text: [Themes: grimdark fantasy, female protagonist]
  
  It's an absolute abhorrent thing that she was about to do, but with survival on the mind, Sophia Nevermore figured that she would get over it if she had to. Better an upset stomach, and a bad night of sleep or two from nightmares, than dying a painful and humiliating death. Yes, she would take the former any day over dying. There were still things that she had to do, things she still had to figure out, like why she was even fighting her two sisters to the death to begin with.
  
  This wasn't like any of their previous fights, with the hair being tugged, and a slap or two.
  
  Lives, theirs were in each other's hands. That was a fact as Sophia buried herself under the corpses of men, her hand feeling wet silver. There's a grimace that she really wants to make, and an uncomfortable sound or two, but she holds her breath.
  
  "Say hello to the reaper when you see 'im, fucker!"
  
  Paul remarked as he tore his broadsword through another dying man, not even sparing another glance at the falling corpse as another enemy had knocked against him with the full force of their weight, weapon, and will to continue to survive."
  
  Well unfortunately for him, his own will to live was just a little bit stronger.
  
  "Gods, bestow to me the elements of the world, and spark!"
  
  With his incantation done, with a snap of one of his fingers that was holding his sword, he shot forth a great burst of flames directly at the man who was facing him, melting his face. The smell of burning flesh was always something that made his nose crinkle just a bit, but he doesn't waste his time in driving his sword through the other man, covering his sword in even more blood of his enemies. It really was just business after all, so he had to be efficient.
  
  "Sir, look out, behind you!"
  
  It's the sound of, what was it again? Judyette's (incorrect) voice that brings him to toss a look at his blindside. True as the little attendant says, there's a mage looking to cast a spell at his direction. From the looks of it, it's another earth spell that tosses yet another unreasonably large rock at their direction.
  
  "Oi, oi, oi! Give me a damn break, will ya!?"
  
  There's not enough time for any fancy evasive maneuvers, so Paul braces himself for an attack that doesn't ever come, as an arrow sails through in the air, as if carried by the wind spirits themselves.
  
  "You're too damn bloodthirsty. What if I weren't here to save you, old man?"
  
  A green hooded figure asks, reaching for the hood that was fastened on their heads to show platinum hair and pointed ears. Green eyes also staring oppressively at the battlefield, and also their latest handiwork. It took one out of three favors that she could use for that arrow to fly true and pierce the eye of that would-be mage's.
  
  "Evie! It's just that I know I can count on your sharpshooting to pull my arse out of the jaws of death! Hahahaha!"
  
  Juliette looked utterly baffled that the man could still keep his sense of humor, even after such an event. As the attendant looked down at herself, she saw no wounds that required immediate care, but she certainly was feeling the strain and stress. But she had to be strong, despite her worry.
  
  "We still have to find her! We must!"
  
  Evie narrowed her eyes at the women's insistence, and was one step away from opening her mouth to say something snidely before she heard the boisterous voice of her captain fill the air.
  
  "Missy, I hate to break it you, but we're surrounded our own selves. We'll just have to have faith that our princess can survive on her own for a moment. I did send some of what's left of my men after her, so she shouldn't be alone too long."
  
  Juliette's worries aren't remedied in the slightest, but she nods her head anyway in order to be respectful. She did see the kindness in was doing, straying thoughts like hers would lead to her being killed, she knew that. However, how would she even be able to continue if something were to happen to her highness?
  
  She could only pray for her safety.
  
  Outside of the Palace Room
  
  The doors burst open, and two similar faced looking young women run out. Both their state of dress shows the story of both frenzied alarm, and being taken by surprise. Something that also lurks in their eyes is the ever unmistakable sign of... fear? Although Sophia was looking up at them currently, the position wouldn't be one that would last long.
  
  "That little! I have to say, I didn't expect that she would have all of this in her!" Cecilene spoke first out of the twins.
  
  "We just need to escape, that is all! Then we'll rebuild our forces and kill her."
  
  "I want her suffering to be a slow one."
  
  "Of cours-- Aghhhh!"
  
  Cecilene is quickly brought down to her knees, shaking in both shock and pain. A bloodied knife is sunk deep into the flesh of her leg, before it is an action that is repeated once more in quick succession.
  
  "S-Sister, h-help mmmgth!?"
  
  A hand is covered over her mouth, and a body covered in blood rises from the corpses. This of course only belongs to one individual, one fair princess of the Rose Kingdom. The one that brought into fruition this down, but she was only retailing, let's not let that fact slip. There's a look of trepidation and despise that is tossed this woman's way.
  
