With a heavy heart, I forced myself to enter the room the maids had found. Sure enough, it was my Grandma and Grandpa.
I stood there, numb. No more tears came, just a hollow ache. My emotions were gone.
"Jay."
"Yes, your highness?"
"Are you sure this is all you found?"
"Yes, I can assure you this is it."
I lowered my head. "What could have killed them?"
There was no blood, no wounds. Just stillness. I quietly closed the door behind me, leaving them to rest in peace.
"Princess! There's something you need to see!"
I followed the guard outside the village. My breath hitched as I saw a woman kneeling in the dirt, cradling a small body.
"Oh my baby… what happened to you?" she sobbed.
I knelt beside her. "What happened here?"
"I don't know," she choked out. "My son was just playing, and suddenly he collapsed. He's not breathing, there's no pulse."
A chill crawled down my spine.
"He's not the only one," the guard said quickly. "Look over there."
I turned. My eyes widened. Dozens of villagers, men, women, and children were lying motionless on the ground.
"Does anyone know what happened here?" I called out.
"I saw this woman clutch her chest and just… fall," another villager said shakily. "That's what they all did."
"Princess, what's happening to everyone?" Someone else cried.
Their frightened faces surrounded me, desperate for answers I didn't have. No blood. No signs of struggle. Just lifeless bodies.
Whoever or whatever was behind this, it wasn't natural. I looked down at the fallen villagers, my fists trembling.
They're trying to erase us. One by one.
More cries echoed across the square and another person collapsed.
Nobody was safe.