text: [Themes: grimdark fantasy, grimdark, female protagonist]
  
  It took a steeling of the heart to find the courage to find the determination to voice out her next words.
  
  "Juliette, I don't want to lock myself up ever again from the world."
  
  Sophia stood up from her seat, balling her hands to fists. She wouldn't let herself be at the mercy of her sisters torment. If their father dying was enough incentive for the two of them to want to claim her life, then she would rob them of theirs. There was no reservations, it was expected of royalty to eat one another like lions if the king lion himself found himself killed.
  
  "You're crying, your highness."
  
  Of course she was crying. Sophia was disappointed that this was how things were. She didn't want to have to fight for her life, nor did she want to have to kill her own family just so that she could live.
  
  The crown wasn't something that she wanted, and yet, there was no other path.
  
  Suddenly there's loud sounds of confrontation that drown the usual tavern/inn music, before said music completely stops. The two young woman exchange similar looks of confusion, hearing footsteps approaching their room, before stopping at their door.
  
  "Girly, we know you're in there! Come on out and we won't have to get rough with you!"
  
  "Heh-heh, no promises. I might get a little too excited!"
  
  "Settle down! We don't want to scare them too much."
  
  Juliette immediately rushed over to the drawer, rummaging through it quickly in an alarmed state. It was only seconds that she was now brandishing a small blade. However against an unknown number of men that were presumably more armed and even dressed in appropriate wears for a battle, it wasn't much.
  
  "Princess, please go through the window, okay? And do not not stop moving. It's unfortunate but it seems we've been found by men that the highnesses have hired."
  
  Sophia was at a loss. "You can still call them by their titles?"
  
  "Be that as it may, princess, you must leave now! I will distract them! There's no time for any arguments pertaining to titles and the like!" Juliet shot back as a piece of wood sailed from the room from the force of the door currently being roughed up from its hinges as the strange men made their attempts of breaching it.
  
  Sophia could only look back and forth between the window and the door, as seconds ticked by.
  
  This was a choice that hinged on the lines between life or death it seems.
  
  > stay With Juliette
  Had the other woman gone mad and lost all of her sanity?
  
  Even if Sophia were to leave her, just what would she do? There was a very slim chance of Juliette being able to hold off a group of men, and that meant she could very well be killed, or much worse. If that happened to be the case, and even if she were able to get away, how would she even go upon feeding herself and surviving? Surely, someone of her stature could be well, but the sadness of her attendant dying a meaningless death in some ratty tavern would no doubt prove to be a hinder on her emotional state, to say the least.
  
  Yes, that was the reason why Sophia Nevermore was turning around, despite a part of her that wanted to very much just get away from this situation. However, if that meant potentially leaving her loyal attendant to sacrifice herself, she had a better plan in mind.
  
  "Princesss, what are you doin--"
  
  "Silence! If you don't want yourself, or your princess dying here before we can truly begin, then listen to my orders!"
  
  Juliette was stunned into silence, seeing this side of the princess springing into action. So she awaited orders, and waited some more as she stared at Sophia to finally say what course of action for them to be taking. Time was indeed of the essence after all, and quite frankly there were a lack of choices that she could find herself making to keep themselves both alive.
  
  "What do you say that we do, Juliette? Die together perhaps?"
  
  The attendant doesn't at first react, trying to see if she perhaps misheard the other women speaking. However as the seconds passed, that didn't seem likely.
  
  "Ah, well," There's more banging from the door, and it looks to be on it's last hinges. "We should barricade the door."
  
  Sophia nodded her head in firm agreement, moving to the desk and leaning forward with her hands on the surface.
  
  "Well, I'll need your help, then! Miss attendant." With those words spoken, the two young women moved to successfully push the beds against the door, before both using much of their combined strength to move the lone desk in the room against the doorway as well, providing some obstacles to prevent the door from easily being able to be opened from the other side.
  
  While Juliette stared at their handiwork, Sophia quickly paced the room, bundling the bed sheets under her arms, before beginning the process of tying them to the window.
  
  "Let's not waste a second any more in this place!"
  
  With those words spoken, the two ladies exited through the window. Landing on the side streets of the tavern without any harm yet done to their persons. So far, the situation wasn't one that was wholly hopeless.
  
