1 Forged By The Flame 1

The usual calmness of the palace was forgotten in the midst of battle cries and clashing swords.

Chaos had erupted and there was only more to come.

The heavy iron doors to the city were barely hanging on to its hinges as it withheld every blow the enemy rained down. It held firmly... for now.

Birds had stopped singing and all animals had fled the vicious scene of one man trying to conquer another.

Xueyu was almost convinced that the leaves had all been shaken off the tree by the thunderous sounds.

She stood by her room window, looking out and down. Unto the men who were fighting for their city, for her. Her ears twitched at the sound of clattering footsteps and she dashed away from the window and dived into her bed, making sure to pull the multicoloured sheet up to her chins.

She closed her eyes, feigning sleep. When the door to her room was thrown open with so much force that it flew back, she jumped in her bed and looked up into the crazed eyes of her mother.

Her hair was a mess. Multiple strands were sticking out, coming undone from the intricate style it was fixed in. Xueyu sneezed as she sniffed the air.

Smoke.

Her mother reeker of the scent. She sat up in bed as her mother gripped her shoulders then looked around frantically. Just at that moment a maid was passing by her door. Her mother called out to her.

'Yes Your Majesty?'

'Xueyu, go. Go with this maid. She'll take you to the safe room.'

'Take Xueyu to the safe room for me. Do you remember where it is? It was supposed to be the first thing you learned when you entered.'

The maid nodded.

She didn't like the feeling she was getting.

She felt as if she was getting punched in the stomach several times. The heat stretching from her chest to the pit of her belly felt scorching hot, like the furnace that her father used for extreme condition cultivation.

Dread. It was dread.

The maid fidgeted about but neither of the women payed her any attention.

In a shaky voice Xueyu asked, 'What about you and father? Where will you be? Will you go to a safe room too?'

She fired off question after question in rapid succession feeling the worry creeping into her mind.

Her mother patted her head with a smile on her face. The crazed look left her eyes and in its stead was warmth.

'Don't worry Xueyu. We will be fine. Everything will be fine.'

Xueyu held some form of scepticism. Her mother seemed to be reassuring herself more than stating a fact.

Xueyu had no time to be sceptical when her mother pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

She pulled back pausing to wipe a lone tear from her cheek and look over her daughter one last time.

Xueyu stood to her feet, leaving her bed in a mess of crumpled sheets and flattened pillows. Her mother stood after her.

'To the Safe Room,' she reminded the maid before running off in the direction she had come from.

Xueyu stood staring after her mother until the maid cleared her throat.

She snapped into action and followed the maid's back.

Through the winding passages and down stairs they went. So far down that the smoky air started getting musty. The moss creeping up on the stone walls tickled Xueyu's fingers when she halted at the maid's sudden stop.

Her eyes grew smaller as she watched the maid in interest.

She had gently tapped on a few stones beside where she stood with a puzzled look painted on her face.

Xueyu jumped when a creak sliced through the silence, creating echoes. The maid gave a triumphant smile.

Right before the maid, where a stone wall previously was, Xueyu could see an opening. The cold and stale air that whooshed out from the opening was not pleasant.

'...This is the safe room?'

The maid bobbed her head up and down before holding on tightly to Xueyu and pulling her into the room.

She let go off of her hand, leaving her stranded in the pitch black darkness but Xueyu could hear the rustles from her searching coming from her right.

The rustling stopped and a few seconds later a layer of warmth enveloped her. The fur made it obvious that it was the hide of sone magical beast.

Xueyu thanked the maid then squatted down to sit in that exact spot.

The maid shuffled her feet around before shattering the peaceful silence.

'Your Highness, please permit me to leave you for a moment. My daughter is up there all alone and i just don't feel right being here in safely while she is in danger,' the woman sobbed to her.

Xueyu's heart felt sympathy and she told the woman she could go. At the door she gave one final thanks before sealing it shut and confining Xueyu to the darkness and the silent chaos of her own mind.