Peace In Desperation's Hour

Chapter 4

I looked at Aaron, right after he told me his name. Then I smiled at him. "It's to meet you all." I said.

"The pleasure is all ours." Rikuto said. "But, now that we have introductions out of the way, we really need to discuss what is happening."

"Yes, that's right." Rostella said. "Is there any more information about any other Refugees?"

"Refugees?" I asked, not understanding.

"It is what the Hakai Empire calls the Ophanians who have not been captured and are in hiding." Lora said. "Our small group is considered Refugees."

"Oh. But, does anybody know why the Hakaites are doing this?" I asked.

"We don't know exactly for sure." Zack said. "But from what we can tell, the army from Hakai had seemed to have moved the Ophanians somewhere else."

"That's not all." I heard Aaron say. Everybody looked over at him. He looked at the ground. "The day Pencalia was attacked and the citizens were being captured, I noticed that females around the ages fifteen to eighteen were being taken away from their families." My eyes widened, and he continued to explain. "I couldn't see much because from where I was at, the fire that burned down the city had started and blurred my vision. But I could tell that they were headed to the castle."

My thoughts then turned to the memory of me and Tamiko, and how I helped her escape. The two of us were both fifteen, but Tamiko is younger by a few weeks. That must be the reason those guards were after us. "But why would they do that?" I heard Lora ask.

I looked down and began to think. Rostella then spoke up. "I'm not sure why, but from what we can tell, this situation does have a reason behind it."

I closed my eyes and tried to think of many possibilities, but I couldn't find a way. Then I remembered. Ophania's princess is with us. I looked up and over at Saphra. "Saphra, do you think you have an idea behind why the girls are being taken?"

Saphra just looked at everybody and then looked down. "I think it is because of my escape from the castle." She said.

"Do you think you can tell us why you think that?" Rikuto asked.

She sighed and politely nodded. "The morning of the invasion, Mother and Father told me to stay up in my room, and to not come out. I think they knew what was going on, and wanted to keep me safe. However, I was curious and wanted to know what was going on, so I escaped from my room, and went to find out for myself. When I had come to the doors of the Audience Chamber, I noticed the doors were open and that there were guards that were from Ophania lying on the ground unconscious. That is when I heard voices. I eavesdropped and listened closely. I heard Mother and Father talking to a young man, who could've been around nineteen or twenty-two years. They were talking about surrendering Ophania over to the Hakai Empire without any arguments or protests. Father quickly disagreed, and told him to leave before the Ophanian army had come to 'escort' him out. The young man became furious. He then declared the official attack and invasion on Ophania.

"I now know who that young man was. He is the young emperor of the Hakai Empire: Emperor Shade J. Hakai." She said. "When I heard his order, I quickly heard swords and grunts from Mother and Father. I quickly hid when I heard someone coming from the hall. I had snuck back when I discovered the audience chamber was empty and nobody was in there. I quickly saw the bodies of Mother and Father and two puddles of blood quickly forming into one pool. I was scared. I knew that if I was found, I would be probably killed as well. So I escaped from the castle, but I ran into Sage, who had escorted me out the city, just as it was burning."

She was crying. I could tell, because her voice was full of sadness, but I can understand that there was nothing she could do. If the princess was killed, Ophania would be lost. "I'm a terrible princess. I can't inherit my family name and represent this country." She said, with tears rolling down her face.

I sighed and laid my hand on her shoulder. "Saphra, you aren't a terrible princess." I said.

She gasped a little and looked at me. "You don't think so?"

I smiled and shook my head. "In fact, I believe you made the right choice to leave the castle. Because if you were killed, Ophania would be lost. We then would be part of the Hakai Empire. You are the princess, and I may not know you personally, but I know you have a pure heart. That is what makes you who you are."

Saphra just looked at me and smiled. "Maybe you're right. No, not maybe. You are right." She quickly wiped her tears away and looked back at me. "Thank you."

I smiled back at her. Lora then spoke. "Jewel, it is like you know how to make everybody happy."

I looked over at Lora, who was smiling at me. "I was just speaking from my heart."

"I hate to interrupt this, but I have an idea." Rikuto speaks.

Everybody's attention is drawn to him. He looks at us. "With what Jewel says about Princess Saphra being the only hope for Ophania's only hope of survival. I think we should prepare ourselves to protect her. I think we should come up with a plan."

"A plan for what?" Zack asked.

Rikuto just smiled at him. "Since you asked, I guess I don't have a choice. Let me show you what I mean." He stood up. "Follow me." He started to walk towards a door. Lora immediately got up and dragged her brother behind her. Rostella and Sage escorted Saphra towards it, and Aaron helped me up. We followed everybody until we came into the small room, which turned out to be empty. "Uhmm...what are we supposed to be seeing?" Rostella asked.

"Just watch." Rikuto said, turning towards the wall. He pressed against a brick and the floor opened revealing a hidden stair case. "Let's go." He said, going down the staircase. We all followed, until we found an old battle training area. "Once Jewel's leg is healed, all of us can start training."