Kit: Heyo folks, new story idea I couldn't help but run with. Thanks a bunch to my sister Rain for the OC. Hope you like the first chapter, let me know what ya'll think.
Summary: After the fall of her family and the death of her father and brother, can one woman make a difference? When even the marines won't listen to your pleas, who do you turn to other than pirates? Determined to make her own destiny and to get justice for what was done to her and her family, Victoria decides to run away until she is able to do what she must. Just what else will she endure in her quest for justice?
The room was silent, all except for the sound of blood rushing through a young woman's veins as she huddled close to her mother and younger sister. Bi-colored eyes misted over in fear as the sounds in the rest of the castle carried like ghostly echoes to the room the three women hid in. Their home was under attack and had quickly become a war zone. Guards fought valiantly as they tried defending their home and the Royal Family, but were slain without a second thought by the sieging party.
"I'm scared."
The shaky whimper came from the young woman's little sister. She was small, just like Victoria was, however where Victoria's case was her height, her sister's case was her age. She was six years her junior and was still too innocent for things like the situation they were currently in. Then again, was anyone prepared for something like this? An overzealous rival country deciding to strike in an attempt to gain greater power.
"Hush now darling, everything will be fine."
The reassuring quality to her mother's voice would have been believable if her voice hadn't shaken when a loud explosion, much like cannon fire, was heard close by. The Queen knew something she wasn't sharing with them. Victoria wasn't sure what it was, but she was sure whatever knowledge her mother was keeping from them was obviously enough to make her doubt the power of their army. Normally that wouldn't make a difference, except for the fact that both her father and older brother are the head generals of the Royal Family. For her to doubt their strength truthfully made Victoria fear for the worst.
After a few tense moments of silence, Victoria broke out of her mother's hold and edged towards the door. The sounds of screaming and cannon fire had stopped, she wasn't able to tell if the battle waging on outside was over. Nor could she tell which side, if any, had won.
"Victoria no!"
Her mother whisper-shouted across the room, but Victoria refused to be stuck in one spot while other fought for her. If she was meant to die, then she would die like a warrior. Like a true member of the Royal Family she had been born into. Yamato's make their own destiny.
Tentatively stepping as quietly as she could, Victoria crossed the rest of the room to the door. Reaching her hand out, she hesitated and for a moment thought about turning back and doing as her mother and sister were doing, hiding until things were over. But she couldn't just stand by.
Steeling her nerves with a deep breathe, Victoria reached out, turned the ornate golden doorknob and eased open the door as quietly as she could. Peeking her head out and doing a quick sweep of the carpeted hallway revealed no one to be around. Turning back to her mother, she motioned with her hand for them to follow her as she eased her way out into the hallway. They had taken refuge in the library, that means they were two floors away from the nearest exit. Victoria knew they wouldn't get anywhere simply hiding away while waiting for everything to be settled without them. She refused to let anyone choose her destiny for her.
"If we are careful, we should manage to get past them and slip out the kitchen's back door."
The eldest daughter of the Yamato family explained to the current matriarch. She could tell by the way her sister held tighter onto her mother's violet ball gown that she didn't like the idea of leaving the room. Kneeling down so she was eye-level with her sister, Victoria gave her an encouraging smile.
"You trust me don't you Belle?"
She asked, searching her sister's baby blues for an answer. It wouldn't be the first time the sisters had had a moment similar to this. Victoria was what would could call a rather rowdy child, especially in the case of a Royal. Where her sister Aurabelle was a well-mannered, quiet, and timid child Victoria was more of a firecracker once she got serious. A true wild card, yet just as well-mannered and tutored as her sister and mother. Unlike some of the other Royal children she had met, Victoria refused to let the Royal blood that flows through her veins control her destiny.
"Get us out of here Tori."
Aurabelle responded, her voice strong but shaky.
Needing no more reassurance that her family was with her, Victoria crept down to the end of the corridor and peaked around the corner. Once she was certain the coast was clear she motioned for her mother and sister to follow her as she crept from one doorway to the next, using the carved marble arches as a momentary hiding place. It took some time, and there were a few close calls, but one broken potted plant, an unconscious guard, and two floors later the Yamato women were nearly free.
'Just a little more. Please, once their safe I'll go find father.'
Victoria thought to herself as she watched her mother cross the kitchen's floor to join her by the back door. Once her mother was safe and rechecking to make sure the coast was still clear, Victoria motioned for her sister to cross the room. Everything was fine, until her sister's emerald dress snagged on the edge of one of the chairs at the wooden table the servants used to eat their own meals. The chair screeched loudly against the concrete floor as it moved before tipping back on it's hind legs and ultimately falling with a loud clatter. All three women froze, their minds hoping against hope that what just transpired hadn't actually happened. The sound of voices and armored feet rushing in their directions let them know there was no such hope.
"Run!"
Victoria shouted to her mother and sister as she threw open the kitchen's door and stepped in front of them.
