, escorting Lady Victoria Elizabeth of the Vasiliev house, allies to the Royal Family”.

We make small waves towards the guests and begin walking down the staircase.
After a few minutes, the announcement trumpets are played again and the second announcement is made

“Now entering Her Royal Highness Princess Athena Beatrice Grace Elizabeth of Petrov and the Kingdom’s Allies, escorted by Lord Victor Eryk James of the Vasiliev house, allies to the Royal Family.”
 
The party goes by smoothly and after a while, everyone is dancing and talking together and this gives me the perfect opportunity to escape from the party.

I discretely go to the massive front doors that lead to the gardens, but before I could even take a step towards the icy wind that was luring me, I hear distressed and fearful screams coming from the palace. As I run inside, I crash against someone and ignore it, until the person yells

“Elizabeth”

I turn to see Philip, whose face looks as if he’d seen a ghost

“Come with me”

he says as he grabs me by the wrist and rushes me off the ballroom entrance and into the throne room. Once we’re inside he locks the door and see him moving towards the coat of arms of the royal family, which is a secret hiding room made during the war. At the realization of what he was doing, my stomach twists with worry and nerves.

“Philip, what is going on?”

I desperately ask in a shaky voice
He doesn’t reply until he unlocks the safe room and pushes me in

“They’re here for you”

Who is.
Is what I want to ask, but as soon as those words left his mouth he locked me in.
These rooms are humid, old and the only light source is a small lightbulb, they have enough food and water for a month, a bed, bathroom, first aid kit and some combat weapons.
As I settle into the darkness and calm my breathing.
 I sit in the bed and close my eyes and the twisting in my gut increases when I start to think about Victor, Philip Athena, My parents, the King and Queen and all of the guests.
What is going on?
Who is here for me?
What do they want?
Why me?
These questions spin round and round in my head until it becomes a pattern or mantra.
It becomes a trance I can’t snap off from.
Until I remember.
 
I remember the audio systems installed in the hiding rooms to hear possible attacks from the inside.
And I find the switch, placed above a screen which asks me to select a certain area’s audio transmission, and I choose the ballroom.
I hear static and then my father’s voice

“You will never get to her”

To which an unknown voice replies

“I will, I’ve waited 18 long years without meeting my daughter”

And Victor asks

“And who would that be?”

And my heart drops, as I hear the name I didn’t want to hear

“Regan”

The rest of the conversation becomes background noise.
I hear my heartbeat ring in my head and ears
Tears start to form in the corners of my eyes
And breathing becomes ten times harder

“Then prove it! Prove she’s your daughter”

I hear Philip yell

“Oh Dear, that’s going to be easy”

“How so?”

“Well, the offspring of a sorcerer and mortal have different blood color, so with one little drop of blood that will look as dark as night, you’ll see that Regan is a…”

Dark blood.
My mind says.
In a desperate attempt to escape this nightmare I grab a bronze dagger from the wall and extend my left arm.
I close my eyes.
Take a deep breath.
And when I open my eyes I cut a diagonal line in my inner forearm.
I hiss at the pain and take small breaths to relax and forget about it, but then the blood comes out.
As dark as night.
I lean against a wall and look at my arm in shock.
Suddenly I felt uncomfortable in my body.
 
I want to scream and cry, but the background conversation comes back to my ears and the unknown voice speaks in a loud and demanding tone.

“Take me to her!”

And my father says

“Over. My. Dead. Body.”

“Oh darling, I didn’t know this is how you wanted to play the game”

And the next thing I hear is my father, gasping for air, and Victor calling out to him desperately.

“Please come back!”

Is the last thing I hear Victor say, and with that, the confirmation that my father was dead.
 
I drop the bronze dagger I was tightly holding in my right hand.
 
I start to slide down the wall.
My right hand goes straight to the fresh cut where I can feel more blood coming out from and I move my left hand to my mouth to contain my sobs.
I rest my head in between my knees.
And cry.
And cry.
And cry.
 
The cold feeling inside of me grew.
And the last thing I remember was and explosion behind me.
After that, there was only one thing.
 

Darkness.