“Damnation!” Aurelion swore at the villain’s cruel announcement. One of the members of the League of Villains is actually here. This isn’t good.
Following the villain’s instructions the chimera obediently set its sights on the citizens of Rose Kingdom who’d been watching Aurelion’s battle. The three remaining monster heads began to spit acid, breathe fire, and send invisible sound wave attacks towards the people, who started to run while trying to avoid the attacks that were suddenly sent their way. Screams of horror that were followed by screams of pain filled the air.
“No!” Aurelion shouted and maneuvered his dragon to swoop down and place itself between the chimera and the people. He had to shield the people from further attacks at all costs. An invisible sound wave attack hit his chest, and this time Aurelion was knocked off his dragon and fell to the ground.
The chimera ignored Aurelion and chose to concentrate its attacks on the dragon instead. Three different attacks headed towards the dragon simultaneously, and there was no escape. A glob of acid hit Fenix’s right wing, and grounded the dragon. A powerful sound wave attack hit the dragon’s chest, and sent it flying back into a building, which crumbled at the impact. Lastly, a fireball hit Fenix, knocking the dragon out cold.
“Fenix,” Aurelion rasped out, concern for his dragon swirling in his blue eyes. He tried to find the strength to push himself up off the ground, but ended up collapsing onto a pile of rubble. Aurelion watched as people were running past him with fearful expressions on their faces. His people were never supposed to make that face! Aurelion clenched his hands into fists. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. His people weren’t supposed to get hurt as long as he was there to protect them.
“Dammit!” Aurelion brought his fist down upon the ground. His people should never be screaming in fear - they should be cheering him on like always. He was letting them down. He was failing them. Aurelion was supposed to be Fantasia’s symbol of peace.
“Get up, Aurelion! We need you!” a small female voice called out.
Aurelion looked up to see a little girl standing in front of him. She looked to be around seven-years-old. Her tiny face was covered in dirt, her wide blue eyes were filled with tears, and her lower lip was trembling. The pretty pink dress she was wearing was in tatters, and one of her pigtails had come undone. A child in Rose Kingdom should never have looked this way.
“Kill the child, Chimera!” the villain snarled, pointing in the little girl’s direction.
The chimera let out a menacing shriek that caused a few nearby windows to shatter. One of the heads set its sights on the little girl, opened its beak, and spat a glob of acid the girl’s way. There was enough acid in that one attack to completely obliterate the tiny little girl.
“No!” Aurelion scrambled up off the ground, ran towards the girl, crouched before her, and wrapped his arms around her protectively. With his back to the monster the glob of acid hit Aurelion’s golden armor and started to eat away at it. Aurelion couldn’t stop the cry of pain that slipped past his lips as the acid began to burn away at his flesh.
The villain let out a gleeful cackle. “This is the end of the line for you, hero! Chimera, finish him!” The chimera’s head opened its beak and spat another glob of acid Aurelion’s way.
“No!” a man shouted.
Suddenly, Ashe was standing in front of Aurelion with the Glass Sword raised before him. The acid hit the Glass Sword and was magically sucked into it. In seconds, a large glob of acid was sent flying back the chimera’s way. The acid hit the monster’s head and it shrieked in pain as it was disintegrated.
“No!” the villain shouted. “How is that possible? Magic reflection? But how did he know that the chimera is a monster created by magic. If that attack hadn’t been magical he would have been killed instantly! The reckless fool.”
Ashe spun around to face the injured Aurelion. His friend looked like shit. “Come on, we need to get out of here…” Ashe said while putting Aurelion’s arm over his shoulders in order to help his friend and keep him standing.
“We have to defeat that monster first,” Aurelion said urgently. “There are only two heads left.”
“You can’t fight that thing in your condition!” Ashe snapped with obvious irritation.
“Yes, I can,” Aurelion countered. “And I will.” He watched as the little girl’s mother darted out to pick up the girl and run off with her to safety.
“Chimera, burn that new hero! Now!” the villain snarled.
One of the heads targeted Ashe. It opened its beak and sent a fireball Ashe’s way. Ashe’s back was to the monster and he hadn’t noticed the attack yet. In seconds, Ashe would be covered in flames and would be incinerated to a pile of, ironically, ash.
