It was Friday evening, the 10th of September, 4030 M.F.E., and the crisp air of early Valyserian autumn drifted through Aurelion, the capital city of the Kingdom of Fyrion.
Inside the grand hall of the Zivale Hotel, luxury shimmered in every corner. Glittering chandeliers cast warm light across crimson-and-gold drapery, the scent of roses mingled with fine cuisine, and polite laughter echoed beneath the high arching ceiling.
Tonight was not an ordinary night.
Tonight, the eighty-year-old Queen Alyndra Aurelia Seris Vaeloran of the Kingdom of Fyrion hosted a grand charity event that drew the richest and most powerful people in the kingdom.
Seated in the front row were the Queen's daughters and their families.
Crown Princess Valenya Aurelia Seris Vaeloran, the Queen's sixty-year-old first daughter sat beside her younger sister, the Queen's fifty-five-year-old second daughter, Princess Theryndra Aurelia Seris Vaeloran with her husband, Prince Consort Theo Vaeloran, and their children — Thirty-two years old Prince Daryon Aurelia Seris Vaeloran, and Twenty-eight years old Princess Elanora Aurelia Seris Vaeloran.
Princess Aurelia Seris Lys Vaeloran, the Queen's fifty-year-old third daughter sat close to her husband, Prince Consort Thalorien Vaeloran, and their seventeen years old daughter, Princess Kitandra Aurelia Seris Vaeloran and their twelve years old son, Prince Kaelith Aurelia Seris Vaeloran sat close to Prince Consort Thalorien Vaeloran while the Queen's forty-five-year-old fourth daughter, Princess Aeris Aurelia Seris Vaeloran, sat with her husband, Prince Consort Aaron Vaeloran, and their children, twelve-year-old Princess Lyria Aurelia Seris Vaeloran and ten-year-old Prince Faylen Aurelia Seris Vaeloran sat close to them.
Outside the hotel, elite units of the Queen's Guards, the Royal Guards, and the Gryphon Guards stood watch over every entrance and corridor.
The air was thick with anticipation, the kind only a royal event could bring and for four hours, the donations kept pouring in.
Wealthy male and female guests proudly handed over generous sums of Fyrionian Dollars, and the Queen's daughters and son-in-laws were not excluded from donating.
When the final wealthy female guest stepped down from the podium, Queen Alyndra herself rose with a regal grace.
She moved to the podium, and with her silver hair glinting under the lights, and her voice steady and warm, she said, "I am going to donate the sum of one billion Fyrionian dollars."
The Queen's daughters and son-in-laws alongside the guests all applauded her then with a bright smile on her face, Queen Alyndra started to thank everyone for their generosity.
Smiling at the audience, she said, "Thank you so much for your generous donations... I promise that all the money all of you donated here tonight will be put to good use to help the needy, the widows, the widowers, the orphans, and the disabled... I, Alyndra, will make sure of it."
As she was speaking, her calm voice and words floated across the grand hall and after she finished speaking, a respectful applause followed.
As the guests applauded, Queen Alyndra descended the podium and started to walk majestically back to her seat but just when she was a meter away from her seat, a deafening explosion tore the grand hall apart.
Windows blew out, chandeliers crashed to the ground, and dust and smoke swallowed the hall.
The sound of twisting metal and falling masonry was deafening.
Guests screamed in terror and scattered while some were thrown across the hall by the force of the blast.
The luxurious hall, once a symbol of wealth and refinement, crumbled into chaos.
Outside, the elite guards of the Queen's Guards, the Royal Guards, and the Gryphon Guards guards immediately radioed for help.
Within minutes, elite units of the Fyrionian Urban Search and Rescue Team arrived. Trained for disasters, they began locating survivors under the rubble, cutting through concrete, and sending search dogs into the wreckage.
Inside the wreckage, Heat-sensing equipment beeped insistently, guiding them to trapped victims.
The Fyrionian Fire Department came next, and without wasting time, they brought out their hoses and started spraying water over the fires sparked by the explosion... Some of the fire fighters rushed into unstable structures, and started clearing debris to make paths for the rescuers.
Ten minutes later, the Fyrionian Emergency Medical Service and the Fyrionian Paramedic Services arrived at the scene simultaneously, tending to those pulled from the wreckage... Burns, broken bones, trauma, shock—they started to treated it while stabilizing the victims.
The Fyrionian Police Force who arrived at the scene simultaneously with the Fyrionian Emergency Medical Service and the Fyrionian Paramedic Service secured the perimeter, and started keeping crowds away while preventing interference.
In no time, the Fyrionian Police Force began their Investigations even amid the chaos, and their eyes were scanning for clues to the bombing.
The Fyrionian Army arrived at the scene next and they brought with them, their rescue units, their cranes and their bulldozers, which added heavy machinery and medical teams to the scene.
The Fyrionian Earthquake, Natural Disaster and Man-made Disaster Response Agency arrived at the scene and coordinated shelters, food, water, and emergency kits.
