Seal of the King

by Ralph Smith

  “You must have had a long journey to come here. Did he seek solace in your embrace, and enjoy the pleasures of your flesh?” He asked.

  A tear ran down her face, and she said in a small voice, “He does love me” as she recalled in the carriage that night, how David had resisted her advances. She couldn’t think clearly. Her thoughts swirled uncontrollably, he had said it was because he loved her, but was it because he did not find her desirable?

  “Men have long used simple platitudes, and professions of love to get what they want from women. What can you offer him as a man, what do you know of men? What can you do for him that a simple woods guide cannot?” He asked coldly.

  "But I love him," she said in barely a whisper.

  “Yes, I am sure you do. You with your calloused, blood stained hands. How many men have you killed without regret? What do you know of love? What do you know of the tenderness of a real woman?” He said enjoying her anguish.

  “I know what love is. I had wonderful parents until you took them from me” she said tears streaming down her face as she tried to muster her failing strength.

  “Ah yes. Your parents whom you let suffer. You showed great love for them as you abandoned them to die for you. How could David ever trust a love like that?”

  Aurora, the pain inside her welling up threatening to choke her, said in barely a whisper “I… I… didn’t have a choice.”

  “Of course you did, my men were looking for you. I suspected you were the one in the prophecy, and all you had to do was come with them, and your parents would still be alive.” He said twisting the words into her like a knife, “and yet you sacrificed them, you wouldn’t even lift a finger to save your own parents.”

  Aurora desperately fighting the urge to vomit struggled to think. The weight of her life felt like an avalanche crashing in on her. She struggled to breathe. The loathing and hatred she felt for him was turning in on her. She had always blamed herself for her parent’s death. David had helped her to forgive herself “David told me it wasn’t my fault” she said desperately.

  “Of course he did. He needed you to lead him here, and couldn’t stand the thought of you whining about it endlessly. Do you think he would have left his parents to the same fate?” He said grinning at her torment.

  Like getting slapped in the face his words stung bitterly, without hesitation David had selflessly saved his father at considerable risk, relentlessly traveled here with the hope of saving his mother. What must he think of her? She sat frozen hiding while, before her eyes, her parents were slaughtered. Her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground speechless. Ruth knelt beside her, and when she reached out Aurora pushed her away. She didn’t deserve to be consoled, her grief was an inadequate punishment, and she sobbed gasping for breath unable to look at him.

  Showing no mercy he said, “So child. How can he possibly love you when there are so many other women with so much more to offer?”

  She barely heard him turn and walk away, consumed by her grief. She tried desperately to catch her breath. She looked around frantically, trying to find something to console her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw David enter the chamber. She saw his bruised face and bloodstained clothes, and then she gasped. He turned and saw her too. For a split second, her heart lifted at seeing him then her hope faded. With a look of anger and disgust on his face, he looked away to face the Dark One. She went numb. Was it all true? Here they were facing their final moments and he showed no sign of concern for her or even his mother.

  David stopped, standing midway between Aurora and Ruth, and the Dark One with his back to them. Festus stood off to David’s left looking at the scene waiting with an expression of glee on his face. Looking past David, she saw the Dark One’s head with his long blonde hair tip up to sniff the air, like a beast searching for prey. Then he slowly turned to face David.

  “Festus thought you would have needed more rest after enjoying the pleasures my servants had to offer you. I must admit your stamina surprises me.”

  "Perhaps they are not as practiced as you think," David said. Aurora, her ears ringing, thought to herself he didn’t deny it. How could she have been such a fool?

  The Dark One’s face was placid, almost contented-looking, asked David, “Are you ready to bow down to me?”

  David standing tall said, in a firm clear voice “No.”

  The Dark One took a deep breath and Aurora could see he was controlling his rage. Then with a smirk he said, “I thought as much, that is why I have brought our guests here so that perhaps they can persuade you to change your mind.”

  Aurora had lost all hope. She could feel Ruth sway against her.

  David said, “I won’t.”

  With a feigned look of concern, the Dark One asked, “You could stand by while they are tortured and killed in front of you? You would let them endure a slow and painful death, listening to all of their screams?”

  Aurora was shocked as David let out a huge laugh, then said, “You are a fool.”

  The Dark One’s face contorted, and she could see him swell with rage, and he said barely controlling his voice “Am I?”

  David said, in a voice filled with contempt, “you think I care what you do to them?”

  The words hit Aurora like a slap in the face, and she saw the Dark One’s expression turn to confusion. David was confirming everything the Dark One had said.

  David went on, “I came here for one reason alone. I came here for power.”

  Aurora’s head was spinning. What was he talking about? She couldn’t think clearly. It was all too much.

  The Dark One asked, confused, “power?”

  David went on, “that’s right, I want power. I’ve had a taste of it, and I want more.”

  Aurora’s ear started to fill with a buzzing sound, as if trying to block out what he was saying. Then she saw the Dark One begin to smile.

  “My mother, what good is she to me? The old hag has served her purpose, and I have no more use for her.”

