Her kimono was soaked in crimson, and in her trembling arms, she held a newborn baby. The baby's tiny clothes were stained with blood as well, and his cries echoed helplessly through the forest.

Before she reached the cliff, she remoed a locket from around her neck-the one engraved with the dragon's mark. It and looked ancient and mysterious, like a protective charm passed down through generations.

She gently placed it around her baby's neck, praying that it would keep him safe.

She staggered toward the edge of the cliff and whispered, "Please, God...{she coughed blood again} please save my child... It's not his fault that he was born from me...please..."

Her strenght faded rapidly. Her vision blurred. As she collapsed at the cliff's edge, the baby slipped from her weak arms, falling into the dark waters below.

With  the last remmates of her life, she cried out, "No...not my child..."

The baby plunged into the water.

Moments later, a group of people in white robes emerged from the forest. One of them clicked his tongue and said,

         "Tch...she dropped her child."

He knelt beside her, checked her pulse, and said, "She is no more. And her body is of no use to us now. She held no more aura in her body.

After saying this, the group vanished into the night.

Soon after, a squad of soldiers rushed out o the forest.

One o them knelt down immediately and gasped,

                                                                                       "No..What happened to Her Grace the GRAND DUCHESS?"

Another solider checked her pulsed gently, then lowered his head.

                                                                                                                      "SHE IS DEAD."