The Crown of Sun and Shadows

𝒫𝓇𝑜𝓁𝑜𝑔𝓊𝑒

𝒯𝑒𝓃 𝒴𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓈 𝒜𝑔𝑜

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"Come on Avyanna, we need to go."

Arrowe was dragging his little sister behind him, her little legs running to keep up with her brother's long strides as the walls of the Adestian castle fell, flames licking up the walls and curling priceless paintings, hundreds of years of the Abraxases family memory being wiped away in red and orange flames. All because the King of Solara wanted her, Avyanna Abraxas, heir to the Adestian Throne. And her brother, they wanted her brother to be their top general. At eleven, he had already sworn a blood oath to his eight-year-old sister. The sister who was blessed by the goddess of fire and sun, Akosua, the eternal blood flowing through Avyanna's veins.

Arrowe ripped open the door to the underground passage, pulling his sister in front of him and gently nudging her down the stairs. "Go Avie," He pulled her in for one last hug, making sure to slip the royal necklace around her neck, that necklace would help control her powers when the time came and she opened up the well of power that existed inside of her, "I'll find you I promise."

Avyanna's lip wobbled, pushing up on her toes to completely wrap her arms around Arrowe's neck, trying to keep her sob quiet. "I don't want to go, I can stop them, I can! Let me try!"

But Arrowe shook his head, kneeling down to be at Avyanna's height, at eleven years old he was a good six inches taller than his little sister. "You need to go, Avie, they can't get you, Adestia needs a queen," Avyanna shook violently in his arms, clutching the dragon plush that Mama had given her at three years old, "They are going to need you, I swear it, I love you, run Avie, and don't look back, try and cross into Fenbrook, do not stop for anyone," Arrowe cupped her face in his hands, studying his little sister's face in case he never got to see her again, the thought making the siblings cling harder to each other, "I love you."

"I love you," Avyanna responded, glancing at the dagger on her brother's belt. Arrowe grinned at his little sister, checking over his shoulder once when he heard the shouts of their generals, he was tasked to make sure that the princess was safe. No matter the cost, if that meant that he bribed his sister to run, just so he could go defend his mother, then he wasn't above that, he wasn't above lying, cheating, swearing, and doing whatever he needed to do in order to get his sister to move.

"When I find you, I'll give you Grandmama's dagger," Arrowe's hand went to the hilt that was shown, the golden hilt forged by the flame of Akousa, by the very flame that burns through Avyanna's veins. Avyanna's smile crossed her mouth, and Arrowe made sure to lock that last smile away in his mind, to always have it with him on days when he couldn't find the energy to move. "Go Avie, run."

And Avyanna did, she turned on her bare heel, having been just pulled out of bed when the first canon ball hit her tower, and she ran, the stone floor rough on her feet. The Palace of Adestia was a complex maze on the upper levels, but the underground tunnels weren't that difficult, there were only three exits, and Avyanna had learned them well. She spent her time running around with the servent's children, laughing and giggling as they ran through these tunnels with torches in their hands. But she didn't need a torch, with her fear, a small flame appeared on her fingertip, and she used it to guide her through the tunnel to the kitchen. It was always so cold in the tunnels, the limestone holding onto secrets centuries of years old, freezing them in the mortar that holds the palace together. Avyanna loved it down here, and she tried to remember every stone in the palace in case she never saw home again.

Her breath was ragged as she ran up the stairs and fell through the kitchen door, her handmaidens instantly freezing when they saw her. "Backdoor," Hesperia, her nursemaid breathed out in a single breath. "Do not stop running," Avyanna nodded, wincing when her mother screamed a warning, "We will buy you time," Hesperia grabbed Avyanna's wrist, unfaltering as she opened the door and shoved her out, "My apologies for the rough treatment princess," Hesperia had tears in her eyes as she looked upon the child she raised from the time she left mama's womb to now, "I'll see you soon."

She wouldn't, Avyanna wasn't dumb enough to believe those words.

But she didn't stay to respond, she clutched her dragon tighter as she ran through the back garden of the palace, hearing the guards shout about her escape. She just needed to get into the Adestian forest, she could lose them then, especially with night approaching, she could use the stars to guide her in the dark, as long as her flame didn't erupt. Avyanna cried out when she heard Hesperia's scream, and then the back door swinging open, off the hinges and the heavy sound of armor following her. Ten steps, five steps, and then she was crashing through the bramble on the forest floor, heading for the ravine. She just needed to cross the rope bridge into Fenbrook, they would host her, and raise her, Izara was her friend and King Tallon was a friend of her father, he would take in the fleeing princess.

Twigs snapped under her feet, and leaves were sticking in her hair as she pushed through bushes, trying to lose the King of Solara's man, but she knew they were gaining on her, they were so much older, so much faster, so much taller, every step of theirs equaled five of hers. "Give up princess," the mocking in the man's tone made the hair rise on the back of her neck, but she didn't stop running, she lowered her head to break through more branches, no longer caring about her body, just wanting to be safe. Or as safe as she could be while the Solara Kingdom ruined her life. "His Majesty won't leave with you alive."

Avyanna barely recognized the tears running down her face, not until the salty flavor hit her tongue. But she was so close, the grassy field appeared before her, the rolling hill her last hope as she heard the sound of metal scraping metal, a sword being drawn. But she didn't look back, she kept her eyes on the rope bridge as she hurtled herself down the field, rolling down the grass and scrambling up, her dragon still tight in her hand, she had to keep running, Fenbrook was just on the other side of the forest, she could be there by sunrise if she could just get to the bridge and lose the man trailing her. Her bare feet finally made contact with the bridge as the rush of air hit her back from the swing of a sword, but she kept running she was almost halfway there.

And then she was plunging.

She screamed as the rope bridge disappeared from under her, and it took a moment to realize the soldier didn't try to kill her, he didn't want to, he knew the earth would kill her as she fell the two hundred feet down the ravine into the black water below. The water was ice when she collided with the current, a cry of pain leaving her mouth as she tried to fight the rushing current to get air. Every time she broke the surface, water was rushing over her head, pulling her under. Avyanna sent a prayer up to Akosua for help, for the goddess to protect her child before the world went dark, and Avyanna was lost to the rushing water of Adestia, and to the mercy of the gods that no longer seemed to listen.

When Avyanna blinked awake, she hadn't recognized where she was. The room had intricate mosaic tile on the floors and blue floral wallpaper, it was beautiful. Pushing up on the bed, the little girl looked out the gold-framed window, into a city of chaos. The double doors to the room opened and a man walked in, an apprentice at his side, "You're awake," His voice was gruff, but his smile was warm as he walked the small distance to the bed, sitting down and cupping the back of Avyanna's head, "You had quite a tumble there, honey, what's your name?"

"Avyanna," she whispered, trembling as the man held her gaze, "Where am I?"

"You are at my townhome, it's where I conduct my business. But that's not what you're really asking," He grinned, his hold tightening on the back of Avyanna's head, forcing her to hold his eye contact, "You're in the city of Kallistar," the capital of Solara, she was in her enemies territory, and she was going to be hunted, oh gods, how does she get out of this? "And I am Arwan, master of spies and assassins."

"Am I being held captive?"

The feral grin that crossed Arwan's face sent a chill up Avyanna's spine, "No, but I have a proposal for you."

So, Avyanna sat and listened, letting the man pet her head, giving her comfort. When he told her that everyone in the palace had been slaughtered, she broke into tears, clutching her dragon and accepting Arwan's proposal of protection and a job.

She was no longer an heir to a kingdom, she was alone.

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