The sun hadn't even touched the tips of the trees when the first echo of marching boots filled the village.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Dozens of iron-plated boots stomped through the dirt paths like a rolling thundercloud. Dust kicked into the air as the king's soldiers, clad in black and red, stormed into the sleepy village of Dellwyn Ozile, lanterns swinging and swords unsheathed.
"Open your doors! In the name of King Tharion!" one of the captains roared, slamming the butt of his spear against a wooden door.
Children cried. Mothers clutched their sons tightly. Men shouted protests, but no one dared to resist.
Doors were forced open. Cries followed.
"Please, he's only a baby..."
"He's innocent!"
"You can't do this!"
But the guards didn't listen. They were under direct orders, and none dared question the wrath of King Tharion. Across the village, chaos spread like fire.
Inside her small cottage near the edge of the woods, Mirna was already awake. She had heard the sound of boots long before they reached her door. Her eyes narrowed as she peeked out the window and saw the unmistakable glint of the royal crest on the soldiers' armor.
"Lucas!" she hissed, spinning around.
The boy sat at the table, chewing on a piece of bread, half-asleep. He looked up, confused.
"What's going on?"
"No time to explain," she said, pulling him up by the arm. "We need to move...now!"
Lucas blinked, swallowing hard. "Wait what? Why?"
Mirna rushed across the room to the far wall where a tattered rug lay bunched in the corner. She yanked it aside, revealing a trapdoor barely the width of a grown man's shoulders.
"Get in."
"But..."
"Lucas, don't argue. Do exactly as I say." She roared.
The thunder of approaching boots grew louder. Shouts were echoing just a few houses away now.
Mirna dropped to her knees and pulled open the trapdoor. Cold air whooshed up from the narrow, torch-lit passage beneath.
"Where does it lead?" Lucas whispered, his voice shaking.
"Nowhere... Somewhere.... Just enough to keep you alive." She turned to him, gripping his shoulders. "Listen to me carefully. Stay quiet. Don't come out, no matter what you hear. Do not make a sound."
Lucas's eyes were wide with fear. "What if they hurt you?"
Mirna's face softened, but only for a moment. She cupped his cheek.
"Let me worry about that. You're the one they want. You're the one they fear. Now go."
She helped him down into the cramped tunnel, and as soon as he was inside, she slid the door shut and threw the rug back over it, smoothing it with her foot. A second later.
BANG! BANG!
"Open up! King's orders!"
Mirna stood straight, took a breath, and walked to the door with the calmness of a woman with nothing to hide. She opened it slowly.
Three guards stood outside, weapons drawn.
"You alone?" one of them barked, stepping inside without permission.
"As always," she replied evenly. "What's the meaning of this storming about like wolves?"
"King Tharion's orders," the captain said, scanning the room. "We're searching every house for a boy. Could be nine, ten, could be younger. Any male child."
Mirna scoffed lightly, crossing her arms. "And what would a boy be doing in the house of an old widow who's buried more than she's birthed?"
The chief guard didn't answer right away. Instead, he pulled a small leather-bound ledger from his satchel, flipped through a few pages, then glanced up slowly.
"Funny you'd say that," he said, his voice low but pointed. "According to the Kingdom Birth Registry, there's supposed to be a male child around...ten years of age registered to this household."
Mirna froze for the briefest moment. Her mind raced. she forgot every child male or female must be registered according to the rules of the kingdom stipulated by king Tharion himself. She blinked once, then twice, composing herself.
"You mean Lucas?" she said, her voice tight. "He died. Fever took him three winters ago. I Buried him behind the hill with his father."
There was a beat of silence.
The captain General Orlan Thorne stared hard at her, as if studying her face for cracks. His lips twitched slightly into something between a smirk and a sneer.
"Is that so?" he muttered, eyes still fixed on her. "Fever, you say..."
He gave one last long glance around the room before slowly tucking the ledger back into his coat. Then he turned to his men. "Move on."
The guards stepped closer, peering around the room. The captain tapped the table with the tip of his sword. "Mind if we look around?"
"Be my guest," Mirna said, stepping aside.
The three men searched the house thorough poking into cupboards, under the bed, even behind the hanging curtains.
Lucas held his breath below, curled tightly in the shadows. He could hear every step, every grunt, the metallic scrape of weapons against the floor above. His heart pounded like war drums.
"Nothing here," one guard said at last.
"We'll be watching this house," he added.
As the other guards stormed through the house, flipping stools and tearing through cupboards, The Captain's heavy boots moved with precision.
He wasn't like the others, he searched with a hunter's focus. And now, he was pacing toward the far end of the room, where a worn-out rug covered a circular wooden panel on the floor.
Below that panel, Lucas crouched in the damp dark, barely breathing. A small hole in the wood allowed him to peek at the chaos above. His heart hammered in his chest as the chief's shadow crept closer… and closer.
Mirna stood stiff by the fireplace, her fingers twitching at her sides, her mouth dry. Every step the chief took made her feel like she was about to lose control of her bladder. She almost called out, almost made a desperate excuse but stopped herself.
Then something inside Lucas shifted.
A memory flickered. A lesson from maybe instincts, he just can't recall. it came like a whisper in his mind.
"If you're ever trapped, use their mind against them. Fear is the easiest door to open." the voice said slowly.
Without thinking, Lucas reached out, not with his hands, but his thoughts. He locked onto the chief's mind. The image struck like lightning, he saw a snake. Not just any snake, but a long, black-scaled serpent, hissing from the branches of a tree.
it happens that Lucas just unlocked a new ability, the ability of mind reading and hallucination. He looked through the chief's mind by channeling energy from the secret underground and saw his deepest fears.
So he made the chief see imaginary snakes from the trees through the window. The chief paused mid-step. His head turned slowly toward the open window. His eyes widened.
"Snake!" he shouted, stumbling back and nearly knocking over a stool. His hand went to his sword, but he didn't draw it, he couldn't.
"Where?" one of the guards shouted.
"There, on the tree! Long black serpent! It's watching me!" Chief backed up, bumping into another soldier.
The others exchanged glances. One looked out the window and squinted.
"I don't see anything, Chief."
"It was right there!" He barked. "It had yellow eyes! Filthy creature..."
Mirna blinked, stunned, her breath caught in her throat. The chief's face twisted in disgust.
"I hate snakes. Let's move. We've wasted enough time in this crumbling shack." He waved his arm, voice still sharp. "Out! Now!"
The guards obeyed,
The captain stared at Mirna for a moment longer. "You see anything... strange, you report it. Understand?"
She nodded once. "Loud and clear"
The door slammed shut behind them.
Beneath the floor, Lucas finally exhaled, his whole body trembling. Upstairs, Mirna collapsed into the nearest chair, face pale and drenched in sweat. She didn't speak. She couldn't.
Then a tiny knock came from below, and her voice cracked as she whispered, "Lucas... was that you?" A pause. Then softly from the underground hatch,
"I..i ..."egins