by Amanda Churi
“Well, allow me to have the honor of escorting you,” the elder proclaimed. With the tap of his stick, the elder began to cross the remaining distance, Kevin in tow. Lucy followed her lover without a word, Daisy taking up the rear with Tripp, her eyes vibrant as she led the steed along and stared up at the stars which slowly revealed themselves.
The group crossed the lowered drawbridge, Kevin clutching the book tighter as he tried to suppress the dark memories entangled with his new home. The archway towered above them, the temperature slowly dropping as they entered the castle which had been abandoned for over a month now. The torches were long extinguished, the smell of death and mold flooding Kevin’s nostrils when he had hardly taken more than a few steps inside.
He stopped in the dim foyer, glancing around as he became aware of just how much the castle had changed from the last time he was escorted through the doors over ten years ago. The chandelier high above their heads was coated with cobwebs, many small creatures choosing to make this their home as well. The gray stone floor was not shiny nor slick as it had once been, now coated with dirt, dust, and soot. Where the king and queen had once sat in the foyer, approximately one hundred feet from the entrance, their thrones had been removed. Two ripped and battered tapestries hung lifelessly against the old stone walls; the black backdrop had turned gray from neglect, and the dull, coiled red snake in the center had been torn to shreds.
“They… Really changed the place…” the elder said sheepishly, hardly able to get his volume above a whisper. Kevin nodded in agreement. He had only seen the inside of the Noble castle when he had almost died, along with once under the cover of night to retrieve Coruscus, so needless to say, he hadn’t really gotten a good look at it. Even so, could still remember the brightly lit palace, knights lining the king and queen for protection, and servants running through the colorful walls—laughter, the smell of wine and bread, jesters and dancers heightening the atmosphere, and the feast thrown once a year. That joy had been stripped of this place down to the very bone. It didn’t even feel like this was the place that once stood as a symbol of power and hope; it now signified the exact opposite—weakness and despair.
“It’s soooo big!” Daisy exclaimed as her high-pitched voice echoed around the empty home, spreading her arms wide as she did a small spin in front of Tripp.
“It’s a lot more depressing than I remember, that’s for sure,” Lucy mumbled as she shifted her view around the crumbling fortress.
“Yes, it is,” the elder agreed, “but with a little bit of help, I’m sure this place can be restored to its former glory.”
“I sure hope so,” Kevin said through a hefty, overwhelmed sigh.
“No one said it was going to be easy,” the elder reminded him. The old man turned towards the two girls. “Would you mind to give the king and me some privacy? I must discuss some very important matters with him.”
Lucy was on guard immediately, her eyes narrowing and her shoulders twitching as she was rubbed the wrong way by his words. “What you can say to him, you can say to both of us,” she said, crossing her arms in defiance.
The elder gave a simple nod. “Yes ma’am, I can,” he answered calmly, “but someone needs to look after the child; she does not need to hear such matters, and I assume neither of you would be too keen on having her wander around here alone, correct?”
“The palace is darker inside than out,” Lucy retorted sharply. “Why would we wander it right now in the first place?”
Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth, the elder reached down into one of his enlarged robe pockets before pulling out a small object and handing it to Lucy. As soon as she realized what the object was, sheer annoyance took hold of her. “Flint and steel… Really?”
“Plenty of torches for you to use it on,” the elder chuckled dryly, pointing in the direction of a large hallway to the left that ran under the spiraling staircase. “The horse stables are at the end of the hall and down a ramp if you wish to store your steed there.”
Disgusted, Lucy turned her eyes to Kevin, whose only response was a simple shrug. It wasn’t like he had any idea what the elder wanted to discuss. He knew Lucy seldom came to trust anyone in the first place, but Kevin knew that there was no present danger, so there was no reason for her to worry.
Even saying nothing, Lucy could tell what Kevin was thinking, sighing in dejection and turning towards Daisy, who was so overcome by the grand palace that she failed to notice any commotion brewing. “Come on, you,” she said sharply, Daisy immediately looking towards her mother as Lucy briskly made her way past the elder. She approached the wall of the corridor, raising the flint and steel as she briefly clicked the two items together, a rain of sparks showering over a bundle of old timbers and straw. The torch created a circle of light in the old palace, Lucy turning to Daisy, who realized it was time to go. Saying nothing, she quickly shuffled towards her mother, Tripp trotting behind her as Lucy turned down the hallway, Daisy following and vanishing from sight.
The elder waited a minute more before speaking, making sure they were out of earshot. “I’m sorry about that,” he apologized. “I just needed to speak with you alone.”
Kevin waved his hand dismissively. “It’s alright, I get it,” he assured him. “And don’t mind Lucy, please; it’s hard to gain her trust.”
“I understand.” He looked away from Kevin, tracing the faint outline of the staircase. “Normally, I would show you around, but I don’t feel comfortable wandering around here anymore.”
Kevin took a deep breath, closing off his lungs almost immediately once he got another whiff of the potent air. He knew that Azuré, Elip, and Aponi were more than likely still lying in the throne room just as they had been left—dead, dismembered, and melting into skeletons.
