“What are you doing here?” Alaster asked Davian.

“You know me. Just stopping by to see how my favorite brother and father were doing.” Davian said.

“Our father is dead! All thanks to you and your little servant!”

Ok. No one called me a servant. I wasn’t one. I was a killer, sure. Not a servant or a slave. I struggled against the prince’s grip, but he was too strong.

“Let her go. She had nothing to do with this. She was just another servant who got caught up in the mix. I put the poison in his wine, she took it out. Let her go.”

Why was he trying to save me? Wouldn’t he just let me die? Wasn’t he the cruel, heartless prince who killed his oldest brother? Wasn’t he the one who tried to completely ruin his entire family? He just killed his father, or had me do it for him.

“Oh really? Just another girl who got caught in the mix? Of course. Then, why don’t I remember ever meeting her to appoint her to our father?” Alaster made sure that the sword nicked me a little. I whimpered.

I felt so small and useless. The only thing I could do was hope that I didn’t die.

Hope. I was hope. That was my name. My mother named me it for because I brought so much hope to her and my father. If they could have a girl, they could have a boy. Then, I’d tried to give hope to the rebels. I’d tried to poison then king and get away with it.

I wasn’t hope. I was a terrible creature forced into hope. I failed.

“I impersonated you, brother. It’s not that hard to. You’ve got very little brains and a tendency to flirt with any pretty girl you see.” Davian said.

My heart shattered. It was all an act. He’d been acting as his brother, acting like he liked me. He’d made me fall for him, but it was all a lie. What a fool I was.

Alasted growled. “Why are you protecting her?”

“No one else needs to die tonight.”

“On the contrary, brother. You need to pay for your crimes.”

I was flung into a wall. Instantly, blinding pain shot up my back and into my head. I saw stars, but I could hear the voices and sounds. It was out of focus, but I could hear it.

Clashing swords. Screams of terror and calling for guards. Threats and yells. All of it seemed so pointless.

I could just fall asleep. I was so tired. So exhausted-

“Stay with me, Hope.” A voice. It was like an angel. It reassured me. Everything… Everything was going to be alright.

Blood leaked from my head down to my neck. It stained my clothes even more. It was warm. So much pain.

“Help!” Someone screamed. “She needs help!”

“She’s a rebel!”

“No. She is not. She’s a bystander! You heard Davian. We cannot let her become another casualty of his cruelty.”

Agreement.

That’s when the world went dark around me and the voices all faded out.