“Tell them to leave.” He said. “Tell them to leave or I’ll crush your only son’s windpipe.”
“You wouldn’t…” Rodrick muttered.
“Guess again. I’m a man with nothing left to lose. All my family is dead, I have no children. You, on the other hand, have much to lose, and I’m not talking about your throne.”
It was a standoff between Rodrick and Vincent. Piña looked at her brother’s face. He was frothing at the mouth. His eyes were rolled back into his head and his face was damn near indigo at this point. Rodrick had no choice. He commanded the guards to leave.
When they did, Vincent dropped Zeke. Piña ran over. He was still breathing. He was just passed out.
“You have some balls on you, Vincent Valentine.” Rodrick said.
“Yeah. I’ve been getting that a lot lately. When more then one person says it then it must be true. But I’m not here to talk about that. I’m here to let you know that I have no intention of taking the throne away from you. You can have it for all I care. You tell those who are threatening you that I said that. If you want I can write it on a piece of paper and have it notarized.”
“You truly think it’s that simple, don’t you?” he asked. “Even right now, your father’s old allies are baring their fangs at us. Avia will not survive an all-out war.”
Vincent looked towards the front door. It was there that he slaughtered his family with his bare hands. “Good.” He muttered. “Let it burn. This kingdom is still plagued by my father’s action. You said it yourself that his allies will come here an knock down your door. I say let them. This kingdom isn’t worth saving.
I experience three of the greatest tragedies of my life in this very room. I lost people I loved, I lost my arm, I…doesn’t matter. This kingdom is built on blood and bones. It should be purged.”
“You know nothing!” Rodrick yelled. “I will not sit back and let this kingdom burn! I will do whatever it takes to save it and it’s people.”
“Then that’s your problem. Not mine. If you wanna fight a pointless war for a kingdom still haunted by the ghost of my father then so be it. But I will not be some political tool for you or any of them. I’m leaving and if you try and stop me I will kill you all.”
Rodrick stepped down off his throne. “And just how will you escape?” he asked. “Even as we speak, soldiers are gathering just outside those doors. You won’t make it out here alive.”
Vincent smirked. “It’s true. Leaving out the front door would be suicide. So, I guess I’ll just go out the back.”
He ran over to wall opposite of him. He punched in a loose stone. The door slid open. Attached to it was a series of chains attached to a mechanical pulley. He entered inside and cut the chain to permanently seal the door.
He could hear Rodrick on the other side ordering his men to break down this wall. He didn’t have much time.
The room Vincent was in was a bedroom. Two beds, children toys on the floor, a rocking horse, and toy swords. On the desk, he saw a drawing covered in dust. He wiped the dust away. It was a drawing of him and three girls. There was a heading at the top. “Me, my sister, my little brother Vinny, and his best friend Kristy.”
“I’ll find you,” he muttered. “I swear it.”
He could hear the soldiers beginning to break down the wall. He threw over one of the beds, revealing a trap door. He opened it, entered, wedged his sword within the hinges, and broke it, making sure no one followed.
He was standing inside of what appeared to be a dimly lit cave. The cave was narrower then he remembers. The walls were jagged which tore his shirt. This passage was dug out by children and for children. On the floor, he saw broken spoons. He remembers using them with his sisters to dig his tunnel. Took them three years.
After nearly two hours, Vincent saw a bright light at the end. He squeezed his way threw to the ends and came out of a burrow just underneath an old willow tree. In the distance, he saw the capital city. He could hear the bells ringing from here. He had to have been at least three miles away.
He walked up the hill to where the willow tree was. The tree itself was dead, but people have dubbed it a cursed tree. It’s pale white, but during the harvesting months, people have sworn to have heard voices coming from it. Vincent and his sisters were responsible for that. Thinking about that made him smile. As well as seeing where he, his sisters, and Kristy carved in their names.
“Cirilla, Evie, Kristy, and Vincent.” He muttered. “Can’t believe I forgot about you, Kristy.”
After staring at the names for a while, Vincent reached inside the tree and pulled out a sword. He hid it here ten years ago after killing his family. The blade of the sword was complete black. You couldn’t even see the dry blood stains that coated the blade. He called it Midnight. A fitting name for a sword, all thing considered.
He put the blade back into the sheathe, attached it to the harness, and strapped the harness to himself. The sword was now properly secured on his back. But he wasn’t finished. Vincent whistled. Soon a flock of birds arrived. They ranged anywhere from pigeons to crows to falcons. He held out his arm. The birds landed on his arm one by one. He tore a piece of his shirt off and tied it to the bird’s leg. He did this with all of them. He knew bloodhounds would come for him. So he had to cover his tracks. The best way to do that is to scatter your scent.
This would buy him a few days at least. Hopefully long enough to make it pass the border and make it to Slavers Bay.
Chapter 8
Scouts search far into the night for Vincent. Each time the hounds had his scent it turned out just to be another bird. He hid his scent, covered his tracks, used an escape route in a room no one knew about which lead out god knows where. Piña was sure that she or anyone else wouldn’t find him. She was right.
