The city walls were cold like ice and caked in snow. Ambre and Tai stood above, gazing to the castle that stood to loom above the city, like a great deity of ice and stone. The orange cathedral-like windows glowing like the eyes of the ancient dragons, her father used to tell stories of.


    Getting up there would take some time and they had to be cautious, the top of the wall was slippery and they had no way of knowing how long the guards posted there would be gone for. The two crouched low and crept along the wall, sticking to the shadows and cautiously making their way toward the castle.


    Ambre couldn''t see the western wall from where she stood, several tall buildings obscured it and the snow didn''t help much either. She guessed they''d have a good amount of time before they returned so she wasn''t particularly worried. What she was worried about, however, was getting to the throne room.


    Tai had his bow in hand as he crept along the wall ahead of her, he occasionally peeked his head over the merlons on the castle wall, making sure they had the all-clear. Her heart was beating slowly, but each thump felt like an earthquake within her body, shaking her chest. Her breaths came out shaken with each step and a chill swept within her, she wasn''t sure if it was from the cold or not.


    The pair entered one of the watchtowers that stood between each stretch of the wall. There was dim candlelight within, Tai licked his index finger and pressed the flame until it extinguished, coating the room with blue moonlight darkness. They sat in there for a few moments, listening for any sort of footsteps or commotion. To both her relief and sadness, there was nothing and soon they moved on.


    Her thought''s returned to Ren and his group and she felt disgusted in herself. War had casualties and sacrifice but it never made those decisions weigh any less. By not helping them, they had a chance to take out the mad king now rather than later and whether Ren''s sacrifice was in vain or not would be determined by their success or failure. The idea of that weighed heavily on her.


    Am I truly capable of being a Queen?


    She was motioned to a halt by Tai who was peeking around a wall, "Ambre," He whispered, "There''s the stairs to the castle but there are two guards posted there."


    She leaned over him and took a look for herself. The walls all converged on a singular long staircase that rose toward the castle, the walls were as high as the halfway point and Tai was right, there were two guards posted on the stairs.


    "Got a plan?" She whispered back.


    "I can''t take two out simultaneously."


    He was right and she didn''t have the skills or equipment for a ranged attack either.


    "Give me a grappling hook," She murmured.


    "What are you planning?"


    "Just give it to me."


    Tai gave a slight shrug and complied, giving her one of the hooks they had used to grapple up the wall. With the hook in hand, she carelessly tossed it over her head and it fell down the wall, into the city. Tai''s eyes were wide and he mouthed a swear, she waited a moment and then heard a crash from down below, then the familiar sound of glass shattering, followed by several barks from a nearby dog.


    One of the guards swore and Ambre listened for the sounds of sabatons tapping on the hard snowy stone. Her plan had worked, the two guards both made their way further down the stairs and deeper into the city to investigate the sound.


    Tai shook his head, "Grohir told me you were reckless, I didn''t believe it until now."


    Ambre shrugged, "Worked out didn''t it."


    "We were lucky. Don''t try that again."


    "Time''s wasting, Tai, let''s go."


    They continued their way over toward the stairs, there were fewer guards than Ambre had expected. She guessed they were all stationed outside of the city somewhere, or to her dismay, probably guarding the king, her uncle. That thought wasn''t very encouraging, but from what she gathered, the guardsmen were acting incompetent, too incompetent.


    They seemed not quite as vigilant as Grohir had thought and she was beginning to suspect that they were being let through subtly like the whole mission was a farce and her uncle already knew she was here. All they had to do was stroll through the door with little to no resistance, though, she wasn''t about to draw that up as a possible conclusion just in case.


    Best to focus on the stealth, not conspiracies.


    They were nearing the large spruce castle door at the end of the steps. The door was carved with many ancient patterns from the clan of the Sparrowhawk. They depicted birds that dotted the outside with a large bear face directly in the middle where each door split. Between and birds and the bear were trees with wolves dotting between them. The door was an art piece, a cultural relic of the clan she was descended from, the clan her uncle had brought shame to.


