“Anna,” Bart said.
“I’m not going to risk my life for him.”
“That’s awful,” Phillip muttered.
“Whatever, I’m going to enjoy some cake.”
Phillip looked to her friends, but they were at a loss for words as well. Bart and Shel went after Anna. They tried talking to her, but she wholeheartedly ignored them. Anna went on about which kind of cake she was going to get. When she finally made it to the Shannon’s Café and Pastry Stall, Anna had decided on triple chocolate cake, the batter, the icing, the pudding inside, all of it chocolate. Anna paid for the cake and took it to a table. She offered some to her friends, but they weren’t hungry.
“Mmm…this cake is delicious,” Anna hummed as she dabbed a napkin to her lips.
“Anna, come on,” Bart said.
“Can’t hear you, too busy eating cake.”
“Anna.”
“I wonder what I should drink with this.”
“Anna!”
“I know, a nice cold glass of…”
Anna’s thought was halted by a slap to the face. It was so hard that Anna was thrown from her chair. Shel stood over Anna, her scowl deep. Anna didn’t know what had gotten into her friend. Still, she stood back up, her hand pressed against her stinging cheek.
“You’re a real baby, you know that?”
“What’s gotten into you, Shel?”
“You’re really just going to let him go like that?”
“He’ll be fine.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Shut up.”
“You’re a complete and utter brat.”
“Shut up! I know how I’m being! But what am I supposed to do?”
“Grow up! Stop being a little kid and do something!”
Anna clamped her mouth shut. She knew Shel was right. How could she save someone who so obviously hated her, though? He was such an awful person. But…she hadn’t put much effort into the relationship either. It took two people to fight, and she had started just as much trouble as he had. Her knight just made her so angry, though. She could find the good in just about anyone, but that man…
“I don’t know. He’s so…” Anna smiled just a bit. “He’s a complicated guy.”
Bart sighed. “Anna, you’re pretty complicated yourself.”
Anna sat back down in her chair. “What am I supposed to do?”
“You can go save his sorry butt,” Bart suggested.
Anna took a deep breath. She stood up and walked away. Shel and Bart stuck close to her, unsure of what her decision was. They got their answer when she ended up back at Bill and his carriage. Anna hopped inside, telling Bill where to go. She didn’t say anything to the others as the carriage went along its way.
It was an hour’s ride to the Nobles’ Graveyard, where the mausoleum was. Nothing happened on the way; nothing was said. Nobody had a plan, not even an inkling of what was about to happen. This was something that had to be done, though. Anna knew her knight was a horrible person at times, but she also knew that if she had been kidnapped, he would do whatever it took to get her back.
They finally made it to the graveyard. Bill was sent home to let people know where they were. With him gone, Anna and her friends passed through the open gates. Inside they passed monolithic gravestones, all accompanied by knights in various conditions of decay. What really bothered Anna was all the flowers. They were all dead, never having been replaced since the day the noble was buried. It wasn’t really part of the elites’ custom to return here after a death. Anna thought it was strange, though. Why didn’t the person who kept up everything else switch out the flowers?
The friends made it to the mausoleum. It was made of black marble with silver streaks running through it. The double doors leading inside were open. The stairs going down into the darkness were covered in a thin layer of dust. Torches lined the walls, magical things that would never go out, yet never compare to the brightness of the sun.
“Anna, Shel, we should stay close to the knights. Who knows what might be down there.”
“Humph, I can handle myself,” Shel replied.
Bart shook his head. “You’re not going to use any magic unless you absolutely have to.”
“You can’t tell me what to do.”
“Please, Shel, for once in your life take the pole out of your butt and listen to somebody who wants to help.”
Shel barely had time to regain her dignity before her friends and the knights were going downstairs. Her face turned a faint shade of pink, but she started after the others. It got dark fast, the light from outside disappearing within a few minutes. The silence was oppressive. Eventually, they made it to the bottom. The stairs turned into a wide path that spanned over a small chasm. The hole went deep, little alcoves lining the walls. This was where the rulers of Rutig were buried. Anna’s father was somewhere down in the darkness, but she didn’t have time to look.
“Hello, dear sister.”
Anna saw, at the end of the path, her brother. Cornelius was in front of a table, surgical instruments and books littered around the edges. Also on the table was her knight, chained down by magic tendrils like a corpse about to get an autopsy. The knights started to advance on her brother, but a clinking noise caught their attention. Looking down the sides of the hole, they saw faux knights, both kinds, climbing up.
“I would have loved to chat more, but I’m in a bit of a rush,” Cornelius said, flippant as ever.
“Where’s Coraline? What are you doing to my knight?”
Bart pulled her back and said, “Anna, don’t get close to the fighting.”
“I need to know.” She turned back to her brother. “Where’s our sister?”
