Her own way

Chapter 1 {Re-Edited}

*A/N Apologies if the chapters seem short, it is just how they seemed to break in my continuous writing. Thanks for reading :-) *

------------------------------------------

Twenty years passed and life changed within the kingdom, in so many ways. Tragedy struck with the passing of both the King and Queen of Eardheorte shortly before Thomas' twenty-fifth birthday, in a disasterous accident on their return journey from visiting their friends in Rynemona. Thomas ascended the throne, and attempted to keep communtications between the two kingdoms open but as more years passed the relationship broke down. The last piece of information sent to Thomas was a short note stating that the King had passed and the Queen followed soon after, heartbroken that her husband was no longer in the world, and that Raphael had been crowned King. Nothing had been heard since that day.

Sarah stood at the edge of the roof, her gaze lingering on the billowing smoke as the castle which had been her home for the past eight years was under seige. How did it come to this? she wondered, her thoughts bitter over the destruction she could see in the distance. Over eighty long years of peace, all for naught. The sudden sound of a door banging open broke into her lonely thoughts. Sarah didn't turn to look, she kept her eyes forward staring out into the distance. The forest surrounding the castle was burning. The flames looked as though they began in the east, and with the assistance of the wind, they were drawing ever closer to the castle. The castle of Earendel was going to burn. She could hear the cries of the villagers amid the harsh sounds of battle, Sarah felt hurt within her heart at the thought of so many losing their homes and their lives for some unknown reason.

A slight tug on her hand brought her attention down to the little girl standing by her side, looking up at her with wide eyes. Turning her head slightly, she realised it was a servant that had joined them on the rooftop. She pushed her long brown hair back off her face and indicated to the servant to speak.

 “Ma’am, you need to go. They are coming.” The servant quickly announced and before she could respond, he turned and left as quickly as he arrived. Sarah knelt down and grasped the hands of the little girl, her dear child beside her. Gently, she cupped the child's face and spoke softly, trying to keep calm while the sounds of fighting drew ever closer.

 “Sweetheart, don’t be afraid, we’ll get to safety. Your father will come to us and everything will be okay, understand? We will get through this.”

 The girl gazed at her mother, hugging her toy cat while desperately trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks. In a small, shaky voice she replied, “Yes mummy.”

 “Now my love, we need to be super quiet. We’re going through the servant’s quarters. Mister John will be at the bottom of the passage to help us escape.”

They crept down the stairs, silent as mice. The winding staircase from the rooftop took them straight down to the kitchens. Sarah was relieved that this staircase was rarely used by the staff, so it was unlikely that they would be found quickly even though they passed several doors leading out into the main corridors of the castle. A few steps from the doorway brought them up short. A clattering noise sounded from behind them, a door had been broken somewhere in the stairwell and the shouts of fighters echoed down to where they were. Sarah scooped up the child forgetting the pretence of stealth and darted for the door. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness outside the castle and see where John was stood in a shadowy corner of the courtyard.

On hearing the hurried footsteps and the opening of the door, John moved swiftly to lead Sarah away from the danger that was moving ever closer.

“If you hurry now, you can both get in the carriage without them seeing,” he said. “Milady. Sarah. Let me take her for you. I can bear her weight while you get into the carriage.” Sarah passed her daughter to John, and on swift feet ran to the awaiting carriage. John settled the terrified child next to her mother then moved to speak to the driver, giving the last reminder of where to go. Sarah looked out of the small window on the rear of the carriage, and tears began to fall. She gave a small wave to John, a final farewell

 As the carriage pulled away, John murmured to himself, “Be safe, you’ll be in good hands.” He reached into his pocket for the letter his master left him and glanced at it a final time before folding it and hurriedly shoving it into his pocket as he made his way back into the stables. The words on the page echoed through John's mind, as if his master was speaking to him right then.

 John,

 I pray this finds you before it is too late. These are the last instructions I must give you as your Lord and Master.

Evacuate the servants, my wife Princess Sarah, and my precious daughter Katrina. Send the servants to our nearest ally – Lord Marshall, he has agreed to take them in as his own.

I confess that I am gravely afraid for the life of my family, you know the danger that Katrina will be in if she is found. I trust you like a brother, which is why I am able to turn them over to your care. There is a carriage bound for the home of my ancestors in the deepest part of Teufel Woods, make sure they get in it. The driver is trustworthy but the task ahead is serious.

As for yourself, I believe you should follow your instincts. Once my family have departed, leave yourself. Take the horse from the southernmost stall; she will bear you wherever you wish to go.

This letter grants you your freedom my friend. If I do not return, I will die in the knowledge that my family are safe and so are my friends.

Good luck to you.

Lord S. Hunter

As John reached the stables, he quickly pulled his cloak off a nearby hook and threw it over his shoulders, the dark colour of the cloak helping him to blend in with the night outside. Realising that the time he had taken to make sure all his master's wishes were completed had left him with little time to leave, a greater sense of urgency set in. Hurrying down to the last stall, he found the horse and led her outside. Trying to keep a fast pace was taking its toll and he was beginning to slow down as he got up on the horse and began to journey off into the trees surrounding the castle. Glancing back up at the castle one last time he began his journey towards his fellow servants. In his haste, he was not aware of being tracked. Not until his horse fell, sending him crashing to the ground. Suddenly there were feet kicking him, hands punching him, grasping at his cloak, ripping his shirt. The moon broke through the clouds and John's eyes widened as he caught sight on one attacker holding a dagger above his stomach. It seemed to him that time slowed down as the dagger was thrust into him. He cried out as the pain from his wounds became unbearable. Even in the dark smoke filled night, John could see his patches of deep crimson forming on his shirt and he was slowly losing control of his limbs from loss of blood. Just as soon as they had appeared, the hands stopped searching. As his sight was beginning to fail, John could barely make out the crest on his attackers cloaks. It was the crest of Rynemona, worn only by those in the Kings army. Heaving in his final breaths John's eyes fluttered closed. The last thing he heard was a deep voice booming above him.

“Teufel Woods, They can’t escape us now! Report back to the King, we’ve got the location of the princess.”

As the darkness closed in on Johns mind, his final thought went out to his master.

I’m sorry…

 -------------------------------------

*A/N* 25/8/14 - Re-edited - added in a bit of info as to the passeage of time between the prologue and this chapter. Made a few other edits to try clear up a bit of confusion which I only just understood haha. Comments welcomed!!

Recap on names/translations:

Eardheorte = Earth (Eard) Heart (Heorte)

Rynemona = Dark (Ryne) Moon (Mona)

Earendel = Morning Star

Important note, just incase anyone wonders: I did not take the name of Earendel from the location used in the film Frozen (Arendelle), nor did I find it in any text written by J. R. R. Tolkien (just found out about his use of the word back in April). It's actually Old English meaning 'Morning Star'... I'm a history geek at times and I started using this as a name for a location in a game (Kingdoms of Camelot) back approximately 5 years ago when I was studying Ancient Britain/Invaders and Settlers in my course at University.