CONTRACT WITH THE DEMON PRINCE

KABOOM!

Explosions everywhere on the third floor of the grand palace. Shouts were heard from all around, no one knew what was going on. No one knew where the attack was coming from. Some residents of the palace on other floors were busy still discussing amongst themselves.

"It could be an earthquake you know", one courtier said to his colleague with a glass of wine still in his hand, clueless.

Little did they know what was about to befall them.

The Palace was a grand building of modern architecture having four floors to boast about. The exterior was beautiful but nothing compared to the interior which had a deep purple color code lined with bright linen with huge windows running from the ceiling to the floor giving a sun-splashed effect to its rooms. Pieces of Furniture were pure white marble tables of topmost quality, chandeliers graced every single room with the grandest of them all in the throne room.

Now, on the third floor was where the destruction began.

'BOOM!!!'

Greta rushed out of her room on the third floor and headed straight for the queen's quarters. As she ran, she looked back and noticed this other blast had come from the fourth floor. "The Queen! The King!", she screamed to herself. Full of dread, she saw everyone running helter-skelter, with no sense of direction. Cooks, butlers, maids, royals, everyone was running...screaming...bumping into one another, that alone was causing injury.

[Who were the people responsible for this? Could it be that we've lost our defenses to the siege?], Greta thought.

* * *

In Queen Zim's room, eight maidens knelt around her massive queenly bed, weeping...wailing. [Their mistress!!!!], they thought. With their faces drenched with tears.

The queen lay still on her bed taking her last breaths. She knew they were being invaded, after all, they had been under siege for the past three months, now, they had lost the battle, lost so many men. Her thoughts went to her beautiful daughter and she only hoped she'd escape this tragedy. Tears running down Zim's eyes, she coughed and blood gushed out of her mouth spilling onto the white linen nightdress she was wearing.

One of the maids attempted to wipe it for her but she shot her a look. The maid got the message and returned to her kneeling position.

[I cannot afford to be taken alive], Queen Zim thought.

The thought of what would be done to her was unimaginable, even to her husband. [Oh! Zik...My dear Zik...].

Zim's heart stopped beating. She died with both eyes open lost in thought and hopeful to see the next life.

Somewhere in the Ziviel Palace...

Greta wondered where the princess would be hoping she'd be hiding somewhere safe or just maybe someone had carried her to safety. [She could be with the king and queen], she thought, full of hope. Greta coughed as the smoke on the fourth floor was getting thicker by the minute.

"Why are you still here girl? You've got a death warrant yes?"

Greta looked behind her at the person that shouted those questions and saw one of the court secretaries running behind her with gold cups in his hand which he clutched tightly to his chest.

[How was he even still running?], Great thought, her face scrunched in disgust. She ignored the greedy rat.

Yes, people were looting. In this horrible and sad situation, human beings were still taking what they could from the palace grounds. It made Greta sick to her stomach.

Getting to Queen Zim's room, Greta pushed the queen's door open. No time for protocol, chaos was spreading here. What Greta saw, she wasn't prepared for it.

[Why were these girls kneeling around Queen Zim's bed? Why was the queen lying still like that?], Greta wondered. She moved further in, forgetting for a moment what was going on outside.

Then, Greta saw the queen's body, with blood all over her dress. Greta traced the blood with her eyes and noticed that it must have come out of her mouth. Frozen to the spot where she stood, sadness enveloped her but Greta wasn't one to show emotion so on the outside, she still kept her cool even though she was devastated inside.

[If the queen is dead, then where is the princess?!], Greta thought.

As that thought passed, in the next seven seconds, the maids began screaming, one after the other...holding their bellies, some holding their throats. Their shouts were so intense it looked like their eyes were going to pop out of their heads.

"Blood!"

Blood came out of their mouths, some stooled right there.

"What in the world is going on?!" Greta screamed.

The screaming stopped and all eight maids laid on the floor... dead.

Greta moved, with her eyes wide... taking one step after another backward. When her back hit the door, she ran!!! [I must get to Princess Ruby], she thought. "We must get out of here!", Greta muttered.

[Evil has happened here. How will I tell the princess what I have seen and witnessed?], Greta thought. "That is if I even find the princess at all"

"Lord, let me find her. Let me find the princess" She prayed.