“No! I won’t let you hurt my friends, Monster!” Snow was suddenly standing in front of Ashe and Aurelion with his sword raised before him. A shield made out of water appeared, emerging from Snow’s enchanted sword. The fireball hit the water shield and was dissipated. Ashe and Aurelion were gawking at Snow in surprise.
“He has an affinity for water magic…!” Aurelion noted proudly. “His magical powers have finally awakened!” Ashe had an impressed expression on his face as he stared at Snow.
“No. It can’t be. You shouldn’t be able to do magic, Prince Snow Flurris,” the villain cried angrily. “The curse…!” He abruptly cut himself off and coughed into his hand. “Ahem. I need to kill you now before…! Chimera, kill them!”
Fireballs and invisible sound wave attacks were sent Snow, Ashe and Aurelion’s way. Snow blocked the fireballs with his water shield. Ashe let go of Aurelion to stand by Snow’s side and used his sword to reflect the invisible sound wave attacks. The monster let out an ear-piercing shriek as its body was battered by its own sound wave attacks.
“Damn, that hero! He reminds me of Cinderelron,” the villain said. “But Cinderelron is dead!”
Aurelion watched in awe as Snow battled against the fire-breathing head and Ashe battled against the other head. A crooked smile formed on the Monster Hunter’s face. I knew I saw great potential in them. They will be magnificent heroes one day. But I can’t let them fight alone! Aurelion thought vehemently to himself.
Aurelion stealthily made his way to the chimera, and started to climb its back while Snow and Ashe kept it occupied. Once Aurelion made it to the base of the creature’s neck he stood up on its back and raised his great sword. “Die, Monster!” Aurelion swung his massive sword and managed to cut through both necks at once. The monster’s two heads fell down through the air, hit the ground with a thud, and rolled across the bloody rubble. Aurelion raised his sword high above his head in a victory pose.
The citizens of Rose City stopped running at the sound of Aurelion’s victory cry, and turned to face him. They stared, gawked and smiled. Aurelion had once again defeated a monster, which had put the entire Kingdom in grave danger.
“Citizen of Rose Kingdom!” Aurelion shouted. “You have nothing to fear - for I am here!”
The people started cheering. “Aurelion! Aurelion! Aurelion!”
Aurelion hopped down from the monster’s back and approached Ashe and Snow. “Well done, you two. You’ll make magnificent heroes one day.” Aurelion grinned at them, but his teeth were bloody and when he gave them a thumbs-up he suddenly collapsed to his knees.
“Aurelion!” Ashe and Snow both shouted in concern.
Ashe stared at Aurelion’s back and grimaced. “We need to get him to Rapunzel…!”
Snow frowned. “But how? That monster’s attack injured Fenix’s wing. He can’t fly.”
“We’ll never make it in time on horseback,” Ashe said cryptically. “Bones Kingdom is too far away.”
At that moment, a pumpkin-shaped carriage materialized in front of them, and Juleka emerged from the carriage with her usual unicorn mask in place. “Don’t worry, Ashe. I’ll take Aurelion to Rapunzel’s. My carriage should be able to get there fast enough to save his life.”
Ashe an
d Snow exchanged a look and nodded before grabbing Aurelion’s arms and helping him over to the carriage. “And who is this lovely flower?” Snow asked, eyeing Juleka in an intent manner.
A vein at Ashe’s temple throbbed in irritation. “My stalker.”
“Oh, right. So this is what she looks like…” Snow raked his gaze over Julie’s body. “Mmhm. With a sexy body like that her face must be equally beautiful.” The playboy took Juleka’s hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. “It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Lady Julie. My name is Prince Snow Flurris.”
“Yes, I know,” Juleka said in a creepy manner. “In fact, I know all about you.”
Snow let out a nervous laugh. “You don’t say? She’s certainly…interesting, Ashe.”
“We don’t have time for flirting!” Ashe snapped. “Help me get Aurelion into the carriage, Snow.”
“Um, right,” Snow swiftly agreed. He and Ashe helped Aurelion into the carriage and Juleka was just about to enter when Ashe called out to her.
