The cries of an infant leaked through the heavy set door and out into the dark, candle lit hallway. There were voices within the maternity ward, Lucia could make out proud and confident tones of her father, the weary congratulations of the nurses, and the exhausted, but overjoyed laughter of her step mother.

She shifted on the stone bench, kicking her feet and staring blankly at the stone wall opposite her. She wasn’t old enough to really understand the significance of being a sister, an older sister, but a part of her felt despair. With the birth of her sibling, she would never inherit the castle, the city, nor the country. If she had become queen it would have been an almost unfathomable amount of time in the future, but she had been taught to expect it, to want it, and now it would never be hers. She didn’t know what to think about that.

Lucia didn’t know if the baby was a boy or a girl, but it didn’t matter. She was now the second most important of her father’s children. Lucia didn’t remember her birth mother, but she loved her father, the prince of Pherin, and she loved the woman he had come to marry. She loved them, loved them all, but she still doubted, and that doubt still hurt. Would they forget her? Would she be pushed aside? Ignored? Discarded? Did she even matter any more?

The door creaked open, bathing the hallway in a golden, warm light. The cries of the newly born child doubled in volume and she glanced up. A man stepped out, his silhouette outlined in amber light. He held a howling bundle of cloth in his arms. The man turned and spotted her sitting alone on the bench. Her fathers icy blue eyes met her own orange gaze, then he grinned. It was in that smile that Lucia knew everything would be alright.

“Hey, Lu. Look, it's your little brother.” Erdwin Pheris said, a hand resting on the back of his son's head.

“He’s loud.” Lucia commented, staring in fascination at the baby.

Her father laughed, and the sound was full of love and free of worry. “You were just as loud, if not more so!”

Fears forgotten, she hopped off the bench and ran up to her father, leaning forward to examine the surprisingly red baby. Were all newborns so… shrivelled looking? A nurse poked her head out the open door, looking concerned, but the woman wasn’t willing to order her father around. The infant, her little brother, had a tiny tuft of blond hair, and while his eyes were closed she already knew they were brown, like his mother.

“What… What's his name?” She asked.

Erdwin suddenly looked panicked and nervously glanced over his shoulder, noticing the disapproving looking nurse lurking in the doorway. He cleared his throat, then motioned with his head for them to go back inside. “I… I’ll be honest Lu, I kind of expected another daughter…”

The nurse took the still screaming baby, then returned him to his mother. Gabriele Pheris looked exhausted, Lucia had seen her in better condition after she and her father had come home from a week long hunt in the northern foothills. Was having a baby really so much harder than battling fully grown drakes?

Gabriele shared a knowing look with her husband, then turned her slight smile to Lucia. “I thought he’d be a girl too. So did the diviners. We’ll need to double check their qualifications.”

“We need a name.” Erdwin said, rubbing the back of his head. “A name for a future king… Hmmm, this is harder than I expected.”

Lucia’s step mother chuckled softly, kissing the forehead of her unnamed son. The baby was quieting down now, it had probably tired itself out from all the wailing. “What about the name you would have gone with if Lu was a boy? I always liked that one.”

“Royce.” Her father said, nodding decisively. “Our little Roy.”

Lucia reached out with a finger, gently placing it into Roy’s palm. Her baby brother’s tiny fingers wrapped around her own. She giggled, and her father knelt down with a hand on her back, and her mother brushed a lock of Lucia’s dark hair out of her eyes. The moment stretched on, and Lucia knew that from then on, everything would be okay. What had she been worrying about anyway?

===

“Father, they’re coming. We must prepare!” Erdwin said, his palms extended as he stood before the large throne of slate grey stone.

“You dare question me, boy? You dare address me as anything other than king in this room? In my city?” Lucia’s grandfather said, the man’s wrinkled face only served to make his scowl more pronounced.

She felt a tug at the hem of her dress, and she looked down to see the familiar sight of her shadow. Roy stared up at his grandfather, trembling as he partially hid behind her. He was too young to truly comprehend what was going on, but he could feel the emotions and tension filling the expansive throne room, making the large space feel cramped and confined.

“My king-” Gabriele said, but she was cut off with a jerky motion of the king's hand.

“Silence. I did not give you permission to speak.

Erdwin tensed, and both Lucia and Roy noticed. Their father never got angry, never got violent, but the man’s fists were clenched and he grit his teeth in frustration. “The Enslavers are coming! Our scouts spotted them crossing our eastern border, and already outlying villages have been destroyed. Their legion is coming, and we are far from ready!”

A murmur rippled through the gathered crowd, and Lucia felt fear take hold of her heart. Those within the throne room were her relatives, her aunts, uncles, cousins and more distant members of her family. The nobility of Pherin were likewise present, the representatives of the old houses could feel the quaking of their foundations. Roy mumbled a question, but she hushed him to silence.

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The king leaned back, his scowl morphing into a sneer. “We are the kingdom of Pherin. Our country is as ancient as the stone beneath our feet. No… incursion of ants will threaten us.”

“They are threatening us right now! Their armies have been invading Varan and Epidor for the past few years, and only with the empire’s help have they been able to hold-”

“Varan is weak.” The king said dismissively. “They bicker among themselves as much as they fight back against the ants. We do not need the empire. We are strong enough without them.”