* * *

Meanwhile, under a flight of stairs leading to the wine cellar on the first floor hid a red-haired lady in her early twenties.

She was in the cellar when the first set of explosions went out. Ruby began hearing shouts and her next instinct was to stay there and wait till everything died down. But, it didn't look like anything was dying down so she decided to leave where she was and go search for her father and mother.

Ruby was brave, calm, and calculating with a petite frame and a huge aura. She was seen as a tomboy by others. To herself though, Ruby knew she was a delicate thing but wondered why people didn't see that part of her. [Oh well, no one cared about that, definitely not me], she thought to herself one day. What she cared about was good wine, books, poems, and drawings.

She knew the palace had been threatened for a while though but her father kept all the kingdom runnings away from her. There was a time Ruby had shown interest in politics but the king always shielded her from the business till she withdrew into the cellar (her best space) and read all through her day.

Now, Ruby knew something had gone really wrong because this was definitely an invasion. She moved from beneath the stairs with her mother's quarters in her mind... "Let me go see mama".

"Rubyyyyyy"

She heard her name and turned to answer the familiar voice. It was her favorite palace cleaner.

"Greta, our palace is going, right? That's what's happening I know that", Ruby's face twisted with worry.

"I'm going to see the queen and king, we should all leave here. Besides, have you heard anything about them?".

Greta was transfixed as if she had looked into Medusa's eyes. [She is alive!], Greta thought. [And she doesn't know about the queen!!].

Greta shook her head, dispelling all the thoughts swimming in her mind, "Yes, Princess, they are on their way out of the palace. I was sent to fetch you. Let's go, we'll catch up with them soon".

Ruby wasn't convinced but only because Greta's expression was odd but what reason did she have to disbelieve her? and why would she even lie to her?

"Okay. The tunnel underground right? It's the safest exit. Goes all the way to the bank of the lake on the west side of the building. I'm sure a boat is there for our escape to be complete". Ruby arranged all these in her mind, hope filling her veins. If they could get out of here, they would live to fight another day. She didn't feel all was lost at all.

Greta was compensated by the fact that she found the princess. The scenery of the queen and her maids flashed through her mind and she physically shook her head as if that action would remove the thought from her mind. Let's get out of here first, then I'd come clean to the princess and I pray she understands why I had to lie to her.

* * *

In The King's Chambers...

"Burn all the papers, Anthony. You're being too slow", King Zik said.

"My apologies sire, my mind is in a million places"

"Your mind had better be here. If these documents get into the wrong hands, many people would suffer from the repercussions. I cannot allow that. After this, you take your leave from this place, I relieve you of your duty, please save yourself", King Zik said to Anthony.

"Please sire, do not ask that of me. I am to stay with you always and that's what I intend to do, Your Majesty"

King Zik looked at his butler and wondered how lucky he was to have gotten such a good-hearted fellow to serve him.

Anthony didn't know what the king planned to do after they were done with destroying the documents though because he really needed him to find Ruby and take her to a safe place where she could survive at least. Zik's mind wandered to his wife, her warm smile and soft body. He knew... he just knew what Zim would've done knowing there was no way out for them now. His prayers went to her and he said under his breath; "I'm coming my love, I'd meet you soon. Our daughter is strong, she will be alright", Zik muttered.

When they were done with the papers, the king went into his private room leaving Anthony to finish up with the office and such. King Zik thought about his people and his heart sank. He had done his best.

Picking up an obsidian chalice from the white marble table in front of him, he twirled the lethal liquid around and said his last prayers, took one sip and another gulp. Attempting to finish what was in the cup stubbornly, Zik began to convulse. In a few moments, his blood ran cold inside his veins.

King Zik died there with foam coming out of his mouth.

'BOOM!'

This time around, the King's door shattered from its hinges.

Anthony sprinted into the king's private place and found him sitting in an awkward position on his chair with a cup on the floor. He etched closer...fearing what his mind was whispering to him. Anthony's brain fought to process the information.

On the table was a note with a final order from the king; 'FIND RUBY'.

Leaving the room sobbing like a little child, Anthony ran with his eyes half-closed. He was full of despair. [What kind of tragedy had come upon them?], he thought.

Anthony knew that he had to find Ruby.

He remembered that she liked being in the wine cellar so he took a short route there hoping to find the princess there. He prayed for luck...that is if luck would still work in a time like this.