"No Victoria, you girls go. I'll buy you some time."
Her mother argued, trying to pull her daughter through the back door, but Victoria wouldn't budge. The young red-haired woman turned to tell her mother not to worry, only for her bi-colored eyes to widen in horror at the sight of the armored men from the rival country of Deavally grab both her mother and sister.
"NO! Don't touch them!"
Victoria lurched forward, aiming an elbow to the stomach of the nearest guard who had his arm wrapped around her sister. The man doubled over, but recovered quickly before Aurabelle could attempt to get out of his reach.
"Tori!"
"Victoria, run!"
The chorused cries of her mother and sister tore at her heart as she rolled out of the way of a guard trying to restrain her. She could see there was nothing she could do to help her mother and sister, more soldiers from Deavally kept pouring into the kitchen and if she didn't act soon she too would be captured.
Tearfully tearing her eyes away from her mother and sister being tied up with rope, Victoria dived under the legs of the men standing directly in front of the door. Scrambling to her feet, ignoring the stinging sensation on the palms of her hands as she pushed herself off the concrete floor, Victoria made a break for the window at the end of the second wing's hall. She knew from past excursions that there was a large oak tree that grew directly under that window. If she could get there in time, she would be able to escape.
"Don't let her get away! The whole Royal Family must die!"
A voice shouted behind her and Victoria started to panic, unsure if she would be able to make it. The sounds of the pursuing soldiers was so close, she was too scared to turn around to see how close they were to catching her. Finally, like a ray of hope, the window was within sight. Wasting no time, Victoria grabbed one of the ornate vases decorating the end tables lining the hall for decoration and threw it at the window to break the glass.
"Sorry Nana."
The young princess whispered an apology to her deceased grandmother who personally decorated the entire estate before taking a running jump out the now broken window.
She could hear the surprised shouts from the invading soldiers who didn't know what she did. Stretching her arms out to her sides, Victoria ground her teeth together as the bark of the tree's branches violently slid past the palms of her hands, pieces impaling themselves into her skin as she tried to slow her descent. Eventually, she stopped and pulled herself up into the thickest parts of the tree, using the leaves to hide from her pursuers. She stayed in place, cradling her bleeding hands to her stomach as she crouched on the largest branch within her reach and waited for things to calm down. She could see the men from Daevally searching for her, but they quickly gave up and settled with escorting her mother and sister away. She wanted to follow and rescue them, but she knew she stood no chance. Sure her brother had helped teach her a little more than the basic with her bo-staff, however these were trained soldiers. War veterans. She was out of her league. She needed to find her brother.
Slipping from the tree once the coast was clear, Victoria raced for the Royal Chambers. It was where it had all began and was the last place she saw her father and brother when the fighting had started. The soldiers from Daevally had demanded an audience and General Ether had informed her father that the Royal Family of Daevally had decided to invade. Their choices were surrender or refuse and die. Obviously, they had chosen the latter. After that, Victoria had taken her mother and sister and escaped during the initial chaos.
'What are we going to do?'
The young princess wondered as she slipped past two soldiers going from room to room searching for her.
As the Royal Chambers finally came into view, Victoria could hear voices, but couldn't quite make out what they were saying. As she reached the sturdy oak doors she paused outside, remaining hidden and looked inside to assess the situation before rushing in. Victoria was many things, but foolish was not one of them.
The blood that had been rushing through her system, pumping the adrenaline through her system and keeping her going suddenly froze at the sight before her. Standing in the middle of the Royal Chambers with his sword shoved in her father's abdomen down to the hilt was General Ether. A manic smile stretched across his face as he used his foot to push her father's body off his sword. It fell limply to the ground, blood quickly pooling beneath it.
"Father!"
The sound of her brother's voice pulled Victoria's attention to him to see him charge at the General when his back was still turned, sword raised in an attempt to avenge their father. Victoria's hand snapped up to her mouth to stifle the surprised sound as she watched General Ether spin on his heel and drag his sword cleanly through her brother's neck, severing his head in one single motion. His body dropped to his knees before her brother's head landed and rolled to the foot of the door. His eyes staring lifelessly up at her, a look of shock etched across his face.
'I've got to get out of here!'
Victoria turned and ran before she could be discovered. She didn't stop running until she was past the gates to the courtyard, running through the crowd of villagers living on the island with them, down to the docks and aboard a random ship. There was no thought going through her mind other than getting as far away from the invading army and the castle as she could. Her subconscious chose a boat as her form of escape, and as she huddled herself between crates of unknown origin in the storeroom of the first ship she came across, tears rolled down her face as she silently mourned the death of her father, her brother, and the life she had known up til now. She was alive, and as far as she knew so was her mother and sister. She didn't know why Daevally's Royal Family decided to invade, but Victoria swore as the salt from her tears fell onto the palm of her hands, a stinging reminder of what she had just endured, she promised to take back her family home and get justice for what was done to them.