The Kingdom of Phoenix had stood strong for over a hundred years, never challenged and never mistaken as weak. It’s walls and waters surrounding looked as fresh as its first brick was laid, withering was beyond the castle’s ability and instead it always looked lively. Every person who lived on the castle grounds danced and sang with love for their life; they all believed that the kingdom had made their lives flourish.

However, those who worked within knew the stress and hard work that had to go into keeping the kingdom a safe place to live. The amount of fighting that happened monthly was more than anyone could handle, but they kept it out of site so that others could live peacefully.

I had watched on the side lines and been inside these battles, nothing about them were peaceful. The dangerous clashing of kingdoms, the piles of bodies that lay on the grass and the blood shed which dressed the trees. It was a horrific sight compared to Phoenix’s grounds. Parts of me wish I had stayed sheltered away from all the impurities, but I knew I would’ve always ended up where I am today.

Stood outside Phoenix, watching the gates be swallowed up by the flames. Eating at every structure, every space and every wall; Phoenix was finally falling. As much as I wanted to shed a tear, I couldn’t; if I cried at the disaster unfolding in front of me, I’d be named a fool.

I had a part in its end. I had helped administer the fatal wounds to Phoenix’s structure. My body filled with a wicked feeling of joy watching the flames swarm what made my home, diminishing the remains of it. Whatever sadness I felt for the families grasping onto any boat available that hadn’t sparked yet had passed; I was happy with what I had helped create.

Lawrence slowly walked up to me, watching the horror unfold. His cruel grin filled his face, showing no mercy. “We’d better not hang around; someone is bound to blame us if we stand here smirking at the remains.” He was almost laughing at the description of the events. His eyes filled with glitter watching the flames dance in the wind, as if they had grown their own smirks.

My stomach sank, I knew I didn’t have the heart to fake being wrecked at the sight. If I didn’t go back to help, they’d grow suspicious of my whereabouts and I’d end up on a wanted list. But I couldn’t gather myself to return and pretend I had nothing to do with the disturbing scenes that had evolved today. “Let’s get going. Arthur will turn up soon and start beheading anyone who isn’t giving a proper alibi.” My lips formed a thin smile as I turned to the path, walking quickly with Lawrence back to the hidden base I was invited to not long ago.

“Why did you turn against them?” He questioned, stopping at the entrance to the small overgrown doorway. It opened to lead down to an underground base, but the vines and grass had stopped everyone from seeing what was held within. He pushed the door and took a few steps before watching me close the door. He somewhat trusted me, but he still had moments where he was skeptical of my intentions. “Weren’t you of high value to them or whatever?” He snickered, leading me into one of the studies. This was his own, filled with maps and plans of everything he had done or had yet to do. Lawrence wasn’t a scary man, he was a soft being at heart; however, I wouldn’t want to be on the other end of his knife because I had seen the lack of mercy he has when challenging anyone who crosses him.

I slumped myself into the velvet green sofa, facing the plans of the events today. Every spark and person involved had been sketched onto the blue paper, their next move was written beside in little words. My name was in red, beside the main room in the kingdom with Lawrence’s name in black. I was the only one in red, the only two colours he had used everywhere else was black and green. Wracking my brain for any reason I could come up with, it was useless. Something felt off, but I knew he was just taking precautions; he still saw me as a liability sometimes.

I looked him in the eye as he sat opposite me, smiling. “I spent my whole life in those walls. Every second of every day I worked my ass off to show what I could do. They only took me seriously when we found a hole in the wall that never got repaired properly, the one I told you about that helped you massively. It was only because they realised how absolutely useless half of their fighters were that I got offered a job. Yeah, I was one of their best - actually, I was their best - but they only cared to notice if their mistakes meant they were close to being fucked.” I lit a cigarette.

Lawrence’s eyes were still glued to mine, watching every move and twitch of my lips. “I saved them from their last battle and all I got was a thank you, not even a promotion. Then, I realised something quite funny.” I paused, inhaling and taking a moment to enjoy the sensation that ran within me. “They were going to fall if we all decided to give up. They don’t have a clue how to run their kingdom and they don’t deserve to have such a prestige reputation if they rely one those who get nothing back.”

I smirked, wickedness taking control of me. “I wanted them to face what would happen without us, I wanted them to fall. I needed them to know how much they needed us. I wanted them to crumble and never get back up.”

Lawrence stayed absolutely silent.