Deep in the forest, everyone was oblivious to the carnage unfolding at the pavilion. The air here was filled only with the scent of damp pine and the thundering rhythm of hooves against the earth.
Sunlight filtered through the trees in jagged streaks, illuminating the mist that clung to the forest ground. A doe grazed peacefully, her head dipping to the sweet clover. Beside her, a fawn spotted mimicking her movements, blissfully unaware of the danger.
Sir Kaelen raised his longbow, the wood creaking softly as he pulled the string. The arrow aimed at the doe's heart.
"Don't kill it!" a voice firm commanded.
Sir Kaelen froze, glancing toward Davian. The prince stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the fawn.
"The fawn is too young," Davian said, his voice softening. "To kill the mother now is to condemn the child to a slow death. Let them go."
The knight hesitated, then bowed his head. "As you command, Your Highness."
The tension in the air began to dissipate until a sharp, lethal hiss sliced through the air.
A red feathered arrow whistled inches from Davian's ear, the wind of its passage stinging his cheek. Before he could react... the doe collapsed instantly, her lifeblood staining the emerald grass. The fawn bleated in terror, circling its fallen mother.
Davian's eyes widened, fury surging through his veins. He spun around, his hand instinctively flying to the hilt of his sword.
Few steps behind them, draped in velvet and dark leather, Lucian, the Crown Prince, sat tall upon his horse, his bow still humming from the release. faint, mocking smile playing on his lips.
"A perfect shot," Lucian remarked, his voice smooth. "Wouldn't you agree, brother."
Davian jerked his head away in silent disgust.
An accompanying knight cleared his throat awkwardly, sensing the tension. "Your Highness... that doe's fawn is still quite young. We usually refrain from taking the mother in such cases. It... it leaves the young one with no hope of survival."
Lucian let out a short, dry chuckle a sound that lacked even a hint of warmth. He turned his gaze toward Davian, his eyes cold and mocking.
"Survival is a privilege, not a right." Lucian said with an amusing look on his face. "Besides, isn't it better this way? To be left alone in the world, watching the one who was supposed to protect you rot away? It builds character."
Davian's knuckles turned white as he gripped his reins. He knew that Lucian wasn't talking about the deer.
Lucian leaned forward slightly, his eyes boring into the back of Davian's head. "Some children are born into the sins of their mothers. If this little beast dies today because its mother was careless, then that is simply its fate."
Davian's vision blurred for a second. The ghost of Imperial Concert Verena, his mother, seemed to hover in his mind... the woman who had tried to pave his path with the blood of Empress Isabella's sons , only to leave him a pariah in a golden cage.
Beside them, Vasileios narrowed his eyes. He caught the flicker of pain in Davian's jaw and the way his hands were trembling against the leather reins.
Davian couldn't endure the suffocating atmosphere any longer. Without a word he spurred his horse forward, breaking away from the group and riding deeper into the woods, he thought, if he could reach back through the fog of time, he would slap that tray from the maid's hands. He would scream until his lungs gave out to stop his Mother. He would saved their beloved brother. He would have rewritten the stars.
* Eight Years Ago... *
In the imperial garden atmosphere was alive with the sound of high pitched laughter.
Cassius, the eldest prince, stood smiling like a calm pillar among the chaos of his younger brothers. He had the most warm smile Davian had ever seen.
Lucian and Serik were locked in a competitive race, while Davian stayed near Cassius like a shadow.
Lucian, always the mischievous one, was busy trying to trip Serik as he ran past.
"Easy, Lucian," Cassius laughed, his voice deep and melodic. "If you spend all your energy on tricks, you'll be too tired for tea."
"I'm never too tired to win, Brother!" Lucian shot back with a toothy grin.
Nearby, a row of maids watched the scene with soft, adoring smiles. One of them stepped forward, a silver tray trembling slightly in her grip. "For the Princes and Princess," she murmured.
Lucian's eyes lit up. He scanned the tray, his gaze landing on the cookie Serik had just picked up. It looked slightly larger, dusted with a bit more sugar.
"Serik! Trade with me," Lucian demanded, already snatching it. "Yours looks better."