“Thank you, Julie,” Ashe said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m glad you were here to be able to help.”
Juleka blushed beneath her mask. “I would have been here sooner, but it’s hard to stalk someone when they travel to another kingdom entirely. You’re a hard man to stalk, Ashe Smoldris.” Juleka entered the carriage and shut the door behind her. The carriage began to run off at top speed and then became invisible.
Snow stoked his chin thoughtfully. “Is she a witch?”
“I’m not sure,” Ashe said honestly. “But she seems to have a lot of enchanted items at her disposal.”
“Well, if she’s not a witch…then she must be rich,” Snow said, a glint in is sapphire-blue eyes. “That’s one useful stalker you have there, Ashe. I want one.”
“Oh, shut up,” Ashe groused. But Snow did have a point. He owed Julie. Especially after how she’d just helped Aurelion. He wanted to show his appreciation to her somehow, and stroked his chin pensively. Maybe I should make her something. Ashe pondered, imagining making a new hat or purse for Julie. But none of his ideas seemed quite right.
To be continued in…Chapter 6:
Chapter 6:
Juleka’s enchanted pumpkin carriage screeched to a halt directly beneath the only window Rapunzel’s Tower had. Juleka exited the carriage, and had to crane her neck to look up at the window. “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair so that I may climb thy golden stair.”
A few seconds later, a long cascade of golden hair was tossed out the window and fell down to the ground. Juleka dragged Aurelion out of the carriage and over to the hair. She tied the hair around his torso, tugged at the hair when she was finished, and yelled: “Take him up, Rapunzel!”
From within the tower Rapunzel began to pull Aurelion up. Juleka watched, nibbling on her lower lip as Rapunzel pulled the unconscious Aurelion all the way up the forty-foot-tall tower and finally into the room. She let out a breath of relief once Aurelion was safely inside.
Juleka was about to leave when the cascade of hair was tossed out of the tower again for her to climb up. She used the hair to climb the tower, and once she reached the window she hopped gracefully onto to the ledge, and then hopped down into the room.
With a deep scowl on his face Rapunzel was crouched beside an unconscious Aurelion. He was staring at the horrible wounds on the hero’s back as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “What the hell happened?” he snarled.
Juleka normally would have flinched at his harsh tone of voice, but she knew that his anger wasn’t directed towards her, but at the perpetrator of Aurelion’s injuries. “A chimera monster appeared in Rose City. It fell from the sky in a giant egg.”
“Tch,” Rapunzel made a sound of disgust. “The League of Villains.”
Juleka’s blue eyes widened dramatically. “The League of Villains! But why would they target Rose City?”
“They weren’t targeting Rose City,” Rapunzel said grimly. “They were targeting Aurelion. Aurelion is Fantasia’s symbol of peace. He is The League’s greatest threat. If The League manages to kill Aurelion off…many villains who lurk in the shadows will come out into the light of day and wreck havoc upon the land. The League of Villains will grow in strength until…Fantasia is doomed.” Juleka gulped. “But I won’t let those bastards win,” Rapunzel said, placing his hands on Aurelion’s back with a squelching sound.
The blacksmith closed his eyes, summoned his magical power, and concentrated on willing Aurelion’s wounds to heal. A golden glow surrounded Rapunzel’s hands and his hair started to glow too. “I never should have revealed to him that I have the ability to heal,” Rapunzel said morosely. “I feel like he’s gotten even more reckless upon knowing that after he gets hurt I’ll heal his injuries. Dammit. The fool was reckless to begin with…this is just insane.”
“With wounds as grievous as those I’m surprised he’s still alive,” Juleka said honestly.
“It’s his strength of will that’s keeping him alive,” Rapunzel said. “He’s too stubborn to die.”
“Aurelion is lucky to have a friend like you,” Juleka said softly as she watched Aurelion’s wounds heal right before her eyes.
Rapunzel hummed. “Maybe. But one day he’ll come back to me too injured and even I won’t be able to save him. I can’t bring people back from the dead…” A shadow fell over Rapunzel’s face at his own words and he shuddered.
Juleka gave Rapunzel a scrutinizing look. “That’s a funny thing to say while we’re in Bones Kingdom - the land of the undead.”