  "S-Sophia, what are you doing to our sister? D-Don't you think things have gone too far as it is. We've only wanted sent those men after you for your safety! I'm sure you've heard of the crazy state of affairs of our kingdom. It's making us mad!"
  
  For a moment, Sophia seriously considers her sister's words.
  
  But only for a moment, before she slits her own sister's throat. Her blood sails through the air, it flies, and it splatters across her face. The blood-covered princess can only bring a single digit of her fingers to wipe it away.
  
  Who would have thought that the first person she would kill will be her own sister? The thought makes her stomach want to churn, and she wants to spew out the morning's stale bread right on the floor. But standing across from her is an enemy. Although the same blood they shared, their ideologies were different.
  
  Sophia Nevermore drops Cecilene Nevermore's dead body on the ground.
  
  Aline squeals and quickly assumes a position of fealty. She doesn't even bother to show remorse or concern for her sister that was just murdered before her eyes. Sophia cannot find herself blaming his sister too much for that. Death was imminent and others would often think of themselves first.
  
  "Why did father have to die?"
  
  "I-I don't know, I swear it!"
  
  "Why did you attack me?"
  
  "I-I don't kno--"
  
  Sophia quickly storms over to her Aline's groveling body and places her heel ontop of the woman's head, which digs her face uncomfortably to the ground. The woman struggles to get proper air and even taps at Sophia's foot in an act of submission, to get some reprieve from the pressure she is giving out.
  
  "Answer again, but honestly, please, s-sister. I just want to know, so that I won't kill you."
  
  With the opportunity of being spared being presented, Aline corrects her posture, positions herself on the ground that is in a way more appealing to having her wish of survival granted.
  
  "The reason why both me and Cecilene treated you in such ways, it's... it was because you were father's favorite."
  
  Sophia couldn't believe what she was hearing out of the mouth of her sister. It all sounded ridiculous. Just how was she the favorite in any conceivable way?
  
  "I could seldom leave the palace, and yet I am the favorite? Can you not come up with a more unbelievable idea?"
  
  "B-But it is indeed so! Father wanted you protected, and locked away. Locked away from any of the responsibilities that came with running a kingdom such as ours." Bitterness starts steeping through Aline's voice. "You may not know it, but me and our sister, we would have to do certain things to keep father's investors and retainers happy. You're not so innocent that you don't know what those things were, yes?"
  
  That urge of spewing rear its head again, and Sophia has to fight to keep the bile down, but nevertheless, Aline continued.
  
  "When we saw how little of anything you knew about the outside, how you could be the way you were... we grew to be envious, but it wasn't you that we should have been envious of, but our father! This world, this kingdom, none of is worth the pain. But even so, I want to live, please! Spare me!"
  
  Sophia took a step backwards, the grip of her knife loosening as she teetered on the choice to make. There was a big part of her that didn't want to kill another sibling, but she also had to protect her own life.
  
  Just what was the right decision?
  
  > kill Aline
  "There's no way you could forgive me for taking her away from you, and there's no way I can forgive you for hating him. If anything, it's you and her that probably killed him."
  
  Aline quickly shakes her head back and forth, dragging herself backwards in an attempt to get away.
  
  The reality of the situation, her impending demise, it robs her from the ability of being able to even get up and run. Fear is what robs her of rational thought, but eventually she is able to get up and quickly attempt at running away from her sister.
  
  "If the roles were reversed, you wouldn't offer this mercy, but I will you," Sophia speaks softly.
  
  Her own fear of the situation gives her a burst of adrenaline, and her hand reaches out and pulls at the roots of her sister's hair. Flailing and futilely kicking is all she can do. The sight itself is almost pitiable, and it makes Sophia hesitate, but only for a moment, before the same knife that was used to kill the other twin, is now aimed at the other.
  
  "Forgive me! Forgive me! Forgive me! Forgive m--"
  
  Sophia plunges the knife through her sister's throat, effectively putting an end to the life of Aline Nevermore.
  
  "I'm sorry." She weakly lets out before collapsing onto of the bodies of her sisters. They were all growing cold. They were growing cold in body, and she were in heart.
  
  Sophia Nevermore had killed both Celine and Aline Nevermore.
  
  One could only imagine how the other siblings would react. Would they now see her as a threat to the vacant crown and send their best to have her killed? Would even her brothers and sisters that she were cordial with, now want her head? The thought alone is enough to make her finally whimper.
  
  Exhaustion pulls her into a darkness.
  