  "Oi! There they are!"
  
  As if spoken too soon, the hired thugs were instantly moving to ensnare them again. Loose arrows sailed over their heads, as they ran as fast as they could. It was difficult moving with a dress, a thought that flittered through the princess's mind before she decided it was a thought that she didn't want to think again.
  
  Rip, rip, rip
  
  Sophia threw the tatters of her dress in the face of one of the hired men chasing her, which had the result of making him slam into a barrel and trip up two of his allies. It also provided the two young women with another window to get on both of their horses and speed their way through the night, putting the horrible events of the night away from them. However they both knew it was only temporarily, as tomorrow they would no doubt be faced with an important decision to make.
  
  > Continue
  Camping, making camp, this is what they called what Sophia and Juliette were doing.
  
  Both women would no doubt be more excited if there weren't a multitude of men out to get them at the behest of Sophia's sisters, Aline, and Ceciline. For all intents and purposes, they were in a much better state of being than the both of them. No doubt they had their own castle to fire off such orders as having Sophia captured, and of course having able bodied individuals to carry out and bring these orders into being.
  
  Now Sophia Nevermore and Juliette, chased out from their lodgings, were now in hiding in a wilderness. It really was only a matter of time before the enemies would start picking up on any trails left behind, so they didn't have a wealth of time of doing anything besides making a modest fire and eating the last of their provisions which consisted of bread that was now stale.
  
  It's been even more days since Sophia's father been killed by someone from her family.
  
  She didn't want to believe it, but it was now a certain reality.
  
  There was no further persons in her bloodline to turn to. If she was to even turn in the direction of her family, she would now have to be prepared to defend her life.
  
  "We need men of our own," Sophia spoke out-loud, feeding a small piece of wood to further feed their flame.
  
  "Remember, not too much, your highness. We're in hiding from some rather dangerous people from the sounds of it." Juliette hugged her knees, her face pondering. "Yes, for protection, that would be nice."
  
  "Yes, we have to pay those twins a visit."
  
  "Come again?"
  
  "Juliette, how long will we run for our lives? What's next for us? Do we allow ourselves to be chased to the point in which we're living in holes on the ground, only coming up to eat worms? I say that we should repay my sisters kindness and hospitality. They've sent such unsavory men after us, so I do feel it is only right."
  
  For her part, Juliette looked hesitant with the proceedings of this conversation, before Sophia covered both of her hands with her own, and looked into her eyes with the greatest amount of honesty she felt that an individual could muster.
  
  "I can't do this alone, as you may already know. So, will you help me as you always have thus far?"
  
  "Yes, of course, your highness."
  
  With that affirmation, the two woman would conspire in that wilderness for potential allies to recruit to their banner.
  
  > employ a militia
  It's decided by the two girls that going with sellswords is the best choice of action. The reason being that their lack of loyalty to any specific group or king would make them ideal in a situation such as theirs. What better way to deal with the mercenaries that were after them, than with facing them with mercenaries of their own?
  
  However, it would take bleeding dry all of their available purses to do so.
  
  What's also decided is that both Juliette and Sophia would procure these new troops together. Thus with traveling cloaks on, the two noblewomen disperse from the wilderness that they were in at the first fall of the sun.
  
  After an hour or two of asking around for where the local militias are located, the two noblewomen find themselves in the dregs of the town. People are starving, some people look mean, and ready to kill with a glance. It's all sobering for Sophia, who at this point never traveled to such places before. Her routes were usually in the upper parts of the kingdom, where the royal guards were around every corner to stop the rare crime. But now with a dead king, and splintered off nobles fighting for the right to claim themselves as the king, most places were beginning to look like the lower areas of the kingdom.
  
  "This is so unbecoming,"
  
  "Hmm? What do you mean, your highness?"
  
  "Is this really the Rose Kingdom? It doesn't even smell like rose petals are around every corner, and if they are, they're clearly withering away."
  
  "Well, you can say that the wealth isn't equally distributed."
  
  It was an understatement. If the young princess had only known, if she wasn't blind in her ignorance, she wouldn't want to see such a wide disparity of quality when it came to compare parts of the kingdom to each other. No, it wasn't a moral thing, not at all. It was just displeasing to the eye in an aesthetic sense.
  
