Royals

Princess Rosalie stood at the giant window, holding her hands together to stop them from trembling. She could see the werewolf rogue army scaling the outer city walls, everything was burning. She heard her fathers howl somewhere in the distance, and she reassured herself that he had never lost a battle, and he couldn’t lose this one, their kingdom depended on it. The city of Athenia was the Western capital, Rosalie’s father was the Lycan King of the West and Alpha of their pack, Athenia's Blade. She could hear her people screaming, and feel their pain through the pack bond. Rolsalie desperately wanted to run to them, help them in their time of need, and her wolf was whimpering in pain knowing they were helpless. Of course, Rosalie could fight and was taught all forms of combat training from a young age, but she was still only 20 and unable to shift, and as her fathers sole heir he refused to let her join the battle. She was stuck spectating, watching and listening to death and destruction, completely powerless. Still, Rosalie wore her armor, the black fabric hugging her skin. Athenian armor was made of a material crafted by their master metalsmiths, a thick cloth with an ancient metal blend woven throughout, creating a bulletproof armor that wore like cotton. It allowed full movement, and released without breaking when the wearer shifted. The black trousers and long sleeved top hugged her body, showing off every curve whilst protecting her from those who wanted to do her harm. Her armor had the small Athenia family crest on each shoulder, a nod to her heritage and only worn by the Royal family. The family crest was a ring of five golden roses, the roses turning into creeping golden stems and thorns that twisted down both shoulders and onto her arms. Rosalie would be one of the highest targets, she was the sole heir and besides her father, was the last of her bloodline.She stood at the window, unable to tear her eyes away from the chaos, watching more and more of the outer city catch fire, feeling more pain through the pack bond. Every minute this continued, her fear became greater. Her Lycan wolf was also silent, already mourning lost friends, but making her presence known in Rosalie’s mind to offer what little comfort she could. Rosalie wondered to herself as she inspected the scene below - how did the rogues get in? They broke through the enchanted mist surrounding the Lycan territory with ease, and found the only weakness in the city’s outer walls. Her father had wanted to reinforce the wall for years, but it was always sidelined, seen as unimportant as the capital city already had so much protection. Roselie’s eyes ran over the pile of rubble where the weakened part of the city wall once stood, no, as much as the knowledge pained her, this was an inside job. Rosalie’s thoughts were interrupted by Grimblewald coughing in the doorway. She turned, and saw his usual sneering smile, whilst his long, crooked fingers gripped the doorway. How could he smile in an hour such as this? His skin was sallow, pale but with a yellow hue, almost the same yellow as his Lycan’s eyes. His lank black hair hung around his face, forever greasy, and even in wolf form his fur looked almost wet. Not that Rosalie had seen his wolf form in a long time, probably months. He was tall, but extremely thin, you could see most of his bones through his skin and he seemed to have only become thinner in the past few months. Although, the rogue attacks had increased over the last few months, and being an advisor to the King, Rosalie’s father, he would know all the gory details and she could not blame him for not being at peak health during these struggling times. As much as the sight of him turned her stomach. Perhaps he was too weak to shift, the trauma of the latest attacks clearly taking a heavy toll on him. She would have pitied Grimblewald, had he not always had such a dark look around him, and if not for his sometimes thoughtless comments. His father, Arthur, had been her own fathers beta and closest confidante. Arthur had been killed in a rogue attack 10 years ago, and her father had sworn to protect his son, Grimblewald, as well as Arthurs mate Cecilia. Cecilia was Grimblewalds mother, and since the death of her mate rarely let Grimblewald out of her sight. Both Cecilia and Grimblewald lived in the Royal quarters of the palace with Rosalie and her father. When the castle was built over 3,000 years ago, the Royal family was made up of hundreds of members, and the enormous castle was built to house them all. It pulled on Roselie’s heart to see what their bloodline had diminished to. Grimblewald whilst being too weak to be a beta, had been installed as an advisor out of respect for Arthur, and to his credit he did take his job most seriously. “Strange, isn’t it Princess, how the rogues knew exactly which part of the wall to hit. The weakness has been a secret for centuries.” Grimblewalds words tore Rosalie out of her thoughts. “It is strange, we will do a full investigation when the battle is won” Rosalie said, her face determined as she stared grimly out of the castle window. “If it is won Princess. If..” Grimblewald said with a leering smile on his face. His eyes traced Rosalie’s figure in her battle armor, making her stomach turn. Rosalie frowned deeply, he did not seem afraid, and even she felt fears cool touch on her bones. Rosalie didn’t have time to think much more on Grimblewalds words. She heard her fathers howl again, this time full of anger, and she felt his rage pulse through her body through their mind link. Being her father, their bond was far deeper. The castle was currently full of all the women and children they could accommodate, and it was Rosalie’s job to keep watch of them. The gates were sealed, and she had a small gathering of guards with her to hold it should the rogues try to breach. Rosalie decided to leave her room, and to go downstairs to check on them all, see if she could provide some comfort. Rosalie left her room, briskly walking down the palace corridors, the stone walls and high ceilings echoing her footsteps. As she reached the grand staircase at the front of the castle, she could see all the women and children huddled around on the floor. Goddess, there must be a thousand in here. Rosalie felt small relief, at least they were all safe. In that moment, a hot stabbing pain ripped through Rosalie, and she felt grief grip her heart from the inside. This could only mean one thing, but it couldn’t be happening. Her father had fallen. She heard a gasp from the women and children below as they felt the death of their King through the link. Rosalie gripped the side of the staircase as the pain took the breath out of her, barely able to process what was happening. There were three large knocks at the castle door, the rogues were here. Rosalie’s Royal blood and instincts kicked in naturally, instantly calling her into action. She started shouting towards the guards, “REINFORCE THE DOOR, USE ANY WOOD YOU CAN” but to her surprise, none of the guards on watch moved. “I SAID REINFORCE THE DOOR” Rosalie shouted, her eyes running over the guards, and she gasped suddenly realising she didn’t recognise any of them. This was an inside job. As she stared in disbelief, she felt strong hands on both her arms, pulling her hands behind her back. She heard the jingling of keys, and watched in horror as Grimblewald strode towards the huge castle door, smiling. “YOU!” Rosalie shouted at him, feeling her Lycan trying to surge forward, but before she could say anything else she felt a needle pierce the skin of her neck and the world went dark, Grimblewalds leering face the last thing she saw.