The library had always been Lyanna's favourite place in the whole castle. It was the only place where she could be herself away from her mother's and court's expectations.
She was sitting in her favourite velvet chair reading her favourite poetry book when the alarm bell broke the afternoon silence.
She jolted upright as the bell never rang in the afternoon. The book fell down from her lap as the bell rang again and then again. Three alarm bells meant danger.
She immediately ran to the window and froze. The sky was filled with thick, and black smoke.
"Holy Order." She whispered.
Hunters in silver armor loaded with weapons entered the castle through breached gates. She immediately knew they weren't here for a raid. They were here to kill.
Lyanna's hands shook as she stepped back from the window.
"Mother…Father…."
She opened the library door and saw servants running past her screaming. She started running as well.
The corridors were chaos. Servants were fleeing, guards were fighting with hunters. Floors and walls were covered in blood. Tears welled in her eyes.
I…I need to go to the throne room….Father would know what to do…
She reached the grand hallway leading to the throne room and stopped. The huge doors were already open. Inside, she saw her father, King Edmund Graves, kneeling before his throne. A hunter commander stood over him, raising a blade.
"Edmund Graves, you've sided with the demons and sold your soul for your greed. Your judgement has come."
Before her father could respond, the blade sliced his throat open. Lyanna covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming. The hunter kicked the body aside and turned to her mother.
"Please." Queen Isabelle begged. "Please, my children…"
"Your sons are already dead." The commander laughed. "Now it's your turn, traitor."
Traitor?
Lyanna looked around and saw her elder brother Lucian's body near the windows. Stephan, her baby brother, was lying nearby, also dead.
Lyanna couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Her entire family was dead within few minutes.
This can't be real…no…it can't be…
Her mother looked up and saw Lyanna standing in the shadows. For a second, they stared at each other
"RUN!" She screamed. "You've to survive, Lyanna. You're the last of our bloodline. You understand, right?"
Queen Isabelle then threw herself at the hunters, stopping them to buy time. Lyanna was about to enter the throne room to save her mother but her mother stopped her.
"I, the Graves Queen, am ordering you, Princess Lyanna, to run and survive."
Lyanna had to run. Behind her, her mother screamed in pain and then went silent. The tears that had been pooling in her eyes finally spilled over. But she kept running, she had no other option.
I've to survive…I've to survive.
The castle she'd spent her whole life in was worse than a nightmare. Bodies lay everywhere. Everyone was either dead or dying.
Lyanna reached the west wing and tore aside a window shade. Behind it was a hidden passage her mother had shown her years ago. She found the latch and pulled it open.
The passage was dark and smelled of dust. She entered inside and shut the door just as hunters ran past. She just stood there in the darkness, shaking, covering her mouth so no one could hear her breathing.
The passage led to the old tunnels beneath the castle. She put her one hand on the wall, as she started walking. Her other hand was holding her long skirt.
She kept walking, unaware of the time. Her feet hurt, but the pain wasn't important now. She just kept walking.
When she finally saw light ahead after hours, she almost didn't believe it. She stepped out and found herself miles away from the castle, at a hidden exit hidden by bushes.
She looked back and saw her home, Graves Castle, burning. Smoke filled the sky. Her family, her childhood, everything was gone in just few hours.
She collapsed to the ground and finally screamed until her voice broke. She cried until she was so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open. She just lay there as darkness engulfed her, staring at the smoke that still hadn't stopped.
Eventually, she stood up.
I've to survive. But where can I go? I've no allies. No one will give shelter to a Graves princess now.
She had no plan. She only knew she had to go somewhere safe before the Holy Order killed her as well.
She looked at the forest ahead of her and walked inside. Thorns tore her dress, branches scratched her arms and face, and roots tripped her. But she was too numb to care. She just kept walking.
Hours passed, but she kept walking until her body gave out and she collapsed near a tree. Before she could even catch her breath, she heard the sound of horses.
She tried to move, to hide but her body didn't respond. She watched as riders appeared from the trees. They were not Holy Order hunters. They wore black and crimson robes and looked scary, their eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
Lyanna recognized them. They weren't humans. They were vampires.
That's when she realized she was not in human land anymore. She was in Thornfield territory. She was in the land of King Azrael Thornfield, the vampire king she'd publicly humiliated six years ago when she'd rejected him at their wedding altar, choosing disgrace over marriage to a monster.
She would have laughed at the irony if she had any strength left.
Their leader dismounted and walked towards her slowly.
"Well, well." He said in amusement. "What do we have here?" He crouched down, smelling her.
"You are a human. From your clothes, I can tell you belong to a noble family. Are you lost or running from someone?"
Lyanna tried to speak, but no words came out.
The vampire then looked at her properly in the moonlight. His eyes suddenly widened in shock.
"The Graves Princess??"
All vampire riders went completely still.
"Graves Princess? The one who rejected His Majesty at the altar. How could you even think of coming here?" He laughed and turned towards the other riders.
"His Majesty will want to hear about this. Lady Lyanna Graves has run into the worst place possible."
Lyanna knew what he meant. She was in the territory of the vampire who hated her the most in this world.
"His Majesty will be very happy." One of the riders said. "Let's take her to him."
As the leader lifted her, her vision faded.
Maybe death would have been better.
She thought, and then lost unconscious.