Undying Love

by JD Penley

  Back inside the fortress, the walls were falling around them and the flames were blazing out of control. The wizard picked up his blade again, determined to end Lucas once and for all. Lucas reached out his hand and summoned a blade of his own, and the two began to battle. Lucas was a master of combat, but he had never faced someone wielding magic before. The wizard could move quickly and his strength was unlike a mortal man, but Lucas was faster. His magic enhanced his speed, and his senses, but yet the wizard was able to hold his own. Lucas would rush him, land a blow, and retreat to defend himself, attempting to slowly defeat the dark wizard. This went on for several minutes with Lucas maintaining the upper hand, until Eryn and her squad reached the fortress. She saw him fighting through the holes that had been caused by the lightning and she screamed his name. For a moment he lost his concentration and the wizard struck. He lunged and buried the blade into Lucas’s chest, and Lucas stumbled backward before catching his footing again. Eryn cried out, knowing the blade would be poisoned. “NO!” she cried. Lucas pulled the blade from his chest and tossed it onto the ground, and then he leaped towards the wizard closing the gap between them. He hurried his blade into the wizard’s stomach, and then grabbed him by the neck and pinned him to the wall. The wizard screamed in agony as the heat of the wall singed his skin and the blade in his stomach burned him. “What have you done to me?” he asked as he pulled the blade from his stomach. “I’ve given you a taste of your own medicine Artemis. The blade was cursed, and I would have been content to let you die slowly but you will not get off that easily” he said as he inched closer to the wizard’s ear. “You can’t escape this time, and there is no peace in death waiting for you” he whispered as he sunk his fangs into the wizard’s neck. He could feel the sting of the wizard’s blood as it hit his throat, but he wouldn’t stop until he drank every last drop and made sure the man was dead. He kept going until he felt the wizard’s body go limp, and then he tore him apart limb from limb and tossed the parts into the fire. “Let’s see you survive that Artemis” he said as he scoffed and turned to walk away.

  As Lucas walked towards the gaping hole in the wall to leave, he caught Eryn’s eyes. He knew at once that her heart had finally been made whole as he saw her with Jaidyn in her arms and he knew it was worth the risk. Just as he was about to step out, the fortress collapsed, leaving him trapped inside alone. She reached out and cried as she watched as the walls collapsed around him, convinced that she was watching him die. A wave of emotion washed over her, and a lifetime of memories with him filled her thoughts as she helplessly watched the fortress becoming a smoldering heap of ash and stone. She held her son tightly in her arms, thankful for his return, but deeply saddened by the cost of it all. She cried as she realized that she could never again look into his eyes and see him staring back into hers, wondering if he felt the same way for her as she had come to feel for him. She would never hold him in her arms again or feel safe in the warmth of his embrace again, and she could never truly thank the man and her best friend who risked everything to save her son. He was a hero to her and would be to the entire kingdom when they learned that he alone had vanquished the dark wizard. A small part of her died that night, as she watched the flames take away the one thing she had dared to love after all these years.

