All That Fell Down

9

Bodies hidden behind bushes; gun ready.

Bodies sleeping peacefully; snoring heavily.

Hand moves to 12.

Legs in action, breaking through palace gates.

But what awaited the Regat soldiers were beyond their belief.

They were surrounded in every corner by Ventrurian soldiers.

To Commander Hera, Zorya had sold them out.

To Nico, Zorya might have sold them out.

To Zorya, Ventura had somehow cracked Regat's schemes.

But there was no turning back now.

They were in, all in. The only way is through.

Stars blinked, moon shone, guns blazed.

A night of fireworks, a waterfall of lifeless bodies, all in the name of war.

King Stuart supervised the chaos from a safe room inside the palace. It was all going to plan. His soldiers were winning by numbers, arsenal, and knowledge. They knew their enemies every move. They had successfully double bluffed them.

Queen Helen held her husband's hand. For all the odds that were in their favour, she hated knowing that the odds of her daughter's happiness weren't in favour. She understood why the King of Ventura had made the choice to spare no one on the other side. But she wouldn't understand why her daughter's father had made that choice. A pit settled on her stomach. She looked over at her husband. Cassandra's father was not there; it was all Venturian King.

Regat's attack was in shambles. It was damage control now. But they were outnumbered and outpaced.

Zorya looked over at her brothers and sisters in arm – some dead, some alive, some barely holding on. No matter how many times she had been through this, she would never get used to it - blood spilt over an illusive concept of power. And in that moment, she hated everything.

In the moonlight, two masks, an owl and a wolf, knotted together by their thread, hung side by side from the door hook, glinting their jewels.

Cassandra, unaware of everything, woke up to the perpetual roar of ammos outside. They hadn't told her anything. It was not the first time she was left in the shadows by the people she called family.

There had been a recent surge of kingdoms that had wanted to see Ventura fall. By her deductions, this would be the Kingdom that must have planned the secret attack.

To a regular, this would have caused panic. To Cassandra, this was the norm. So, among the noise, she went back to sleep. Only that she couldn't sleep. A persistent ache in her chest. The noise was deafening. The cries of soldiers were haunting. The knowledge that her family causes everyone pain was harrowing. And in that moment, she hated everything.

---

"You're telling me they didn't tell you we were going to attack," Zorya snickered, taking a sip of Cassandra's cold coffee.

"No! Can you believe it? After all that talk about my happiness, they just threw me in the dark again! I left for a good reason," Cassandra complained.

Zorya thought for a moment, then smiled.

"You're lucky to have parents who are so protective of you, you know?" Zorya said.

"Not you taking their side too," Cassandra huffed, "You were the only person on my side, and I've lost you too."

Zorya giggled. Cassandra followed. They always followed each other, everywhere and anywhere.

When the chuckles died down, Zorya eyed Cassandra in all her beauty. The bright white lights making her glow.

Cassandra felt Zorya's eyes on her. She met the deep green pools. There was so much she hadn't discovered about Zorya. She wanted to swim to the deepest ends of those pools.

A silence full of unexplainable connection, unbreakable bond, undeniable tension.

Their minds aligned. Cassandra knew exactly what Zorya thought of; was thinking of.

Zorya sighed. Cassandra followed.

The air was heavy. Their hearts were heavy. The tears in their eyes were heavy.

And even then, Zorya cracked a gentle, sorrow smile. And Cassandra followed.

"And then we died." Zorya's voice was merely louder than a whisper.

The tears rolled. Cassandra nodded to herself as though reminding herself of what happened, trying to maintain her smile, but clearly failing.

"And then we died."