Darina started telling her story in a voice like a ragged whisper.
"The situation in Valoria... it has been a powder keg for years, My Lord," she began, "Lady Justice Serana Stormhold, with her peerless battle prowess, had earned the absolute loyalty of the Justicar Knights. She was their heart. But in overshadowing the political wing- the Paladin Order, she created an enemy that does not fight with swords but with whispers."
She coughed, a wet, painful sound. "The Paladins were biding their time. When the Princess revealed her 'inclination,' they found the crack they were searching for. They did not make any move openly. Rather, they moved through the shadows, spreading poison among the commoners, the squires, and the lower-ranked nobles. They whispered that Selena was a coward, an evil lady who would tarnish the very soul of Valoria- its chivalry, its high ethics, its ancient moral. They said if she took the Seat of Justice, Valoria would fall."
Lorian listened to each of her words carefully, trying to visualize things in his mind.
"The pressure on Lady Serana was immense," Darina continued, "They demanded the Lady Justice disown the Princess. They demanded she deny her daughter's right to the Seat. But Lady Serana is a Stormhold; she does not break. Instead, she found a third path. She sent her daughter to the Thorne family- to your mother- for safety. But then, the news reached us. Elmsworth Thorne was dead. Veridia was in turmoil. And its tremors reach Valoria as well. Lady Serana realized the Paladins would see your distraction as their golden opportunity."
Darina took a shallow breath, "The Lady Justice realized she could no longer avoid the confrontation. So, she decided to go to Veridia, ask her friend Lady Seraphina to guard Selena if something happened to her, and then return to Valoria to break the Paladin Order once and for all. But the Princess... she suddenly started acting strange, my lord. She pleaded with her mother not to leave. When the Lady would not delay any more, Selena became hellbent on returning with her. She wouldn't be left behind. Finally, the Lady gave in. They left together."
The room grew colder as Darina reached the night of the attack.
"The path was uneventful until we reached the deep woods at evening. The guards were suspiciously acting restless, jumping at shadows. Drengen and the Lady decided to set the camp at the edge of the wood. But as night set in... the world changed. It became eerie. Scary. It felt as if the Justicars we had known for years were gone, replaced by creepy dummies. Their gazes shifted when you weren't looking. Their fingers twitched over their hilts. The Lady pulled her daughter close; she could feel the looming dread in the air. No one intended to sleep that night."
She looked at Lorian, her eyes wide, "Only the Princess surprisingly seemed calm. She sat there, composed, as if everything were happening exactly as she had predicted. She locked her gaze into the campfire flames, watching them as if she could see the future burning within."
"And then," Darina whispered, "the silence came. A strange, heavy calm loomed over the woods. Not a single insect chirped. Not a leaf rustled. It was as if the whole forest were holding its breath to witness what the night had to offer."
"The silence broke with a hissing sound- the zip of a blade through a throat. Then a muffled groan and the wet thud of a body falling. Before anyone could draw a sword, that same sequence erupted all around us. Zip. Groan. Thud."
The four of us scrambled to our feet. A Justicar knight approached us, terrified, and gasping for breath. His white armor seemed to be splattered with the blood of his brothers. "Mutiny!" he shouted, "The loyalists are being slaughtered! They are coming to arrest the Lady Justice and the Princess!"
"Lady Serana didn't hesitate. She ordered me to take Selena and ride for the Auric Spire- to find you, My Lord, and bring reinforcements. She and Drengen would stay to regroup the survivors and hold them off. But the Princess... she rejected the plea. She argued that taking me away would weaken their defense. She told her mother that if she stayed and let them arrest her, they would spare the rest of the family."
Darina's voice broke into a sob, "But the Lady Justice would not hear it. She coerced Selena into leaving. It was an act of bitter mercy, My Lord. She used Selena's love like a blade, forcing her to run by promising she would never forgive her if she stayed to die. It was the first time I saw true confusion on the Princess's face. She probably hadn't calculated for that. But she could not reject her mother's command. She fled with me."
"After riding for a while, I realized that we were chased," Darina gasped, clutching Lorian's hand tighter, "They didn't come from the camp; they were waiting in the brush. But I made my horse run faster. We were gaining distance; we were almost clear when a massive battle-axe flew from the dark and buried itself in my back. At that moment of hesitation, a tree trunk- most probably a swinging trap- smashed into my face. I was thrown from the horse. The Princess fell with me."
"Dark figures swarmed us. They were draped in black; their faces were hidden. I tried to fight, but something heavy struck the back of my neck. As the world faded, I saw him- a rider on a black horse emerging from the trees. He reached down and took Selena. I tried to stop him. I gathered every ounce of my soul to move, but another blow to my face took the light away."
"When I woke, the sun was up. A fox cub was sniffing at my blood. I was alone. I crawled, My Lord. I crawled toward Veridia until I found your beastmen. I begged them to leave me, to save the Princess, but they denied me. One carried me here... the other went toward the slaughter. And then, I fell back into the dark."
As Darina finished, she slumped back, her eyes closing from pure exhaustion. The doctor rushed forward, checking her pulse, "She is stable, My Lord. Only spent. She needs the silence of the Restoration Wing to heal."
Lorian stood slowly; his mind was now clouded with a storm of variables. He walked out into the hallway where Jax, Zara, Kaelen, and Elara were waiting for him eagerly. He repeated the story to them, word for word, as if saying it aloud would make the logic reveal itself.
"There are too many shadows in this tale," Lorian said, "What happened to Serana and Drengen? Who were the men in black? Were they Paladin rebels or a third party waiting for the chaos? And the rider on the black horse... who kidnaps a Princess in the middle of a mutiny instead of killing her?"
He looked at Zara, "And why did Selena insist on returning to Valoria, knowing it was a trap?"
"And last but not the least," he asked himself, "what should I do now?"