  "Night gnomes?"
  
  Sophia asks from her chair inside the throne room. It was her castle now, apparently her sisters had taken refuge in an old castle that once belonged to their father. And now it was hers.
  
  It's a sobering thought, but there were other matters to attend to. Her eyes were no doubt red, Sophia didn't care if they were puffy as well. Tonight, she would still have some shred of humanity and empathy. Because after all, she was sure that eventually even that would be taken from her as well. Either that, or her life, whichever happened first in the process.
  
  "Yes, they were discovered in the underground chambers." Julliette reports to her princess. "They're cannibalistic in nature, and would have surely given us trouble if we were to have attacked at nightfall."
  
  Evie snickers, Paul looks slightly red in the face.
  
  And Sophia Nevermore...
  
  "What matters is that they're ours now. Everything that my sisters used against us, their men we've taken prisoner, and even the beds that they've slept in, they are ours. As for the mages."
  
  Sophia looked to Juliette for further clarification.
  
  "Only one of them survived, but I believe they can be won over to our sid--"
  
  "Just tell them that it's their loyalty to your cause, or their life. That should be easy enough to win them over." Evie suddenly speaks up, cutting off Juliette.
  
  "I don't think fear is something that inspires true loyalty."
  
  Sophia exhales loudly, burying her head into her arms as she rested on the wide mahogany desk in the room. Juliette sensing the princess's tiredness, only looks to the others.
  
  "Then again, perhaps we should discuss these matters later when we're well-rested?"
  
  > A devastating state of affairs
  -Year 19-
  
  One year has passed since Sophia Nevermore's life had changed forever. Gone were the days in which she spent a great deal of time in her room, allowing the day to pass her by listlessly, only retreating from the safety of her room for a rare ball or party. It was on days like that she was able to spend moments with the man responsible for the cushiness that was her life in her father. However, the attention of her father wasn't the only thing that brought her some semblance of happiness. It was the days in which she could spend time with her older brother Noel, and her older sister as well, Penelope. Unfortunately, they both became quite busy with the new positions that father had felt fitting of granting them, and thus their appearances had become something of a rare sight for her to be able to behold.
  
  Now, things were so different. And she was still a princess in title, but she now had her own responsibilities. Sophia now had a routine that she followed for every morning: wake up early, bathe, eat breakfast, and then go about the managing of her own little territory. Of course she wasn't alone in this, Juliette her faithful attendant was still very much a constant presence at her side.
  
  And regarding Juliette Forthwight, a new more appropriate title would really have to be given to her eventually.
  
  Unfortunately, matters such as those were on the back-burner. The reason being? The situation they were in was a rather precarious one, and there had reported sightings of strange creatures roaming the night outside the edges of her territory. Citizens, and even the men that had presently taken up arms under her banner have been found killed in grotesque and near unexplainable ways. This was all becoming a constant headache for the princess, and she felt herself reaching for a phantom cup of coffee that wasn't there.
  
  "Here, your highness." Juliette had appeared at her side, almost as if she was a mind reader, placing a cup of freshly brewed coffee on her desk. The woman was the very picture of poise, as she stood by the princess's side. It was only a hear that had passed, yet Sophia thought that the other young woman was growing into quite a beautiful lady.
  
  "I'm surprised you're not hanging around with the knights, providing them all--especially Paul--with your own amazing coffee." Sophia teased as she took a small sip of the coffee, enjoying the taste and how it awoke her senses.
  
  Juliette for her part could only look scandalized by the implication that wasn't lost on her.
  
  "Your highness! I only linger around the man so that he wouldn't suddenly collapse." She then pouted, wiping her hands off on the dark navy colored skirt that she was wearing. "He's a bit older than the both of us, but hear this! Can you believe that he's only thirty! From his temperament, I thought he would be a bit older, no?"
  
  Sophia could only blink, her look of astonishment bringing a gentle laugh to spill out from Juliette's lips.
  
  "I-I wouldn't have known that, in all honesty."
  
  With that, the two enjoyed a comfortable silence. That was until they were brought out of that comfortable silence by an urgent knocking coming from outside the closed room they were in.
  
  "Come in," Sophia states, exchanging glances with her attendant.
  
  It's not a long wait before the door is opened, revealing a young solider who looks anything but calm. From the look of his posture, he would rather be elsewhere than being the bearer of the news he was about to relay.
  
  "Your highness, please excuse me, but this is something that should be brought to your attention."
  
  "Okay, and what is it?" Sophia questions him.
  