    They stopped at the door and Ambre admired it once again. She knew there would be no guards there, she was right, they were being let in.


    "Tai, I''m going straight ahead into the main throneroom chamber, cover me from the observation deck."


    "You''re gonna face him alone? Are you mad?"


    "I''m going to try and talk him down, just keep your bow at the ready... Just in case."


    She took a deep breath as Tai pulled an arrow from his quiver, ready to fire in the chance that all hell broke loose. She wrapped her fingers around the hilt of her sword but hesitated. She wasn''t going to draw her weapon unless she absolutely had to. She needed to talk him down, to avoid further bloodshed, though, she knew he wasn''t likely to give up without a fight.


    No harm in trying.


    She pushed the heavy wooden door with both hands, it creaked so loud that the sound echoed through the empty hall within. The hall was lined with a thick long red carpet upon a stone floor. Tapestries of the clan''s past feats hung scattered and ignored. The whole place felt as if it hadn''t mean maintained in some time, she noted the cobwebs that hung over the chandeliers made from goat horns as they walked further in. With every step, a cloud of dust blew from the carpet and Ambre had to cover her face with her hand to stop herself from sneezing, Tai did the same.


    The castle was quiet, a hollow stone shell that housed the most powerful people in Winters Peak, though, it felt more like a ruin. The place seemingly had frozen in time, left exactly how it was when she fled the city. A shell of the beacon of pride it had once been, it seemed as if even the gods had forsaken the place.


    And the people too.


    <hr>


    Grohir rode ahead of him with magnificence as if he had been riding his whole life. Tycon was awestruck by his skills, the horse didn''t falter for a moment and it weaved through the trees like a threaded needle. Tycon followed Grohir''s lead, his horse kicking up snow with every step. The wind was harsh and thin, Tycon squinted through the falling snowflakes that tapped his pale face. They rode with purpose, there was no time to waste. Grohir seemed to know that especially as he never once looked back to check on Tycon.


    I wonder if he feels it too.


    The growing dread lingered but it gave him purpose and a way to forget his wound. The intensity of the pain was nothing but a minuscule reminder that stuck in the back of his mind. Despite that, he still took care not to overexert himself and tear the wound open again. The clouds that hung over the forest had begun to clear and the moonlight split through the trees above them, almost reflecting on the powdery snow below. It didn''t make it any easier to see beneath the trees.


    They were nearing a break in the forest, where it would soon meet the road when Grohir suddenly stopped, pulling the reigns back. Tycon almost hit him, if it wasn''t for Grohir''s shouting he most likely would have kept going and been thrown from his horse.


    "What is it?" Tycon asked frantically.


    "There''s someone between the trees," He pointed to his left, "Over there."


    Tycon followed his finger and he saw a silhouette of what looked to be a man, stumbling over to them, he couldn''t make out his face. One arm dangled at his side and swayed in motion with his steps. His other arm crossed his chest in an attempt to keep it from moving. Tycon could hear a soft groan as the mean inched closer and then he spoke, his voice weak and coarse but familiar.


    "Grohir?" He said.


    Oh shit.


    It was Ren. As he got closer, his wounds became far more apparent. His arm looked to be broken or dislocated and a large cut was pouring blood from his cheek. Blood had stained his leather armor and Tycon could barely make out his face through it all.


    "Ren!" Tycon shouted and went to climb off his horse, Grohir stopped him.


    "Go, Tycon. I''ll stay here and take care of Ren."


    "Bu-"


    "Go!"


    Tycon clenched his jaw and swallowed, giving Grohir a sharp nod. He tapped his horse with the heel of his boot and rode off into the trees, taking a quick look back as he left.