  She forced herself to get up, and she gathered the men to head back to inform the king of what had happened. The journey felt longer than ever on the way back, and although she had been given a great gift, her heart felt empty. Upon arriving in the royal city, they were greeted by the king and queen. They could see by the look on her face that something was gravely wrong. “What happened out there Eryn? Where is Lucas?” the king asked. She dropped to her knees, with her son still in her arms, and began to cry again. The queen rushed to her side and embraced her, knowing what had happened without a word. He addressed the squad commander while the queen held Eryn in her arms. “What happened out there commander? We could see the smoke from miles away. Come man, tell us what happened to our son!” The commander bowed and got on one knee, and tried to gather himself to address the king. “My lord, your son saved them all. Every child in the fortress has been rescued and placed back with their families thanks to the prince” he said as he began to get choked up. “Your son saved Lady Eryn’s son and defeated the dark wizard, my lord. He was amazing to behold, and he destroyed him. Your son freed the kingdom from the tyranny of dark magic sire. He is a hero” the commander replied. “So where is he then? Where is my son?” he asked with a raised voice. Eryn began sobbing more intensely, and the queen tried to comfort her as she too began to shed tears for her son. “I’m sorry my lord, but the prince didn’t make it. He was wounded by the dark wizard with a blade much like the one that killed the princess and before he could escape the fortress, it collapsed leaving him trapped inside. I’m so sorry my lord, we failed you. We could not save the prince” the commander replied. “No commander, you haven’t failed me. You did as you were ordered to. My son was going to do it alone regardless of what anyone said, but he was a hero. He did what I could not, and he vanquished the dark wizard once and for all. We will see to it that we raise a statue in his honor and hold a royal feast to celebrate his brave and noble acts” the king replied. The king stepped down and went to Eryn and hugged her. “I am sorry for your loss my dear, and although it brings me great sadness that my son is gone knowing how you felt about him, I am glad he could give you back your son” She hugged him back, and he wiped her tears from her eyes. “Your son saved mine from a fate much worse than death, I only wish I could have said goodbye. I loved your son, I realize that now. I only wish I could have told him how I truly felt, and I wish I had known if he felt the same. Now I will never get that chance” she replied. “I’m deeply sorry my dear, but his sacrifice will not go unnoticed. We will give him the proper ceremony tomorrow and say our goodbyes, and we must prepare to venture back to earth to break the news to my granddaughter. This will be the hardest duty I’ve had to perform in my lifetime, but we will all get through it together” he replied.

  Five

  You Only Die Once

  The next day was filled with sorrow, but also joy. The entire city gathered to celebrate Lucas’s defeat of the dark wizard, a return of peace in the land, and the end of dark magic. Lucas had accomplished in one night what had taken them centuries of attempts to do. His life was celebrated, although no one really knew the prince’s tale. The only one that came with him could have told his story, and now he had joined her in death. His daughter would be the only one left in the universe that would know the truth, and she was the only thing that remained of his legacy. That afternoon the city was quiet as a tomb as they all gathered to mourn his loss, and the king and queen wept for the loss of their son. They too had missed out on his amazing life, his isolation on earth alone, and his journey from being just a man to becoming the immortal hero. Eryn missed him most of all. He had given her back the one thing that had been missing for so long, but she lost her best friend again. She missed his sweet caring eyes, his soft-spoken voice, and the way he smiled at her. She was the only one that could have possibly understood how even after losing someone so close he still managed to keep love in his heart. She had never felt so close to him before than she had in the last few days before his death. She saw a side of him she had never seen before, one that it was possible no one ever saw. He was beaten, broken, lost, and vulnerable, yet even through it all he was kind, caring, and the most loving man she had ever known. Her last thoughts of him were looking into his eyes just before the fortress collapsed, the way his eyes spoke even if he couldn’t. She wished she could have told him how she felt, but she was robbed of the chance. She couldn’t understand how it was fair for someone as kind and gentle and loving to be allowed to die, after everything he did for everyone. His entire life was always in service to someone else, never living for himself, and his last act in this world was for her.

  She struggled to make it through the ceremony and Jaidyn trie
d his best to comfort her as a young boy could, but her heart ached for Lucas. Lucas had given her back her son and picked up the pieces of a broken heart only to leave a hole behind with his absence. She spent the evening walking the castle alone after putting Jaidyn to bed, but even he was restless. He searched the castle until he found her sitting alone on the same balcony she had said goodbye to Lucas on that last night. He walked up and put his arms around her neck and kissed her forehead. “Why are you so sad mommy?” he asked softly. “Mommy is sad because her best friend is gone, and he isn’t coming back” she said as she buried her face in her hands. “Do you mean Prince Lucas?” he asked. “Yes baby, he’s the one that saved you. He is the one that gave us another chance to be together” she said as she kissed his cheek. “He was a very nice man mommy. Did you love him?” he asked timidly. “Why do you ask baby?” she said. “He talked to me in my dreams before he sent me out of the castle to run to you. I think he loved you mommy” he said as he looked down at the ground. “Why do you say that sweet boy?” she asked “When he was talking about you he smiled a lot, and before he woke me up to break me out, I could see the way he saw you when he was trying to show me what you looked like” he replied. “That’s very sweet, but I guess we’ll never know baby” she said as her tears rolled off her cheek and hit the ground. Suddenly off in the distance an explosion broke the silence of the night and startled them both. A cold breeze filled the air as if something had caused a change in the weather. The castle began to vibrate again but stronger this time, as if the ground was about to erupt beneath them. Suddenly there was a boom that echoed across the sky as if something was moving at high speed. The guard swarmed all over the castle ready to face the threat. Suddenly and without warning the night was quiet again, and everything was back at peace.

