Long May They Reign

Down they go...

Ding, dong, down goes the crown and down goes the state.

Ding, dong, down goes the crown and all they know.

Ding, dong, down goes them all.

Ding, dong, we here in the bottom will rise

The bloodshed starts tonight, the ending is near, the best is yet to come!
-
Everyone in the palace have been on edge since the last attack. No one knows what is to come and so they can't fully prepare themselves. Children have been sent away to be protected inside fortified academies. The older kids were sent abroad, hopefully far enough that whatever is coming came reach them.

"Protect the heirs." The council said. And soon there you could no longer hear the laughter of children or running of tiny feet throughout the halls. The remaking kids that were left could not leave by themselves. Including Yelena. Nat kept her close everywhere she went. And everywhere they went, so did Sam and James. Steve was not taking any chances with them.

"Nattie?" A small voice called her out of her thoughts. Lena.

"Yes?" She walked over to the young girl who was lying in a pile of daises that had sprouted up near the pond on the palace grounds.

"I want to go home. I miss Melina and Alexei." Their for all intents and purposes parents were still at home having no yet left to make their way to the palace. Natalia couldn't bear the thought of any of her family unprotected in the middle of this war. She'd sent for them immediately.

"We can't go home Lena. Remember? They're coming here!" She reminded the young child.

"Oh yeah! I'm so happy! I missed them and we always have so much fun!" The young girl went back to her flowers arranging a little crown for her hair. The older girl went back to scanning the tree line. Something was off and she didn't know what. It had been too quiet for too long and she sense something was about to happen.
And she was right....

Two days later...

A guard who'd been assigned by Steve to keep an eye on the girls from above spotted something weird. A large shadow seemed to cover entirety of the vineyards behind the first row of trees. It was moving fast and he blew his horn alerting the others and they raced down to her their weapons and others raced to get those who were out on the grounds.

Unfortunately the Queen and her sister were two of those people.
Nat was laying on the ground with Lena while the latter pointed out shapes in the fluffy, white clouds.
Suddenly she felt the energy shift and something came from in the woods beyond the  grounds and all that could be heard were the thundering of hoofs. She grabbed her sister off the ground quickly and meeting with Sam and James who had heard it too they were rushed back inside. There they were put into the little make shift shelter Steve had created just in case. It has everything they'd need for a long term stay and she was grateful for it.

"Where Stevie?" Yelena asked.

"He's coming. We just for word he's on his way." The door opened but it was not Steve, it was actually a few other royals who'd been rushed into the shelter.

"This is not their shelter! Keep going through that hall down there." She then realized it was a network of shelters. Theirs was at the very back but everyone else was closer to the doors.

"What's going on?!!" The shouts and frightened words of everyone had reached a point where everyone was told to immediately silence themselves.

"Where are the duchesses?" A gruff man in a mink robe asked.

"They are here! We have them." Sam replied.

"They are not to be let out anywhere. We need them here. We still have no heir and that needs to rectified." The man replied back. Oh! They still thought they could just control me? Yeah no.

"They need us here? But this is not our shelter? My husband isn't here yet. I'm not going anywhere until he gets here." Nat fired back at the man.

"You and his majesty have not yet done your duty. Giving the kingdom an heir in case the two of you do not make it out of this war. The clock is ticking. We allowed him to marry you because he wouldn't budge. You are not even a legitimate queen. You're a Moskal. If the council had our way, you'd be gone."

"Because I am not yet with child? We have been married for exactly 2 months. And what kind of foreboding message is that?"

"It is simply the truth of our circumstances." He looked uninterested.

"It sounds like a threat Mister Kane." A deep voice rang out and it commanded everyone's attention. Steve!

"Your majesty. I was just telling our Queen here why you needed to be taken elsewhere and protected."

"I heard everything. You called her out of her name. MY WIFE. YOUR QUEEN." He was threatening the man to say anything back. He didn't. Instead he shrunk back.

"Nat. Lena. Are you guys alright?"

"We're fine Steve. However, I'd love to take my dagger to that mans throat." Steve chuckled at this.

"How about you Lena?" He picked her and maneuvered her into his shoulders.

"I'm fine now but I was scared because we saw dark shadows coming out of the woods. But we're safe now right?" The child with her big, wide eyes stared at him and he didn't know what to say to her. Nat cane to his rescue though telling her that yes, they were safe with Stevie.

That night they slept together tucked away in a far corner. Well the girls slept. Steve kept watch over them and the others, armed and ready.

_*********************************************_

Near the edge of the grounds the shadows stopped moving. Waiting for their advantage as the darkness grew. There was no moon to guide them but also no moon to give them away. With the last of daylight slipping away, they made their move and swept towards the palace.

       ——— Sorry abt the long wait. I had school and work after that but I'm anticipating a lighter load of schoolwork this semester so I should have more time to write!———