The Dawn of the New World

"To safety?"

Princess Ceni peered out of the window towards the sky which was now swarming with numerous flying objects while hundreds more fell to the ground.

The crack was now at least a few kilometers wide, just enough to reveal a large portion of the creature that was trying to breakthrough. It had a long cylindrical head with two sets of U-shaped horns on the side.

It had no eyes but instead, the entire lower portion of the face was a roaring toothy maw that had a humanoid face inside. Its body was an ashen black and looking in its direction for even a few seconds left Princess Ceni in blinding pain.

She quickly closed her eyes, falling into a brief period of contemplation.

'It looks like this is indeed the Luna Empire, and on the night of the siege to boot. These people probably don't think this is a big deal but no one makes it out of the city, not a single soul. I must find Hao Xuan quickly before it's too late. If I am here then he can't be too far away either.'

The head maid walked up to her and gently held her hand, "Your highness."

Princess Ceni opened her eyes and met her concerned gaze, startling the head maid because there was not an ounce of fear anywhere.

"Where will I go?" she asked emotionlessly.

"To…safety."

"You already said that but where is that and more importantly, how? When will the royal guard get here?"

The head maid couldn't believe what she was seeing. The spoiled brat of a princess she had known and loved all her life had changed in the blink of an eye, almost like she was a completely different person.

"Are you alright, your highness?" she whispered, "You don't have to be. Everyone would understand if-"

"Why wouldn't I be alright? I just want to speed things up."

The head maid nodded and took a step back.

"Yes…you are right. Bring the gown!"

She clapped her hands gesturing for the other maids to come over. They had already cleared the bed and laid out several items on it. One of these items was a long silver dress that looked like something one would wear to a ball rather than in times of war like this.

But thinking about something like that did not matter at all, not anymore. This place, all these people were already long dead. Whatever this was, it was not real. It was imperative she believed that.

The maids helped dress Princess Ceni, even going through the trouble of putting on several pieces of jewelry.

She managed to hold herself back because arguing with them would only waste more time. The 'protection spell' was completely broken by the time they finished and the humungous creature had begun to lay waste to the castle.

It was fighting with something else but Princess Ceni could not clearly see what it was since it was much smaller in size.

Another explosion rang out from somewhere below followed by ear-piercing screams. The faces of all the maids fell in an instant as they looked to the head maid.

She took something out of her sleeve before putting it back after a quick look.

"They have broken into the tower. It will still be a few minutes until the royal guards arrive. I will take the princess to the northern tower, you all know what to do."

The maids nodded and bowed from the waist, "Please be safe, your highness."

The head maid took Princess Ceni by the arm and led her out of a secret entrance that opened up from behind the mirror. None of the other maids came with.

Princess Ceni watched as they manually closed the entrance, making her wonder what the plan was.

"What will happen to them?"

"They will do what they were brought here to do, protect you until the last moment. They all have the same features as you so once they wear your clothes each one of them will head in a different direction to confuse the enemy."

Princess Ceni went silent for a moment before asking, "So they are distractions to buy time for me. Do they know what kind of end waits for them once they are caught?"

"Of course," the head maid replied without any hesitation, "It is their duty and honor to die if it means the princess can live."

'But she won't, no one will.'

The head maid seemed to know exactly where to go as she expertly navigated the neverending maze of corridors that connected to each and every room within the castle.

But it looked like most of the places were already overrun as soldiers clad in white armor ransacked and slaughtered without discrimination.

The head maid kept looking at the item hidden within her sleeve every few seconds until they reached the dungeons.

This was the only place still untouched by the intruders, although they were not far behind from the sound of it.

"I must leave you here," the head maid finally let go of her arm, "The King has sent both the captain and the vice-captain of the royal guards to escort you outside.. You must do whatever they tell you to."