  Eryn caught Jaidyn staring off into the sky as if he was daydreaming. “What is it Jaidyn? What do you see out there?” she asked. “Mommy is there a man in the moon?” he asked. She laughed to herself at his innocence, realizing that there would be so many more nights together with him. “Why do you ask sweetheart?” she asked him curiously. “I see someone up there, almost floating in the sky” he said. “Are you sure?” she asked. “Yes mommy and they’re getting closer” he said pointing up into the sky. Her thoughts turned to Lucas again, remembering when he took her flying into the night sky and she began to cry again. She turned to look into the sky, and as she turned she heard a familiar voice. “So are those tears for me?” he asked. “LUCAS!” Jaidyn screamed with excitement. She felt every emotion hit her all at once as she struggled to understand if she was seeing things or if this was real. He floated down close enough to step onto the stonework and walked onto the rooftop. “So did you miss me?” he asked with a smirk on his face. She ran to him and jumped into his arms, overcome with joy that he was really alive. “How is this even possible?” she asked. “I watched you die!” she exclaimed. “Did you now? Are you quite certain you saw me die?” he asked. “I watched you get buried under the fortress as it collapsed!” she said loudly. “Well, that much is true, from a certain point of view. When I realized that I wouldn’t make it out from there I conjured a portal to another part of the fortress hoping I could escape before it collapsed. Sadly, it didn’t work in my favor and it still collapsed on top of me. I’ve spent the last day fighting my way out, I’m sure I made quite a ruckus getting past the last bit. You know how hard it is to lift a fortress off of yourself?” he asked sarcastically. “You must be very strong” Jaidyn said. “Right you are my brave little fighter. You did exactly what I asked you to do, and you made it to your mommy. I’m very proud of you” he said as he rubbed Jaidyn on the head. Lucas reached down and took Eryn’s hand and scooped up Jaidyn in his other arm, as he walked them back towards the castle stairs.

  “So you never answered my question. Were those tears for me?” he asked as he smiled at her. “Yes! I thought you were gone!” she replied as she leaned her head onto his shoulder. “Come now, you wouldn’t have missed me would you?” he said with a chuckle. “More than you can know Lucas. I was lost without you” she said as she started to sob again. “Now, now, don’t cry. I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere. Although I must say I’m a little disappointed you thought that a building would be my downfall. I mean not the vampire toxin-covered blade or the stab wound to the chest, but crushed by rubble, that’s how you see me dying? I have got to get a better reputation” he joked. “Wait, how did you survive those wounds?” she asked with confusion. He stopped for a moment and released her hand, only to take her hand and place it under his shirt. “What wounds?” he asked as she began to run her hands across his body. “It doesn’t make any sense. You aren’t injured at all!” she exclaimed. He laughed as he took her hand in his again and continued walking. “How did you do it?” she asked. “Well, when I stepped into Jaidyn’s dream I felt a presence nearby so I cast a spell to create a duplicate of myself. While I spoke to him I commanded the copy to go and open the cell and when the wizard began his attacks, he was never really attacking me at all. I was still concealed in the shadows. It wasn’t until he stabbed my copy that I had to reveal myself from the shadows, and that is when I finished him off. He never saw it coming” he replied. “That’s absolutely brilliant, how did you even think of that?” she asked. “The wonders of science fiction movies” he replied with a laugh. “I’m lost, what do you mean?” she asked. “I’ll show you one day if you decide to come and visit earth” he replied before he paused. “Well, I imagine we might want to go and tell my mother and father that they can cancel the trip back to earth to tell Alice I’m dead. They might feel quite silly having to explain why I’m not actually dead” he said with a chuckle.

