#erik ayers

Alice fell to her knees as her castle burned around her. Everything was gone, she’d lost everything. Centuries of her family, gone up in flames. There was nothing she could do. When the flames first started, she tried to put them out, but they were enchanted. She never learned the spell to counter enchanted flames. She had only been a child when her father was killed, she had barely learned how to control her magic the proper way.

“I guess this is it…”

Alice let out a small broken laugh, after all the war, all the battles, this was how she’d die. She wouldn’t fight it this time. She could finally rest. Standing to brush off the ash collecting on her gown, Alice walked over to the portrait on the wall before her. She sighed longingly, it had been the last portrait her father had painted of them before the war began. She missed them so much. Her pale hand reached out to touch them, if only she had studied more back then, she wondered if it would have made a difference that day.

“Queen Alice! Are you in here?”

Alice jumped at the sound, the voice was vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place it. She turned to look around her, everyone else had escaped, she made sure of it.

“There you are! Come on, let’s get you out of here!”

Alice blinked at her savior, “Friedrich?! What are you doing here?!”

“As much as he’d love to answer your questions your majesty, this castle isn’t going to remain standing for much longer.”

“Yakiv? Wait, what’s going on? Where did you two come from?”

Friedrich quickly began to toss books from the shelves around them into his satchel, “Queen Enna and Prince Erik got your message.”

Alice sighed, of course her cousins would send help, “Look, I appreciate the help, but this is for the better. If I die here, the war is over. That’s what she wants.”

Yakiv rolled his tired eyes, “We don’t have time for you to have this death wish of yours.”

Alice glared up at him, “Leave me here. That’s an order. Get yourselves to safety.”

Yakiv roughly handed Friedrich his bag, “Sorry Queen Alice, but the Sweeney crown has no power over me. I serve the Ayers crown.”

He roughly picked up Alice, tossing her over his shoulder, “And my orders are to bring you to safety.”

Friedrich fumbled with the bags as he rushed behind Yakiv, “I don’t think Queen Enna meant like this Yakiv…”

Yakiv walked down the burning halls towards a mirror with a faint lavender glow around it, “Shut up and get through the mirror.”

Alice’s eyes widened as she looked at the mirror, “No! Yakiv, Enna isn’t strong enough for crossings!”