A/N: Thanks to my beta Jess -huggles- ********************** The west halls of Dalimra Palace Eve of the Prince's Seventeenth Birthday “CATCH THEM!” An echoing of footsteps crashed through the palace’s long corridors, startling the few servants who dared venture out of their quarters to see what the rumpus was about. The bodies of the palace guards lay strewn on the floors, their blood staining the white marble pink. A pair of black boots appeared from the top of the stairs, followed closely by a pair of dainty white sandals. The owner of the boots; a boy who looked as if he had just come of age, all but slid down the handrail, landing with a stagger at the bottom as the older woman who’d followed him swept down the stairs, her skirts hiked up above her ankles to aid her run. Not far behind marched a small army, swords drawn as they hunted down their prey as a predator would. The teenager threw himself against the door, shoulder first as he stumbled out onto the ramparts; he tripped slightly, his black leather clad knee nearly scraping across the stone as his nurse grabbed him by the arm, “My Lord, we must keep moving!” she all but begged the young blonde as he nodded, grabbing her hand and dragging her behind him, trying to ignore the soldiers advancing behind them. His boots skidded as he stopped to spin his head round, his lithe body stepping in front of the woman as eyes the color of sapphires snapped back and forth between the soldiers on either side of them. Their full body of silver colored armour was in contrast to the dress of their two victims. The woman wore a dress of cream; a sort of matching corset accented her cleavage as she breathed heavily causing strands of copper hair which had escaped her bun to flutter in front of her flushed face. The thin legs of the shorter boy were encased in black leather and the pants hung low on his hips; around his waist what looked like a ripped scarf had been tied; his sleeveless shirt was a zip up one and was black to match his outfit. Around his neck hung what the soldiers were after. His pale neck was marred only by a black choker, hanging from the centre was a rounded off cross and in the centre of that; the Morningstar. His family’s most treasured possession, it was said to grant it’s owner the power to cast magicks that could never be imagined. The prince was unaware of the stone’s power, he’d been it’s carrier since he was very young so his mind and body had become accustomed to the power of the stone which hung around his neck. Watching out from under dirty blonde hair, it came to dawn on him they were stuck. “Jump my lord” The blonde looked at his companion as if she had just sprung an extra head, “Illia! Are you mad? I jump from here I will undoubtedly kill myself!” he argued, looking about wildly as he backed them against the stone wall. Scrambling up, he rested on hand on his hip as he peered behind him, noticing there was some sort of portal like thing below him. Leave it to Illia to give him an easy way out, “GET THE PRINCE!” one of the soldier’s hollered, causing the teen to offer his nurse a half smile before he allowed himself to free-fall backwards into darkness and probable safety. Illia allowed herself to be restrained and led back towards the keep, her head turning slightly so she was able to look at where her charge had been standing just moments before. “Be safe…Justin”