by Tiya Rayne
“She is fine right now.” I reply to the crowd. “Can someone explain what is going on here?”
“It’s an overthrow.” Someone shouts, and the crowd gets riled up again.
“We heard what King Bartus did.” Another voice says.
“He’s no king of mine.” A female voice shouts and everyone agrees with her.
“We’ve been demanding he show himself and renounce his throne for being a traitor. But, he has closed himself and his family in the castle and refuses to come out.”
“His loyal followers have already fled like cowards, leaving the kingdom.”
“We demand justice!” A woman screams.
“Have you come to help us, Assassin?” A young boy questions.
These people are out for blood. I understand their anger. They feel betrayed and they want to take their anger out on Bartus. Bartus, the coward, is unattainable, so in their minds this is the next best thing. Destroying their own property, and their homes. It doesn’t make since to me, and probably most people, but these people had little rights. They have no political influence, no voice, and no power. They have no other way to seek revenge for what was done to them, so they take their frustrations out on objects. I didn’t agree with their actions, but I think I understand them.
“I am.” I say to answer the young boy, and the cheers go up.
I quiet them down with a raise of my hand.
“But not like this. Look around you.” I direct the crowd. “This is your home you are destroying. Your hard work is lying on the ground. The people you are hurting and trampling in the streets are the same people that share your pain.”
“But the king will not listen to us.” A voice shouts out amongst the crowd. “He ignores our demands. This is the only way.”
“This is not the right way.” I clarify. “If you want to be heard, if you want to make a statement, use the power that you have.”
“We have none. I am a lowly peasant and a non-magical, like most of us here. What can we do?”
“You can help us fight.” Bilal offers. “If you do this for Lilly,” Bilal says waving his hands towards the rubbish of their protest. “…then why don’t you come and help her fight. If Lilly has taught us anything, she has taught us that we are all special. We are all worthy and capable of great things. This is not being great.”
“Lilly needs your help.” I go on to explain and the crowd goes crazy with concern.
Questions about Lilly’s wellbeing go up. Gasp of outrage circles the crowd. I raise my voice to speak over them.
“Lilly is doing her part in this fight, now she needs us to do ours. She needs an army. If you are able and willing to fight, I ask that you gather your things and head now to the Elven kingdom. That is how you fight back. That is how you are heard.”
“What about the rest of us? Those who are unable to fight, what can we do?”
They were all eager to do their part for Lilly.
I smile.
Those many months ago when Avalia first spoke of her plans of getting an army for Lilly, I thought she was insane. I thought that these people would be no match for the Northern Army, but staring at them. Getting to know them, seeing the devotion they have to fight for the cause has changed my views.
“For those of you that can’t fight, go home, hold your children, and keep the fires burning for the return of your loved ones. Give them a place to return to that reminds them why this battle is important in the first place.” I pause as I think of that conversation with Lilly on the hill. Seeing our world through her eyes was enlightening. “Someone very important recently pointed out the beauty in our land. I admit, I seldom stopped to admire what we have here. It took her pointing out and reminding me how important our home is. This battle isn’t just to get back at the Dark King for the many years of his cruelty, but also fighting for the land that was given to us. For the peace of our families. This is our world. We shall claim it back!”
The cheers go up at my speech. I am shocked and inspired by my own truthful words. I wasn’t just fighting this war to get peace for Lilly, but I wanted to be able to raise my sons and my future children in a world they will be proud of. I also want to show Lilly the true potential of our realm. I want to see it through her eyes.
Immediately the crowd starts to disperse. Some clean the mess they have made, while others go to prepare to make the trip to the Elven kingdom. I am proud of them. I shake hands and nod at pats on the back as I make it through the crowd to the Southern castle. The large magnificent gray stone castle stands proud. It is rectangular in length with 12 circular towers circling the outer walls and the inner Keep. A home too grand for the traitor inside.
