Disclaimer: I don't own fable. Unfortunately, I'd have a fortune if I did!

The Riots of Bowerstone

Walter's POV

It wasn't a battle, not by any stretch of the imagination. Nor could this group of angry and scared civilians be called an army. They were a group of individuals, who now were leaderless, that were scared for their future.

But rioting? Really, how could that be helpful?

Since the reports that Lord Lucien had been killed by the great Hero, Sparrow, had arrived Bowerstone had been a disaster zone.

At first, it had been quiet. But then after a day of patrolling the streets, the glares started. Then the accusations, that our General who was just about holding Albion together, was setting himself up as a dictator. Then two days ago the riots started. Instead of gaining the training that Swift and I needed we instead had been placed into a unit and drafted out to keep order on the city streets.

Non-lethal damage we had been told to use. I wouldn't mind, if these people were not trying their hardest to harm us. I gritted my teeth as a shop I had frequented in my youth went up in flames.

"Long live Albion!" A rioter yelled, as he threw a bottle with a flaming rag toward our front lines. It smashed on impact a few feet short, flames spreading with the spray of the alcohol in the bottle.

It wasn't a battle, but that didn't mean people weren't going to die, I thought, as the fire flared up in front of us. I had no idea what had happened to Swift, I'd lost him long before this point in the riot, and I risked a quick look up and down the lines to check for my new friend. I saw him a few people down crouched down behind a box. He looked toward me and flashed me a smile.

And that's all it took. A few seconds of distraction and suddenly a sharp pain started in my abdomen. I looked down and saw an arrow imbedded in my stomach.

"Oh Balls!" I muttered before everything went black.

Annie's POV

There was a plume of smoke rising from Bowerstone as I crested the hill outside the capital city. Soon to be my capital city. I bit my lip as I watched the smoke curl up, like skeletal fingers into the cloudy, morning sky. Theresa had told me that the people of Bowerstone were rioting and I hadn't quite wanted to believe it. Not the proud, good people of Bowerstone!

However the evidence was undeniable. I could see signs of disturbance as soon as I walked into the Bowerstone Old Town. House's that had been standing since I was a child had been burnt to a chard mess, makeshift barriers cut off streets from each other and the people held guarded and very hostile expressions.

I felt sick to my stomach that my childhood home had turned to such violence in my absence and I found that all reluctance I had been harbouring since Theresa's visit had evaporated. If I could bring some solace to the people of Albion by becoming their Queen and tying myself to them then so be it.

The Town Square was devoid of life and it made me nervous. As long as I could remember this part of the city had been lively. People worked, children played tag in the streets and I was uncertain why everyone hid, until I saw the first patrol of the Albion army march by I then also noticed the damage here. It was worse than in Old Town and stretched all the way up the Fairfax Road towards the Castle.

However I was not going up there yet. But before I became Queen I had something to check. In between The Bookshop (which had boarded up windows and a pile of ash outside that looked suspiciously like books) and The Alchemists (which was in a similar state of disrepair) was my house. The door was rested against the frame, with a broken lock. It had been kicked in.

I couldn't make myself enter the property, I didn't have the courage to face the carnage. I was stood outside of the house for a long time before I heard a familiar voice say my name.

"Annie?"

I turned and felt a small smile grace my lips, "Derek. It's good to see you, Old Friend." He looked a little worse for wear, tired and battle worn.

"It's good to see you back." He reached forward and gripped my shoulder before saying, "I'm sorry about your family, Annie. By the time the alarm had been called your family were already dead."

"It's alright, Derek. I don't blame you." I tried to sooth my friend. He'd always tried to look after my family for me when I was away from home. I knew he must have felt like he'd failed. "What have I missed around here? It looks like a war-zone."

Derek sighed and ran a hand through his greying hair. "Well, the people are angry, that Lucien, a man that most respected and trusted, turned out to be a murderer. They've been trying to make The Mayor King, he's a distant cousin of Lucien apparently, and the Albion army, namely General Tulley have been stopping them."

I nodded my head and asked "Where are they held up?"

"Fairfax Castle, I believe."

"Right. I think I should go talk to this General."

Author Note: I'm so sorry how long this has taken but A-levels are an actual bitch to deal with and keep on top of, leaving little writing time. Next chapter will be arriving at some point, probably not for a couple of months though, sorry.