A woman in a white apron cringed, her gaze turning to the TV as the news went on. Her eldest daughter was sitting on the couch, looking at her phone. She wasn't sure if she was listening, but her youngest son was surely listening, his focus fully on the TV.

"Mathilda, close the T.v." The woman said, turning her attention to her cooking. Mathilda, without hesitation, grabbed the remote from the coffee table and closed the TV.

"What?!" Mathilda's little brother, Tamian, whined as he furrowed his eyebrows at his older sister, "Open the TV!"

"No." Their mother said with a stern voice as she finished her cooking for their supper, taking out a plate to place their food, "I'm not gonna let my kids listen to that nonsense."

Mathilda furrowed her eyebrows at her mother's words, her eyes not leaving the screen of her phone, "Nonsense? How is helping people and wanting to find your missing daughters nonsense?"

Their mother sighed, turns out her daughter was listening to the TV. She shook her head and began to set the table up. "If she really wanted to find her daughters, then she would've turned every Athearian house upside down just to find them."

"That's your opinion.." Mathilda muttered under her breath, quite irritated at her mother's words.

"What did you say, young lady?" Their mother turned to Mathilda, Her hands went up to rest on her hips, ready to lecture her 17-year-old daughter. Ever since their father left two years ago to assess the damage done by the death of the Emperor and the disappearance of the twin princesses, Mathilda had been a handful to take care of. She was closed off and became dismissive.

"I said I'm going out," Mathilda said, getting up from the couch and quickly walking towards the door with an annoyed expression. "I'll be back before supper."

"Wait! Supper's already-!" Mathilda closed the door before her mother could finish. She quickly went down the porch and walked away before her mother could get out and call out for her. 

Mathilda lets out a deep breath, feeling the breeze outside. It was quite refreshing, despite the gloomy sky. Mathilda felt a twinge of guilt as she walked the streets of Acrine. She knew she shouldn't act the way she did to her mother. It wasn't acceptable. Mathilda knew her mother didn't deserve it.

Mathilda's father was a colonel in the Imperial Army of Athearian. He was one of the high-ranking personnel to investigate the death of the Emperor and the twin princesses. And he's been gone for over two years. Mathilda's father regularly sends them messages and makes video calls with them four times a week. But it had been a few weeks of nothing. No calls or messages.

Mathilda was obviously scared. What happened to her father? Why was her mother being calm about all of this? Maybe that was the reason why Mathilda was like that to her mother. She resented her for not being— or rather not showing concern. But Mathilda knew she couldn't blame her, her mother had her own way of showing emotions. She should really buy something for her mother as an apology.

As she walked through the streets, Mathilda noticed that some houses were barricaded, doors and windows covered with wooded planks. She also noticed that some people were hoarding groceries and necessities. She had her eyebrows furrowed, wanting to ask the people who were taking things out of their car and the others who were nailing the planks on the doors and windows.

Mathilda rolled her eyes at them. Acrine was a place filled with anxious people. One bad rumor and the whole town goes into lockdown. She remembered one time, there was a rumor flying around that a huge flood was about to hit the Empire due to the endless days of rain they were facing. The people's reaction? Hoard and move out. It got so bad that the Emperor had to make an announcement just to reassure them and calm them down.

Mathilda stopped by the local bookstore in Acrine. Her mother was a big nerd on fiction books, so she decided to buy a book for her mother as books were one of the things they greatly bonded at. "Good afternoon, Mr. Glaciel."

"Hey there, Mathilda." Mr. Glaciel, a huge man in his sixties with the most welcoming smile, greeted back at Mathilda. Mr Glaciel was a very close friend of Mathilda and her family, he was a close friend of her grandfather. "There are some new books at the back that just arrived. Figured you might want to check them out first."

"Thanks, Mr. Glaciel" Mathilda smiled at the old man before going to the back of the bookstore where she was greeted with brand new books. Most of them were simply republished books with new covers and extra content, but Mathilda also noticed that there were newly published ones.