I should probably get around to burying her soon, Kevin noted to himself in respect to his fallen ally. The others he could care less about, and he would quite honestly throw their bodies into the ocean, smiling as the sharks tore into their devious souls.
“I’m sure that I will find my way around just fine,” he said briskly as he pulled himself away from his dark thoughts, a smirk of pleasure on his lips.
“Well, you certainly seem like a reliable young man, so I don’t doubt it,” the elder agreed. He faced Kevin. “I will have you know that I truly believe you are the chosen one,” he admitted, an enlightened expression caressing him as though he was looking at God Himself.
The only thing Kevin could do was smile; he didn’t want to burst the frail, old man’s hope.
The elder continued on. “But I would like to make it clear that even though I have faith in you, the commoners are not so trusting, much like your lady. Despite what you saw today, most was an act, I can be sure of; you will need to prove yourself to them. They are desperate and do not want to lose their loved ones; it is why they believed my words and looked to you.”
Kevin turned his eyes to the floor. “Do you really think I can do it, though? Become a great king like the ones before me?”
The elder chuckled, nodding in concurrence. “I do,” he answered. “You’ll just have to work hard if you are to reach your goals. Speaking of which, we should probably arrange a coronation for you, your wife, and uh… Your… Sister?”
“She’s my daughter,” Kevin corrected quickly.
The man looked stunned. “Daughter?” he repeated. “Impossible! Your wife mustn’t be more than twenty!”
Kevin paused. That was true… Kevin was twenty-two, and Lucy was only eighteen; her dying set them apart in age, and there was certainly no way they would have had a child when Lucy was eight. But the truth just twisted a little… “Daisy’s parents died when she was four,” Kevin answered tightly. “I had no family, and I took her in as my own. I see her just like I would a biological child, and she will be treated like such.”
The elder dipped his head. “Yes, of course, my apologies.”
“No need to apologize,” Kevin said. “And as for the cor
onation, I would prefer to not have one.”
The elder did not know how to answer. “But, sire—”
“No,” Kevin refused sternly. “We don’t have the sufficient funds or time to prepare a celebration like that. There are too many pressing threats; the kingdom comes first. We need to build up our army and prepare for battle as soon as possible; I know we haven’t seen the last of those spirits.”
“So… You do have a connection to them?” the elder gasped, his body cringing as though his fragile heart was about to give way.
Kevin gave a single, slow nod. “Yes, I do,” he replied reluctantly, the gears in his head quickly turning to come up with a cover story. “When the Returned came back, these creatures appeared as well—Elites. They strive to plunge this world into chaos, and I decided to stand up to them—thus, they now see me as a threat.” He turned to look out of the drawbridge, his heart pounding ferociously. “I obtained the sword which could defeat them easily, and they stole it back. With it, who knows what they can do.” He shifted his eyes to the frightened elder. “We have to protect ourselves.”
“I can already see that you will be a fine ruler,” the elder noted.
Kevin chuckled heartily. “I sure hope so. And, um… I’m sorry, but I didn’t happen to catch your name.”
“Oh!” the elder exclaimed, trying to straighten his back in a rush as he held out a trembling hand towards Kevin. “Clay, my grace.”
“Well, Clay,” Kevin began, his voice taking on a playful tone as he pretended to curtsy for the elder, “I thank you for everything.”
It looked like the old man had been struck by a horse head on. He huffed in disbelief, a wary smile folding his old lips. “Y-you’re welcome,” he breathed whimsically. He looked out at the nighttime sky. “It is getting late, sire,” Clay pointed out. “You should probably get your rest; you have a large job ahead of you.”
“I suppose,” he admitted. “I will still see you around, though, right?”
“Of course,” Clay replied. He looked away from Kevin, slowly turning his old, withered body in the direction of the open drawbridge. He leaned heavily on his walking stick which had been mended at the center from what looked like a massive breakage, the old man sighing deeply as his mind was put to rest. He hobbled out of the large foyer and into the shining moonlight, Kevin smiling. He knew it would be quite a challenge indeed, but as he watched the fleeting elder and the stars shed their radiance upon the world, he thought that maybe they really could come out on top.
The sound of howling wind flooded the castle as the world emphasized its abandoned state. Kevin looked up, his eyes honing in on the weak stairs winding up the wall and the unstable iron rail attached to it. Curious, he approached the bottom of the stairs, cautiously placing a foot on it and leaning forward to make sure it would not collapse under his weight. When he saw the staircase was strong enough to hold him, he placed the book he had been given next to stairs before he gripped the winding rail tightly, slowly beginning to pull himself into the high vicinities of the castle. His legs shook as he climbed higher and higher, Kevin glancing over the side as he watched the distance from the floor and his location grow larger and larger.
He found that the staircase leveled out in several places, a hallway leading off of the stairs to provide access to another part of the castle. He passed them without so much as hesitating until he came to the last one. He stared up through the ceiling which was almost upon him, seeing how the staircase emerged onto the final floor—the floor where the war against the Nobles had been finished once and for all.
His gut held him back from venturing farther up. He could already smell the strengthening scent of rotting flesh, and he just didn’t have the mental preparations to see their remains.
