Brighid struggled to get on her feet, even when feeling the pressure of two hands gripping her shoulders. She blinked, drowsy eyes taking in her surroundings. Judging by the lack of natural light, it was the middle of the light. Her oil lamp sat on the small table beside her bed. That little furniture must have been the least expensive item in the whole palace.

"Princess Brighid!"

The girl finally arose, sitting up on her bed. She opened her eyes, and saw Fionn, her father's steward, standing before her bed.

"Oh, you are finally awake" Fionn said, whipping his brow "You need to follow me."

The urgency in the steward's voice was quite uncharacteristic of him. For any of the royal stuff, for that matter. She let her feet touch the ground and rose from her bed. She gestured to her lavish wardrobe, but Fionn shook his head.

"No time for changing, I'm afraid," he said and opened the door. He walked out before Brighid could respond. So she followed.

Even with such urgency, the steward followed the necessary protocol for royal staff. He crossed his hands behind his back, as was customary for higher-rank stewards.

That was the only sense of normalcy that Brighid could pick up on. In front of her, everything was what she could only describe as chaos.

Members of the royal staff were trotting here and there, crossing different doors. They barely regarded them, as they were all running towards one place: the main hall.

Something was definitely afoot. She tried to get some information out of Fionn, but the steward seemed occupied with his thoughts.

The oil lamps illuminated the halls as they continued walking. Thousands and thousands of lights, observing them. Brighid gathered up courage and looked towards the large blue windows. Despite the dye, Brighid could make out a few figures coming from the garden. Their gardening utensils were left amongst the grass, as they skidded into the castle. 

The silence may have dominated the streets beyond that. Inside the castle, however, all was but peaceful.

Brighid and Fionn arrived at the main hall, which was filled with just about a thousand faces. They all stood with tense, rigid postures. And they all turned to look at her.

She tried not to look at them too much, overwhelmed by such attention. She moved her way through the crowd with the help of Fionn. A few steps away, she could make out two figures. Both were wearing sleeping garments and looked even more exhausted than the rest. 

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Queen and King. Something in them was off.

Her mother was laying on her throne. Her head seemed about to fall into her clenched fists, that were gripping the cloth around her knees. She seemed about to collapse, and so did her father. Yet he was standing, trying to calm the disturbances. Brighid contemplated the crib that was in front of them. Empty.

"We shall calm down" the steward said, with a thin voice. One of the gardeners made his way closer to the royal family, and he was pushed aside by the guards. 

The crib. Empty and alone at the centre of everyone. The loss exposed for everyone to see. S

She felt someone grab her shoulder and looked up. Her mom had stood up and was now holding her tightly. She was pale but managed to look serene. Her stare seemed to keep everything in place.

Even if her sister wasn't there.

"Where is Tailtu?" Brighid demanded.

She was met with no answer. Her mom stopped holding her shoulder and instead focused on the crowd. Brighid contemplated her mother, a symbol of peace and perseverance. The Alliance was maintained for centuries, and will continue for aeons.

The queen cleared her throat.

"Dear staff. Dear...citizens" she said, while her husband was discussing something with Fionn "As you may have already known, we are gathered here to communicate...that our child, Tailtu, has been captured".

Everyone kept silent, inviting her to finish.

"Captured" she repeated, "by pirates."

The people continued their conversations but were again interrupted, this time by the King. Brighid stood up, and she could tell everyone was now looking at her. She felt tears on her eyes. This...this couldn't be happening.

She met her father's eyes. She was telling her to sit down. Yet she couldn't.

"Why is nobody doing anything?" she yelled, looking at the crowd, trying to find...something. 

Anything that would give her a clue to where her sister was. Something that could save their family from collapsing.

"Little Brighid" Fionn said, now inches away from her. He was holding some type of cloth in his hands.

How did he get there so fast? One minute ago he was talking with my father.

Brighid looked at him, then down at the cloth. 

"The suspects were captured but one of our setaneese. Sir Jones has alerted the rest of the Aquamarine force, but by the time they got to the docks, it was too late." 

Brighid took a step back. She felt the eyes of the multitude of people scanning her. She felt like an animal out in a castle as if she was a wild beast and everyone was waiting for her next move.

She tried to listen to every single conversation, knowing very well that was impossible. So she repeated, this time higher.

"Will somebody do anything? My sister is missing!" 

She heard some ruffle, as Fionn approached her once more. The multitude was now a blurry speck of blue tones. They were the beasts, not doing anything to save her sister. She began crying, yet the sound was muffled. She felt Fionn's hand gripping her wrist, and bringing her down the hallway. 

She had been silenced by that cloth. Had been gagged and silenced, by her own people.

No. By her parents.

She could feel the stares of the people as she was carried away by Fionn to her dorm. 

Moments later, she was tossed into her room. She was still gagged when she heard the sound of a key, metal against metal, closing the door.

And everything fell to black.