The Zodiac Kingdom

1

Pisces slowly regained consciousness, hearing whispers as she tried to make the room clearer by blinking her eyes rapidly.

"Do you think that she could be the one?"

"It's too early to tell, but she certainly has potential to. Something isn't right though."

"What isn't?"

"She is the same as the other two, but her power is essential for the future. What if the prophecy isn't about just one person, but several people?"

"You could be right, after all it has been a millennial since it was written, older than the gods themselves. We just need to keep a low profile so we are not found out."

"Hush," one said abruptly, "It seems one is awakening, let's send her back to her safe place. Shall we?"

With that, Pisces heard a snap, and the world got darker.

~

Pisces opened her eyes rapidly, before shutting them due the sudden bright light. She heard a few gasps and sighs of relief.

Slowly, she opened her eyes to see that she was in her room. She sat up, and looked around.

King Aries was there, as well as a handful of staff.

"What happened?" Pisces asked, her voice cracked from dehydration.

"Your highness, please," an attendant said, handing her a glass of water, "Drink this, your voice must be taken care of."

Graciously, she accepted the glass and took a slip of the water. She drank the entire glass before setting it down and asking again.

"What happened?" She asked, more clearly.

Aries sighed, "Our kingdom was attacked. We don't know how they got in, or why they did, but it happened. You were lucky to survive. A guard was murdered at the same time you walked into the room. Some sadist even wrote a horrifying message in his blood."

"What was the message?" She asked hesitantly.

"It said 'Did you miss me?' We have no idea what it could mean," He said with a heavy sigh, "So far, all the casualties have been on our side, there has been no body found that we couldn't identify."

Pisces nodded and bit her lip. She wanted to cry, but she knew in a situation like this it would have made things worse. Aries was always like a father to her since she was chosen. The last thing she wanted to do was worry him.

"And any damage to the village?" She asked finally after a long period of silence.

"None to the civilians," Aries said relieved, "But the south side of the castle is completely torn up."

She nodded, and said, "Thank you for informing me."

He smiled, "It is one of your duties to know. You should get some rest, you've had a long day."

"Yes please, your highness," the attendant said as she walked back into the room, "Sleep is one of the best ways to get you back to full health.

Already laying back down, she chuckled, "Thank you Captain Obvious."

Aries snickered at the attendant's flustered face as she tried to retort with something.

At that point, Pisces had already closed her eyes and had fallen asleep.

The king calmed down and said to the attendant, "You know she just likes to tease everyone, don't take it seriously, Margaret."

Margaret huffed, "Well, she may be a princess but she certainly has to improve her manners."

He chuckled, "She's only 14, a very troublesome age. Be kind to her, she'll learn in time as she takes my place when I die."

"Fine, whatever," She said storming off, muttering something about manners and no respect.

The king shook his head in amusement. He turned to the princess and said good night to her before heading to a secret room in the castle.

He walked to the north wing and into his private study. Dismissing the maids, he closed the door and locked it to make sure nobody could interfere in what he was about to do.

Walking over to the a shelf in the far left corner, he opened a flap in one of the books and inserted a key. The fireplace suddenly went out. Gears could be heard turning and the fire place opened up, revealing a long dark passage way being lit up by the torches along the way.

He walked along the hallway, descending down the seemingly endless staircase.

As he neared the bottom, the atmosphere changed. It wasn't ominous as it should be expected, but it was definitely something.

Something is wrong, Aries thought, Very Wrong. Someone has been down here. But the only one who knows about this is me and Leo, I wonder....

He abruptly cut off his thoughts as he reached the end of the staircase.

Blood...

He looked around the room to see papers scattered everywhere, books ripped by the the spine, and blood painted on the walls.

Touching the wall, he saw it was fresh by how warm it was.

I wonder....

Crossing the room, and alter remained untouched. He studied it carefully, just to make sure.

Seeing no damage, he picked up an unscathed book that was resting on it and flipped a few pages. He then started to draw a summoning circle. The lines slowly but surely started to look like ancient text inside the circle.

The king slowly stopped drawing as he nearly was completely done with it. As soon as he was done, he muttered something and the summoning circle glowed a golden color.

The area was suddenly blinding and the king looked away. But as quickly as it appeared, it faded just as fast.

When the king looked again, a person was standing in the middle.

The king bowed before the figure, "My lord, I apologize for summoning you without prior notice, but this was for a dire situation."

Leo waved his hand dismissively at the gesture, "Aries, you know you don't need to do that. You and I have been friends for far too long for formalities."

"I apologize," Aries chuckled, raising from the ground, "It's a habit."

Leo snickered, "Now, what was so important?"

Aries grew serious, "Someone attacked here, and left no trace of themselves anywhere. They were in this room as well."

"Most troubling," Leo was silent as he pondered, "Did they leave any messages at all?"

"The did, but it made things more confusing. Unfortunately, the princess saw it first, poor thing."

"What was the message? And extend my sympathy to her for me."

"It said, 'Did you miss me?' We have no idea what it could mean. Perhaps you have an idea?"

"No clue, but I'll find something later, probably."

"Thank you, Leo."

As their conversation came to a close, a dark shadow grew over a nearby kingdom with the same intent as the previous attack.