Chapter 2 Life is like a house of cards
Marianna came as usual with a few fresh bruises in the palace.
Her dirty blonde hair was pulled in a braided pigtail which reached down her back right above her backside.
Her shirt was taped against her slender body from all the sweating and the pants were dirty.
The work out was really hard, everyday it got harder and harder and the commander demanded more of her, because she was a girl.
But it didn´t matter to her, she would show everybody that she was capable to defend herself if she had to it.
Nobody believed she could endure the exercise, not even her best friend Marius did that.
However one of this days she would demonstrate everybody how powerful she really was.
And then she would laugh in the faces of her brother, her best friend and her fiance Lykus, which didn´t believe in her.
With those thoughts Marianna strode straight through the empty corridor to her bedroom.
Suddenly a noise in her fathers study startled her.
It sounded like a moan of pain or something.
Marianna walked carefully to the big wood door and pressed her ear on it.
A few seconds later there was the same sound as before, only this time a little quieter.
Marianna got a strang feeling in her guts and she slowly opened the door.
" Father, is everything alright. I´ve heard something...", she didn´t came further, because the shock robbed her of any words. She found the source of the strang sounds.
Her father stood above her mother with a statue in his right hand from which droped red liquid.
Marianna got closer to her parents and she had to clamp her hand in front of her mouth to prevent from losing her dinner all over the floor.
Her mother laid motionless on the carpet, a little puddle of blood was around her head.
" How could you that?", whispered Mariana sad." Why did you kill my mother?"
" She was nothing, she had to die", retorted Khivar cold.
" You egoistic bastard!", screamed Marianna outraged towards her father. She couldn´t believe that he would be so cool after he killed his wife." How can you be so cold about that!".
" Don´t speak to me that way, young lady!", Khivar arose from his grouched position and went to his daughter.
" And if I do it after all?What do you want to do? Kill me like Mother?" spat Marianna and glared with so much hate in her eyes at her father.
Khivar shrugged" If I have to".
" You will atone for this!", threatened Marianna before she turned to the door." I swear by my life, you will punished for murder!". She would give everything to see her father hung for his crime and if it was the last she would do.
" What are you doing?", asked Khivar angry.
Marianna swirled around, threw a nasty look at her father and opened the door. " Guards, Guards!", she cried really loud." I need help immediately!"
Within a few seconds two guards came running along the corridor, their weapons ready to fire in their hands.
Out of breath, they heard the story, which Marianna told them.
They couldn´t believe what they were hearing, which showed on their faces.
In the middle of the explanation they shook their heads in disbelief.
No, their King wouldn´t do something so unbelievable, ok he was not exactly the friendliest man on the planet, but to kill his wife? That was to unreal.
" Don´t believe her!", interfered Khivar." She was the killer of my wife! I only wanted to prevent her from doing it".
The Guards saw from their king to the little girl besides him. That was even more unreal than the story before. This girl should kill her own mother? A girl which was always so nice to everybody and loved her mother above all? No, that couldn´t be.
" Don´ t let her fool you with her pretty face", said Khivar as he saw the unbelieving faces of his guards. He knew what they thought." She is more dangerous than she looks".
" Father. How can you say something like that?", tears gathered in Mariannas eyes. " I´m your daughter".
" Your a murderer", retorted Khivar without remorse. " And so will you be treated".
" Father!", uttered Marianna shocked.
Khivar adressed his guards. " Throw her in the dungeon". He made a little break, because another thought occured him. " Or kill her, I don´t care".
Amazed about the casualness in which their king ordered to kill his own daughter, the guards could only stare open mouthed to the princess. She was on the brink of a full breakdown.
Khivar saw that his guards wouldn´t do anything anytime soon, therefore he gave the order to carry the princess off.
But before they could move a muscle Marianna threw a white blast at them and they flew full force against the westwall.
Immediately they both leaped on their feeds, but the princess was gone.
Only Khivar was present and he was not happy.
The Guards informed the soldiers over their communicators, that a murderer was on the run and everybody should be careful.
Afterwards they both took their weapons and took up the chase after the princess.
