In that moment there was a mighty boom on the door as the lock that Isaac had placed on it flew across the room. I shielded my eyes from the splinters and metal that flew off the door. The cup fell out of my hand and dropped to the floor and smashed. I looked up in front of me and watched Isaac spin around as quick as a flash with his drawn sword, now with his back to me. The next thing I saw in the haze and confusion was a sword coming straight through the back of Prince Isaac before the sword was drawn back through Isaac’s now lifeless body.

The brightness of the light pouring through the door and Isaac had blocked my vision of exactly who had just burst through the door. In a matter of milliseconds a million things had happened and my mind was trying to process them all. It didn’t take long for my eyes to adjust to the light. Isaac dropped to the floor and George was standing there, my saviour.

“Are you okay?” he asked in panic.

“I’m fine, he tried to poison me” I said, still trying to catch my breath from what had just happened.

“I know, I caught one of their soldiers in the kitchen” said George. I told him that it was in the tea that was now spilt all over the bedroom floor, as the ever widening puzzle of drink had met with the ever widening puddle of blood that was now coming from Isaac’s dead body. I was in shock that the prince of a neighbouring kingdom had just been killed in my bedroom.

“We need to act fast, get dressed” said George. My hero. My knight in shining armour. He had come out of love and had already saved my life. It might not be the first time he has to do that. Two guards came through the door and immediately drew their sword at George.

“Stop!” I shouted, George dropped his sword and put his hands up.

“Are you okay princess, we heard a commotion?” said one of the guards, looking at the body that was now on the floor.

“Yes, Prince George is on our side. You are to do what he says” I said, giving clear command. They immediately withdrew their swords while George picked his back up.

“Right men” started George, “Prince Isaac and they Sanyek’s have just tried to kill our princess. You stay here” he said pointing at the guard who spoke, “and protect her while I find John. I’ll send back-up” he was in full battle mode.

“You come with me” he said to the other guard.

“Understood” said the guards.

“Stay safe” said George. I looked towards the secret passage and contemplated escaping once more. Not this time, this time the castle needed their princess and I was ready to command. In a flash George ran out of the door to find John. He must have passed a few guards as within a few minutes there were about 20 men protecting my room, ready to die to protect me.

John - Getting ready for battle

I’ve had some rude awakenings in my time, but being awoken by a prince from another castle holding his sword was probably the rudest of them all.

I would have probably grabbed for my sword under my bed if one of my guards wasn’t calmly standing beside Prince George. If the awakening wasn’t rude enough, the next words to come out of his mouth sprung me into action.

“The Sanyek’s have tried to kill the princess. She is safe, Prince Isaac is dead and we have to attack”

I looked at the guard, who I had trained, for reassurance. “He’s right General” said the guard, “The princess has her trust in George”

Good enough for me I thought, I had so many questions floating around in my head, but George had given me the exact information I needed, I’d find out the details later. Time was at a premium.

At any one time around a fifth of the army was battle ready for a moment at this. I went into the army quarters and gave a simple order. “Kill the Sanyek men, George is on our side” the army had complete trust in me and my every command. They would do such an order without as much as a question.

They marched out of the quarters to where the Sanyek’s were based. Word must have gotten to them, as they were preparing for escape by the time we arrived. Ralph was shouting for his brother, trying to tell him that they were going to escape.

“Your brother is dead” snarled George, “and our princess isn’t” with a malevolent smile on his face. Ralph’s face turned to horror at the news, their plan had failed and he had to escape.

We chased them out of the castle, but we could only claim a few of their soldiers. Their horses were already ready to ride, and ours weren’t. They lowered the drawbridge and made their escape, when they were at a safe distance, Ralph turned around to deliver a defiant message.

“Expect the whole of hell to be at your gate, we’ll burn this castle to the ground” I hate no doubts about the first part of his message; I very much doubted the second part. Bring it, I thought.

Bella – The reflection

It was a close call with the poison, It’s clear that the Sanyek’s never had any intention of helping us in the battle against the Gattzam, they were obviously using it as a rouse to try and get control of my castle. The events of the morning were dramatic, and everyone sat down afterwards to discuss what had happened and what we were going to do next. We figured we had very little time until they came back, but their army would need to be readied so we probably had a day at the least.

Isaac’s body was removed and disposed of; I couldn’t believe that it had come to this. Not too long ago we were having fun after the joust and it had all gone wrong since. The marriage with his brother had broken down, which indirectly led to my father’s death and now him being killed in my room just as he tried to murder me. It was a crazy chain of events.

I bet Ralph saw this as his time to shine, his brother had been killed and I figured he’d now want to climb out of his shadow and show that he could lead the army against us. I had always had a soft spot for Ralph, but now there was probably nothing he’d want more in the world than to kill me. We shouldn’t have let him escape from the castle, but it was difficult with all the commotion.

I hadn’t seen Josh since I left the castle when he swore his revenge. I had little doubt that the actions of the Sanyek castle were at least in part due to the embarrassment that I cause them by fleeing the castle. They may not have killed my father, but they saw it as an opportunity to get their revenge when they found out he was dead. I may not have seen Josh for a while, but I had no doubt that I would be seeing him again very soon. This time though, one of us wouldn’t be getting out alive.

John was preparing himself and his troops for battle; this is what he lived for. He had been in many fights before and had won them all. This one though would be his toughest. It was such a turn on to see him in action around the castle. Commanding his men and giving out clear instructions. He may have won his previous battles, but this would be the hardest one he’s ever fought. I wouldn’t put my faith in any other man in the world.