Highly trained Civilian volunteers arrived at the scene as well, and in no time, they started moving small debris, delivering supplies, and offering first aid to the victims.
Six hours later, with the combined efforts of Fyrionian Urban Search and Rescue Team, the Fyrionian Fire Department, the Fyrionian Emergency Medical Service and the Fyrionian Paramedic Services, the Fyrionian Police Force, the Fyrionian Army, the Fyrionian Earthquake, Natural Disaster and Man-made Disaster Response Agency, and highly trained Civilian, they were able to recover the bodies of Queen Alyndra, her daughters, son-in-laws, her grandchildren, and all the guests.
After the Fyrionian Emergency Medical Service and the Fyrionian Paramedic Services finished tending, treating and stabilizing all the victims pulled from the wreckage, the Fyrionian Paramedic Services placed the victims inside numerous ambulances and rushed the victims to the hospital.
Queen Alyndra, her daughters, son-in-laws, and her grandchildren were all transported in numerous ambulances to the Royal Hospital while all the guests were rushed to public and private owned hospitals all over Aurelion.
News of the bombing incident spread quickly across Aurelion, the kingdom of Fyrion and the other forty-nine countries of the eighth continent, Valyseria alongside Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Australia.
The kingdom of Fyrion's citizens, hearing the news of the blast, all rushed to the Holy Temple of Aurelithia and started praying for the Queen, the royal family, and the injured guests.
On Monday, the 13th of September—
three days after the bombing—every victim except seventeen-year-old Princess Kitandra Aurelia Seris Vaeloran was pronounced dead.
On Monday, 27th of September, seventeen days after the bombing incident and inside one of the VVIP wards of the Royal Hospital of The Kingdom Of Fyrion, Princess Kitandra opened her eyes slowly and as she looked around the room that was quiet, sterile, and unfamiliar to her, the nurse that was attending to her was shocked to see her awake.
Blinking against the bright hospital lights, Kitandra struggled to remember what happened to her and why she was in an unfamiliar room but all her efforts to remember what happened to her were futile.
Confused and trembling, she whispered, "Where… am I?"
The nurse, recovering from her shock, hurriedly rushed to Kitandra's side and with a soft voice, the nurse said, "You're in the Royal Hospital, VVIP Ward 10, Your Highness."
Feeling excited that Princess Kitandra had woken up, the nurse hurried out of the VVIP ward, leaving the ward still and tense.
Moments later, the doctor, hearing the news from the nurse, ran out of his office like a child running away from a wild dog.
He ran straight to VVIP ward 10, pushed open the door and ran straight to Kitandra's bedside... His face, lined with doubt, and concern, relaxed slightly when he checked her vitals and realized that Princess Kitandra was okay and out of danger.
He turned to his left and stared at the nurse who informed him about Kitandra being awake.
After staring at her for a while, he said, "You really were saying the truth, Nurse Petra."
Nurse Petra chuckled and said, "Of course! When have I ever lied to you Doctor Kevin?"
Doctor Kevin turned his gaze to Kitandra and with a gentle smile on his face, he said, "Welcome back to Earth, Your Royal Highness."
Kitandra's brow furrowed, she frowned at the title but stayed silent.
"How long have I been out?" She asked nervously.
"Two weeks, Your Royal Highness." Doctor Kevin answered her warmly.
"And… it's a miracle you woke up because we had declared you brain dead two hours ago." He said further.
Fear tightened her chest.
"What about my parents? My little brother? My grandmother? My aunts, uncles, cousins? Where are they?"
Doctor Kevin immediately looked away and started pretending to cough.
Kitandra furrowed her eyebrows when she saw how Doctor Kevin looked away.
A minute later, Doctor Kevin stopped coughing.
He raised his head to look at her and with his voice warm, he said, "Your Royal Highness, like I said earlier, two hours ago, we found out that you were brain dead... I wanted to declare you dead but Her Highness, Princess Selina ordered us to wait... I was prepared to tell the press about your death tomorrow morning whether Her Highness permitted it or not so that the press can inform the nation about your death but I was shocked shitless when nurse Petra came into my office to tell me that you've woken up... My mind went blank and I couldn't believe her but when I saw the sincerity in her eyes, I decided to come and see if truly you were awake and to my pleasant surprise, you really were awake.... Goddess Aurelithia be praised. How I"
Kitandra cut Doctor Kevin off and said, "I don't remember me asking you to tell me what you've already told me earlier... I just asked you about my parents, My little brother, My Grandma, My Aunties, My Uncles, My Cousin Brothers and Sisters...,"
She paused then took a deep breath and with her voice wavering, she asked, "Where are they?"
Doctor Kevin hesitated, and bent his head to avoid Kitandra's eyes.
"I… I'm so sorry, Your Royal Highness." He said finally with his voice breaking.
"Why are you sorry?" Kitandra asked with her voice laced with confusion.
Doctor Kevin remained silent because he didn't know how to break the sad news of Kitandra's family's death to her and his silence made confusion to cloud Kitandra's facial features.