Late into the second day of searching, Piña was called back by her father. As she approached his study she could hear screaming coming from inside the room.
“Nothing!?” Rodrick yelled. “How can there be nothing?”
The man he was yelling at was the record keeper. He was in charge of the books, blueprints, and so forth. If it was built then there was a copy of it. Piña slowly entered the room
“There can’t just be nothing! That is an entire room built right into the throne room! A room that for ten years I didn’t know about. It has an escape tunnel and you sit here and tell me that there is nothing on it. How!?”
“It’s as I said, my lord, lots of records were lost during the day of the coup. It’s likely there was information on it but was lost.”
“What about the three girls in that photo then?”
“Yes, well, there are about three girls in Avia named Kristy. All of which who died. As for the two others, sadly without a name, the registry is useless.”
Set back after set back after set back. It was getting to him, Piña could see. The more time they waste, the further Vincent got away, and the further he gets away the tighter the nose of war is wrapped around Rodrick’s neck. To say that he was stressed would be an understatement.
“Leave the books and get out.” He muttered.
The record keeper bowed and swiftly left the room. “Piña, please tell me you have some good news.”
Piña stilled herself. “The, um, search still continues, but…”
“Birds?” he interrupted.
“Yes…the hounds have no idea which scent would lead them to Vincent. As of now we’ve found eight birds tied with a piece of his shirt. There are probably more we still haven’t found.”
Rodrick sat his desk tapping his fingers on the table. “I underestimated him.” He said. “When the jailer told me about his kinship with birds I thought nothing of it. Shrugged it off. To think he can actually use those creatures in this manner is…well, it’s damn right brilliant. I’ll be the first to admit that.
Still doesn’t change the fact that I have no idea where he went. Did he go by sea? Is heading east, west, north, or south? Then there’s that room. That w
as a child’s room. The question is who’s child.”
“Father.” Piña said respectfully. “Must all our attention be focused on finding Vincent? Don’t we have other things to worrying about.”
“Vincent is the problem, Piña. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how soft you are on the boy. Piña, I know that he saved you life, but the fact remains that so long as a member of the Valentine bloodline is still lives, our place on the throne will never be safe.
I was soft on Vincent when I first saw him. Decided to lock him up, obeying the Black Knight when the fact was he never told me to do anything. How could he? I only saw him on the battlefield. No. I was soft on him because he was a crying little boy surrounded by bodies of his family. He was drenched in blood. I took pity on him and now Avia may pay for my sympathy.”
Zeke entered the room as they were talking. “Father.” He weakly said.
“How are you feeling?” Piña asked.
“Fine. No thanks to you. I love how you just watched as you boyfriend almost chocked me to death.”
“He’s not my…brother this is not the time for this.”
“Tell me something sister. How long have you and the fallen prince been fucking? Since the day you left with him on that expedition or was it sooner? He must have a mighty serious cock for you to be so smitten with him.”
“Say one more word, brother, and I swear I will finish what Vincent started!”
“Enough!” Rodrick slammed his hand hard on his desk. “Can’t you two get along for five minutes without being at each other’s throats? This is no time for arguing. I did not call you both here so that you can start bickering!”
“Why did you call us, father?” Zeke asked.
“This is why.” Rodrick held up the drawing he found in that room. “What does this picture tell you both?”
“It tells me that a child drew it,” Zeke said.
“The four of them were friends at one point, I think.”
“There were three Kristy found in the registry. All are dead. So we cross her out. Then, I came across something interesting.” Rodrick opened the registry to a page he had bookmarked. “Piña, come read this.”
She grabbed the book. “March 18, 1188. Three children born. Two girls and one boy. The king has asked me not to disclose their names. I feel as though he may come for me if I do.”
“I don’t understand, father. What do important about that date?”
“Seemingly nothing at first. Though it did strike me curious as to why the mad king didn’t want their names written down. I wrote it off at first, but then I came across a journal entry by the mad king. He wrote down, in very descriptive details as to what he did to his children on their birthdays…I will not share those details with you.
March 18 sounded familiar to me so I looked it up. Ten entries on that day. Guess who’s birthday is on that day?”
“Vincent Valentine,” Piña answered.
“Correct. Which made me wonder, what if Vincent wasn’t the last of his bloodline? What if had sisters?”
“Father, with all due respect, how is that even possible?”
“Must I explain to you how children are born, brother? Father is suggesting that Vincent might have been a triplet. Which would put them around the same age as us? That room would definitely support that theory.”
“Vincent said he lost loved ones in Avia. What if he wasn’t referring to his family that were killed? What if he was referring to the sisters that were taken away from him?
There was an old rumor going around that said the mad king sold his own children into slavery. I’m starting to think that wasn’t a rumor at all.”
“If that’s the case then he’ll most likely try to find them.”
“Exactly, son. This is where you come in. Find Vincent. Kill him if you must and once you finds his sisters. Kill them as well.”
Piña protested. “Father, have you gone mad?!” she yelled. “Vincent is one thing but now his sisters. Why? They haven’t done anything to us.”
