REIGN

Chapter 3 "FALL & RISE"

OTTO (VALAIS)

The tunnels beneath their castle were dark and winding, the air thick with dampness. Otto shivered as he followed Gerald, their hurried footsteps echoing off stone walls. Every few paces, Gerald stopped, listening intently to the faint sounds above.

“They’re everywhere,” Gerald muttered, his voice barely audible. “Vhega’s men have stormed every part of the castle.”

Otto felt a chill unrelated to the cold stone walls around him. “Gerald,” he whispered, trying to mask his terror. “Did you see Father?”

Gerald’s face tightened as he looked back at his little brother, his hand gripping Otto’s shoulder. “No. He’s holding them off, buying us time to escape.”

"But what about Olivia?” Otto’s voice cracked, thinking of their gentle, spirited sister. She had always been the light in their lives, despite the harshness around them.

A shadow passed over Gerald’s face. “I don’t know, Otto. But listen to me. We have to keep moving, or all this will be for nothing.”

Ahead, the tunnel began sloping upward, and soon they emerged into a small clearing far from the castle walls. Their home lay in the distance, flames licking up the towers, turning the once-familiar castle into an inferno. Screams, faint yet harrowing, echoed across the fields. Otto felt his heart plummet. They had lost everything.

Gerald’s grip on his shoulder tightened. “Look at me, Otto. We’ll get them back. But not now.”

Otto turned to face Gerald, unable to hide the tears brimming in his eyes. “How, Gerald? We couldn’t even defend our own home. How are we supposed to fight a king like Vhega?”

Gerald knelt, looking directly into Otto’s eyes. “We start over. We rebuild. We get stronger, smarter, and then, when the time is right, we strike.”

From the darkness, several figures emerged. It was George, their older brother, his face covered in soot and a bandage wrapped hastily around his arm. He nodded at Gerald, his face grim.

“We barely made it,” George said, catching his breath. “Father’s taken. And Olivia…”

“No.” Otto’s voice was barely a whisper.

George glanced at Gerald, then looked away, his jaw clenched. “She’s gone, Otto. They took her. I don’t know where.”

For a moment, the world around Otto dimmed. His sister, the only one who had truly understood him, was in the hands of their enemy. He took a step forward, his fists clenched.

“I’m going back for her,” he said, his voice choked with fury.

“Otto, no.” Gerald grabbed his arm, his tone stern but pleading. “This is what they want. They’re waiting for us to do something reckless. Going back now would mean your death—and what good would that do Olivia?”

Otto struggled, feeling the fight drain from him as he looked into Gerald’s eyes. “I can’t just leave her…”

Gerald held his gaze, his own eyes red-rimmed with grief. “We’ll get her back, Otto. We will. But first, we have to survive this. For her sake.”

Otto’s shoulders slumped as he fought to hold back tears, anger simmering under the surface. He looked out at the burning castle one last time, whispering a silent vow to his sister.

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They traveled through the night, skirting the paths to avoid Vhega’s patrols. Exhausted and battered, they finally arrived at the edge of the vast lands owned by their mother’s brother, Lord Raunaq—a man Otto had never met.