Headmistress Fiona sits at the head of the table. Everyone sits quietly in the banquet hall. The only sound is the scrape of forks on plates.
“How many troops are gathered?” She doesn’t even look up at her from her plate as she directs the question to her eldest daughter.
“Three billion, your grace.” Eleanor Derose, first heir to the throne, sits next to her mother. She lays her hands down against the table, thinking.
“Where are we to send these troops, your excellency?”
“Send them to the Yaelar sector.” Fiona nods. Eleanor waves her hand and the communication officer standing on the side of the room rushes to the communication offices and types in the codes.
[Bzz] . . . [click.click.click] . . . sending files B829HITY82 to [Terminal 9C] . . . [Announcement] . . . [Processing] . . . [click.click.click] [Transmission Open: H6B3]
The robotic voice rings out over Drukarus's main military channel.
[beep] [beep] Send troops to coordinates, House Yaelar.
The officer comes back with a little slip of paper. He hands it to Eleanor.
"Thank you sir. You may return to your post." She waves him away and turns back to her family.
"The troops have been sent out and have just left the atmosphere." A mumble comes from the other side of the table.
"You've just sent three billion fathers and mothers away from their loved ones, your insane." Claude pokes at his food, not appearing to be hungry.
"What did you say Claude?" Judas sets down his fork and looks over at his brother.
"I said. Your torturing the people, Judas." The two boys practically stared each other down. Athena kicks him under the table roughly, but he ignores it.
"Claude Apollo Derose." Edmund stands up from his chair, his hands on the table.
"Don't you say my middle name." Claude stands up as well, his eyes snapping to his fathers direction.
"Sit down, son."
"Don't you dare call me your son!" Judas's hand slaps clear across his face. The impact can be heard across the hall and Claude's cheek turns red. Claude holds a stone face, moving his head to look at his elder brother.
"Where have your manners gone?" Judas huffs firmly.
"Where is your respect?" Athena yells, setting down her silverware.
"Your such a brat Claude! A rotten brat! Now sit down!" She stands up out of her chair, limping and shaking horribly on one leg, pointing to his angrily. He meets her eyes.
"My respect is for the people, not this filthy rotten family." He pulls his hand out from under the table revealing a gun.
"And I am not the brat here, you are."
BANG!
A bullet straight through her heart.
Athena drops holding her chest. Her dark red blood scattering everywhere. Athena Juliet Derose, dead at nineteen at being shot by her own brother. He was her guardian, the one persons who entire life was dedicated to protecting her. Her guardian shot her dead.
She never treated him right. To her, he was just a tool. Tools are made to be used and disposed of after use. When she was just five years old she fell off the third floor balcony to the palace. Her back was broken and she from that point on would never walk normally again. Her left leg from the knee down was completely immobilized due to nerve damage, and it was all Claude's fault. Seven year old little Claude was in the room, he had been beside her up to the moment she fell. He had accidentally bumped her off during a game. What he didn't know is his life would change that day too. He was never treated the same ever again. He is forever the family disgrace, the problem child, the guardian who couldn't even do his job. It still hurt him to this day.
Every day Athena would take advantage of this to get what she wanted, throw a tantrum, and if her guardian didn't do whatever she wanted then he was being a disappointment once again. She always reminded him of this incident, day in and day out, until he couldn't take it anymore. He got sick of her, sick of her demands, sick of his family. It all just sickened him. As he got older he saw how horrible his family treated the people of Drukarus, how wrong their governing is, but what can the problem child do?
Claude turns to the side, holding his gun up again.
BANG!
Eleanor goes down, she falls to the ground with a bullet through her shoulder.
Judas dives over the table tackling Claude to the ground, throwing the gun aside.
"Stop it you monster!" Judas beats Claude to the ground. Claude just sees lines of black and blue flutter through his vision, coughing horribly.
"For the people." Claude lets go of a breath and passes out, covered in blood, bruises, and broken limbs.
Judas is huffing covered in blood. Edmund and Fiona stand at opposite ends of the table, dumbstruck. Atlas and Caspian are holding Ruby and Scarlett against them, the two little girls sobbing. Eleanor leans back against her chair, a bullet through her shoulder, as she tries to stop the flow of blood. Athena lays dead against the ground.
The room has been painted red.
"Your highness!" The communication director runs into the room, his jaw dropping at the gruesome scene.
"T-theres r-rioting ou-outside the c-castle." He stutters to spit out, staring down, traumatized.
"For the people." Judas mumbles, jumping up and dashing down the hallway. He slams against the window to look outside, not caring that he is tracking blood everywhere.
Thousands of Serpentarii stand at the castle gates, shooting down soldiers left and right. The military is already gone. They are left with nothing to defend themselves.
"Claude, your one smart kid, I'll give you that." He whispers.
That day the entire castle was stormed by a million. The royal family was captured and held captive by the people. The communication offices were blown up and every line to and from Drukarus was cut making all communication to be met with static. The entire planet goes completely silent, and the three billion Serpentarii are stranded without communication to get home.
And to think this all started because a little boys voice was silenced, so he learned to use his fists.
The entire planet of Drukarus, and House of Derose goes completely and utterly silent.
House Derose and the planet of Drukarus is left dormant for an unknown period of time.