Age Of The Red Demons

The Storm Has Already Begun

As the princess took her seat on her royal spread, she turned her angry eyes at Cynthy.

"Is it true what Daerys said?"

Her voice was sour and her gaze was not friendly, forcing the maid to keep down her face as she muttered with fear the word yes.

Cynthy had been Daella's maid since the day she came into the palace. She gained the princess' favor quicker than any other person, becoming her most preferred servant just a few months after she entered the palace.

They took to each other well, and Daella trusted her so much that she spoke to her of her every fear and worry.

She told everything to Cynthy, keeping nothing from her but it was not the same on the other hand.

Cynthy, on the other hand, could not speak to the princess of her biggest desire, her greatest worry and her deepest emotion.

She had fallen in love with Prince Daerys the moment she became a palace maid, but the place of a servant lies not by the side of a prince.

Neither do the yearns of the heart pay heed or respect to the divisions of the world.

She kept it from her friend and mistress, and sought to find her love by writing notes to the young prince who received them all without bothering to know who his admirer was, or that was what she thought.

She had no idea that Daerys had found out that she was his admirer.

As she admitted the truth to Daella, the princess could not contain her distress and disappointment.

She had taken Cynthy for an ally. Whenever she felt depressed over the fact that the lords preferred Daerys over her because of her gender, she turned to Cynthy to express her sentiments.

Sometimes she spoke ill of Daerys, calling him names even though she still loved him as her little brother.

She hoped that even if all the men in Meredith stood against her as she requested for her place, the women of Meredith would stand by her.

But now, even the woman closest to her turned out to be an admirer of her greatest nemesis.

"You cannot love my brother!" She said, her eyes screaming for mercy, "He will leave you! They all do!"

The topic of love was not strange to Daella. She had been there before, in the very middle of everything.

Daerys had reminded her of her lover earlier, and he had promised his return. Part of her wanted it, part of her despised it.

But no matter how much she despised her time and involvement with him, their memories together would forever be a blessing for her.

Whenever she dropped to the agonies of being a female heir to the throne, his face would come occupying her head, dousing her pains and she would smile again, longing for his return.

"You can't!" Tears swelled up in her eyes, waiting to drop. If only they could wash away her despair.

Daella had always been so strong, not breaking to any form of abuse she had ever faced from anyone, especially the primelord, but she knew she would have to choose between her only friend and her only dream sooner or later, and this broke her.

"Leave". She said in the end. She would not be seen in sobs and tears by anyone.

Before, Cynthy had been her closest companion, but from that point onwards she became anyone, like all other person.

The maid made her way sluggishly out of the princess' chamber and out of the female quarters towards the royal library where she knew Daerys would be.

As she approached the library, she thought of the princess' words. Had she become a traitor?

Her loyalty was in pieces. She felt love to the prince and duty to her friend. If anything, she was the victim here.

As she got to a window, Daerys was sitting right in front of her eyes a few feet away.

His smoothly carved face shined elegantly to the radiance of the flames of the ash lantern with which he used to study.

As he read through the pages of the text before him, his eyes glowed beautifully to the red ink. His lips were as focused as his mind with their glamourous shape in place, not moving an inch.

How she hoped! Those lips could one day embrace her!

She envied the book gently cuddled in his embrace. She envied the table which felt his person rest on it the way she could only wish for.

Then she fell to his charm all over again.

"No", she said to herself, "What do I do?"

Right then a voice called from behind, "Cynthy! Cynthy!"

It was Eva, another maid.

"What?" She asked, exasperated.

Eva could not utter the words, but she had to. "You have to come! It's your father!"

"Father? Father!" In fear of what the case might be, Cynthy raced away with Eva towards the royal gallows, leaving behind her the fine view of Daerys who never noticed anyone's presence in the first place.

The prince was engulfed in his study of the red king. He had found a secret book in the depths of the royal library, hidden beneath its walls.

The book was written by Sa Tareth, an historian who lived in the days of Albane and served King Dariot, the father of Arther and Arnold, and Zathryon.

He had come across it by accident, and in it he found the story that shaped the downfall of Albane and the rise of the four kingdoms.

The four kingdoms had risen because of Zathryon, now that he is returned, they might fall again because of him.

With the truth and fact which was inscribed in that book, it dawned on Daerys that the storm had already begun.

"He shall attack!"

He had already killed and smeared the dark spies of Meredith. He had already spread poison to the people of Meredith. He had already tried to kill the prince of Meredith.

Now that more of his strength had come back to him, he could do more. He would do more!

As the big waters poured violently at the end of the world, Zathryon stood tall on the highest rock.

He sensed the magic of the waters, it healed him and gave him back his strength.

He felt the cold breeze of the waters, it graced his skin.

With his two hands stretched out by his sides and his head lifted upwards to the night, Zathryon called out to the four kingdoms.

"I am back!!"