In the giant ballroom, where the nobles had been gathered, Cynen and Coleridge met in the middle. Their forces had swept through, eliminating all of the assassins, and subduing the guards.
"It looks like the room's clear," Coleridge said, glancing around. "Shall we move to the halls?"
About to agree, Cynen suddenly froze, her cloth-covered eyes turning to look into the distance, as if she could see straight through the walls that surrounded them.
"No," she said, her voice quiet, but intense. "Gather everyone, and prepare to evacuate. We need to get out of the palace as soon as possible."
In the small room, where Garrett was monitoring everything, his eyes snapped open, and he looked at Ryn. "I need you to head down to the basement," he said, "and find a way into the room with the mysterious artifacts. When I give a command, you need to take down that massive crystal."
"What about you?" Ryn asked. "If I'm not here, who's gonna protect you?"
"I can protect myself," Garrett said.
Though Ryn clearly didn't like the idea of leaving Garrett alone, she bit her lip and nodded, and a moment later was gone. Garrett pushed himself forward, rolling to the door leading into the next room, which he opened and passed through. When he arrived at the next door, he hesitated for a moment, and then grabbed the handle and threw it open, only to find himself face-to-face with Edward and the Queen, who both froze when they saw him.
"Your Majesty, you're safe," Garrett said, his face pale. "There are enemies everywhere."
Even as he spoke, his eyes took in the carnage in the room behind them, and he blanched further.
A frustrated expression flickered across Edward's face as he stared at Garrett. He had been hoping to find help, but instead, all he had found was the Queen's crippled friend.
"Are you okay?" The Queen asked as she approached Garrett.
"Yes. Thankfully, I was near the door, but the fighting in the ballroom was intense.”
“We can chat while we're moving," Edward said, his eyes scanning, heading towards a door that would lead into the hall. "Come on, we need to get out of the palace as soon as possible."
Seeing Garrett struggle to wheel himself along, the Queen grabbed the handles of his wheelchair to push him. But at that moment, the door that Edward had been about to open was destroyed, causing him to stumble backward as he warded off the splinters of wood flying through the air. Four Royal Guard rushed through the door, spreading out to surround Edward and the others.
Gritting his teeth, Edward launched himself forward, attacking immediately as he tried to catch them off guard. He managed to hit one of them in the chest, throwing him back out into the hall. But another of the Royal Guards jumped towards him, slashing down with his sword, while the other two ran towards the Princess and Garrett. Desperate to protect the Princess, Edward tried to retreat. But the Royal Guard he was fighting pressed in, not letting him get away.
"Take them both alive."
Just before the Royal Guards arrived in front of the Princess and Garrett, a sinister voice spoke from the hall, and the two Royal Guard abandoned their attacks, instead, grabbing the Princess and Garrett roughly.
A figure stepped into the room from the hall, hands behind his back, his face covered by a sinister mask, and his body shrouded in a long crimson cloak. The mask, which covered the man's entire face, was comprised of a single vertical eye that glowed with an eerie red light, and caused everyone who looked upon it to shiver. Cold and clammy air surrounded the man, filling the room and causing everyone's movements to slow.
"Bring them along," the sinister figure commanded, and the two Royal Guard began to drag Garrett and the Queen away.
Edward let out a furious shout, but before he could intervene, half a dozen more Royal Guard rushed into the room, driving him back. Every time he tried to break free, they would surround him, keeping him from escaping.
The masked man looked at Edward for a moment, and then turned on his heel, walking calmly out of the room, as the struggling Queen and Garrett were dragged away after him.
Garrett's wheelchair lay on its side, abandoned in the corner of the room, while Edward desperately fought for his life. The halls were filled with the same clammy mist that surrounded the crimson-masked man. The Queen couldn't help but shiver as they walked along them.
