Curse of the dragon flames

l's

lled my eyes every time, and she cackled like it was the funniest joke in the kingdom. I didn't know it would be the last time I'd hear her laugh freely. Just as my father reached for his second helping, a sharp knock echoed through the house. My mother looked up. "Hazel dear, please check who that is." "Okay, Mama." I wiped my hands on my skirt and hurried to the door, fully expecting it to be our neighbor coming to borrow sugar again. But the moment I swung the door open, my heart dropped to my stomach. Standing there were four palace guards their armor gleaming silver-blue, their expressions cold and unreadable. Their eyes scanned me from head to toe like I was prey they had already claimed. My throat tightened. Nothing good ever came from the palace especially now, with the plague sweeping through villages like a devouring fire. "W-We're looking for a girl named Hazel," one of the guards said, his voice firm and ice-sharp. "That's... me." The words crawled out of my mouth in a stutter. My fingers shook around the door handle. "Hazel, who's at the door?" my mother called out, her voice full of warmth completely unaware of the danger standing inches away from her child. I didn't know how to answer. I didn't know how to breathe. Behind me, I felt my parents' presence before I saw them. My father came to stand beside me, his body protective, towering, fierce. My mother hovered behind him, confusion twisting her face into worry. "What do you want from us?" my father demanded, his voice steady but infused with authority that made me proud and terrified at the same time. "Your daughter is needed at the palace," another guard said. His tone held no room for negotiation. "She's not going anywhere," my father snapped instantly. "Hazel, go inside." But I didn't move. I couldn't. My legs were rooted to the floor. Everything happened too fast after that. Before my father could finish his sentence, two guards lunged forward, grabbing me by the arms so hard pain shot through my shoulders. I screamed, twisting, fighting, but their grip only tightened. "Let her go!" Dad roared, drawing out the old sword he kept by the door. A sword he hadn't used i