Save Me

Chapter 3 - Hunger

"Your Grace, shall we proceed to cleaning the pests in the palace?" 

"Yes. Kill them all. The rest come with me as we triumphantly return to our new palace and to our new capital. The Lennon Estate will now be the new capital of Siland!" The rebels stretched their arms in the air and rejoiced.

Duke Lennon continued "Today marks a new beginning! A clean kingdom! A new mark in history! I, your king will purge the noble court down the drain! I shall release all the slaves the nobles kept! Such poor, fragile souls! Working for those fat pigs! I'll crush the kingdom of Siland down to its very core!" 

"Long Live the King! Long Live King Edward! Long Live the King!" The rebels claps and cheers were so  deafening that it echoed through the palace's halls. It was a war cry of death and bloodshed. The calls of the devils of destruction. 

***

A day passed Nerine was still in the cold and dark bunker. She nibbled on her remaining piece of bread and drank a mouthful of water to quench her parched throat. It was cold in the bunker especially since the first snow arrived yesterday. 

Nerine's eyes were red from sobbing and wailing last night. She couldn't sleep a wink as she worried about her parents and the palace. Nerine bit her nails as she nervously shuffled around the cramped bunker. 

"Should I go outside? But mommy told me to stay here......" Nerine pressed her lips together in an attempt to make a decision. 

"Oh! I forgot mommy told me to be at this location and we'll meet there!" She put her dainty hand on her forehead and quickly opened the letter. 

The letter was crumpled and wrinkly due to Nerine's constant shifting. The bunker was dark, Nerine couldn't read the letter given to her.

She hastily pulled the lock in the bunker and opened the heavy door with great difficulty. With a snap the door opened slightly and a crack of light passed through the bunker. Nerine quickly put all her force into pushing the bunker door open. 

The door opened with a loud creak. Sunlight blessed Nerine's dainty face. Nerine's silver hair shone in the sunlight as she squinted her purple eyes to adjust to the light. She pursed her pink lips in anticipation of getting out of that cold and dark place.

She quickly stepped out and fell to the ground like slime. Her legs felt wobbly and numb. She sat to a nearby chair and relaxed a bit. The chair was luscious and fluffy, it felt like heaven after spending a night in the bunker. Nerine quickly dozed off and fell asleep. 

Nerine woke up when it was already afternoon. She yawned and stretched her arms. 

"Good morning sunlight! Good morning world! A new day! A new beginning!" Nerine greeted the sun cheerfully 

     Nerine's stomach grumbled loudly. She looked at her dainty tummy and rubbed it in circles to soothe the grumble. She pouted at her belly, "Mmm I'm hungry, I should go to the kitchen and ask the cooks to serve me a meal. Hmm what should I eat? Fried Chicken? Pasta? Oh! I also want Ice cream!" Nerine smiled and rubbed her tummy as she whistled along and walked towards the mahogany door with a gold handle. 

She twisted the door handle and opened the door. She walked through the palace hallways. 

     The palace hallways had chandeliers hanging in the ceiling as they reflected the morning light, the walls were intricately designed with golden fibers, they wove swirls and leaves to design the hallway. Colorful paintings decorated the walls of the palace halls. They were made by the kingdom's best artists that put their blood sweat and tears in their work. There plants and vases that adorned the hallways to bring life to the castle.

The hallways that were bustling with clamor were now ghostly quiet. The silence is unnerving. Nerine bit her lip in confusion. She wondered where are all the servants that was supposed to assist her. 

She playfully skipped through the castle walls, swinging her arms around while skipping in glee. She hopped from one red puddle to another. She playfully splashed the small puddles. 

"Eat, eat, eat I want to eat, eat, eat! Eat, eat, eat I want to eat, eat, eat!" Nerine sang through the silent hallways, her cute voice bouncing off the walls. 

Nerine arrived at the throne room's entrance. She looked out the glass window and saw the pure white snow. She thought that they looked like marshmallows falling to the ground. 

"So pretty." She pressed the side of her cheek to look at the snow. A trail of scarlet was splashed into the white ground. She moved to the left to see what it was. 

A pile of soldiers were laying on the snow with the red trail oozing out of their bodies. The soldiers lips were blue and frost covered their cold bodies. Snow continued to heavily fall on them. 

"Why are they sleeping outside when it's so cold? Adults are weird!" Nerine bit her lip in confusion. "If they wanted to sleep, they could just go home!"