“I’ll go in first. There is no doubt he will be guarded by his army. Himrol, you come in after me, go for Bartus first. Make sure he doesn’t escape.”
“What about me?” Bilal asks.
“Make sure no one else makes it out of that room.”
My sword appears out of the ether into my hands and I immediately trace into the throne room of the Southern Kingdom. What I find there is not what I expected.
“Come to kill me?” The downtrodden voice says as it sits on a throne in front of an empty room. “Do you know what’s funny, Assassin? I always wanted to be king. I thought being king would be my greatest accomplishment.” The voice chuckles dryly.
“I have been acting king for a total of two hours and I can tell you, it is not all it’s cracked up to be.” Rykan rakes a hand through his disheveled hair.
I stalk up the steps towards his slumped body on top of his father’s golden throne. My eyes scanning the room for a sneak attack. There seems to be no one else in the room with us, but I do not trust these cowards.
“Where are your guards? Where is Bartus?” I stand on the last step before I reach the dais his throne is on.
He lifts his head to look at me for the first time, and I can see that someone seems to have already gotten to Rykan. His face is black and blue. I can tell cuts have already started to heal which meant he must have been in a bad way if he is still showing signs of his abuse.
“Did you have a good relationship with your father, Assassin?”
Rykan’s question catches me off guard. He doesn’t give me time to answer before continuing on.
“It turns out that my father and I are not as close as I would have once thought.” He does that dry laugh again. It gives a glimpse of how out of his mind he is. “I mean, my father seemed a little too attached to the throne at times. However, I always thought that when the time came he would allow me to take my place as king of the Southern Kingdom. It seems Bartus’s betrayal was not only a shock to you all, but to his own family as well.”
“Where is everyone, Rykan?” I ask again, but I’m already starting to get an idea of what happened here.
“Gone.” He waves his hand around indicating every direction. “My father left to go to the Northern Kingdom. He took most of his loyal soldiers with him. The other soldiers are more loyal to Lilly than I and so they abandoned me to join the Queen. My wife,” He says the word with so much venom that for the first time since I arrived I see another emotion other than depression. “She abandoned me when she realized that I would never have any real power. I sent my mother away with a few trustworthy diplomats. They’re on their way to Trihurst.”
Trihurst is a village that borders the Southern territory and the Western territory.
“It seems that anyone that did not agree with my father’s actions and plans were dispensable. Not even my mother meant more to him than gaining access to all the kingdoms.” Rykan sighs heavily and stands to his feet. “So it’s just me, Assassin.” He holds his hands out at his side. “I hate to disappoint your bloodlust for revenge. At least you finally get to take out the one person that was dumb enough to let Lilly go. In the end, I guess you were the better man.” Rykan collapses to his knees in front of me. He bows his head offering me his neck. “Tell Lilly that I truly am sorry. I wish she would hav
e let me die that night in her realm. It would have spared her all this heartbreak.”
I raise my blade, ready to take him out of his misery.
“She is truly too nice for her own good.”
His words stop me. My sword disappears back into the ether.
“Get up, Rykan.” I say.
Rykan raises his head, looking up at me confused. “Are you sure…”
“GET THE FUCK UP, RYKAN.”
He jumps to his feet.
“As much as I would love to take your worthless head, I won’t allow you to go out like this. You have sons. Be a godsdamn man for them. Yes, your father abandoned you, but he left you a kingdom.”
“A kingdom of nothing.” Rykan declares.
“A kingdom full of people!” I counter. “People that need you to lead them. I never knew what the hell Lilly saw in you, but for fucks sake don’t make her out to be a person with bad taste. Prove yourself to her for once.”
Rykan seems to stumble back at my words. He collapses on the steps leading up to the empty throne.