Her mother was more of a romantic reader, but Mathilda decided to spice things up and decided to grab a book with a blend of fantasy and romance. She then took a sci-fi adventure book for herself before going to the counter at Mr. Glaciel.

"Hey, Mr. Glaciel. Can I ask you a question?" Mathilda asked after placing the books on the counter, "What's up with the people this time?"

"You haven't heard?" The old man chuckled as he scanned the books for their price, "The rumor this time is that the Empress is gonna come here in Acrine and take the land by force."

Mathilda scrunched her face in disbelief. "Take the land by force? What is that supposed to mean? Doesn't she know that Acrine is a part of the Athearian Empire?"

"I think she does. I'm guessing they're talking about our farms, how they want it to be an Imperial Property." Mr. Glaciel explained, showing Mathilda the QR code which she scans to pay with her phone. "Damn royals. So greedy."

Acrine was the Farm, Livestock, and Poultry Capital of the Athearian Empire. Because of this Acrine was a very rich city, almost richer than Leian Capital. And that's why the imperial court wanted their hands on Acrine farms as it generated a shit-ton of money.

It wasn't new to hear about this. The imperial court had always wanted to get their hands on Acrine farms even from a long, long time ago. The only ones stopping them were the previous seated monarchs and the Goddess Lucianna.

"People are acting as if they're getting ready for war," Mathilda commented, waiting for her phone to confirm her payment. Once her phone confirmed the payment, Mr. Glaciel then began to pack up her books, "Can't exactly blame them. Our empress is from a foreign country. Even I'm a bit alert."

Mr. Glaciel then gave Mathilda her books with a gentle smile on his face. Mathilda looked outside from the window of the bookstore, seeing people barricade their houses, putting on wires to prevent any unwanted visitors, and hoarding every last food from grocery stores. It was making her feel uneasy. "Even if they want our lands. I'm pretty sure the Goddess Lucienna won't let that happen. I mean- She'd already defended Acrine from the Imperial court, right?"

Mr. Glaciel was a bit taken aback by Mathilda's words before letting out a sigh. "You want to hear another rumor, Mathilda?"

Despite Mathilda's rough edges, she was still a faithful follower of the Goddess Lucienna. Why wouldn't she? Lucienna had always made herself known to the people of Athearian. She had made sure to always make an appearance so as to not place any doubts in the minds of people about her existence and power.

Mathilda had seen her, not once, but multiple times She had seen her in every Boweek Festival where Athearians place their offerings for Lucienna at Tessaway Temple. She would bless the people who gave her offerings, in which almost all Athearians. Mathilda and her family were one of them.

Mathilda's eyes widen at his words, looking a bit offended. Mathilda had heard those rumors already, but always shrugged them off as baseless and blasphemous, "Mr. Glaciel! You shouldn't say that!"

"Can't deny it though. It's been a while since Lucienna had made a presence." The old man pointed out. Ever since the death of the Emperor and the disappearance of the twins, the Goddess Lucienna had been silent. And because Athearians were dependent on her protection and blessings, they were obviously scared. 

"Still. You shouldn't say stuff like that." Mathilda scolded with a concerned expression. She felt uneasy at the thought that their only god who was the only one keeping them safe from a corrupt monarchy was gone. It gave her a sense of dread inside.

"You should go back home, Mathilda." Mr. Glaciel said, turning his head towards the window, "It's starting to get dark."

Mathilda nodded at him. Saying her thanks and goodbyes before leaving the bookstore. It was already getting dark and the streets were now eerily empty. Everything was quiet, she could hear her own footsteps on the pavement and the whistle of the wind that was welcoming her in each step. 

Mathilda got back to the house, but the inside was just as eerily dark and empty as was outside. The house was completely empty, the only light was the faint light of the kitchen. As Mathilda walked further she could hear soft sobbing from the kitchen.

Her mother was sitting at the dining table, her face buried in her hand as her shoulders shook with every shaky inhale she took. On her other hand, she grips a piece of paper with the imperial logo on the back. "Mom? I'm Home."