    He hoped that Ren would be okay but he let it slip to the back of his mind for now and shifted his focus on getting to the city as quickly as he could. He rode hard, faster than he ever had before. The wind was nothing, he became one with it, slipping through the trees, deeper and deeper, looking ahead. Now he was sure something was wrong, it was no longer a simple feeling but a fact and finding Ambre was a top priority.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    As he broke through the trees and on to the road, he saw it. Something he had never seen before. It was beautiful, yet, destructively frightening at the same time. The sky was awake, lit up by an artificial light surrounding the castle that loomed above the sleepless city. He could hear a distant hum as he looked upon it, he had no clue on what it could be and it left him dumbstruck for a moment and then it finally hit him.


    The gem, it''s gotta be.


    He knew that somehow Ambre was involved, he watched the light glow as he rode desperately toward the city gate, people were flowing from the city in droves, fleeing from the unknown. The same unknown he found himself involved with time and time again.


    Ambre, I''m coming.


    <hr>


    There he was, her uncle, Ralesif, standing in front of the throne that sat above a small staircase, he was surrounded by soldiers. This was the first time she had seen him since she fled. He looked different, subtly but she could still notice. He looked upon her with a cold dead gaze that pierced her and her hair stood on end. He didn''t say a word, just stood in silence, watching her.


    "Uncl-"


    "Don''t," He shouted, his booming voice echoed through the giant room.


    "What brings you here... Niece?"


    "I''ve come to take back my home."


    Ralesif replied with a loud laugh and then settled, "You''re serious, aren''t you?"


    "Dead."


    He opened his arms and let out a sinister smile, "Well go right ahead."


    "I''ll give you a chance to leave."


    "And what if I don''t?"


    Ambre drew her sword, "I''ll kill you."


    The room suddenly lit up in bright blue light, Ambre shot a glance toward the source and saw what looked like the eye of a storm and the clouds that spun around it. Wreathed in a luminescent glow, a man stepped from it. Appearing from seemingly thin air. He looked familiar, yet different and certainly wasn''t human, but an elf, like Tycon. He wore a white and gold embroidered waist-coat with dark pants and boots. His jet black hair was long and ran down his shoulders like silk. The man looked at her and let out a smile.


    "Good to see you again, Ambre."


    Ambre studied him closely, she knew that she had seen him before, once...


    Zeke.


    "You!" She snarled, raising her weapon towards him, "Why are you here?"


    "For the gem of course," Zeke shot a glance over to Ralesif and then back to Ambre, "You look a little outnumbered. Let''s make a deal."


    "What kind of deal?"


    "Shut it!" Ralesif shouted.


    Zeke threw an arm forward and suddenly Ralesif was thrown back into the throne hard enough that she heard the wood crunch under his weight. The guards all lunged forward, sprinting across the room toward Zeke in retaliation but were suddenly stopped in motion - frozen.


    "As I was saying. I help you take back the throne and let you live, in exchange, I take the gem. How does that sound?"


    "Do I have a choice?"


    "If you want to live, no."


    "Then you have your answer."


    As soon as the conversation ended, the soldiers continued moving quickly as if they hadn''t been stopped at all. Zeke was suddenly thrown back in the air, Ambre watched saw the expression of shock on his face. She turned to face her uncle again, who was climbing to his feet with a green glow emitting from beneath his silk robe. His eyes were whited out and an aura began glowing around him.


    What the fuck.


    She didn''t have much time to think as she was attacked by one of the guards. She blocked his initial attack with the flat of her blade and kicked the man in the knee, causing him to drop then she quickly spun and ran her blade through his neck, the head toppling onto the floor in a pool of blood. The body slumped with it like liquid.


    Zeke had already recovered from the sudden blast and she saw his hand was covered in flame. He disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared in front of Ralesif, ready to attack. Ralesif pushed him back with an invisible blast, he slid backward but didn''t fall. He reached his arm out, attempting to freeze him like the guards before but he resisted.


    She was stuck fighting the guards, with every block her arms fell weaker. She cut most of them down one by one with difficulty but killed them nonetheless. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath but heard a blade break the wind behind her, she ducked, just missing being hit by the sword and cut in two. She didn''t have time to recover before the guard came in for another strike but all of a sudden the guard stopped as an arrow slipped right through the middle of his neck. She could hear the man choking and gargling as he dropped his sword and grabbed desperately at his neck, falling and dying in a pool of blood.


