The Sixth Kingdom
an excerpt

She woke to the sound of steel on steel, groggy and confused. She couldn't imagine that she had slept long enough for her brothers to be in the training ground below her window. They never let her sleep in that late. She tried to stretch before she opened her eyes and couldn't, her arms and legs running into stone. As she opened her eyes she realized it was still dark, and it came back to her that she was not in her room.
The sounds of sword on sword came closer and she could hear angry yelling and screams in the distance. What was happening? Peering out she could see no one and slipped to the ground on bare feet. Silently she crept toward the sound, pressing against the wall and she looked around. She was almost upon the sound when she heard someone screaming, a voice she knew as well as her own. “Ellipcilillian! Ellipcilillian where are you? They can not have breeched the castle this far yet, they can not have taken my daughter!”
It was her mother, crying out in a broken voice and it held her still, uncertain of what to do as the sound came around the corner. She looked up at her brother, clothes torn and sword in his hand as he fought against a man she did not know and a creature she had never heard stories of. She gasped, a small sound that did not draw their attention and covered her mouth. Afraid that he could not hold them off.
She watched his sword catch the mans hilt, tossing it to clang against the wall. In a split second his sword was buried deep within the mans chest. The blood blossoming a deep scarlet, almost black in the dim light. As he pulled the sword free the man fell to the ground, unmoving and she knew that he was dead. The monster started to close in and she screamed in anger, taking up the fallen sword in a dive forward and almost dropping it.
She had no idea how to use it and it was almost too heavy for her to hold but she swung at the monster. It blocked her blow easily and with more then enough strength to make her stumble to the ground. As she looked up it grinned down at her with pointed teeth in a face full of fur. It fought with a sword in one hand, the other had nothing but wicked looking claws. The claws swung down at her but the blade of her brother turned them aside, though he took a glancing blow of the sword on his shoulder for the effort.
“For your life 'Cip. Run!” She scrambled to her feet and ran, unable to keep herself from looking over her shoulder at her brother as they fought. Down hallways of beautifully carved stone turned to a nightmarish maze she ran and ran, her breath coming in harsh gasps. She headed toward the bed chambers but the way was cut off, there were more men and monsters there. She skidded to a stop and turned around, not waiting to see if she was spotted.
Another scream in her mothers voice but it was cut off abruptly and she almost fell, fear and grief eating away at her. The sounds of battle were fiercer now, and more hallways then not that she turned down were cut off. The guards were battling hard to repeal the invaders but no one seemed to notice the small child.
With no other option she made her way down to the courtyard. Alone, afraid and with no way to protect herself she froze as she looked out onto their city. Smoke and flame filled the night, blocking out the moon and stars. She could see people fleeing in terror and the pursuers chasing them. So many seemed to fall and never rise again. There was movement in the courtyard and she turned to see it. One of the men had found her and by his dress it was not one of the castle guards.
He whistled and within moments was joined by two of the monsters. “It is the girl child, the master wanted this one taken unharmed.” They grinned at each other then looked back at her as she backed up, one foot behind the other. Their accents were strange, silly even she thought but their glee was not. The man knelt and called to her. “Come child, we will not hurt you.” She shook her head wildly and looked around her. She knew this castle well, and the ground around it. She had spent her life escaping those who were supposed to ensure her protection.
She turned around when she heard footsteps approaching her. The monsters had crept closer. “Come to me child or they will take you.” She wrinkled her nose as a smell wafted to her, she knew not exactly what it was but to her mind it was death and it seemed to come from these monsters. “No!” She cried out and spun on her foot, dashing away to a spot where she knew she could crawl under the wall. It was too small a spot for them to come after her.
The dirt stained her as she wriggled under the stone. She was almost through when a hand closed around her ankle and started dragging her backwards, pulling up her dress and tearing it and her back against the stones. She fought, digging her nails and hands against the stones and pulling forward as she kicked with all her might. Slowly she lost ground, her nails ripping away in the rough stone but still she fought. Suddenly her foot connected with something softer then the arm holding her and the grip loosened enough for her to pull the rest of the way through.
She heard the man yelling at the creatures and growling protests as she backed away. Looking down the tilted slope behind her and the forest rising in the distance. The walls were tall, meant to protect the royal family but she heard scrambling against the stone and the sound of sniffing. To her horror clawed hands grasped the top of the wall.
With no choice left she ran from the castle, down the tilled slope, hoping to lose herself in the crops and praying for the safety of her family. The tall crops closed around her but she could still hear the solid thump as the first of the monsters hit the ground on her side of the wall. She ran as fast she could, weaving in between the rows until her sides heaved and her chest pained here with every breath. She could hear nothing over her own heartbeat and still she ran.
She fell, sprawling face down and it took her a moment to realize that it wasn't just soft ground beneath her. She got to her knees slowly, head hanging down and looked at the brush growing under her hands. She looked up, still gasping for breath and was startled to see trees before her. Swaying she got to her feet and looked behind her. Seeing nothing of her pursuers she scrambled up the nearest tree, tearing her dress further on the bark and limbs but uncaring.
She climbed as high as she could, holding tightly to branches that swayed under her weight as she looked out in disbelief at her home. For the longest time she saw nothing but black smoke and the orange glow of flames licking away at the buildings, only when the sky began to lighten in the east did she see movement. Figures gathering to the west of the castle. An army of figures that marched off into the distance.
She stayed there for the longest time, the scrapes and bruises stiffening as dawn came. The sun rising steadily into a sky filled with the haze of smoke. Eventually the flames died down and still she watched, hoping, praying for some sign of life. The day passed slowly as she watched, unable to believe that there was no one left. It was only as the sun began to sink into the west that she climbed down slowly.
She stopped at the bottom, leaning against the tree as she winced in pain. It was hard to move, her left ankle pained her terribly where they had tried to pull her back but she could walk on it. There was too much shock in her to cry yet, too much disbelief that this could be happening. It was a nightmare, she was almost certain that it was a nightmare and she wanted to wake up. She just couldn't figure out how.