“Only King Gothel has the ability to create zombies and skeletons…” Rapunzel revealed. “But even if I did have the ability to bring Aurelion back from the dead, I wouldn’t. Existence as a skeleton or zombie…is hell. They can’t enjoy things like warmth, or the taste of good food. It is a cursed existence.”
“A bunch of armored skeletons attacked my carriage…” Juleka recounted. “I wonder who they once were.”
Rapunzel shrugged. “Well, this tower is part of the ruins of what must have once been a castle. They were probably soldiers who served the former King of these lands.”
“There’s a legend in Fantasia about a lost Kingdom…” Juleka began, tapping the bottom of her mask. “The Kingdom of Light. Also known as Sol Kingdom. I wonder…perhaps, Bones Kingdom used to be the Kingdom of Light. That would mean this place had a human King once upon a time.”
Rapunzel raised an eyebrow. “This godforsaken place…Sol Kingdom? I highly doubt it. How did you even learn of this legend?”
“My tutors are very efficient in my studies of the history of Fantasia,” Juleka explained.
“You’re a high-born lady, aren’t you? Ashe said something about you being a handmaiden for the Princess of Glass Kingdom, but that’s not right, is it?” Rapunzel asked, giving Juleka a scrutinizing look.
Juleka walked over to the oil painting of a white unicorn with golden eyes and a little girl in a pink dress that was riding him. “This painting…it’s of Cinderelron and the Princess Juleka Glass, correct?”
Rapunzel nodded. “Indeed.”
“How much do you know about the legend of Cinderelron?” Juleka asked.
“Only what Gothel told me…” Rapunzel began. “Apparently, the unicorn shifter Cinderelron was a great hero of Fantasia. His sword had the ability of magic reflection. This made him invincible in battle. Cinderelron was the Commander of the Royal Guard of Glass Kingdom. It was his duty to protect the young princess who would one day become Queen. Bandits and villains often tried to kidnap the princess…though the reason why is unknown.
“Every time this happened Cinderelron would rescue the princess and defeat her captors. Until one day a member of the League of Villains kidnapped the princess in order to lure Cinderelron into a trap. It isn’t known how Cinderelron was defeated, but he was killed that day. Miraculously, the little princess managed to escape, and made it safely back to the Glass Palace. Cinderelron was killed for his horn, which grante
d the villain immortality. The only way to kill an immortal is to chop off their head.”
“You know a lot, Blacksmith. More than most,” Juleka said with an impressed look on her face that was hidden beneath her unicorn mask. “But I know why bandits and villains used to kidnap the princess. She possesses a strange ability. Her tears turn into blue diamonds. The villains would torture the poor princess in order to harvest her tears.”
The blood started to drain out of Rapunzel’s face at the idea of a little girl being tortured. “How do you know this?”
Juleka reached up and removed her unicorn mask. “Because I am Princess Juleka Glass.”
Rapunzel gawked as Juleka’s face and eyes were revealed. Her eyes were blue with flecks of silver in them that made them resemble blue diamonds.
“Your Highness!” Rapunzel knelt before her and bowed his head.
“Arise, Rapunzel,” Juleka said with an impatient wave of her hand. “There’s no need for formalities amongst friends.”
Rapunzel rose and gave Juleka a searching look. “Why keep your identity a secret from Ashe?”
“I have the feeling that Ashe wouldn’t speak to me anymore if he knew I was a princess.” Juleka let out a frustrated sigh. “He has an inferiority complex. Even though I see great potential in him.”
“True enough.” Rapunzel nodded. “But I doubt that’s your only reason.”
“If Ashe knew my true identity he might not be able to keep it to himself,” Juleka admitted. “And if word got out that Princess Juleka Glass was stalking Ashe Smoldris…then bandits and villains would monitor Ashe in order to find me. If they targeted me…Ashe would get caught up in my mess. I don’t want to put him in danger.”
“You’re forgetting something, Princess,” Rapunzel said. “And I believe this to be the real reason why you don’t want Ashe to know your true identity. Is it true that Cinderelron died rescuing you?”
Ashe and the Glass Sword Page 13