Page 99 of The Ballad of a Bard

Ring!

Ring!

Ring!

The warning bells sounded, a noise that West dreaded to hear every single time they went off. They didn’t ring often, but when they did- it signalled perilous times to come. He raced towards them, towards whatever caused them to go off. They rarely went off, only twice in his entire career as the Captain of the Watch and they sent spirals of fear into his system both times he’d heard them.

Before, duty was his first priority.

But things had changed.

Crimson, his mind headed for the single thought of her. He hoped that she was okay, that the bells didn’t ring for her,because of her. That was the last thing he wanted. She hadn’t spoken much after they’d failed to find her father and he knew that something else was stirring inside of her. Something that he’d be there for whenever she decided to broach the conversation with him. Until then, he would be patient and wait for her to unfold another piece of herself.

But for now, the bells were his main concern.

West almost missed the corner as he slowed to a halt, skidding along the stone floor. His hand grabbed the wall and he yanked himself into the next corridor. His breath was short lived in his chest but he didn’t care. He ignored it as he ran for the Empress’s room, because that was where the shouting was loudest.

No.

The door was flung open.

NO.

He stopped dead in his tracks as he beheld the horrific sight before him. A bucket of dread, of freezing cold water dumped overtop of him and he went as rigid as stone. This couldn’t be real, this wasn’t. It was a dream, even though he swore he’d never dream. Because if this was real, if what he saw was true, then West didn’t want to be here.

Because that was Altivar on his knees, silver tears falling as he clutched his mother’s limp body to him. He rocked back and forth, but that wasn’t what caught his eye. The Prince sobbed as he released his grasp on the Empress, only to show the item protruding from her back even more.

His last conversation with her- he hadn’t realised it would have been her last. She’d told him that she didn’t want to lose him and yet he was the one who had lost her.

Imp would laugh their head off.

They’d probably find it hilarious and then fall into a pit oftheir own sadness, wailing and weeping until they had no more tears left to cry.

West’s head emptied out and he wasn’t sure which emotion came first. Fear, panic, shock, hatred, horror, anguish, sorrow.

“Where is she?’ He gasped, sniffling through the wracking sobs. “Where isCrimson?!?!”

West’s entire world ended there, as he took in the familiar dagger that stole Muse’s life. The one that ended her, with the heart carved into the handle and the red around the grip. The smoky blade covered in shimmering scarlet.

“No,” He whispered, refusing to believe it.

She wouldn’t, Crimsoncouldn’t.

Altivar met his eyes with a fierce glare that bore the force of a thousand fires, a million burning suns and the wrath of a titan. “Shekilledher. Find her, find themurdererwho took the life of the Empress.”

West’s knees buckled. “Altivar-”

He hissed in his direction, sounding like a scorpion that was ready to strike. “Look and see what she did,Westley Saint. Look and see what your preciousCrimsonis capable of.”

His legs almost gave out on him there. “She wouldn’t do this, Altivar. Crimson isn’t-”

“But Red Lyric would.” The Prince fell back, shaking as he roared, “Find her,find Crimson and bring her to me!”

Guards took over for him, gently taking Muse into their arms and lifting her onto their shoulders as they carried her out. The body of a Saint was still a powerful thing.

West crumpled, hand bracing along the floor. “Please,Altivar, let me prove it. Let me show you that she’s innocent. It couldn’t have been her. There is no reason for why she’d want to harm Muse, there is no logical explanation for any of it.” His chest wastight, far tighter than any other pain he’d experienced in his life. And there, within his soul and his very existence, a crack for the beautiful soul that had been his friend for an eternity.

The Prince ignored him on the floor, breezing past. “I want posters up by tonight! From this moment on, Crimson Bard, Red Lyric and any other alias she’s known for, is a traitor to the Empire and wanted for murdering the Empress. As soon as she is found, she will face a trial and an execution.”

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