  Regardless of feelings, both Sophia and Juliette would soon be audience of a bunch of men drinking their merry fill of liquor. But at the sight of the two women, some of them sobered up, and one man in particular was soon staring them down.
  
  "You girls the entertainment? I must say that I prefer more meat on my women, but you'll both do."
  
  The first thing that either of them notice is the absolute stench of liquor on his breath. The mercenary is clearly inebriated on some level. Especially so if he was confusing two women of respectable pedigree with common floozies that could be bought with cheap prices. It was both insulting and infuriating to Sophia, and she would have made known her displeasure if Juliette didn't carefully watch her and decide to quickly swoop in and begin speaking on the behest of them both.
  
  "Actually, we're hoping we can inquire on the fee of your services. I'm Juliette, and can I have your name?"
  
  "Paul." The man answered in a matter of fact tone. The prospect of work sobering him up a bit.
  
  "Well Paul, we need some assistance with a rather serious matter."
  
  "Can you cut to the point, missy?"
  
  "We're having trouble with two associates with ours, the highnesses, Aline and Ceceline."
  
  Paul regards Juliette as if she just told him that the sky was raining candy. In an act of brutishness, he begins to dig his finger in his air, grimacing at what comes out of said ear before flicking it off to the side. His eyes are then to the neighboring men that were near him, who all nod in his silent question on whether or not what he heard was indeed correct.
  
  "Wait, hold on there, missy. You're basically telling us to attack royalty! We're traveling nomads, you see! Right now the kingdom is in a bit of a disarray because there's, well, no king to lead it, but afterwards? You're telling us to put that many eyes on us?"
  
  Paul's man look on, nodding their heads in agreement, and Juliette looks like she's losing ground.
  
  "Of course we'll pay you handsomely for the troub--"
  
  "Yeah, of course you were going to pay us to begin with, right? You girls didn't come here looking for charity, did you!?" The mercenary captain's comments sets off a chorus of laughter from his men, which he of course is in the process of doing himself; laughing.
  
  Sophia Nevermore on the other-hand had heard enough, as she reveals her prized brooch.
  
  Instantly she's met with a stunned silence.
  
  The brooch glistens brightly in the low-light building that housed the mercenaries. It was a sign of her nobility, and an important keepsake from her late mother who had departed from this world. Once again, the woman who could no longer speak words to her was still providing a great assistance to her even from beyond her own noble grave.
  
  "I, Sophia Nevermore, demand you all shut up and listen! We are no mere women. I have the power to instill you all with knighthood! Aren't you all tired of not having a true home to rest your heads, being simple travelers to die at any lord's command with nothing in return!? We don't have much in terms of money to offer you now, but our enemies are in no doubt a comfortable cozy castle that we can steal for ourselves! So, what say you?"
  
  Tears well in Juliette's eyes, but she quickly wipes them away with her sleeve. What was this feeling? Proudness?
  
  Paul on the other hand still looks like he wants to be further convinced, but one gaze casted on his fellow men who were now completely sobered up by the offer on the table that were offered to them, told him all that he needed to know. This was a bit of a proposition that many of his many would possibly begrudge him.
  
  But he finally relents with a slumping of his shoulders.
  
  "Damn it, fine! But any plans go through me, but your suggestions will heavily be factored in. There's much preparations to be made, now that we're attacking a castle and all. Gonna need a plan and all, you do know that, right, princess?"
  
  Sophia and Juliette now sat in one of the furnished bed rooms of the rented out building of Paul's mercenaries. They each are silent as they plop down on the same bed instinctively.
  
  "A-Ah! I'm sorry, your highness! I'll get up n-no--"
  
  The princess quickly grabs her hand, stopping the other woman from getting up out of the bed and leaving. It's only through this action that the attendant notices just how much her highness is shaking.
  
  "Don't you even dare, Julienne!" Sophia hisses, burying her face into the woman's shoulder. I truly thought my heart would leap from my chest, hit the wall, and then splatter on the ground. For that reason, you're staying with me here tonight, or at least until my hearts calms down with its incessant beating out of my chest, understand?"
  
  "Yes, anything you require."
  
