White Roses Bloom

Chapter Twenty Five

     Screams, cries, yells, howls, and the sounds of weaponry echoed across the kingdom. Blood and black ichor soaked the once clean streets. Bodies of both people and the creatures of darkness littered the ground. People fought tirelessly against the creatures, desperate to defend their homes. Groups of people on horseback collected injured from the streets and rushed them back to the palace to have their wounds attended to.
     Anna slashed her sword to her left, decapitating one of those creatures with one move. Somewhere along the way, she had become separated from her group within the battle, and now fought alone in an empty part of the kingdom.
     Suddenly shadows wrapped around Anna's feet, taking away her ability to run. Someone stepped out of the shadows, studying Anna. Anna tensed, staring upon the man before her. He had jet black hair, blood red eyes that seemed to almost glow, and a beard of long strands of black hair. He raised his hands and the shadows crept further up Anna's legs. Anna tried to slash at the man but found that he was out of her reach. “Give up princess. It's over. You're done for and so is this pathetic kingdom,” the man hissed, his voice all too familiar for Anna.
     Shadows formed in a ball around Anna. She dropped her sword as images began to appear within the shadows. Thomas was fighting hard, screaming out Anna's birth name in desperation, but all he found was more creatures, not the princess at all. Xavier and a group of knights were becoming overrun by the creatures, hundreds of them attacking them faster than they could handle. Analise was crying and backing away as Vidro was laying on the ground in a pool of blood, creatures piling on top of him. Carvar and Lydia were completely surrounded. Carvar turned and kissed Lydia passionately before turning back to the battle. The two of them kept attacking but they were quickly getting overwhelmed. Anna felt tears forming her eyes. They were losing, the kingdom was dying.
      Anna frowned and bit her lip as the ball of shadows faded. “Dammit,” she whispered to herself under her breath. Blood began to run down her chin from how hard she was biting her lip. The man stood in front of Anna laughing. He shot his hands forwards, aiming them at Anna. Anna let out a cry of pain as two shards of darkness shot through her back like spears and protruded through her chest. Blood seeped out of the wounds and soaked into Anna's torn shirt.
      Tears ran down Anna’s cheeks. She had failed. Anna stared up at the man, who was now approaching her. “You failed Portabella, and now everyone shall die for your mistakes,” he spat, making the spears of darkness expand within her. Anna let out a cry of agony. Blood began to flow out of her mouth. Anna let her eyes drift shut, feeling her consciousness start to fade, but this time she knew she wouldn't wake up, this time she was dying.
      “Everyone, I'm sorry, please stay alive,” she whispered breathily as her life was being stolen from her. Anna felt cold except for the intense, burning agony coming from her chest. “Use the light within you my little star. You can do this. Mommy and daddy love you so much, but it's not your time yet,” a voice called out within Anna's mind.
      Anna’s eyes flew open to see the man in her face, grinning at her fading life. Anna felt something resonating within herself. “This is the end Portabella,” the man whispered in Anna’s ear, his warm breath tickling her skin. She thrashed her arms, feeling light gathering at her fingertips. A dagger of light shot up from the ground and pierced through the man's back. “Yes, this is the end. The end of you,” Anna retorted, withdrawing her daggers of light.
      The man fell to his knees. The shadows piercing Anna and holding her in place disappeared. Anna fell to the ground with a thud. A large howl echoed across the kingdom. Anna couldn't keep her eyes open anymore, she had lost too much blood.
     A cheer echoed across the kingdom in unison. A smile formed upon Anna's face, she knew at that moment, that Risedo had won, that they had survived. Anna relaxed, feeling Risedo’s victory warming her heart, and let herself slip away into the nothingness that is death.