“Father- My king, we are the lesser party in an alliance. Our relationship with Mekrys is strained after-”

“We are independent! I will not see my land, my people, be put under the thumb of foreign dogs who are themselves little better than vassals of the southern dragons! We are not beholden to the emperor of Mekrys, we are not beholden to their laws, and we are most certainly not beholden to their oaths. They asked for our assistance in the east, and we denied them. I denied them. I will not debase myself by asking for help now.”

“Father, that is foolish, we are not-”

“You are not! Where is your pride, boy? Where is your confidence in our strength? How can my successor have such little faith in the bastion that are our walls? Pherin has held back the blighted plants, the goblin swarms and the beast packs for centuries. We will hold now.”

Lucia’s father took a deep breath, then opened his mouth to respond.

“Quiet.” The king commanded, and all noise within the hall stilled. “I have made my decree. I will not be questioned further. We will prepare. But we will not run. Is my decision clear?”

===

Lucia stood at the tallest point of the tallest tower of the castle her family called home, and watched, trembling, as the army of dark figures stood unmoving outside the distant city walls. She had to stand on her tiptoes to see over the stone ledge of the tower, and she strained for every extra millimetre of height. Below she could see hundreds of people running frantically through the city streets. From her vantage they looked so small, just like ants.

She didn’t know the intricacies of battle, she hadn’t been taught the way of war. So she watched in horrified fascination as her country's defenders lit up the battlements of the outer wall with a thousand different skills, each flashing a kaleidoscope of colours. The army in black moved blocks of soldiers forward, only to have them pull back as ranged skills were launched towards them. It was like a dance, and Lucia had no clue how so many people were so perfectly coordinated.

In the north distant lights lit up the clouds. She desperately tried to get a better look, but it was to no avail. The battle in the sky was too far away, but she knew who was fighting. The heroes of Pherin, adventurers and soldiers who had sworn before her grandfather that they would lay down their lives to defend their home from the invaders.

The distant battle ebbed, then stopped entirely. Lucia’s heart raced, they must have won. In the little girl’s mind there was no other outcome. A single figure flew out of the clouds, and she jumped up and down to try and make out which hero it was. As she did so, bells started tolling. She frowned, unsure why the alarm was being tolled. Weren’t they safe? What could be so-

A beam of dark blue light flashed out from the distant figure, and in an instant a chunk of the city’s outer wall was obliterated, carved through like a knife through a cake. Lucia fell back, screaming as the city shook. Her screams were echoed by the people all throughout Pherin. She stumbled to her feet and sprinted down the stairs. She needed to find her parents. She needed to find Roy. Only together would they be safe.

The world continued to shake.

===

The Royal family of Pherin fled through ancient tunnels as their people were butchered.

===

Lucia’s recollection of their flight through the countryside was a blur of fear, aches, and desperation. As they travelled south, they encountered other groups of fleeing refugees. One night she and her brother huddled inside a tent as violence broke out within the makeshift camp they had joined up with. Gabriele hugged both her children tightly, whispering soothing words into their ears as she tried to distract them from the screams and the clashing of weapons. They were led away in the morning, both children instructed not to open their eyes. After that, they weren’t lacking for supplies.

They spent a month in a coastal city she didn’t remember the name of. She saw her family meet with all manner of officials and representatives, and she couldn’t help but notice how her grandfather’s attitude shifted when people from the empire offered them a way out. She didn’t mention it, instead Lucia kept her head down and took care of her brother. Her parents weren’t around often anymore, both of them were too busy trying to keep the situation under control.

This only became worse once they arrived in the imperial capital of Mekrylis. Weeks would go by without her seeing anyone from her family in the grand estate they now dwelled. They lived in luxury, but something was wrong. Her grandfather found the largest room in the estate and turned it into a throne room. He was angrier now, they all were. Even her father was more distant, and her step mother less friendly.

She missed them. The real them. But at least she had Roy.

Years passed, and the people her grandfather invited to the estate grew less and less reputable. Their smiles and mannerisms were less sincere, and their intentions were never honest or straightforward.

One night a great celebration was held, and Lucia and Roy were told that they would be able to go home. Her grandfather led a toast to the reclamation of their homeland. She was relieved, things were finally going up, things would finally go back to normal. The celebration continued well beyond that first night. For days it continued, then weeks, then months. Her relatives made promises and purchases they would never have before, all under the assumption that their kingdom would be theirs once again.

Lucia believed them. She believed that the expedition would be successful. That the risks they had taken and the expenses they had paid would be worth it. How could they possibly fail? The Academy had assigned their newest Blade to the expedition, not to mention a former imperial commander, and hero from the Enslaver war. Perhaps things would turn out for the best? Opportunity often followed disaster they had said. When house Pheris rebuilt their home, it would be better than ever.

She had believed until her father came into her and Roy’s room one night and wept. His once strong arms shook as he held his children to his chest. He mumbled sobbing apologies into her shoulder, and she didn’t know what to do. In the dark of early morning they snuck out, Erdwin and Gabriele guiding them to a boat, promising to come find them soon.

She gripped the side of the ship as they sailed away, Roy waving to their parents as they grew more and more distant. Only she noticed the trail of smoke rising in the direction of their borrowed home. And only she saw as armed men ran onto the dock. She didn’t see what happened next, she hadn’t been brave enough.

And just like that, Lucia and Roy were alone.