'Darkness Rising' - Part 1 of 'The Dark War'-Series

 

 

The palace did not have dungeons, that is what Princess Emma had always been told. In a kingdom as well-ruled and peaceful as hers, dungeons were not needed. If there were no enemies to lock away in high towers or underground caverns, then there was no need for high towers, or for underground caverns. And yet, she found herself in a tunnel she had never explored, a tunnel dark and damp that led from the armoury down into the pitch black; a tunnel that led to the palace’s dungeons where she found the palace’s sole prisoner: a mysterious woman who had been down there for the past eighteen years. The only woman, perhaps, with the knowledge and power to stop the rising darkness that was threatening to plunge the Kingdom into war.

---

Emma had found the hatch three days ago, by accident as her accident-prone form had crashed into a displayed coat of armour while practicing her sword hand, alone in one of the all but forgotten armouries of the palace. After the dust and noise had settled, she had tried to manoeuvre the case back, but had found the sturdy wooden panel that had been revealed too interesting to pass up. Emma knew the palace was filled with hidden passages and pathways, and they had excited Emma to no end while she was growing up—especially because much of her life was filled with boredom and lessons she disliked. Throughout her youth, most of her joy had been found in passages much like the one the hatch had revealed, and Emma—as adventurous as she was by nature—had immediately relished the chance to explore a brand new one now she was older. Despite being eighteen now, Emma figured no one was ever too old for an adventure, especially when it was just stumbled upon.

Of course, deep down, Emma knew she was too old to childishly crawl through unexplored passageways, but the monotony of the palace life was often too boring to submit to. She wanted to be out in the world, slay dragons, go on adventures, but of course she was not allowed any of that. Instead, she was paraded around her potential suitors in the hope she would fall for one of them and get married, and she rarely left the palace at all, except for very rare hunting trips. Eighteen or not, Emma had found a chance to unwind and indulge, and she was going to take it no matter what.

Read more...

(Graphic by the amazing stuff0ureyeswithw0nder)