A War's End

Two kings end things once and for all.

   

       Bodies lined the muddy ground soaked by the liquid of running blood. Lightening streaked the sky, a testament to the battle’s fleeting moments, highlighting the impaled and dying, illuminating the eternal struggle of life and death. A survival waged against fate, the warden of all, and an end inevitable.

Nonetheless, King William stood, head raised defiant despite the many arrows protruding from his back, blood trickling into his eyes and stab wounds slashing across his armor, fiery, unyielding and impassive to his plight like death’s reminder. With shaking legs he held firm, ignorant of the limit of his exhausted muscles, struggling to continue the order to support. Uncanny dark brown eyes had a focus only for the enemy before him. Heaving the king leveling his sword cut into the flesh of muscle and ripping through organs forced the blade into the body of the other man.

            "Deeper!" William urged, while taking the enemy’s blade into his own body. Excruciating pain erupted from the wound, searing, and the object white hot in its inflicting agony. Still his dark eyes never wavered from the other man. The king had been born only with one life and he would see this through. His enemy on the other hand, eyes had gone glossy and the king stared disgusted. Allowing his brain and body to shut off the pain, his opponent lacked one thing, will.

            "Our end is near but at this moment we are kings!" William sputtered the reminder harshly, determination mixing with the glare.

            Twisting his blade he backed up the wakeup call, driving it home. A scream, a shriek so pure in its selfish agony brought a smile to William’s cracked lips. If they were going to die in vain it was better to die in pain. If not others, than it was up to the individual to sear a remembrance of the battle into one’s soul, a branding so clear in its event that it would carry on to the next life in reincarnation. Thus was his belief, self-remembrance of the sacrifice experienced in this life and the next. His opponent’s screams cracked and waned as his voice strained to express the sheer gravity of a body engulfed in an insatiable fire, a fatal wound. A grin twisted by pain suppressed broke onto the kings own expression, hysterical, drunk, brushed with the broken fingers of insanity. Still he walked the extra mile and shoved the sword past the hilt, saturating his forearm in blood.

            "Deeper!" The King screeched as his enemy’s eyes rolled back and body relaxed. Falling limp the opponents blood caked hands left his own sword as William, stepping back, let the shell of king bradford crumpled to the earth.

“Return in peace my son.” The King choked out the prayer through clenched teeth, internal bleeding increasing the difficult of speaking. Closing his eyes in a deep shuddering breath, he prepared himself to accept it as his last. Latching trembling hands around the blade hilt of the sword within his own body, he released the held breath. Thrusting the blade ever deeper into his mortal container the agony that followed could only be described as sensational as it wrung his very soul. Out of sword, he was out of time. Eyes glazing with the overarching cloud of death, he dropped to his knees, the light of his eyes fading with the last streak of lightening.

King Willam and his enemy brave in death as in life were the only two left on the wasted battlefield, the last to die.

Author's Note

Did you like it? What are your thoughts on the short story? What did you think of the dialogue? The main character? The description and writing style?
Please put forth your honest opinion.

Reviews

[xansizi]

So very vivid description and I liked your portrayal of King William. The only thing he had left at the end was his honour and he was mindful of that to the end.

I would remove the first sentence. It is a cliche and one you don't need as you then go on to descripe the battlefield. You show so there is no need to tell

[Samuel Dickens]

"Gruesome and violent" isn't my thing, but I'll have to say that you're pretty good at it. There may have been a comma or two missing, but otherwise, it seems quite correct.

[DJ Hoskins]

Thank you! :)