Everywhere Garrett looked, he saw destruction and sensed nightmares. It seemed as if the entire palace had been invaded by them. As they passed by an open doorway, they could see half-transformed servants engaged in a macabre feast. One of the monsters heard them and turned its head. It appeared to have once been a maid, but now her eyes had fused together in the center of her face, transforming into a giant crimson eye, much like the one on the mask of the red-cloaked man. She held a gristly arm, torn from the body at her feet, and blood dripped down from her chin. When she saw the man in the red cloak, her hiss transformed into a cry of fear, and she cowered back, clearly frightened of the power he wielded.
They continued through the palace, climbing a set of stairs, until they reached the upper chambers. Here, the situation was the same, and multiple times they passed by grotesque, half-human, half-nightmare monsters who roamed the halls. Entering a small room, Garrett and the princess were thrown on a couch, and the two guards that had dragged them along retreated to stand by the door. The masked man considered them for a moment, and then took a seat across from them.
Just then, the door opened, and four figures, wearing masks of their own, walked into the room. Unlike the man in the robe, however, they were dressed in noble's attire, allowing Garrett to immediately identify each of them. The man in front was portly, and wobbled slightly as he walked, almost as if he was drunk. As he stopped in front of the queen, he executed a sloppy bow.
"Well, hello, your majesty. You seem to have found yourself in quite a pickle." The queen's expression hardened, her eyes narrowing into a glare.
"What is the meaning of this, Baron?"
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With a laugh, Baron Gelavin removed his mask, and leered at the queen.
"This is the result of years of schemes, executed quite beautifully, if I must say so myself."
From the flush on his face, and the glassy look in his eyes, it was clear that he had been drinking heavily. Whether in celebration, or to give himself courage, Garrett didn't know.
"For years, we have been planning to seize the crown. The time of the monarch has passed, and if you had died, as you were supposed to, during the event six months ago, we wouldn't have had to stage this play you see before you. You could have saved the lives of countless innocent people. But no, you decided to cling to power, decided that it was your right to rule over the rest of us. But your pathetic attempt has failed. You couldn't even get back into power without us, and yet you wanted to lord over us. Never again will we submit to the tyrant's heel. Never again will we allow our fates to be controlled. No, if anyone is going to control others, it's going to be us." The three other masked noblemen laughed along as Baron Gelavin chuckled.
"Where is my uncle," the princess demanded. "What have you done to Duke Arkov?"
"Oh, the duke is fine, at least for the moment. He's having a nice long dream, and after he runs himself ragged, well," Baron Gelavin paused, and then drew his thumb across his neck as he flashed a vicious smile. "But rather than worry about him, you should worry about yourself. After all, he's not going to come and rescue you, and you're here by yourself."
Glancing at Garrett from the corner of her eye, the princess was stunned to find that Garrett simply wasn't there. Before she could panic, however, a calm voice spoke in her mind.
Just relax. You're safe.
Though she had no idea where Garrett's confidence came from, or where he had gone, the princess found herself calming down. Baron Gelavin didn't notice, as he turned to address the man in the crimson robe.
"Thank you for your hard work, but we can take it from here."
Slowly, the man in the crimson robe stood up, the large eye on his mask turning to stare at each of the four noblemen in turn. "What of my reward," he said, his voice causing the queen to shiver.
"You'll get your reward," Baron Gelavin said, growing annoyed. "Don't get full of yourself."
"I'm afraid it's too late for that," the man said calmly, taking a step toward the Baron. "I'm afraid it's much too late for that."
"What are you doing?!" one of the noblemen asked, reaching out to shove the man back.
Before his hand connected, the robed man moved with unearthly grace, slipping past the shove and stabbing the nobleman in the chest with the long curved dagger he had hidden. With superhuman strength, he tore the dagger free, sending a gout of blood flying up to splatter against the ceiling. Before anybody could react, he was on to the next, cutting another of the nobleman's heads from his shoulders. The third followed a moment later, the long curved dagger protruding from his forehead, the blade piercing his brain.
Slowly, the man in the crimson mask turned to face Baron Gelavin, who was shaking in terror. "You," the Baron said, but didn't manage to finish the rest of the sentence as the masked man waved his hand, slitting the Baron's throat.