  "It's the vice-captain, Roy. He's trying to convince any soldier that will listen to him that we should ride off quickly and find out the source of what's been maiming some of the townfolk, and some of our fellow men."
  
  Sophia hummed out-loud, Juliette could only sigh.
  
  "Perhaps, I should take to him? I think that I'll be able to convince him otherwis--"
  
  "No. That won't do. I'll handle it."
  
  Sophia rose from her seat, and began moving towards the door. Her attendant followed behind her silently, and the solider jumped out of her way to give her more than adequate space before falling in line behind her back as well.
  
  Their destination would of course have to be the barracks. That would be where most of their forces are after all.
  
  Roy. He was previously a mage in the service of Sophia's recently departed sisters. However, he was under their care far longer than even before the king had met his end by one (or more) of his own kin. He was inexperienced, but believed that his strength could turn the tide of any battle. Effectively losing and being captured, staying a week in the dingy cells of the castle did surprisingly little to humble him, but it did humble him slightly.
  
  But obviously still not enough to stop him from still trying to undermine Sophia Nevermore.
  
  She figured that he still had some lingering resentment for her killing the two of those twins. Maybe such a thing was the case because he either loved one or them, Ceciline or Aline, or the both of them.
  
  Sophia couldn't be bothered to care which it was, but cared more for the risk of life that he would do. It wasn't just his own life that he was potentially putting to danger, but some of the men which she had knighted on her word. Such a thing, the young women couldn't stand for. And not wholly out of any moral sense, but because of the fact that they've barely had any men to spare for a currently invisible foe that already showed feats of being able to kill some of them.
  
  No, this would have to be nipped in the bud immediately.
  
  Still, what was the correct choice of action to be making? Maybe Roy had a point, that they were sitting on their hands and knees without much outside of the castle that they've now had to show for it. Maybe it was indeed time for them to unmask this foe of theirs. However, if she allowed this disrespect to continue, would the tentative respect of her men that she had garnered throughout the year be shattered?
  
  Or maybe this entire situation was a headache that wasn't no longer worth it? Sophia had certainly showed her other siblings that she was no mere sheltered princess no longer, and that she was willing to fight back to continue breathing. Maybe she could just grab her bags, and leave with Juliette?
  
  Decisions.
  
  > slap Him
  Slap
  
  Even a trained mage cannot ignore the stinging of their face when it's suddenly struck. The barracks that were once bustling with movement, talking, and laughter, goes silent upon the appearance of their princess.
  
  Roy's head is forced to move with the impact, and he is shocked beyond words and belief. The thought that races through his mind most likely questions the woman's sanity. With a muttered string of words, he could cause men that can fell dozens with their sword to meet the strength of greater beings that seldom walk alongside mortal men, and yet, this slender woman who seemed to still be growing in body had slapped him despite it all.
  
  He's stunned, so stunned that he can only listen to the next words that leave her mouth.
  
  "You're more powerful than me, now, currently. However, do not think my words are something meaningless that do not pertain to you. Can I ask you this, do you believe that you can kill this entire room, here and now?"
  
  Roy grits his teeth, but doesn't say a word.
  
  "Please answer me."
  
  "No."
  
  Sophia nods upon getting her answer, holding her hand out, Juliette sensing what she perhaps wants, hands the woman a white cooling cloth, who in return holds it out for Roy to take.
  
  "You're needed here. Our enemies are great in number, unknown in tactics, and they wish us ruin. I don't know who they are yet, but I will not allow them to get away with their actions. Be it they another brother of mine, or sister, or maybe someone I may have known since childhood, whoever it is, they will not get away with spilling the blood of innocent people, nor our comrades."
  
  Sophia, takes a breath, holding out the cooling press out even more for Roy to take. Which the young mage does.
  
  "I'm not sitting here hiding in fear, but I am waiting until our enemies reveal their hand too much, so that we can bite that hand. We'll bite down on it, and we won't let go, until whatever piece of the kingdom that they hold onto is wrestled from their grip."
  
  "I-I see, is that really so? This isn't just hot air you're spewing, is it?" Roy asks as he sets the cooling pad down on his cheek.
  
  Sophia only laughs, placing a pristine white gloved of her own on the cooling pad as well. She doesn't think nothing of the fact of this rather intimate gesture. This was in fact still one of her knights after all.
  
  "Not anymore. I must keep going, or the blood already spilt will be for naught. It would be heinous to the departed."
  
  > Continue
  "Honestly, striking Roy in the face? You're an insane one, I'll give you that."
  