Just as Doctor Kevin opened his mouth and decided to say something, the door of VVIP ward 10 opened.
Kitandra's maternal second cousin, Thirty-three years old Princess Maris Aurelia Milaris Vaeloran, the daughter of Kitandra's maternal first cousin, late Princess Elara Aurelia Milaris Vaeloran, who died at the age of 62 and was the daughter of Kitandra's grandaunt, late Princess Alisha Aurelia Milaris Vaeloran who died at the age of 88 entered into the ward, followed by her siblings—Thirty-eight years old Prince Lucien Aurelia Milaris Vaeloran, Thirty-five years old Prince Kaelen Aurelia Milaris Vaeloran, and Thirty years old Princess Selina Aurelia Milaris Vaeloran.
Kitandra's golden amber eyes filled with tears as soon as she saw them.
She called out to them and ran into their arms, hugging them tightly.
"Where are the others? I want to see the rest of my family." She said desperately.
Silence fell over the room, and it was heavy and suffocating.
Every head in the VVIP ward bowed towards the ground.
Finally, Princess Maris opened her mouth to speak, and with her voice trembling, she said, "I'm sorry, Kitandra... I'm so sorry.... Her Royal Majesty… your parents, your aunts, uncles, cousins… even your little brother Prince Kaelith… they are all gone... The Queen, your family, the guests at the charity event—they didn't make it... You… you are the only one who survived the bombing incident."
Kitandra froze, unable to breathe.
Her mind blanked, unable to process the words.
She stood rooted to the ground in a daze.
Minutes rolled by but she didn't utter a word.
Princess Maris and Princess Selena called out to her but got no response from her.
Just as Princess Selena walked up to Kitandra and was about to touch her, the words finally sank into Kitandra's mind and then a loud painful scream tore out from her throat, echoing painfully through the ward.
In no time, tears streamed down Kitandra's face as her legs buckled.
She started to shake her head while yelling, "No! You're lying! You guys are lying to me!! My parents can't be dead!! Everyone can't be dead while I survived!! Since I survived—why didn't they?"
She turnred her gaze to Doctor Kevin and with hope trembling in her eyes, she said, "Tell me this is a lie... A prank... Please… tell me."
Doctor Kevin swallowed hard then he said, "I'm so sorry, Your Royal Highness… it's true."
Another scream ripped out of her.
She fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably while screaming, "Noooo!! It's Impossible!! My parents can't be dead!! My family can't be dead!!" Kitandra screamed tearfully while shaking her head profusely.
Feeling sorry for her, Princess Maris approached Kitandra gently and hugged her tightly.
As she started to pat Kitandra softly on the back, she started saying, "I know it hurts... I've been there before and I know exactly how you feel but you have to accept the fact that they are gone, and you have to believe that they are going to be in the heavens watching you and move on... Your parents and little brother in heaven will be sad to see you like this."
Kitandra shoved Princess Maris away violently and with anger laced in her voice, she screamed loudly and said, "I, Kitandra, won't believe a word any of you say until I see them... I want to see their corpse since you said they are dead!! Take me to them!! I need to see them now!!
Princess Maris gave Doctor Kevin a subtle signal who adjusted his lab coat, nodded solemnly and said, "Follow me," while motioning for Kitandra to follow him.
Kitandra got up on her feet and followed him and Nurse Petra out of the VVIP ward and following behind her were her second cousins.
Kitandra, Nurse Petra and Doctor Kevin walked through silent corridors, and her second cousins, Princess Selina, Princess Maris, Prince Lucien, and Prince Kaelen, trailed behind her silently like protective shadows.
Doctor Kevin led Kitandra to the morgue and after the security personnels opened the doors, he led her inside and as he slowly lifted the covers, he said, "Please verify if the corpses here belong to your family members."
Kitandra's eyes scanned the room.
She bit her lips and started trembling as she approached the lifeless bodies.
Taking a deep shaky breath, she forced herself to look at the lifeless bodies one by one.
When she reached her parents and her little brother, something inside her shattered.
Her sobs erupted uncontrollably.
She fell to her knees, clutching at the cold, still forms of her parents and her little brother.
She cried and screamed loudly and her loud screams was echoing in the cold and silent morgue.
She kept crying and as her body gave out, she fainted, and as her body hit the cold sterile floor, her tears slowly pooled around the sterile floor.
"Kitandra!! Princess Selina, Princess Maris, Prince Lucien, and Prince Kaelen, screamed loudly in shock and ran towards her while Doctor Kevin, startled by Princess Selina, Princess Maris, Prince Lucien, and Prince Kaelen's loud screams, turned towards them only to see Kitandra lying unconscious on the floor.
He blurted out, "Oh My God!! Then he ran straight to Kitandra to check her.
Princess Selina, Princess Maris, Prince Lucien, and Prince Kaelen gave way for Doctor Kevin to check Kitandra and after he was done, he shook his head and quitely said, " Your Highnesses, I'm afraid, Her Royal Highness has gone into shock."