“Back at our actual base of operations. It wouldn’t do for people to find out about the hideaway.”
“What did you do to her? Why isn’t she here?”
“She was getting cold feet, so I chopped them off. Now, if you don’t mind…”
“You won’t get away with this. My knight will defeat you.”
“For crying out loud, shut up! Just shut up and die so I can move on with my plan!”
The faux knights were on the bridge. Shel and Bart’s knights weren’t about to let them pass, though. Bart’s knight started a juggling routine with his knives. As each on fell into his hands, the knight whipped it at his enemy. Each knife was precise, hitting the wrists and ankles of the faux knights, cutting off their hands and feet. As soon as the damage was done, he started juggling with a new set of magic knives. Each throw was done with a bit of flair as well. Some were over the shoulder, a few between the legs, a couple even thrown while his hand was over his eyes.
Shel’s knight was a walking wave of destruction. Whenever a faux knight got near him, his spikes would elongate, piercing his opponents. That wasn’t the end of it, though. When enough of them were stuck on him, he’d violently shake. This tore the enemies to shreds. This still wasn’t the end, however. He’d push out his spikes so that they’d reach the edges of the room. Then he’d quickly retract them, letting his foes fall down into the abyss.
The bridge shook, and something shattered through it. When the dust cleared, they saw another faux knight. However, this was unlike the whip – and sword-wielders—this one had morning stars at its sides. This faux knight was a deformed version of Anna’s knight. The thing took a step forward. What kind of fighter it would have been, Anna never found out. A small ball of fire appeared in front of it, and then the whole room turned into one blinding white light. When the others could see again, the only thing left of the faux knight was a scorch mark on the bridge. Anna looked at Shel and saw that her friend was coughing up blood.
Bart rushed to her and said, “Shel, what the hell did you do?”
As Bart let her fall to the floor gently, Shel said, “I didn’t…want Anna to see that creature…not wh
en she’s already terrified of the real thing.”
“That…that doesn’t make any fricking sense!” Bart shouted.
Anna knew she had to do something. “Bart, take Shel and get out of here.”
Bart didn’t argue. He got Shel back up the steps, hopefully to someone who could help. The knights stayed close to Anna as she walked toward her brother. None of the faux knights got near her. Her brother could tell this was becoming a bigger ordeal than he had planned for. So, with an annoyed frown, he took something from his pocket and threw it to the ground. He exploded into a puff of smoke and was gone. The enemy stopped coming, the remaining ones jumping back into the hole.
Anna almost peed herself, she was so relieved. She didn’t have a clue as to how to beat her brother. He knew magic, had an army of faux knights, and was just physically stronger than her. If she had confronted him, Anna would have gotten the crap beaten out of her. So, she was glad he had just left without a fight. Why he had just left worried her, though. Anna suspected it meant that it didn’t really matter if he succeeded here, that there were plenty more opportunities to kill her. Her knight was still chained to the table. Luckily Bart’s knight was able to pick all the locks. Anna’s knight stood up, and that’s when she saw it. A scar-like hole was over his eye now.
“What happened?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Anna didn’t want to stick around and probe her knight in case Cornelius came back, so she settled with, “We should get going.”
“Yeah.”
Epilogue
Bill must have told someone important what had happened, because waiting for them outside was a whole squad of guards. They had already taken Bart and Shel home. The sick girl would be fine, they said. A carriage was waiting for Anna to take her home. Nobody answered any of her questions, just that Romulus would take care of it. She got home just in time for bed. Anna went through her usual routine, her knight looking out of the window.
Anna tried going to sleep, but the events of the day kept racing through her mind. In the end, she came back to her knight. They hadn’t spoken since she had freed him. She just had so many things to say to him, but none of them felt right. Should she apologize? Could she just leave things like this? How many times had they made up during the past year? How many times did their relationship fall apart?
“Hey…”
“Yes?”
“Are we just going to keep on doing this for the rest of our lives?”
“Probably.”
“Are you okay with constantly hurting each other?”
“I don’t know.”
Anna went off track and said, “When I die, what will you do?”
“I don’t know.”
“How do you think our story will end?”
Anna could hear her knight clench his fist as he said, “It’s your story, not mine. And if I have any say in it, you’ll get a happy ending, whether I make it or not.”
Anna didn’t say anything. She had nothing to say, at least not at the moment. Still, when it was all over, and she had passed on, Anna hoped someone would change the flowers at her grave.
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About the Author
My name is J. A. Alexander, and I am a student at The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg in my Sophomore year. My major is Professional and Creative Writing, paired with a minor in English Literature. I have been writing for almost three years, and I have two full length novels ready to go through the editing process and on to publishing, the one you’ve just read, and over fifteen unfinished work in progress novels, each at varying stages of completion.
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