My steps break the silence between me and the lonely halls. The castle’s twisting corridors are complex, but to me, they are my simple home. The ball occurring downstairs was no more than a small event, I never did take any of them seriously.

But as a princess, I must eventually. I am the heiress, the future for my kingdom.

My thoughts shift back and forth, until deciding that the ball is most likely the wisest choice. I find my heels clacking down the marble staircase until the evening chatter grows louder. Nearer.

The chattering is comforting to me, despite the silence I typically yearn. Well, until the screaming started.

I never had a knack for courteous behavior. But my fighting skills were more than enough.

My heels carry my legs in a sprint, dashing into the chaotic ballroom. _What the…?_

My hands are shaking, but hers are still. My heart races, yet hers is no more than a simple, mere beat.

I stand across her, her face striked with determination and thought. Her fists are clenched, knuckles white at her side. But deep in her confusion, deep in her thoughts, there is a plan.

Becuase in all chaos, there is calculation. And she was the one to calculate every aspect of the truth. Every idea passed through her thoughtful mind.

It is my sister. The one who stands among the chaos, yet she is the thoughtful source of it.

Her sword is raised, perfectly poised. What has she started?

Guards surround the guests, threatening to do far worse than harm. She has convinced at least half of the guards to side with her, to commit treason. Yet I am outnumbered. I cannot face them all alone.

Unless I have a death wish.

“I guess you’ve committed treason without an action, sister,” her voice cuts me out of my contemplation. “Maybe you’ll find some silence after all, in the dungeons.”

I stare at her.

I stare at _every_ guard we trained together.

_This isn’t real. It can’t be. _

“What have you done?” I plead. My voice is desparate, yet the guards haven’t laid a finger on me.

“I have merely calculated, sister.”

“This isn’t right.”

“Oh I know,” her voice is cold. “But I’ve planned something far better than the future you wish to bring upon us.”

I stare in disbelief.

She returns my stare, eyes trained into mine. “But I suppose you’ll have to wait.”

The silence is loud, the chaos tuned out. She has played with my world, silencing everyone and everything except our conversation. And now I must decide whether I shall join her or be silenced forever.

And it may just be death that shuts my mouth.