  With those words, Ruth began to sob. She was leaning against Aurora, to keep from falling to the ground. Aurora couldn’t believe what she heard, not from David. It was one thing if he didn’t really love her. Still she had never known a kinder gentler man, and here he was saying such vile things. Had she been blinded by her loneliness?

  The Dark One was looking at David, enjoying the pain that Ruth was feeling, barely holding his glee back.

  David went on, “and the girl is a fool. I used her to make my way here. She is a stupid child, so desperate for love; she actually thinks I care for her. Festus showed me the error of my ways. He showed me that they only hold me back. They represent weakness.”

  Aurora thought she was going to vomit. Everything was crashing down around her. How could she have been so wrong about him? How could she not have seen this darkness in him? She was swaying too and realized that tears were streaming down her face again she could hardly breathe.

  The Dark One was positively giddy enjoying their torment. He asked David, “And how do I know that is true?”

  David pulled out the golden dagger, “do you know what this is?”

  The Dark One looked at it curiously and said, “No.”

  David said, “This is a dagger made from the horn of Gideon.” Then he spun around to his left, and slashed Festus across the throat so hard it nearly took his head off.

  Aurora bent over and vomited. It was all too much for her to bear. David then turned, and reached out offering the dagger to him. Even the Dark One was surprised as he reached out and took the dagger from David.

  “A token of good faith.” David said. Then he turned, and walked over to Aurora. David reached down and grabbed her by the hair pulling her head up.

  Aurora looked up at David. His eyes filled with rage as he looked back at her, a look that might as well have been a knife to her heart. She saw past David, the Dark One was licking his lips with anticipation, relishing her suffering.

  “I will show you what I think
of her.” David pulled a knife out from under his coat and brought it up past her hands. He grabbed her throat with his left hand and held the knife to it in his right.

  Aurora felt as if she died already, he pulled the knife across her throat. She could feel the hot blood running down her neck. The pain from the knife was nothing compared to the torment of her soul. He had shredded it like a vicious beast. He pushed her down to the floor as she instinctively reached up, and grabbed her throat. The warm sticky blood on her fingers confirmed the horrible reality of what had happened. Then David reached down, grabbed her leg, and dragged her towards him. She didn’t have any fight left in her. She didn’t care what he was doing. When he stopped she lay there in a heap not even trying to move. She saw the Dark One move towards her to inspect David’s handy work. He was positively beaming at what he had just witnessed.

  As the Dark One stepped closer David said, “Here a gift for you.”

  The Dark One was looking at Aurora with hunger in his eyes, savoring her last moments of suffering. He never saw it coming. David took the other Gold dagger he had pulled from inside Aurora’s boot, and drove it into the Dark One’s heart all the way up to the hilt. For a moment, He did not realize what happened, then turning to David He suddenly exploded with rage. He let out a scream of pain that shook the walls. She could see it was all David could do to hold onto the dagger.

  The shock of the scream seemed to bring her to her senses. Then she saw that David’s left arm was dripping with blood. She suddenly realized that, under her hands, there was no cut on her throat. She placed her hands on the floor, and found he had cut the rope that bound them. Everything snapped back into place in an instant, he had not betrayed her he would never betray her. Her anger at falling for the Dark One’s lies exploded within her and propelled her into action.

  She immediately jumped to her feet. David was struggling with him, but she also saw the two-cloaked figures making their way towards Ruth. Ruth was completely defenseless. She had to help her. In an instant, she had pulled out a knife and plunged it into the heart of one of the cloaked figures. Then she leapt towards the other one slashing it across the throat. She reached down and cut Ruth’s bindings, then turned towards David.

  David was holding the dagger in his right hand while keeping the Dark One’s right arm at bay with his left. The Dark One was trying to pull David’s hand off the dagger while his scream of rage and pain continued to echo through the chamber. Aurora didn’t know what to do when she saw a dark black shape start to escape from where the knife penetrated him. It began to envelope David’s arm, and he let out a scream of pain almost equal to that of the Dark One.

  David was pushing the Dark One back, but his physical strength was waning, the blackness was moving further up his arm. Checking once to see that Ruth was safe Aurora ran forward. She grabbed David with one hand and the Dark One’s arm with the other, trying to pull it away from the dagger. If his roar was horrible before, it was nothing compared to what came next. Stalactites started to fall from the ceiling, and he was convulsing under their touch.

  Aurora noticed a white light starting to emanate from the two of them causing the dark shape to recede from David’s arm. He shook more violently with the pain as they stumbled further back, towards the chasm. The moment the black shape had reentered its host there was an explosion. The force of it knocked David and Aurora back and blasted the Dark One against the wall. His lifeless body hung there suspended momentarily. His dead eyes staring blankly beyond them before He fell like a limp doll into the pit.

  Ruth ran over to them, and was about to speak when a violent rushing wind entered the chamber. The three of them held onto one another as the roaring wind swept over them down into the pit after Him. They saw Festus’s lifeless body fly through the air sucked down after his master. Then the cloaked figures followed, soon enough the sentries outside the keep, arms flailing, and screaming went sailing overhead. The three of them laid there hunkered down as the vortex raged, seemingly pulling every vile thing that had been unleashed back to where it belonged.