Marianna was meanwhile almost by the outer wall of the kingdom when she heard how her father gave the order to shoot her.
Shortly afterwards the silence was pierced through shots, which were directed at Marianna.
The soldiers shot with laserbullets and missed her by inches.
Just as she reached the gate, which lead her to the woods, something hit her left leg, she lost her footing and tumbled on the dirty ground.
But she knew if she wouldn´t get up, she was as good as dead.
With a little difficulties she managed to stand on her feets and she ran further in the woods.
She could hear the soldiers, they were nearby and that was so not good.
The adrenalin pumped strong through her veins and her heart pummeled hard against her chest.
But she couldn´t give up now, not if she wanted to live.
Althrough she had no idea where she could go or where she was, but her feet carried her through the woods, past the hugh trees and the little bushes.
Suddenly Mariannas left foot yielded and before she could catch herself, she fell down a hillside, which lead to a little lake.
Like a puppet she turned almost all the way down, before a trunk stopped her fall really painfully.
Somewhat dazed but alive she decided to stay a while on the ground to garther a little strength.
But destiny had other plans, because she could hear a soldier, which gave a order to swarm out and to encircle the murderer.
With the last strength Marianna possesed she got up of the ground and took a look around.
She thanked heaven that she knew the scenery, the sea was not far away.
But there was one probleme through, she was stuck in a pit.
In front of and behind her were solid walls of mud and the little lake couldn´t give her safety.
She would surely manage to arrive on the other side of the lake, but the soldiers would have free access to kill her.
She had to find a way to get to the sea without to be discovered by the soldiers.
Suddenly Marianna remembered the tunnel which Marius and her built in their earlier years.
Anywhere nearby was the entrance, but the sun was long gone and darkness engulfed her.
Slowly she leant her whole body on the dirty walls behind her and tiptoed quitely to the right, always careful not to make a noise.
A few minutes and much more pain later, Marianna found finally the entrance to the tunnel.
Relief and Happiness spread through her aching body.
Just as she wanted to make her way to the entrance, she noticed that somebody stood exactly above her.
Carefully she pressed her body flush against the wall and stopped breathing.
With her right hand she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart.
After sometime the person left, hopefully sure that nobody was there.
Marianna could breath again and with shaking hands she tried to wipe the sweat off of her forehead.
That was indeed the most awful moments of her life.
One minute later and she would have pissed in her pants.
Now she had to wait until she could be sure that she was alone.
The waiting was slowly killing her, every body part screamed of pain at her, now that the adrenaline was ebbing away.
But she was the freedom so near now that she couldn´t give up.
After not hearing stomping feets or speaking voices Marianna scratched all of her strenght and made her way to the entrance.
Just as she wanted to crawl in the little hole a voice behind her startled her.
" Stop or I´m forced to kill you!".
Real slowly Marianna turned to the voice of her brother Nikolai, which stood on the hillside, his weapon directed at her.
Tears gathered in her eyes, not only had her father killed her mother and accussed her, but her brother would be her death.
Marianna closed her eyes and waited for death to come.
A loud bang penetrated the air around her and she expected every moment the bullet which would end her life.
But nothing happened, no pain (besides the pain from earlier), no scratch, no nothing.
Slowly Marianna opened her eyes again and stared unbelieving at her brother.
He couldn´t have shoot aside, because he was the best shooter of the whole kingdom and he could hit a object from a great distance.
But a look in his face showed her the reason for his miss.
With his left hand he gave her a signal to bolt.
Marianna cried a little for joy, blew a kiss to her brother and made her way through the tunnel.
Even from afar she could hear how he told the other soldiers that he had the subject elimitated.
For the first time she had the feeling that she would make it, if her limbs would carry her to the sea that is.
Much dirt and thousands of bugs later she got to the end of the tunnel and finally she could smell the sea.
It was a wonderful feeling, nobody was nearby and the pier was deserted.
Limping and totally exhausted Marianna made her way to the boats which where tied to the pier.
After she found one which would not be missed, she untied it and jumped in.
The waves would bring her to a new home and to a new life.
On that thought her mind gave up and she fainted dead away.
TBC