    The other guards were promptly hit by arrows, one by one and falling like the man before. She glanced up and saw Tai perched on the railing of the observation deck, he gave her a nod and she nodded back.


    Zeke was still engaged in battle with Ralesif, they disappeared and reappeared all over the room, shooting blasts of flame and clashing blades. It was clear to her that this fight was beyond her level, all she could do was watch as the two fought with powers she had never witnessed. How could her uncle fight like that? Was it the gem somehow?


    They appeared in the center of the room and Zeke dropped and raised his arms, throwing Ralesif into the air, suspending him.


    "Your powers are nothing but an artificial bi-product, it pales in comparison to a pure-blooded mage... And I''ve entertained you for long enough."


    Ralesif screamed incoherently as he was suspended in the air, flailing his arms in an attempt to resist, then he quickly stopped moving, his limbs rigid as Ambre watched on in a complete state of fear from the power she witnessed. The fear hit her tenfold as her uncle''s arms were slowly ripped from his shoulders.


    "Let him go!" She screamed.


    When he didn''t pay her any attention, she shot after him, her sword wide, ready to kill him. She stopped suddenly, as she saw an arrow whistle through the air toward Ralesif. Zeke turned his head and raised his free hand in an attempt to stop it but it was too late. It landed directly into Ralesif''s chest, into the gem. Zeke''s eyes turned wide and he promptly let her uncle fall to the floor in a crumpled heap.


    She heard it crack once, then twice and with a piercing whistle and a bright green light, the gem shattered and they were thrown back. She watched as the light consumed her uncle and began to grow larger.


    "You fool!" Zeke screamed, grabbing Tai with magic and dragging him over and gripping his throat.


    "I don''t know what the fuck that was, but I sure as hell won''t let you have it," Tai said weakly.


    Ambre watched as Zeke tightened his grip more and more.


    "Stop!" She shouted.


    Tai looked over to her, his face turning blue and he mouthed a word to her, a single word, one she could barely read upon his lips.


    Run.


    Then she heard it, a crack. She knew what it was, she watched his head lull to one side. Zeke tossed him across the room and turned his attention to her.


    "You have no idea what you''ve done."


    Those were the last words he said before he disappeared in a flash. The light that consumed her uncle was growing larger, slowly consuming the room. Ambre had to get out of there fast. She glanced over to Tai''s body and a tear rolled down her cheek. Reluctantly, she turned and ran to escape the unknown. As she ran, she saw the furniture being pulled towards the light, the tapestries flailing in an artificial wind, being pulled into the light that grew ever nearer. Every step was met with resistance but she was making distance and the castle door was drawing nearer.


    What the... What the fuck is going on.


    <hr>


    Tycon rode desperately through the snowy streets, moving against the overwhelming wave of the fleeing city folk. The light was growing faster and wider. He had no idea what exactly it was but he knew it couldn''t be good. A wind had begun to stir in the streets and it had grown comparable to a blizzard. It felt unnatural, like the ire of gods had descended into the city. The signs of shops were being pulled from their hinges and the tiles of roofs began stripping one by one. The castle was near, almost obscured by storm that had suddenly manifested. He could barely make out the stairs that lead to the monolithic structure in the distance.


    Through the rain of snow, he saw someone running down the stairs behind the crowds before him. Even through the blizzard he could tell it was Ambre, her bright blonde hair standing out within the chaos that surrounded him. A rush of relief washed over and he tapped the horse with his heel to go faster. The wind felt as if it were pulling him in like it wanted him to get closer. Ambre was running against it, moving slower with each step.


    "Get on!" He called to her.


    Her eyes were red and wet and she looked weary like she was about to collapse. He extended his hand towards her and she took it, climbing into the saddle behind Tycon without a word.


