The Hands Underwater-The Palace Of Canawa

Lost

A year later.
February 23 1927
———

The princess of Canawa, Franchesca, was sitting in her room, thinking about how she would escape from the palace. She had been imprisoned in this place for far too long, and she was beginning to feel suffocated and trapped. She wanted freedom, and she was determined to find a way to escape.
She soon heard footsteps approaching her door, and she held her breath, heart pounding. The door swung open, and her father entered the room. Franchesca quickly stood up and tried to compose herself, but she could hear the urgency and panic in her voice.

"Father, please," Franchesca said, her voice straining with emotion. "Please let me out of here."
Her father looked at her sharply, and then said, "You know I cannot do that, Franzie." He seemed to be sympathetic to her plight, but he was firm in his decision. "I'm begging you, please," Franchesca pleaded. "I can't take it anymore."
Her father softened a bit at her tears. "I know it's been hard for you, but you must understand that you are a princess and your place is here." "But pls! I can't go anywhere but school!" she added "I said, no. It is your job to be here and act like a lady!"

"Father, please, you have to let me go!" she begged. "My dear, but you know this is for your good! ," the king replied calmly. "You are too valuable to our kingdom, and I cannot risk anything happening to you." "But, father, I need the fresh air and freedom of the outside world! I can't stay here any longer!" Franchesca exclaimed. "We'll talk about this later.." His father turns his back and leaves, closing the door. She then sits on her bed and cries, drowning in her sorrow.

———
February 25 1927

Two days later, Franchesca was reported missing from the palace. The king and queen were devastated and ordered an immediate search, but she couldn't be found anywhere in the palace or the surrounding area. Her disappearance sent chills down the spines of every citizen in the kingdom, and they feared the worst. But where could she be? And who could have taken her? Could she have escaped on her own or was there something more sinister at play? The entire kingdom was on edge as they searched for Princess Franchesca.

As the days passed and the search continued, the king, his people and his other daughter, Ayaana began to lose hope that they would ever find Franchesca. But just when all seemed lost, a clue was found. A tattered piece of fabric was found at the edge of the forest, which was close to the palace and could only be accessed by someone who knew their way around the forest. This gave the king and his people a small glimmer of hope, and they continued the search with renewed vigour, following every clue that they could find. But would they find her soon enough?

Ayaana, the king's other daughter, was determined to help the search efforts and find her sister, Franchesca. As she entered the forest, she saw the tattered piece of fabric that had been found and began to follow the trail. Shortly after, Ayaana noticed a few blood stains on the ground, which terrified her. She knew her sister was hurt, and fear gripped her heart as she continued to follow the blood stains.

As Ayaana followed the blood trail, she was overcome with emotion and knew that something terrible had happened to her sister. She quickened her pace, and as she rounded a corner, she saw something that made her blood run cold. There lying on the ground was her sister, Franchesca, unconscious and covered in blood. Ayaana rushed to her side and was relieved to see that she was still breathing, albeit faintly. The forest was quiet, and the sun was starting to sink below the horizon, casting an ominous shadow over the scene.

Ayaana cradled Franchesca's head in her hands and started to tend to her wounds. She was frantic to help her sister, but she knew she couldn't do it alone. Fortunately, she soon heard faint footsteps approaching. She called out to the person approaching, "Please, help! My sister is injured and I don't know what to do!" A moment later, a young man approached and rushed over to them. He quickly kneeled beside Aya ana and took in the situation. "Quickly, we need to get her back to the castle," he said urgently.

With Ayaana supporting Franchesca's head and body, and the young man carrying her legs, they quickly made their way back to the castle in the hope that Franchesca could be saved. When they arrived at the castle, the king was waiting anxiously, his eyes filled with relief and worry as he saw them approaching. He quickly ordered a physician to examine Franchesca and assess her condition. As Franchesca was laid down on a bed and examined, the physician spoke. "She has many deep wounds, and I fear she's lost a lot of blood. We must act quickly to save her life."

The room became filled with activity as the king and his servants tried to save Franchesca's life. Ayaana was by her sister's side the whole time, holding her hand and willing her to survive. The physician did everything he could, but the wounds were too severe. Franchesca's heartbeat was getting weaker and she was slipping away. She held onto Ayaana's hand and tried to speak, but no words could come out. She was fading fast. "I don't want to leave you," she whispered. She looked pale, weak and exhausted. It was clear she was gonna lose her life anytime soon.

The king and everyone else looked on helplessly as Franchesca's condition quickly deteriorated. Franchesca was desperately trying to hold on to life, but she simply didn't have the strength to fight any longer. Suddenly, Franchesca clutched Ayaana's hand even tighter and spoke with her last few breaths. "Ayaana, you must promise to take care of the kingdom and everything I stand for. I count on you. You can't let them down." As Franchesca said these words, her grip tightened and her eyes slowly closed, while tears fell down her face.

Their other siblings were informed about this minutes later (Even their half-siblings or as they call their cousins (The same dad different mom). They quickly rushed to Franchesca's room and immediately saw the Nurse who lost hope and the Queen and king. The oldest sibling (Who used to be the second oldest but Amiel got disowned), Kael felt devastated and also felt a touch of guilt since they had fought 4 days ago and hadn't talked to each other since then. He had wished that he could've apologised to his sister and said that he loved her and hugged her for one last time before she lost her life. He was never expecting this, he immediately kneeled on the floor and started bursting into tears. The youngest son, Hejin went over and hugged his older brother who was sobbing and caressing his Raven-black hair.

———
Two days later

The entire kingdom was in mourning as they gathered for Princess Franchesca's funeral. People from all walks of life came to pay their respects to the beloved princess. The castle was filled with people, some crying, and some with tearful eyes, as they said goodbye to the young princess who had been a beacon of hope for them.
Ayaana and Kael were the most affected by the loss of Franchesca. The king had lost his beloved daughter, Ayaana and Kael had lost their sister and best friend. As the service ended, the people of the kingdom bid farewell to their beloved princess.

Yuri (The youngest quadruple but is now the youngest since Franchesca died) was holding Franchesca's favourite flower (A Lily and Narcissa/Narcissus) And Hejin promised to himself that he would name his first two future daughters after those two specific flowers.