  There was no way for them to tell how long it had lasted, but it felt like an eternity when it abruptly stopped. The three of them lay there taking large breaths to purge their lungs of the foul air when the keep began to shake.

  David said weakly, “You two have to go.”

  Aurora said, “We aren’t leaving without you.”

  “I don’t think I can make it. You don’t have much time. Mom I’m so happy to see you again. Please go so you can find your way home.”

  “David I’m overjoyed to see you again too, and I’m not going to lose you. Now get up and we’ll help you get out of here.”

  David looked pleadingly at Aurora, and she said, “I can’t leave you, please if you don’t get up we’ll all die together.”

  David drew what little strength he had left, and rolled onto his hands and knees. Ruth and Aurora helped him to his feet. It was extremely dark, so they had to move slowly, and the ground was shaking violently. They made it to the passageway and found themselves in pitch darkness.

  “I don’t know which way to go.” Aurora said.

  Then David hearing a slight whisper up ahead, said, “That way.” They moved as quickly as they dared, occasionally bumping into the walls. At each juncture, David heard the whisper that guided them. Finally, they saw light up ahead, and quickened their pace. The ground and the walls were shaking so violently now they had trouble keeping their footing.

  The moment they stepped outside into the fresh air and light, the ominous rock tower began to sink into the ground. The bog was gone, and they moved as far away as possible until David fell to his knees. Ruth and Aurora helped him down onto his back.

  Looking at his left arm, Ruth said, “It looks as if, he’s lost a lot of blood.” She began tearing some cloth off of her dress, to wrap the deep cut on his wrist that supplied the blood for his ruse to save them.

  Aurora, kneeling next to him, put a hand on his chest and head and closed her eyes. She let her power flow into him drawing as much as she possibly could. She saw some color returning to his face.

  She bent down to kiss him on the forehead, and said, “Please stay with us.”

  David managed a small smile “I’ll do my best.”

  Once Ruth finished bandaging his arm, he turned to get onto his feet again. Aurora and Ruth helped him up, and they slowly made their way towards the top of the valley. The darkness of the valley floor was gone now, but it left behind a barren sandy bottom that was no help to them in their escape. After a long and tortuous climb, they finally reached the top, the three of them exhausted from the effort. They sat on the edge of the plateau, David lying on his back again to rest.

  “I’m so sorry I said those horrible things to the two of you. I was standing outside the chamber and heard everything he was saying to you. It was the only thing I could think of to throw him off. I hope you can forgive me. I hope you both know that I didn’t mean a single word of it.” Then looking into Aurora’s eyes, he added, “He was wrong about everything. I do love you”

  Ruth put a hand on his forehead, and gently stroked his hair “don’t worry my son we understand. Just rest, I’ve never been more proud in my life.”

  Aurora looked at him tenderly and took his hand, and said, “I know. Now do as your mother says. Close your eyes, we’ll watch over you.”

  After a moment, David smiled then sat up. The two of them looked at him, and Aurora asked, “What’re you doing?”

  “Our ride’s here.”

  They turned to see the horse they left behind come trotting over to them. He walked right up and stopped where they sat. Aurora and Ruth beamed with relief as they helped David to his feet.

  “If we take it slow I think he can carry the three of us.” David said.

  Aurora went to the saddlebags and pulled out their water skins. She also reached into the satchel with their food, broke the biscuits and dried meat pieces in half, pulling out some for eac
h of them. The little bit of food and water seemed to restore some of David’s strength.

  David began unsaddling the horse, and said, “I want to take the extra weight off; it will give us more room to ride. We can put some blankets on his back. Let’s take whatever supplies we have and carry them on our backs.”

  Aurora said, “We don’t have much, but I’ll organize it.”

  Ruth asked, “Are you sure he can carry all three of us? I can walk.”

  David looked at her kindly for her offer, but said in a firm tone “Mom, when was the last time you had a decent meal? I’ve never seen you look so thin. The saddle weighs more than you do. We’re all going to ride together, and that’s final.”

  Ruth said, in mock disapproval, “Don’t you take that tone with me young man.” Then she wrapped her arms around him in a long overdue hug.

  David hugged her back, and they stood lost in the realization that they were reunited again after all this time. David leaned back to see her face, with tears of joy running down it.

  “Mom everything’s going to be all right.”

  “I know it is… I just never thought I’d see you again.”

  David reached out an arm and pulled Aurora to him. She had been standing there smiling affectionately at their reunion, and welcomed his invitation. She wrapped her arms around the two of them. The three of them could have stood there for hours holding each other, but they needed to move on.

  “Come on. Let’s go home so we can have a proper reunion.” Aurora said.

  David walked over to the horse, stroked the side of his head and neck, and said, “thank you for coming back for us.” Then he put the bit back in the horse’s mouth, and once securely fashioned, he pulled the reins to one side while pulling his head down. The horse understanding the cue knelt down so they could climb onto him.

  David had his mother sit in the front, he sat in the middle, and Aurora sat behind him. When the tension on the reins was released the horse stood, and they headed back down the road that brought them here.