    "What''s going on?" He said over the wind.


    "Zeke!" She said frantically.


    "What? Where is he?"


    "Let''s just get out of here, I''ll tell you later."


    They rode back through against the wind. Tycon had to duck to avoid the debris that was flung his way as well as trying desperately to avoid trampling the people fleeing for their lives. The light was barely touching the strands of the horse''s tail as they exited the city gate, then suddenly the light stopped, though, Tycon didn''t. He kept riding and veered off the road to avoid the crowds, heading straight into the forest like it were a mother with open arms.


    As they rode through the trees, they heard an explosion, or what sounded like one. So loud that Tycon could feel the blood pouring from his ears and ringing sound that was left in its wake, then - silence.


    "What the fuck was that?" He said, but his ears rang so loudly that he couldn''t even hear himself. Ambre likely hadn''t heard him either.


    He continued, heading in the direction where he had left Grohir and Ren. Upon arriving, they were nowhere to be seen, only the blood that Ren had left in the snow.


    The farmhouse.


    <hr>


    "So the gem shattered," Tycon repeated.


    "Yeah, Tai had no way of knowing what it would do. None of us did."


    "What of the city?" Grohir asked.


    Ambre shook her head, "I don''t know. We''ll have to go and check."


    The four of them, that was all that was left. They all sat by a lone dim fire that was built in a large hole in the flooring of the farmhouse. Ren lay in the corner nearby with his arm in a sling, it turned out that it was luckily only dislocated and his blood loss wasn''t too severe. Tycon was glad, he was lucky. The battle was over, the mad king was dead but at what cost. Tycon was afraid for Ambre to find out, he was too. Grohir sipped slowly at the bottle of the whiskey he had prior, staring into the embers of the dying fire. Despite the victory, the cost was severe and was far worse than they had anticipated. The state of the north was broken, a king, a government - dead.


    That was all the more confirmed when they returned to the city to find nothing but a crater. The townhouses, shops, lives and the castle - gone. An empty hole where everything Ambre had loved once stood. She stood there, body rigid and her eyes wide. Tycon dared not to disturb her and instead stood with Ren and Grohir, watching on as an assortment of emotions dawned over her. For the first time since he had arrived, the sky was clear and the sun poured its light upon a dead and broken city - an eye for an eye. A consequence of one''s ambition to reclaim her home, one she would have to live with her whole life.


    She had stopped Zeke from acquiring another gem, with no way of knowing what tragedy would befall them. That made Tycon sad, it was hard to watch someone lose everything before their very eyes. He waited a moment and took a few steps over to her, standing at her back, watching the crater before them.


    "What will you do now?" Tycon asked softly.


    She sniffled and answered in a shaky voice, "I''ll look for support from the neighboring provinces and rebuild. This is on me."


    "I''ll go with her, Tycon," Grohir said. The pain in his voice was evident.


    At that moment he knew what he had with her was over. She had begun to shoulder the responsibilities of leading a province as well as the guilt of losing her home and he knew that it would take time, a lot of time to rebuild what they had lost. He couldn''t stay in one place, he knew that Ambre was aware of that. She was never mad at him for it and he hoped someday that their paths would cross again.


    Someday.


    "Ambre if you need anythi-"


    She stopped him with a kiss, she kissed him hard and held him tight. An overflow of emotions erupting in a single physical act of passion. He could feel her heartbeat as she pressed her chest on his, moving just as fast as his.


    "Go," She said once they pulled away, "Find the gems and stop him. If I learn anything, you''ll be the first to know."


    "I''ll go with him," Ren said, brushing his hair back with his free hand, "If that''s fine with you of course?"


    Tycon nodded, "Of course."


    <hr>


    The day he strapped his horse and rode off into the distance with Ren by his side, was one of the hardest days he ever had and one he would never forget. She watched them as they left, every time he saw her bright ocean eyes, his heart broke and he could tell she felt the same. What they had, his love for her, that would always remain.


    Always...