The Attack

She slowly opened her eyes to her darkroom. A strong smell of smoke penetrated her nose and loud bell was echoing through the castle.

"What is going on?"

She glanced out the window. A large mushroom cloud filled the horizon. Gasping, she darted to my balcony. And the view outside devastated her. The entire forest was on fire, it spread till the horizon. It was like hell had descended upon them. People were screaming and running out of their homes.

Her door was opened with a bang and a shadowy figure rushed towards her. He lifted her onto his shoulders and rushed out of the room.

"Let me go. LET. ME. GO." She kicked her legs and punched the man's shoulders.

"The king sent us and WE are here to protect you," the showdown guard said.

"What is happening? What's going on?"

"Your highness, we are under attack. We need to evacuate to the strongholds."

They passed through an empty hallway. "Wait, what about my parents and imposter…. No, Zhong."

"The king is dealing with the assailants and the queen is already being evacuated to safety. As for your study partner, he is being rescued as we speak."

A black figure darted towards them and dashed into the shadow that was carrying her. The impact threw her towards the nearby wall. Groaning, she crawled up and glanced at the black-clothed figure.

The Assailant's lithe body was clothed tight, fit black top and black pants. She had claws strapped on his feet and hands.

"Your highness, stay behind," the shadow shouted and drew his sword. Black smoke rose from.

"Oh, the infamous shadow sword. I didn't think I would have the honour." The black figure sneered.

"I bet you are an infamous Aarolin," the shadow said.

"Hmm, let's not waste our time chit-chatting." the intruder said and dashed towards Ambai. The guard was swift on his feet and ran towards the prince and blocked the Aarolin's claws. Their weapons clashed together, pushing them further from the impact.

"My, my, you are strong. I did not expect that."

Black glow emancipated from the shadow guard's sword. "Stop blabbering and fight," the guard shouted and dashed at his opponent.

The woman dodged and aimed a kick towards his jugular.

He sidestepped and gripped her legs and sliced it with his sword.

The Assailant screamed in pain, pulling her detached limp from his grip. She slashed her sharp claws towards him.

But the shadow guard dodged it.

The shadow guard got a hold of her right hand and twisted it onto her back. He brought down his sword and sliced her hands off of her. Blood splattered everywhere.

"I—I will not let you WIN." The Assailant body stopped moving and lay cold in the shadow guard's hands. Suddenly, the corpse started to bulge weirdly.

"Prince, run!" the guard screamed.

But before she could move, the corpse exploded. All she could see was the blinding white light before a huge shock wave hit her. She slammed into the palace walls. Whimpering, she slowly moved out from under the rubble. A charred smell along with the burnt smell of flesh assaulted her bleeding nostrils.

Everything was burnt black.

"Shadow…" she weakly whispered. She crawled out from under the pieces of debris. Leaning against the burnt walls, she slowly stood up on her unsteady legs. "Shadow…. Are... you okay?"

Black spots covered her vision as she peered at the two charred bodies in the middle of the hallway.

"Why... why is this happening?"

She closed her eyes and held her aching head. Vague images flashed through her eyes, her skin blistering as the fire melted away her flesh, Flashes of black flame enveloping her. Vague images of the woman sneering at her as she threw the fire.

Someone held her shoulders and shook her. "Erudite, we need to leave." she heard his screams in her ringing ears. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Look at me." Imposter Zhong cupped her face and peered into her eyes. "We need to leave NOW." he pulled her away from the burnt corpses.

Dazed, Ambai got led through multiple hallways filled with corpses and walls covered in blood. She pulled her arm out of his grip and kneeled on the ground.

"Why?"

He gripped her jaws in an aching grip. "More time you spend moping; more people will lose their lives, So FUCKING MOVE." Gritting his teeth, he said, "It's not the end of the fucking world. So pull yourself together."

Her shoulders trembled as she silently sobbed.

Zhong growled and threw her on his shoulders. "Why do I get to do all the dirties?" he mumbled.

A small chipmunk squeaked and rushed out of her shirt. It climbed onto his face and started to claw him.

"What the hell? I am trying to save your stupid master's life." he swatted the little beast off.

The little thing scurried after them, squeaking.

A dark figure stood in the middle of the burning hallway. She slowly wagged a disapproving finger at him.

"Not so soon, little kid."

Zhong lowered her onto the blood-covered floor. "Protect your master," He whispered to the little chipmunk.

The black figure flashed before him and sliced towards his neck. Zhong blocked the attack with the handguard on the left palm. Moving swiftly, he swiped the assailant's dagger from her sheath. He sliced towards her neck, but the assassin dropped low and dodged it.

She kicked his legs. This made him topple to the ground. In a flash of a second, she climbed on top of him and stabbed his left shoulder.

"Mnn," he moaned with his teeth clenched. She pulled it out and stabbed again. Blood oozed from his open wound.

"Does it hurt," she whispered with a sadistic smile.

Witnessing this, Ambai came out of her dazed state. Her wavering eyes inspected her surroundings. Near her legs, she found the dagger Zhong had dropped. She picked it up and stabbed the assailant.

The black clothes women gripped her hands. "Sneaky rat." She slammed her abdomen with her elbows.

The pain brought Ambai to her knees.

Assassin's grip on her hands tightened, and she twisted her fingers.

"AHH," she screamed.

"Mnn, what a sweet voice," the women snickered.

Clenching her teeth, Ambai glared at the Assassin. In her hindsight, she saw the devil mouth. "Dagger." Smirking, she dropped the dagger from her clenched fist.

Zhong caught it and stabbed the Assailant's chest. She dropped dead with blood pooling out of her chest.

Panting, Zhong slowly propped his hands and sat up.

"We could have died," she mumbled, cupping his face.

"Hey, at least we survived."

"Yeah," she chuckled humorlessly.

"Oh my god," Ambai stripped her shirt and tied it around his open wound. "We need to see the doctor." She looped his hands over her shoulders and slowly dragged him up.

"We need to get out of here before we... suffocate." He held her chin and smirked.

His tall legs and heavy build made it hard for her to drag him. The wide-open exit doors of the palace stood before them. "We are here, Zhong we are finally here," she whispered with an ecstatic smile on her face

"LOOK OUT!!" he pulled her back. A small dagger whooshed through the air, slicing the tip of her veil.

Three more assassins stood by the exit.

"Shit."