"I've wanted to do that for a long time," he said, watching as Baron Gelavin clawed at his throat and then collapsed.
After the Baron stopped twitching, the masked man turned to the princess, who sat, her face pale but calm, on the couch.
"And here I thought you would have used this opportunity to try and run away," the man said.
"Could I?" the princess asked.
With a laugh, the masked man shook his head.
"Though you could have tried, you certainly wouldn't have succeeded. Your wisdom and poise continue to impress me, your majesty."
"How much longer am I going to hold that title?" the queen asked, causing the masked man to chuckle once more as he returned to sit across from her.
"That depends a bit on you and the duke," he said, the eye on his mask shifting towards a nearby doorway that hung open.
Through it, the princess saw an astounding sight. The air seemed to have been folded on itself, transformed into a prism that reflected the figure of Duke Arkov, his face filled with fury as he remained trapped in place. Despite his fierce expression, his eyes were closed, almost as if he was asleep. Stifling her urge to call out to him, Eloise knew that it would do no good. Just then, a voice sounded in her heart.
Get ready.
Though she didn't know what she was getting ready for, Eloise took a deep breath.
In the basement under the palace,the heavy door sealing the room of mysteries, swung open slowly, and a shadowy figure slipped through. "I'm finally inside," Ryn muttered, and almost immediately came the command, "Attack the artifact." She had no idea why Garrett would command such a thing, but she still obeyed, sending a wave of shadows that grew around her like two powerful wings, surging into the glowing crystal.
As soon as the shadows hit the crystal, it flashed with a bright light that nearly blinded her, and a wave of physical force ripped through the room, throwing both her and all of the mysterious artifacts against the walls. The crystal shook, and suddenly, rainbow light fused together in its center.
With a groan, Ryn struggled to her feet, and spat a glob of blood from her smashed lips.
"Oof, I'm gonna be feeling that for a week," she said, able to feel the bruises beginning to form on her body.
The crystal, which before her attack had been glowing weakly, began to burn with bright, multicolored light that reflected against the haze-covered mirror shards above it. For a moment, the haze resisted, but then, under the bright, shifting light, began to burn away, revealing the gleaming mirror surface.
Once more, all around the castle, things began to shift and change. The gloomy fog that filled the corridors rapidly evaporated. Simultaneously, scattered across the first floor, pots filled with flowers shattered and dozens of flower ghouls crawled out of them. Immediately, a new war started, this one between the flower ghouls and the nightmares that had invaded the palace.
Unlike the first battle, which had been almost completely one-sided in favor of the nightmares, this battle rapidly turned into a rout. The flower ghouls chased down the nightmares and leapt upon them, devouring their mental energy. Some of the transformed monsters tried to fight back, but any time they got close to the flower ghouls, their movements would slow. Their eyes grew entranced by the beautiful waving petals before they were savagely ripped apart, often without even resisting.
The man in the crimson mask, who sat across from the queen, let out a long hiss, unable to understand what was going on. Abruptly, he lunged across the distance that separated him from the queen, another long dagger appearing in his hand. Yet before he could stab her, the crown she wore glimmered with multicolored light, forming a shield that blocked the attack.
Screaming, she tried to scramble backwards, but he followed up with a second attack, causing the light covering her to dim. There was a savageness to his movements, and just as she feared she wouldn't be able to survive the third thrust, a long strand of hair wrapped around the masked man's arm, throwing him into the wall. The queen felt an arm wrap around her waist, and heard a soft voice at her ear.
"Your hair is beautiful, your majesty. I'd love to comb it."
Frozen in fear, Queen Eloise couldn't resist as she was lifted up off the couch, held tightly in Isabelle's arms. The masked man bounced up from where he had been thrown, his broken arm letting out cracking sounds as it twisted back into place.
"How dare you interfere," he hissed, and the eye on his mask began to wriggle.
Immediately, the air split open, and a dozen ethereal eyes appeared around him, each one filled with madness.