  Sophia Nevermore's heart did calm down, but her hold on Juliette was not something that was easily relinquished. And so, the night continued downstairs, while the two woman soon found themselves slumbering.
  
  At least until the dawn of a new day.
  
  > Battle Preparations
  It's at the wee hours of the morning that Sophia and Juliette are woken up out of their slumber by the clanging of metal and steel. Both women exchange confused glances, but ultimately it is Juliette that rises from the bed first. She was used to waking up early after all to make her preparations in being a proper attendant to her highness. A change of scenery or even sound in this instance, wouldn't do much to impede on her internal clock.
  
  "..A-are we being attacked? Did we.. choose the wrong band of rogues?" Sophia questioned tiredly, barely coming out of her sleep as it was. She was used to sleeping in for all manner of hours if she could get away with it.
  
  Juliette only would shake her head at the question with a knowing smile fixed on her face.
  
  "No, I don't believe that to be the case, your highness. However, perhaps we should get up and see what it's about?"
  
  "I don't wanna."
  
  "Ah, but we must, don't you think so?"
  
  "Gimme another five minutes, please."
  
  Before any potential statement on the contrary of her being able to lay back in the bed without a care, Sophia Nevermore grabbed two pillows and sunk back in the sheets, trying not to let the piercing cacophony impede on her valuable beauty rest.
  
  "Is the little princess still not awake yet? Time is money for us sell-swords, if you weren't aware, missus."
  
  "Missus?" Juliette quirked an eyebrow, but nevertheless fished for an appropriate statement. "Her highness has told me that she wants to get changed alone."
  
  With that reply, the conversation between Juliette, the ever faithful attendant, and Paul Kirsch, the alcoholic of a mercenary, any talking briefly stalled. The silence between the two was not an awkward one by any means, with Juliette being more than happy to drink in this new 'rough and tough' environment, and Paul being able to take a more sizable gulp from his flask with this lull.
  
  "Urgh, I'm used to more than just bread for the morning. I hope you're aware of that, sir."
  
  Sophia finally made her grand entrance, heading down the stairs into the main room of the building that the mercenaries chose for their temporary headquarters. The young princess was still wrapping her mind around all of the recent happenings to say the least. It was only a week prior ago that the only thing she had to worry about were her sisters incessant rude behavior whenever she so happened to cross their paths upon exiting her room.
  
  Now she had to worry about her sister's incessant rude behavior when it came to her being able to breathe of her own volition.
  
  "You're late. Do you blue-blooded types always take your time like this? You notice that all of men are already up and about, getting ready for this skirmish of ours. Some of them won't return alive, so they're taking in every second as much as they can."
  
  Sophia visibly sighed, thinking how this was certainly going to be a long ordeal.
  
  "Of course, but first we need a plan of action, right?"
  
  > attack the castle at early morning
  "I'm aware that you have more experience than me when it comes to this sort of thing, but I do have a suggestion."
  
  Sophia began, taking a cup of coffee offered to her by Juliette, taking a sip, before taking a seat with all of the grace she could muster as a princess. Whether or not some considered her royalty or not, that wouldn't be in doubt no more once the events of today will transpire. Her eyes were seeing victory, despite any of the odds that could not yet be seen by her.
  
  "Go on," Paul leaned back in the chair he was occupying.
  
  "My sisters, like me, are what I would not refer to as morning maidens. I'm sure that even now, they're throwing their vulgar parties, thinking that my capture will be easy. I doubt that they think that I could possibly come to them instead."
  
  "And where are you going with this?" Paul questions along.
  
  Sophia smiles, thinking that she's possibly come up with the greatest idea. "We'll attack them now."
  
  "Umm, now?" Juliette tilts her head.
  
  "Yes, now."
  
  "Now, as in right this moment now?"
  
  "Ummm, yes...?"
  
  Paul sighs, slumps his shoulders, realizes he stood up upon hearing his current employer's plan, before allowing himself to fall carelessly back down in his seat, once again taking another swig from his flask.
  
  Sophia immediately frowned at this sight, placing both of her hands on her hips as she regarded the older individual.
  
  "Is there something wrong with what I'm saying? If it is indeed so, please enlighten me to the specifics of any wrongs that you may see with this plan of mine."
  