“It doesn’t matter, Piña. They’re a Valentine. Meaning that if our enemies find out that more of the accursed bloodline still lives then war will be inevitable.”
“But…”
“Enough!” Rodrick interrupted. “I shall not have you questioning my authority every time. For insubordination, I am confining you to your room. Guards!” Two guards entered the study. “Take my daughter to her room. She is not to leave under any circumstances.”
One of the guards grabbed Piña by the arm. “Unhand me!” she yelled. “I can escort myself!” Piña gave her father an angry look just as the doors shut behind her.
Rodrick turned to Zeke. “You know what to do. Find them and kill them.”
“I shall not fail, father.”
Piña was thrown and locked in her room like some child. She banged on the door demanding that they let her out, but her father was the king and she had no power to overrule him. Fear has gripped Rodrick’s heart. Wanting to execute Vincent was one thing and Piña understood why, but to actually now target two of Vincent’s family members simply for the fact they are a Valentine is unprecedented and entirely uncalled for.
Her brother will most likely face his end at the hands of Vincent. She’s seen his skills first hand against season soldiers, glossing over the fact that he single handily slew a dragon. His pride has been hurt being almost killed just days ago. He won’t be thinking straight, she knows that, and her father is past being rational. What was she to do?
As the day turned into night, Piña grew increasingly worried. She heard nothing from no one in hours. All she did was pace around the room worrying about Vincent and Zeke. While looking out her window, she heard the loud clattering of iron hit the floor hard. She turned around and her door opened.
“Hello, your grace,” Clara said.
“Clara? What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Rescuing you. I saw those men drag you to your room. I feared the worst.”
Piña embraced Clara. “Thank you.” She said. “I must go. My brother is in danger.”
“From who?” Clara asked.
“From himself. Despite how much he gets under my skin, he’s still my brother and the future of Avia.”
Piña went out into the hall to see two soldiers on the floor. They had no wounds to speak of and they were still breathing. “Did you do this?” she asked.
“Yes. I slipped some milk of the poppy into their meals. They’ll be asleep for quite some time. Hopefully long enough for us to make it out of the castle.”
“Agreed…we should…hang on…we?”
“But of course. I’m coming with you, your grace.”
“Clara you can’t.” Piña urged. “What I’m about to do is considered high treason. My brother is going to get himself killed if he finds Vincent before I do.”
“I’m quite aware of the situation, your grace. I also know where your brother is going to look for Vincent. I’ll tell you but only if you take me with.”
“Why, Clara?” Piña asked. “This has nothing to do with you.”
“Maybe. But you aren’t the only one who owes Vincent a debt. I’ll explain that later. Right now your father has completely locked down the capital. Anyone found out on the streets will be thrown into a cell and swiftly hung.”
Piña could not believe what she was hearing. “Why? This isn’t like him.”
“I agree. Something is wrong. Luckily I know a way that’ll take us just outside the wall.”
Clara lead Piña to the old servant quarters down in the basement. The entire castle was eerie. No one was around. Most likely Rodrick has them all patrolling the streets.
They entered the kitchen. It hadn’t been used for some time now. All you can find was dust and three sacks of rotten rye. Clara grabbed one of the torched stands and turned it to the left. There was a loud click and soon the wall in front of them opened.
“How did you know about this?” Piña asked. “Even I didn’t know about t
his.”
“You would be amazed at the secrets this castle holds to those who find them. Anyway, we should leave before—”
At that moment, alarm bells began to ring. “Shit. They know you’ve escaped.”
They weren’t about to wait around and wait for someone to find them. They entered the passage and sealed the door behind them. The passage went on for quite a ways until finally they reached a stone wall. Clara felt around for a loose stone and pushed it in. They were just on the outskirts of the capital now, but in no way was their job done.
“Slavers Bay,” Clara said. “That’s where your brother and Vincent will most likely be headed.”
“How do you know?” she asked.
“That’s what your father said. If Vincent truly wants to find his sisters then that is where he will start.”
Chapter 9
Vincent kept himself just inside the tree line of the Evergreen forest. He kept one eye on the kings road to see if he heard any horses coming his way. It was doubtful that Rodrick would send someone this far and so close to the border of Blackfire, but one can never be too careful.
Whenever he’d stop for the night he’d always cover himself in foliage and branches he’d snap off from trees. He had to make sure no one saw him sleeping at night. As an added measure, he tore off more pieces of his shirt and attached them to birds. By now his shirt had been reduced to almost nothing.
Wandering around the countryside, Vincent came across a cottage surrounded by amber waves of grain. He soon caught the scent of meat roasting on an open fire. His mouth watered, his stomach rumbled, it had been days since he had eaten anything and hadn’t noticed till just now. Vincent has been to preoccupied with someone getting the drop on him that eating hadn’t crossed his mind.
As he crept closer to the cottage he saw a blind woman sitting on a chair in front of a campfire. Vincent could tell that the woman was blind by the white glazed look in her eyes. Roasting just over the fire was a rabbit. The smell was now even more intoxicating having come this close.
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