Kevin sighed, looking to his left and peering down a long, darkened hallway. Even though seemingly identical to the others, something intrigued him about this particular route, and when he focused his eyesight on the depths more intensely, he could see a small, yearning beam of moonlight stretching across the cold floor.
He was confused as to how he could see a ray of light when there were no openings to be found. Guardedly, he made his decision and began to slowly advance down the hallway, holding his arms out beside him to guide him through the darkness. What an awkward layout for this castle, he thought as he took note of all of the things he could do to improve his new home. The architects had to be drunk when they designed this.
The light lay a matter of feet in front of him, Kevin pausing when he saw that the light did in fact come from a shattered window located in a room that had its door busted down.
He glanced around to make sure that the room was indeed abandoned before he stepped inside and made his way towards the window, his eyes locked on the brilliant beam of white light illuminating the room. He stopped at the edge of the window, staring down at the ocean crashing and churning over one hundred feet below. Kevin huffed, confused as to why it had been broken as he turned to look over his shoulder.
If shock could have killed him at that moment, it certainly would have. Kevin inhaled sharply when he saw what the once beautiful moonlight had presented to him, his chest prepared to explode. He lost his balance, reaching for the walls to steady himself as he nearly fell backward out of the window and into the malevolent sea.
Instead of grabbing stone as he expected, his hands slammed against metal. Kevin quickly looked over at his hand, his heart racing when he realized the walls were steel. Looking back ahead of him, he pushed himself away from the window, stumbling into the center of the room and looking around in panic as he took in the barbarity before him.
There were so many bodies congregated here. Skeletons were thrown in piles and others hung from the ceiling high above, many dismembered and some so old that their bones were shades of black and brown. Old bloodstains smothered the floor while the remnants of rotten flesh and rat feces engulfed the room. Kevin’s stomach churned queasily, acid rising in his throat. He could hardly believe what he looked at; there were too many bodies to count.
“This is disgusting,” Kevin mumbled aloud, pressing his hands to his mouth as he tried to control himself, turning his sight to the walls. His face scrunched up in confusion upon looking closely, Kevin lowering his hands and walking over to the metallic wall. He pressed his hand to the steel, observing the squares closely and running his hand across the surface, feeling a handle every so often.
“Compartments…” Kevin grumbled. He noticed an engraved plaque on each crate as well, Kevin leaning close to one and reading a name he did not recognize. He rested his hand on one of the handles, steadying his breathing before working up his courage and quickly yanking one open.
Nothing.
Kevin stood there, gawking when he saw it was completely empty. Dumbfounded, Kevin closed it, moving to the next one and pulling it open as well. Empty.
“What the heck?” Surely there had to be a purpose for these, but as Kevin kept moving about the room and opening empty crates, he only became more lost. The names especially threw him for a loop, because the way it came off, it seemed like this was where people were laid to rest.
Kevin came to a pause, his arm subconsciously pushing in the last empty drawer he had pulled open. He found out that the majority of the Nobles had actually been killed once, only to be brought back to life by Azuré. Eero had told him much about what he had discovered during his time in captivity through the lax month they had after the war had come to its conclusion, and one of the many things he mentioned was how he had found the catacombs, where the Nobles protected the original bodies of their dead to avoid being tampered with.
But as Kevin stood there glancing at the empty containers around him, he didn’t know what to think. Why were they missing? Where had the bodies gone?
Confused, he continued to scan the names of the many compartments in the walls, when he stumbled across something odd etched on one of the crates. A small star had been engraved next to one name. He made his
way over to the metal drawer, carefully stepping over the remains of uncountable people until he stood next to it. He gripped the handle tightly, gradually sliding the crate out until a skull became visible. He came to a halt, needing to see no more when he realized the body was still present.
He closed the compartment, stepping away from the wall so that he stood in the middle of the room. He scanned the walls as closely as possible, finding more stars—ten total.
“The division leaders,” he mused aloud.
He worked his way around the room, inspecting each crate with a star, all of which did contain a body. He had no explanation as to why their bodies had been spared while that of the normal Noble had vanished; even Elip’s original body lay present in the metal coffin, while Kevin knew that a floor above him, the new body that his demonized soul possessed was rotting away.
Kevin’s mind was in a daze as he tried to come up with some sort of theory to explain why only the higher Nobles remained when he moved onto the final compartment marked with a star. Perhaps their bodies were more carefully protected since they were of a higher command, but that still doesn’t explain how nearly five hundred bodies can just vanish without a trace. Maybe—
Both his thoughts and heart stopped as he slid the last container out of the wall. Kevin fell silent, staring down with enlarged eyes, wondering if the flawless sheet of metal faintly reflecting his frightened face was simply his mind playing a trick on him.
After glaring at his own reflection for a few elongated seconds, Kevin looked away, partially closing the coffin and leaning down so that he could get a second glance at the engravement.
“Desmond Revere…” he whispered in disgust, straightening back up and opening the container to its full length, scanning the empty metal shell from front to back absentmindedly. He knew for a fact that Desmond was a commander, second in command, in fact, so if the others were here, why wouldn’t he be?