  Paul rubbed at the stubble on his chin, having to make himself remember that he had to be respectful and polite in some manner.
  
  "Well, what makes this other group of swords different than our own? Hell, that might have more of an advantage because there is there lodgings that we're attacking. We might find ourselves staring down fireballs, or chased by many manner of creature. You see where I'm going with this, right?"
  
  Sophia for her part could only stare in a manner of disbelief.
  
  "So much reservations, do you have any other plan?"
  
  "Give me a night, and I can think of on--"
  
  "Sorry, may I but in?" Juliette spoke up, hand raised, and upon receiving nods of affirmation from both parties she spoke. "I think there might be merits in attacking now. But, I do implore that we move on the side of caution and try our best in not being detected until we're able to breach castle grounds."
  
  Paul swept a tongue across hus teeth, arms crossing.
  
  "So now we're also sneaking? I prefer more direct approaches, and so do many of my men as well."
  
  Sophia blinked, and then shrugged.
  
  "Then train them and yourself to practice restraint. It's simple, no? Learning a new thing."
  
  Paul was now the one looking at both of the women before him with a look of disbelief. For women that supposedly grew up in a palace, they were odd ones. But then again, there were many odd eccentric nobles that he had met in his lifetime.
  
  "Fine, damn it. I'll get my men ready for an early assault."
  
  With an early advantage given to Sophia's group, there's plenty of more dead men of her sister than hers. Still, she's in the thick of things, despite Juliette's insistence that she'd be anywhere else but the battlefield. If the other woman had it her way, she would be in another kingdom entirely, rather than witnessing all of the blood being spilled on her behalf.
  
  She wished for thus, and so, it was happening.
  
  If things didn't have to reach this point, Sophia would have been more than happy.
  
  Although their earlier advantage had led to them Paul's mercenaries being able to quite literally kill their enemies while they were unaware, or even before some had time to put on their armor, however with the enemy's assistance of magical items, the battle was becoming a more even affair.
  
  Magic swords that can create a mini blizzard, or a tornado of flames. All of this would be such a marvel and treat to the ideas if the results and the aftermath of the bodies that met these weapons weren't so... harrowing.
  
  "So this is what a battle is like," Sophia mused out-loud, to nobody in particular.
  
  There was nobody besides her at the moment.
  
  Apparently her sisters had employed a few mages despite their high price (information given to Sophia by Paul) so even if they were to manage a victory on this day, there probably wouldn't be much in terms of silver and gold for them to all benefit from.
  
  All it had taken was one giant boulder of rock being formed into existence by two hooded figure to break the main formation of Sophia, Juliette, and the mercenary captain, Paul. There was a slight shiver that of course ran down her spine, but it was a feeling that needed to be shaken off if she were to survive.
  
  There were footsteps now approaching, and as Sophia whirled her head around, she saw only two available paths for her to take.
  
  Once again, things were do or die for the young conquering princess.
  
  > move through the foyer
  Sophia moves through the foyer, not liking the feeling the other choice placed in her stomach. There was no way she could even fathom hiding amongst the dead that was on the ground. The moment that she would begin making choices like that, it was also the moment in which she would have to start questioning her own humanity.
  
  "I can't believe that I ended up alone, though." She mused.
  
  The princess takes tentative steps forward, not enjoying the sounds of how her own footsteps echoed. People were dying below her, and yet, such a thing did not feel real when it was so eerily quiet.
  
  ---x
  
  How unaware she was, of how anything truly worked.
  
  The young princess wanders right into the path of a wizard who stood watching her above.
  
  He's silent in his incantation, but he casts a haze of confusion.
  
  She wanders into her sister's clutches and is taken hostage.
  
  The things done to her are better left unsaid.
  
  But ah, she's kept in chains, enslaved.
  
  It is said that the two sisters now keep a very happy army of men. Their favorite place to visit seems to be a particular room in the underground cell.
  
  After she becomes too pitiful to look at, ever the gracious winners, Cecilene and Aline Nevermore ultimately have her mind completely and utterly done away with.
  
  It's an act that ultimately kills the poor thing.
  
  Some would call it fitting for a foolish princess.
  
  What says you on the matter?