Explosive Exit

*Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!*

*Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!*

*Ching! Ching! Ching! Ching!*

Princess Henrietta runs as fast as her legs would carry her as she drags her best and most loyal friend Louise along with her. Behind them were many heavily armoured guards who were attempting the capture the duo, but weren't making any progress due to how encumbered they were with their armour, as well as the occasional spell Henrietta would throw out to impede their chase.

"H-Henri! What is happening!" Louise asks, not for the first time as they continue running.

Henrietta scowls, "Someone murdered my fiance and framed me for it! General Gramont has gone mad and started taking control of the city!" she shouts, finally deciding to just tell her so they could concentrate on escaping.

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Flashback :

Princess Henrietta was making her way down to the training room to see how Louise was progressing with her magic, when one of her servants come stumbling into view with blood streaming down their side, a grievous injury clearly visible through the cut in his shirt.

"P-Princess! You need to leave! T-Teiter Gramont has been assassinated! And General Gramont believes you to be the culprit!" the man quickly says, attempting to apply pressure to his wound but failing it magnificently.

Henrietta is shocked by his words, but forces herself to keep her senses as she draws her wand and goes to heal the man. Only for him to push her away, "No! P-please! You must escape! Gramont soldiers are taking over the city! You must go before it's too late!" he exclaims, but unfortunately, his voice seems to have drawn the attention of their enemies.

Three heavily armoured men step into the hallway with stern faces that barely hid their giddiness at discovering the princess. No doubt they'd be rewarded for her capture. "Princess! By order of the Council and General Gramont, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, murder, and treason! Come with us and we will ensure your safety!" they command, attempting to step past the wounded man but are stopped when he holds his arm out to block them.

"You are wrong! You are making a mistake! The Princess never hurt anyone!" he shouts, but one of the guards just grabs his face with a gauntletted hand and roughly throw him to the floor. "You dare speak to me in such a manner, peasant!?" he growls as the other two men go to apprehend Henrietta.

"I am the Princess of Tristain! You will stay your hand or face punishment for your actions! I know not what events have occurred, but to charge me without a proper trial is an offence against Brimir!" she exclaims, drawing her wand and pointing it at the men.

The lead man scowls at her, "No trial is needed when the evidence is so clear, Princess. Now drop your wand and come with us peacefully." he says, drawing his sword despite the lacklustre attempt at de-escalation.

"Arrgh!" the servant suddenly screams as one of the armoured men stab him through the chest, the servant having attempted to disarm the man.

Henrietta scowls furiously at them, flicking her wand while chanting a quick spell. As if from nowhere, large tendrils of water come into existence from the floor, walls and ceiling, immediately grabbing the armoured men and beginning to thrash them around as if they were light as a feather.

The tendrils smash them against every visible surface until Henrietta was happy they were unconscious... Afterwards, she makes her way over to the servant but discovers the man already dead from his injuries.

After a moment, she lets out a heavy breath and stands with renewed determination, "This means war, Gramont." she whispers, turning and running for where Louise was training.

Flashback end

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Henrietta shakes the memory from her mind as her and Louise reach the stairs leading up to the ground floor. The training room was in the basement level, so they were in quite a pickle on how to actually escape...

"I knew the Gramont family couldn't be trusted!" Louise angrily exclaims as she sucks in air, unfamiliar with physical exertion. "We should have had them exiled a long time ago!"

Henrietta frowns, "Maybe! But there's no point in dwelling on it now... We need to find a way to escape!" she says as they round a corner and come face to face with a whole platoon of Gramont men, the duo quickly turning and running in the opposite direction.

"Can't I just blow a hole through the wall!?" Louise asks through heavy breaths.

Henrietta shakes her head, "No! The enchantments were made by Brimir, no regular magic would-... Louise! You're a genius!" she suddenly shouts, which would have made Louise blush at the praise were her face not already completely red and covered with sweat from the physical exertion.

Louise nods, and the duo run towards the dead end of a hallway. The soldiers behind them begin to laugh, thinking that this was their end. Only for Louise to pull out her wand and flick it at the wall, "Explosion!" she exclaims, and much to everyone's shock, the whole north side of the palace instantly explodes and collapses in on itself. The shockwave of said explosion echo throughout the capital.

*BOOOOOOOOOM!*

Despite the incredible amounts of danger the duo were in, they run through the black smoke caused by Louise spell, and somehow manage to dodge the falling rubble as they run out onto the utterly decimated royal gardens.

"Where do we go now!?" Louise frantically asks, not sure where they could go if General Gramont was truly taking control of the capital.

"We need to escape and gather allies... Anyone who would fight Gramont and his obvious power grab!... Louise, you're family estate should be safest for us with your mother present, could we go there!?" Henrietta asks as the duo heads for the stables, only to find it already secured by Gramont soldiers.

Again, they flee, this time Henrietta leading them towards a nearby stable that held many lame workhorses... They wouldn't be fast, strong, or have as much stamina as the ones she was used to, but they'd be enough for now.

"Are you sure we have to go to my family?" Louise asks after a few moments of silence.

Henrietta just nods, "There is no other way."