  He walked the castle halls hand in hand with Eryn with Jaidyn still in his arm. As he passed by guards and staff, he couldn’t help but laugh as they were caught off guard at the sight of him. Several people ran off looking for guards to tell them that a ghost was haunting the castle. By the time they reached the throne room, the castle was abuzz with excitement as people were running around frantically confused by the news. The king and queen were seated in the throne room; carefully listening to the group of guards all reporting the same thing. “So you are certain of this?” the king asked. All of the guards confirmed the same story, the prince was alive and roaming the halls of the castle. Just as the king was about to send them to find his son, Lucas entered the throne room, hand in hand with Eryn. A hush fell over the room and the crowds became silent. “Lucas!” the queen shouted as she bolted from her seat beside the king. His father was on her heels as they both ran towards him. Lucas lowered Jaidyn to the ground and let go of Eryn’s hand for a moment as his mother and father approached. They threw their arms around him, and his mother began to cry tears of joy at the realization that her son was indeed alive. “How is this possible?” the king asked. “Why does everyone seem to ask that?” Lucas asked as he chuckled. He retold the tale to his mother and father of how he defeated Artemis and escaped the tomb of rock and stone. “Well that explains the explosion and shockwave that followed, and the sonic boom afterward” his father replied. “Can you really fly that fast my son?” his mother asked. “Apparently so, perhaps you’d like to see the night sky with me one-night mother?” Lucas asked. “I wouldn’t dare my son, I’m not brave enough” she replied. “You really have become quite remarkable my son. I would have never dreamed in all my years that you would grow up to be even more than I had hoped for. You saved the kingdom, and you brought back every child that was lost, and you risked your life to save young Jaidyn here, and I’m sure his mother is quite grateful for that. Most of all, you never let your pain take away who you are. I’m proud of you my son. Your mother and I are so glad to have you back with us” he said.

  Word quickly spread throughout the kingdom that Lucas was alive and well, and they rejoiced. Lucas sent for the man in the prison and had him brought to the throne room. While he awaited his arrival, he had the guards bring the man�
�s children to the throne room. When the man entered the children were nowhere to be seen, as Lucas had them hide behind the thrones. The man moved slowly towards Lucas, and he could sense the man’s fear. “Have no fear, come closer” he said as he beckoned for the man to step forward. “I had heard of your demise my prince, I am grateful that it was not true. I would ask but one question before you do what you will with me sire. Did you find my children?” Lucas cleared his throat and the children emerged from behind the thrones, giggling as they ran towards their father. “Thank you so much sire, I cannot thank you enough. I cannot express my gratitude strongly enough for what you’ve done for me even after the pain that I caused you” he said with tears in his eyes. “You were forced to do so, but now you are free. The dark wizard is no more, and you are a free man. As for your sentencing, I sentence you to a life full of wonder and curiosity, and require that you never leave these children without a father so long as it remains within your ability to do so” Lucas replied. The man bowed as low as he could to show respect for his life being spared, but Lucas would not have it. He took the man’s hand and made him rise to his feet. “On my world, I am but a man. I am no one but myself. I am not a leader, nor a prince, nor even an immortal to them. In my world, we show our thanks without having to grovel” Lucas said as he hugged the man. “From one father to another, cherish your children. They are what we aspire to be, our hopes and dreams realized in a miniature version of ourselves. We must teach them to reach beyond what we achieve and to be better than us. That is what I ask of you, and to always love your children. Now go and enjoy their lives, for before we know it they have grown up and are leaving us to live lives of their own” he said as he hugged him once more. He kneeled down to their level and took both of their tiny hands in his. “You take good care of your papa, he loves you very much” he told them both. “Yes sir Prince Lucas” they replied in unison. “Lucas will be fine little ones. Now go, and have fun” he said as he waved goodbye to them.