There is nothing here for me. No revenge to seek. Bartus must have found one of the Dark King’s portals. Maybe he knew where they were all along. If I wanted him to pay, I have to take my fight to the Northern Kingdom. I turn to leave and find Bilal and Himrol staring back at me. They both nod, seeming to agree with my thoughts. As I descend the dais on which the golden throne is perched, I hear Rykan call to me. I turn to look at him, and this time his head is held a little higher.
“The Southern Kingdom, and the acting King, Rykan Orion, pledge their allegiance to Queen Avalia. Whatever you need from the Southern Kingdom, it is yours.” he nods his head and I do the same.
The war between Rykan and I has ended. It is buried today in an empty throne room. I turn towards my remaining friends and trace away from the Southern Kingdom. I promised I wouldn’t rescue Lilly, but it didn’t mean that I wouldn’t make sure she had at least one friend in that hellhole she was in. There is only one person I could trust to take on such a role. I just hope I can find him.
Chapter Three
“Where is she?” I growl at the servants that stand before me.
“My Lorde, we have tried everything to get her to come out of that room. She refuses to see you.” The elder non-magical cowers at my fury as I sit at another dinner without Lilly.
It has been two weeks since I had Phillisius abduct her from the Elven kingdom. I thought that if I got her to my kingdom I would at least be more in control. I was not dumb enough to think that she would be happy with me, but I would have never believed the woman could be so godsdamn stubborn. The first day when I demanded she came down to eat with me, she refused to sit at my table. She even boldly told my servant to tell me that if she had to sit at a table and stare at my face, she would shove a fork in my thigh. I believed the human was crazy enough to try it. So I stepped back, believing that she would eventually come around. I assumed that I could outlast her. I was delusional. I am going mad with her here. I can smell her in the castle. Her soft vanilla scent permeates the walls in this dreary castle like flowers growing through the cracks of stone. My cravings for her has taken on a whole new level. At night my dick is as hard as marble as it stands in attention just hearing her breathing in the room across from mine. I wanted to put her in my bed, but Ofilla strongly went against that. She said if I wanted to win Lilly I must show her the side of me that she saw in the dreams. I am trying, but fuck me if it isn’t hard. I want to rush into her room, pin her against the nearest hard surface, separate those creamy golden brown thighs and slide into her tight center.
The thought alone has me furious.
“What did she say this time?” I ask the servant.
Lilly usually sends back a message with every meal request. The message is typically some new place she would stab me.
The servant looks nervous as he tugs at his collar. “She said that she would rather starve than share a meal with you.”
Her words flood me with anger. Am I that deplorable that she would rather not eat than share my company?
Well fuck her!
“THEN SHE WILL STARVE!!!” I shout loud enough that I know my voice carried up to her room.
“Sire, she cannot starve. She is already so frail.” The servant pleads on Lilly’s behalf.
I knew this would happen. Lilly will forever find a way to make a friend. She’s even turned my own servants to her side.
I lift the servant up into the air and then slam him back onto the stone floor of the dining hall, all without standing from my seat.
“You tell every worker, that if they even speak to the human I will kill them with my bare hands.” I growl at the remaining servants. “Go!” I yell, and they scramble into each other trying to get away from me.
“No need to kill the messenger.” Ofilla announces as she steps over the body of the dead servant.
She sits at the large rectangular table beside me, picks food off the table and places it on to her plate.
“Not today, Ofilla. I am not in the mood for your behavior.”
“Well too bad.” She says popping a meijer fruit into her mouth. “We have come too far for you to muck it up with your impatience and temper.”
I tighten my hands into fist on top of the table.
“Don’t you think I know that, woman?”
“…We need a plan, My Lorde.” She cuts me off as if I have said nothing. “There has to be a way around this loophole of her giving herself to you. The woman, though I despise her for it, is loyal. She won’t easily betray the Assassin and lie with you. And it will not work if you trick her into it. We need to win her over.”
“What do you suggest?” I query.