Serik shrugged, unbothered, and took Lucian's discarded treat. The maid's face went deathly pale, terror crossing her features but the children were already eating, lost in their sugary bliss.
Davian was mid laugh when the world broke.
He saw Cassius suddenly stiffen. His brother's hand went to his throat, then his chest, his fingers digging into the fine silk, as if trying to tear his own heart out.
"Brother Cassius?" Davian asked, his voice small.
Cassius tried to speak, but instead of words, a thick, dark torrent of blood erupted from his lips. It splattered across the white marble, staining Davian's shoes. Cassius collapsed to his knees, his eyes wide and panicked, searching for a breath that wouldn't come. He slumped forward, his forehead hitting the stone with a dull, sickening thud.
The world stopped.
"Brother!" Lunette shrieked, the sound tearing through the air. She scrambled toward him, but the sight of the blood rooted her to the spot.
A few feet away, Serik groaned. He had only taken few bites of the traded cookie, but his face turned a ghastly shade of gray. He clutched his stomach, his eyes rolling back into his head before he slumped into a dead faint.
Panic exploded. Maids were screaming, guards were running, and the once peaceful garden fell into chaos.
Empress Isabella and Duchess Ruhina arrived like a whirlwind, their gowns billowing behind them as they sprinted toward the children. Isabella reached Cassius and gathered his limp body into her lap.
"Cassius? Cassius, look at me!" she sobbed, her hands frantically wiping the blood from his lips. She shook him, trying to wake him from the permanent sleep that had already claimed him. His eyes, once full of warmth and wisdom, were fixed on the sky, dull and glassy. He was gone.
Beside them, Duchess Ruhina let out a choked cry of "Serik!"
She pulled her unconscious son into her arms, her eyes wild with desperation. She sprinted toward the palace, screaming for help, her tears falling onto Serik's pale, still face.
Behind them, Lunette was a wreck, buried in the skirts of her maid, her muffled cries echoing against the stone walls.
Davian stood frozen. He looked at Lucian.
Lucian was on his knees next to their mother, his hands clutching at Isabella's blood stained gown. He was wailing a high, thin sound of absolute terror.
Isabella held Cassius's head to her chest, rocking back and forth, her mourning wail echoing off the garden walls. Lucian buried his face in her side, his body shaking with violent, uncontrollable sobs.
Davian looked at the half eaten cookie near Serik's spot, then at Cassius's cooling body.
Then he looked down at his trembling hands, tears rolling down his cheeks. The smell of the cookies was now forever choked out by the thick, metallic scent of his brother's blood.
Their beloved brother had died in agony poisoned by Imperial Consort Verena, Davian's mother.
While Empress Isabella had screamed for Davian's blood, demanding the boy vanish into the earth alongside his murderous mother, the Empress Dowager had intervened, shielding the innocent boy under her own wing. Since that day, the brotherhood they once shared had been replaced by hatred.
* Back to the present *
Lucian watched the dust settle where Davian had been. "He always did have a talent for running away," he murmured.
Vasileios looked at the fallen deer, then at the Prince. "That was unnecessary," he frowned.
Before Lucian could even say something to Vasileios, the heavy, rhythmic thundering of hooves shattered the conversation.
Serik suddenly tore through the brush, his stallion at a full gallop. He was leaning forward riding with a desperation that suggested he was headed straight for the pavilions.
Just a second later, Davian appeared, his horse kicking up a cloud of dirt as he followed Serik's lead, his expression equally grim.
Before Lucian could demand an explanation, a knight sweating and breathless reined in his horse sharply beside the Crown Prince.
"Your Highness!" the knight gasped, his voice cracked with panic. "The pavilions... wolves have breached the perimeter! They've entered the tent area. There are casualties, and the ladies are in danger!"
Lucian's eyes widened, "Move!" He roared, his voice cutting through the trees like.
Without another word, he dug his spurs in, his black stallion leaping into a dead run.
Vasileios and the rest followed, a blur of steel and thunder as they raced back toward the site of the chaos, leaving the dead doe and the crying fawn in the dust behind them.