The Blood Stained Crown

III

Adelaide couldn't stand it anymore. She quickly slipped on a coat that covered her lower face, put on a bucket hat, and silently walked down the hall, and gradually disappeared from sight.

The back door of the castle creaked open, and a slim figure emerged from it, clearly not wanting to be seen. It quickly slunk away, its silhouette a mere dot in the distance after a while. Only god knew where it was going and what it would do.

Earlier, Adelaide had went to the lounge. She was supposed to see Anastasia, but instead got there first. As she waited, she flipped open a book. A handwritten note fell out. 

"Death has never been this close to my bones. I hope that in time, you will understand that it is not-"

Adelaide was confused. Not what? She didn't even know what the note was talking about. Perplexed, she quickly snatched up the fallen note, folded it, and tucked it into her clothes. She quickly put the book titled 'Death and Malice' back onto the shelves. 

Something glinting softly caught her attention. She stepped closer to it, then reeled back with an expression of utmost terror and disbelief. Anastasia chose that moment to burst in, and seeing her sister's face, her expression quickly changed. "What's happening?" She asked urgently. "What is a th-th-thing like that  doing in our lounge?" Adelaide regained her senses. "What is it?" Anastasia approached the heavy red velvet curtain. Tucked in the very corner, glinting maliciously, was a silver knife.

Anastasia's face paled. She quickly scooped it off the ground, and examined it. "By god, look at the handle, Adel." She whispered. The handle was so meticulously and intricately carved. Carved on it was the Royal House of Luxier emblem right on its hilt, and travelling further down one could see scenes of prosperous times, of joy and happiness, but going down from there, the carvings started depicting scenes of death and despair, with twisted, nightmarish warriors engaged in grim combat, as well as people kneeling to the ground mourning the dead. The handle's grip was wrapped tightly with dark leather, worn smooth by the hands of its owner, and it offered a chillingly comfortable hold.

"The knife blade..." Although clearly ancient and worn, the blade was smooth as ever, still startlingly glinting faintly, the sharp edges and point looked so sharp that it seemed to hurt just by looking at it. The blade was also a relatively short one, handy in close combat, and it was clearly designed for that purpose. As Anastasia turned the blade around, both girls noticed writing on the side."House of Luxier". 

"This belonged to our Royal House." Adelaide barely whispered. "Yeah, but from which century? Our House has gone through many, many generations and centuries, it's almost impossible to tell which time period this was crafted." Anastasia replied. "I doubt that's the case." Adelaide shook her head, frowning ever so slightly. "This is supposedly an important historical artifact of our House, I would assume. If this was important, it should have been painted with one of our ancestors or something."

A sharp realisation hit the both of them. Ice cold. They looked at each other. "The Hallway Of Ancestors." Anastasia quickly folded the knife into her clothes, and both girls ran for the door, and sprinted all the way to The Hallway Of Ancestors, panting after they got there.

"One of our ancestors had to be holding it when they were getting their portraits painted." Adelaide huffed. "Just look around."

"What's "it"?" A new voice asked. A familiar voice.

The two whipped around.

"Seraphine?" Adelaide sputtered.

"Mom?" squeaked Anastasia, equally appalled.

"What are you two doing here?" The Queen asked them.

"We are here to search for- mmph!"