I knew this wouldn’t be easy. And as much as I hate Lilly’s loyalty to the dreaded Assassin, I admire it. I would not want a woman that would be so fickle and easy to sway into another man’s bed. I just wished that her loyalty was to me.
“I will work on a loophole, in the mean time you need to do some serious ass kissing. I need you to make her—at the very least—tolerate you. It will not be easy, but if you can make her not totally abhor you, then maybe we can still change the outcome of that prophecy. We just need to make her see that you aren’t the enemy they make you out to be.”
Her plan starts to sound feasible.
“And what of my future children?”
She rolls her eyes. “Let us first win this war. I will find the loophole that gets you those damn heirs. Have I ever let you down, My King?”
“No!” I admit.
And she has not.
The day I ran into the brown-eyed elf in the Forbidden Lands, she has never once misled me. She sought me out, telling me that the dark spirits told her of a man with mixed up eyes that would lead her to great victories. We have been a team ever since. I know that Ofilla wants my success more than anyone else that stands by me. She may want it even more than I.
“Alright, Ofilla. You do your part, and I will do mine.” I turn to a shifter that stands on guard at the entrance of the room. “Shifter,” I call out to the nameless beast. “Go to the human realm, I need you to search for something for me. There is a food there. It is a circle bread that is covered with some type of tomato sauce with melty white stuff and round meat circles.”
“Is that the name of it?”
“No, that is the description, you fucking imbecile. I do not know a name for the food, which is why I am asking you to search for it.”
The others in the room chuckle at the shifter’s expense.
I sigh. “Just go to Lilly’s hometown.” I try to simplify things for the idiot. “While you are there, pick up as much food as you can find. Also, there is a drink she likes. I think it includes milk, sugar, and strawberries, bring a few of those back.”
The shifter remains in his spot staring at me. “When would you like me to go?”
“GO NOW!” I demand.
The idiot shifter nearly trips over himself as he rushe
s off to one of my portals to do my bidding. I imagine by the time he figures everything out, Lilly should be hungry enough to eat with me.
“Going to win her over with food, I see.” Ofilla says pulling the meat off of a bone and placing it into her mouth. “Had you not killed the boy, she may have been a little more tolerable.”
“How was I supposed to know the boy was her friend?”
“Just assume everyone is her friend. Don’t kill anyone else. Or at least don’t let her find out. She doesn’t seem like the type that likes it.” Ofilla says this with a disgusted eye roll.
“Fine,” I begrudgingly agree. “One of you assholes clean this up.” I point to the body of the dead servant.
A giant walks over and lifts the body over his shoulder and carries it out.
Suddenly, the doors to my dining hall swing open and a red faced Bartus rushes in with 50 of his soldiers.
“Someone’s angry.” Ofilla says taking a sip of her rice wine.
She leans back in her seat as her sparkling brown eyes smile over to Bartus. “Let’s see how long your vow of no killing last.”
I quell my emotions as I look coolly over to Bartus. I lean back in my chair and pick up my own glass. When he arrived here two weeks ago via one of my portals, he was shocked to find I had pulled my army back from Avalia’s borders. He was wise enough not to make a comment. The fact that he is here now, uninvited, leads me to believe his sanity has slipped.
“Ahh, Bartus. How nice of you to join us.”
“I have been a patient man, Dark King!” He shouts.
His anger has made him bold. I take a sip of my wine and raise a quiet eyebrow to him.
“You promised you would wipe out Avalia if I gave you the opportunity. Well it’s been over two weeks and I am still living out in the soldier’s barracks like some lowly servant. I should be king of all three Kingdoms by now. I demand justice.”
The room is quiet after his outburst. No one knows exactly how my reaction will be. I look to Ofilla and she raises her eyebrows in amusement. I laugh. I let out a hearty deep laugh that seems to come from deep down inside me. My men and Ofilla join in with me. We laugh as if Bartus is telling the greatest joke known to man. When the laughter finally dies down slowly I wipe the tears of mirth from my eyes.