The Interim Queen

Prologue

The town quietened and darkened as the clock struck one. There was a lack of any conscious beings, as there always was every time the town was protected by a charm. Only the tiny crescent moon shining moon above could offer a contrast to the dark for the few ones breathing that night.

A tall cloaked figure walked past the shadows. Occasionally, a gust of wind disrupted her tight auburn bun, but she could barely lift her pale arms to correct it. She never liked anything out of place, but she hardly cared about that right now. Not when her people were in danger.

Her cloak fell off as she slumped against one of the brick buildings, body exhausted from the energy it was expelling through her trembling hands and into the intricately beautiful box she cradled against her chest. Her rubrum and caeruleum mixed together to form a mesmerizing purple glow around the box. The very power that helped protect her people every step of the way could destroy them in an instant if in his hands. Her concentration wavered as a burst of light passed by the building.

They are here, a voice murmured softly to her. And they are not afraid of you anymore.

She gritted her teeth, urging the flow of the last of her energy into the box. Her heart wrenched as if she was tearing herself into two halves and, in a way, she was. She heard footsteps drawing towards her from either side of the building. She could feel his presence and she knew she had less than a minute before they reached her.

He gave out an empty laugh as he drew closer. "You know I can sense your presence so you might as well come out, Serena. "

He snarled her name, purposefully taking slow steps because they both knew she was surrounded, outnumbered and powerless. She pressed her lips together to stop her cry as she felt the first sharp pain shoot through her arm. She pressed her palms against the box even as every inch of her body screamed out in pain. But she was so close. So close.

It suddenly dawned on him what she was doing. He stormed towards her and, after relishing in her weak form, took the box away from her.

"No... ", she croaked, her rubrum willing her to fight back. The last of her energy struggled to race throughout her body, trying to hold her stable.

"Ah, at last we can come to a reasonable conclusion, your highness", he said the title mockingly. "We didn't have to get to this point if you had just conceded."

He smirked as two of his men lifted her frail body by her arms. He walked towards her but stopped when he was two feet away. A flash of rage passed his eyes and she could tell he was remembering the time she kicked him out of the town. She felt a small amount of satisfaction at how his eyes still looked wary of her and how he didn't dare to step closer.

"What did you do to my people?", she demanded. She could feel the grip of the man on her right carelessly loosening. They were more focused on her words, some of them looking at her like they were seeing a fictional character straight out of the book while others stared with contempt.

He shrugged. "Oh, you know. A few died, a few killed. The unimportant ones are just waiting for you to come save them, not knowing that their future is not in your hands anymore, but mine."

"Arlo... ", she trailed off, thinking about the kind, wrinkly eyes of her guardian that made her feel like everything would end well.

"That old man?", he asked with a smirk. "It was fun to see the life fading from his eyes as he took his very last-"

She grabbed the knife her capturer loosely held and lunged at him, her anger burning in her eyes. She slashed his arm with the knife, just for her own satisfaction, and quickly held the knife in front of her, turning around in all directions to make sure no one was near her. He screamed in pain for just a second as his wound healed up very quickly. The caeruleum always aided the one who possessed the box.

He smirked, giving his healed arm another glance. "Oh, Serena. I thought you'd know better than that. You can never harm me as long as I'm holding this."

"Then it's good that that's not what I was aiming for", she said with a smile and plunged the knife into her own chest.

"No!", he screamed but he was too late. He tried to hold on to the evaporating pieces of the box. She'd touched it when she attacked him, transferring her remaining energy into the box. The box was off to find its new owner, and its only known key was dead.