  These words come from none other than a flushed face, Evie. The half-elf is laughing as it's the greatest joke in the world that she had ever heard in her life. Just like any night, the barracks were as loud as ever. Games were being played with the coin earned from the odd or serious job or two that came to their attention.
  
  "I don't believe her highness is insane." Juliette spoke up, always quick to defend the mental faculties of the princess.
  
  "Eh!? Julie, you can't honestly before that there isn't a screw loose with this one!"
  
  "No, and I'm sorry that I cannot agree with that sentiment of yours."
  
  "This is why you guys make me miss Paul. Although, it's more like a rash."
  
  "Sir Paul? I agree, it has been a month and some time that we've been able to hear that infectious laughter of his..."
  
  "What? Infectious? Is there something you're not telling us here?"
  
  "I-I don't believe I am?"
  
  Sophia wasn't exactly sure just what kind of situation the two women were in. They both certainly spoke of Paul more times than both of them were probably aware of. Even in Evie's snide remarks, there was still a trace of fondness that could be made out.
  
  While she didn't voice this out-loud, it made Sophia think of Caspar. It was only a year ago that marrying him was something she was afraid of, but now, maybe she was the one that was being a fool. Now she wasn't sure if he was even alive, and if he was, could he even stand the sight of what she had become? The thought only sours her mood more.
  
  She stands up for from her seat at the table.
  
  "Your highness?" Juliette questions, momentarily looking both confused and concerned.
  
  "I think I'm going to go upstai--"
  
  "Princess! There's something that I believe requires your attention." A soldier that enters the barracks says, giving the young woman the perfect excuse for leaving the festivities. She didn't want to be dour or sour, and possibly ruin all of the good moods that were present. No, if there was something that required her immediate attention, she would see what is was exactly.
  
  Sophia has to wonder if her eyes are seeing things correctly. The young woman is unsure of many things, as she's forced to stare down at big eyes that stare back at her, rather piercingly as well.
  
  "Are you lost, little boy?"
  
  "No."
  
  "Where are your parents?"
  
  "I do not have parents."
  
  "Then, you're an orphan...?"
  
  "No."
  
  Sophia exhales, running a hand through her hair. Standing at the foyer of her castle and speaking with an emotionless child wasn't the path that she foresaw her day taking. As she regards the child, she notices a great many things about them. For one, they're dressed immaculately in a nice dress shirt, and a hat sits ontop of their head.
  
  The outfit that the child is wearing, resembles more of a costume, than that of actual clothes that someone would honestly wear. All in all, their behavior, demeanor, choice of clothing, it was unnerving to the princess.
  
  "There's a cake, with a message that we have addressed for one, Sophia Nevermore. It's to congratulate her for finally joining the race for the throne. Please, will you accept it from our creators?"
  
  "Us?" The solider questions before four more children emerge from behind the first child. They're all dressed in the same exact style of clothing, and they do indeed bring with them a large cake. Nothing seems outwardly wrong with the giant pastry, but the use of 'creators' despite the child claiming to not have any parents is once again making Sophia Nevermore quite apprehensive.
  
  However, was there truly any harm in seeing what this message had to entail?
  
  But they were indeed some rather unsettling children. Just what was a princess supposed to do?
  
  > Shut the door in their face
  This entire situation was already unnerving as it could possibly be. Sophia Nevermore found herself not wanting to deal with these weird children anymore than she had to.
  
  "Well then, if you take a right, and then continue straight, you'll find a road to that will lead you to dwellings of the ones in charge of message delivery. I already have just so much that comes my way. Be good little boys and girls and share that cake with the hardworking individuals that are there, okay?"
  
  Sophia then moved to close the door in the face of the children. Pressing her back against it and allowing herself to take a sigh of relief. She certainly hoped that she wouldn't have to deal with them knocking aga--
  
  "This is a very bad mistake that you're making, princess."
  
  --x
  
  A knife pierces through the wood, going directly through the heart.
  
  The princess doubles over, clutching a hole that continues to spill without reprieve.
  
  Before anyone can truly prepare, strength that shouldn't be possessed by mere children, send the door past it's hinges.
  
  If the wound wasn't enough to kill, it's enough to shatter the spine.
  
  And the princess is soon underneath that door, and despite all protest
  
  The screams and shouts fade into mere static as blood spills from her mouth, far too much to contain inside.
  
  Mercilessly, she expires on the floor of the foyer, before the true horror begins.
  
  Some would call that a fitting end for a foolish princess.
  
  Would you agree or disagree?