Chapter 110: The Fall of Luna

Smoke and blood-covered battlefield. Reika was on the crumbling walls of her castle watching her men fall. Few were her brave warriors but each time one of those had fallen, two other enemies rose instead. Kael stood beside her, his sword smeared red, an unhappy grimness etched across his face. "Luna, we can't hold for much longer. Fall back and rally." Reika's jaw set. "No, if we pull back, people start to lose hope. We fight here. This is home." Kael gave another moment of time, then he nodded. "Your orders." And yet, even now, as she spoke, doubt pulled at her: Ariadne's forces were relentless, their strategy was excellent. Finley was there with them too. How many more had he turned against her? The battlefield became tougher. Reika could feel the rise of Ariadne's laughter in carnage, a cold wind freezing touch down her spine. She scanned it all from top to the wall, frantically searching, And Ariadne was at the front-head of her army, scarred cloak flying backward. Second to her in rank and second in line was Finley; she could make out trails across his face whittled deep with cold, hard determinants. "Reika!" Ariadne yelled again, shrill and scornful. "You see now? You are outnumbered. Retreat, and I might spare what is left of your empire." Reika shook her fists impotently with anger; all of her was yelling, screaming, denying; successive falls of her soldiers took any voice from her throat, though. "Luna!" Kael shouted again jerkily, throwing her back into the present. "They breached the gates!" Little to say when one's mind has snapped: hers had. "Fall back to the castle," she called, steady, though terrors chewed at her like vermin. "We make our stand there." Soldiers and villagers ran alike with wild-eyed terror as the dark troops burst open doors amidst the interior of the castle. Activity swirled unceasing around Reika-orders asked, wounds to tend, a barrage of pleas to bless, to protect. "Daisy," she called, drawing her friend aside. "Take the women and children to the hidden passageways. Get them out of the city." Tears welled in her eyes, and she nodded. "What about you?" Reika plastered a weak smile on her lips. "I'll be all right. Go." Daisy still eyed her and then hugged her close before fleeing away. Kael stepped another pace forward; his face was grim. "Luna, we cannot hold them much longer. The castle has been surrounded. Reika's chest went tight. "Then to the last. Kael opened his mouth to argue, but the crashing open of the main doors silenced him. Ariadne strode into the great hall, her soldiers fanning out behind her. Finley was at her side, his sword drawn. "Reika," Ariadne said, malice now tainting her tone. "Still clinging to hope? So adorable." Reika took a step forward, pride heavy in her posture. "You'll never take this kingdom." Ariadne laughed. "Oh dear Reika. I already do." In moments, the great hall took on aspects of a battlefield, and from the very first instances of combat, there was every portent about the way it would go. Reika struggled with all her might, her sword in bright flashes as she cut down enemy after enemy; Kael was right there by her side, his precision and deadliness equal to hers. But there were too many of them. Her people fell to them one after another until only she and Kael were remaining. "Luna," Kael said, the pain straining in his voice. "No," Reika said, firm. "I'm not going to leave you." He gave a faint, sad smile. "You are the heart of this kingdom. You have to survive." He leaped forward in the flash of a second before a word could fall from her lips, buying precious time in an effort to take down enemy soldiers. "Kael!" Reika shrieked in desperation, futility. A sharp pain flared across her side as the blade of one of the soldiers bit home, and she tumbled forward, blood welling through armor, her vision blurring. Thrice now, cutting through the fog to approach her, came Ariadne with a triumph in her smile. "Looks like the mighty Luna has fallen," Ariadne said in a voice all heavy with sarcasm. Reika looked up at Ariadne threateningly. "You will never win." Ariadne leaned forward toward her, ice for features: "Oh, I already have. The queen snapped her wrist through the air and her guards descended upon Reika, fastening leather binding to her wrists before dragging her off. Cold, damp, heavy with mold and depressed air. Reika sat on a cold roughly chiseled floor, hands still bound, her body smarting to the assortment of injuries she had taken. She went back into the wall, head thumping onto it. Mayhem was all she could see in her head: her kingdom to rubble, her people running wildly, and Ileus-with this thought, her heart bled with his, though he lay still, unaware of ruin all over. Footfalls returned her senses. She watched as Ariadne stood at her cell's door, smiling so smugly. "Comfortable?" Ariadne asked, her tone dripping with honey and venom. Reika said nothing, but the glare that came back spoke volumes. Ariadne laughed. "You really ought to be thanking me, you know. I did you a favour. Now you don't have to put on the pretence of being something that you're not." "What?" Reika finally asked in that low flat of a voice. "A leader," Ariadne said matter-of-factly. "Face it, Reika. You were never meant to rule. You're weak, and everybody knows it." Reika's hands had already balled into fists but consciously released as she let them drop to her side. "If I am so weak, then why the necessity to bait? Of what are you afraid, Ariadne?" But for a moment, the smile faltered before Ariadne masked over. "Have a nice stay," Ariadne finally said, stalking toward the doors. The door slammed shut behind her, and Reika allowed herself a single moment of defeat. Then her back straightened, features hard in a set of resolutions. This was not the end, and she would be free-somehow strike back. She had to-for her realm, for her people, for her pup. Hours turned into minutes until all that could be heard was that of water pitter-pattering from above to cold floors, creaks of a cell door echoing in the air as Reika finally tuned into her thoughts. She looked up to see yet another Ariadne soldier. This time, one with his head hooded and his face covered in shadows, was standing before her. "Who are you?" Reika suspiciously asked. He had allowed his hood to fall away showing the features of the face beneath so well familiar. "Viktor," she panted hard. He sank to his knees beside her and asked, his features a mask showing the swiftness of both relief and urgency mixing in their depths. "I'm here to get you out," he whispered. Reika's eyes went wide with surprise. "How? The castle's full of Ariadne's troops." Victor's mouth twisted wryly. "Let's just say I have one or two tricks up my sleeve. But before another word could leave her lips, he leaned in further, and he whispered, "But we have to move fast. There's something more you need to know-something that changes everything." Reika stared at him, her heart racing. "What is it?" Victor hesitated, his eyes dark with his concern. "It's about Ileus."