Merleiah: The Fall Of The Rising Kingdom

III. The Fall

FYI guys, the golden castle is situated in the middle of the eternal lake and now, the prophesy that was made 2000 years ago was repeated to them by the three Dydeon (pronounced as 'daydeyon') healers. NOT ALL PEOPLE COULD HEAR THE HEALERS. Gerel, the High commander, could hear it because he promised to the gods his faith to the king. All of those who had taken an oath to put their trust to the king were the only ones who could hear the prophesy. Enjoy reading!

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They appeared out of the perimeters of the eternal lake. The king looked up at his once-rising castle now crumbling to nothing but dust. His knees buckled and she looked at his queen's face. How long had she been unconscious?

The King's head jerked upwards as he heard a sucking sound. He looked at the eternal lake and a look of horror engulfed his face.

"The castle...", Gerel whispered. The castle, which was situated in the middle of the eternal lake, was being sucked under it. My kingdom. My castle... My people.

All the king could hear was the cries of his people as they slowly drowned. His people that were not given the gift of power. He couldn't feel a thing. Their pleading cries that called for their king to save them all was like a button that triggered his anger and powers.

The king's vision heightened and now, he could see a 360 degree view of everything. He narrowed his eyes and he saw the people inside the castle as if he was standing beside them. They were struggling to reach for a higher surface.

The castle slowly sunk and creaked. And the King did his best to find and track all his people in it. Before the lake could swallow it whole, he unleashed a stream of water from his glowing hands and made every single one of his people a sphere of water where they could stay in it and still breathe air.

The king panted for he strained his powers too much. There were thousands of servants and workers in the castle.

After the king secured all of them, he turned his hands upwards, and the spheres with the soaking wet people in it came into view. They hovered midair, and the king slowly led the spheres to the grassy land near them.

As they reached the land, the spheres broke and splashed into the grass. One by one they landed and as soon as the last of the thousands of spheres broke, the king fell limp.

Gerel caught him before he could smack his head and gently lay him beside the queen. He looked up to see faces full of furrowed brows and worried eyes.

No one celebrated their chance of living again. Their eyes shifted from the pale queen to the strained king.

Shocked is an understatement to what they're feeling. For 2000 years, there have been no incidents like this. How could this happen so suddenly? One woman thought.

They still have no idea of the dark creatures that roam the villages. They have no idea why this is happening. Only those who have taken the oath to serve the king heard the prophesy, but even they couldn't understand why.

A normal healer slowly crept towards the king. Before she touched his pulse, he suddenly looked up at Gerel.

"May I check if he's okay, High commander?" She asked in a soft voice.

"Of course." He said with a grave nod. Everyone feared for the worst. The children who were there had their fingers crossed.

The healer checked him and she nodded to everyone.

"He's alright. Just strained. A few days of rest is needed."

A chorus of relieved sighs and nervous chuckles filled the dark. But the healer did not. The queen's state is not a good sign.

She slowly went to the queen and wasted no time. She checked her pulse.

No. No. No.

She checked the pulse of her hands and in her neck. She lifted her hands towards the queen's nose. She doesn't want to believe what she noticed earlier: her chest was not doing its usual up and down motion.

She's not breathing.

The people around them could see the panic in the healer's face. So they, too, started to panic. The little girls cried loudly, while the olders were trying to calm the people down.

The healer lifted the queen's mouth and blew air through it. Her chest expanded. No response.

She did it again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Until she stopped and cried for the life of the young queen.

The tears and wails of the healer were enough to know the queen's state.

In the darkness, they could still see each other's glistening tears.

The baby. The princess. One little girl thought.

"Is the princess gonna be alright, mother?", She asked softly to her crying mother. She looked down to her daughter, and then to the round belly of the queen. The princess.

She ran towards the healer and kneeled beside her. She grabbed both of her shoulders.

"Save the princess! You can save the princess!" She bellowed. But the healer seem frozen. Then the woman slapped her.

"Save the princess!", the mother shouted.

"Wh-what?"

"Save.the.princess!" The healer's eyes went wide with understanding. She stood up and went to Gerel who stood stiff with overwhelming emotions.

"Bring the queen and follow me!"

Before the High Commander could ask why, she started running towards the nearest village.

Gerel swept the dead queen up and followed her. Leaving the king to the protection of his own people.

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