PrologueA Chapter by PenguinEmpiress this is just the start of a new journey... Prologue
The land was coated with frozen white snow. A blizzard. The wind howled
as it pushed against the trees and bushes with strength. A frozen lake was iced
over and blanketed with snow - much like dug hole with leaves spread over it.
It was a frozen wasteland, an island in the middle of nowhere… This is where
the meeting of the Kings took place… A brown and golden flag
flapped violently in the wind as its ends tipped with ice. This flag embroiled
with a roaring golden lion, was not of one but two. Two soldiers held these
flags high above their heads as a third - not quite a soldier - rode behind
them on a bay stallion: coated with a large brown and golden coat of a saddle.
The third held his hood as it threatened to fly from his head and gripped the
reins so slightly tighter. Peering into the sky, the
third noticed the great stream of smoke from a far off barracks that sat way
off into the distance. Of course the third could not see the barracks because
of the blizzard but he followed the trail of black smoke that disappeared into
the blizzard sky. He kicked the stallion slightly into a trot and pulled
slightly at the reins when he had caught the two soldiers pace. He pulled his hood away
from his face and brushed back the hair that went straight into his eyes as the
cloak hood fell to his shoulders. One of the soldiers looked petrified when he
had pulled off his cloak and had no idea what to do. While the other put his
flag into the same hand that was holding the reins and grabbed the cloak’s hood
and shoved it over the man’s head. The man surprised by this wobbled on his
saddle at the sudden loss of sight. Using both hands he pulled himself up onto
the saddle properly, than grabbed the hood and pushed it up enough that it just
rested in his head. He grabbed the reins and puffed out a sigh. “Your Highness. We are
in a foreign county’s land. We cannot risk exposure” said one of the Soldiers The King let out another
sigh and thought’ you say that but there are two flags with Katharine’s symbol
on them’ Their horse’s footsteps
were blown away as they advanced on the Barracks of the snowy wasteland. Closer
to the place of warmth and confusion… ~ Being inside probably had never felt better to the King. It was so warm
and no matter how cold it was, each time he had to step inside it just seemed
to get better. His kingdom may be the closest of them all to this meeting place
but he was always one of the last to arrive. ‘The others mustn’t work all that
hard’ is all he thought. Walking down the hall of
the barrack the King came to a stop outside of two large wooden doors, they
were engraved with swirls of gold with golden handles and hinges. Taking notice
of the large wooden table that sat just outside of the doors reach, the King
saw multiple weapons varying from swords and axes to bows and arrows and a few
pocket knives, there was even a hair pin. Undoing the buckles and straps of his
sword and arrows the king placed them on the table, closest to the door just
encase. He placed his bow on top and undid his cloak before folding it and
placing it next to his weapons of choose. He felt a sudden chill at
the removal of the cloak but didn’t let it show - even though there was no one
around. Tapping the tips of his boots of the stone floor he removed some of the
snow, before heading towards the large wooden doors. Grabbing the handle the
King pulled one of the doors open and moved inside before the door slammed shut
behind him. ~ The sudden slam of the door was brought to the attention of two other
Kings and a Queen. The Queen of Luna and The King of Katharine stood - The king
was crouching - by a burning fire. Clearly they had only just gotten there
moments before the King of Shileen had arrived. The last King, King of Orthest
sat at a rounded red wooden table that had four other seats. Each under a flag
of sorts. Katharine’s King stood and
smiled brightly at the appearance of Shileen’s King. He came over to the other
and wrapped his arm around his shoulder in greeting, giving him a sort of one
armed hug of some kind. “Rouva! It’s so good to
see you! How long has it been? 2? 3? Years?” Katharine’s King greeted happily Katharine’s King was a
middle aged man with skin that was tanned but still pale, he had a head of
shoulder length blonde hair that was quite soaked from his journey. The King’s
eyes were blue mixed with brown, making him unforgettable. But that was
something completely different to his fighting ability. “5. it’s been 5. But I
would of much rathered a decade before seeing any of you, though. Especially
you, Maxencen” Rouva stated blankly Orthest’s King let out a
loud hearty laugh at Rouva and said: “Still not cute at all I
see!” Rouva’s cheeks just spread
a tint of pink at the thought of being called cute at the age of 32 and being a
man of all things. “Leave him be Endor. You can pick on him
later” the Queen said Endor was a large and
built man, he has huge hands and feet. His hair was red as ginger though it was
mixed with greys of old age. His eyes were hazel as the nut and his body
covered his tanned skin with scars. “I don’t even see the
point of my being here” Rouva said after having come back from the
embarrassment. The Queen moved round so
that she could lean on the fire place’s stone wall, and looked at Rouva.
Maxencen sighed and removed his arm from Rouva’s shoulder and leaned against
one of the five chairs. Rouva moved over to the wall and like the Queen leaned
against it. But truly Rouva couldn’t
think of a reason why he was present, his Kingdom was the most lonesome and
solitary of them all and wished not to be involved with the other Kingdoms. So
what was the point of appearing at a court of Kings when he wished not to be
involved at all? “You may like not to be
involved Rouva. But this is something that all the Kings” The Queen Coughed”
and Queens have to be a part of” Maxencen said “It’s not a choice of
wanting but of having too” The Queen added as she pushed off the wall. Just as Rouva was going to
interject the heavy wooden door was thrown open and slammed heavily near Rouva.
He jumped slightly at the bang but regained his composure seconds after.
Stepping passed the doors was a man and a woman. The man was tall and pale and
wrinkled over the face and his hands. His hair was patched with greys and rich
brown that was hanging down his back. His dull green eyes seemed to judge
everyone as he looked them over, But Rouva seemed to bring a sick smile to his
face. The woman that stood just behind the man had long raven black hair that
was greying all around, but her odd hairstyle seemed to hide most of the greys.
She was very pale and was wrinkled under her eyes. She seemed to look directly at
the Queen that was on the other side of the room, and lifted her head just that
bit higher to seem better than her. “Sorance, Eleanora! What a
pleasure” Endor said grimly “Oh no King of Orthest.
The pleasure is all ours” Sorance said with his sick and gruff voice His eyes just seemed to
drift back to Rouva however, while Rouva stayed put and looked directly into
his sick and dull eyes. Of course Rouva knew Sorance wasn’t looking at Rouva’s
eyes but a bit further up. Rouva himself was a tall,
tanned and handsome young man. He had platinum blonde hair that had slightly
darker ends compared to his roots. His hair was tied into a short ponytail with
a red ribbon though his hair still hang in his face. His blue eyes just seemed
to glare at the older man. But the one who spoke first was the woman: Eleanora. “Oh Rouva, look how big
you’ve grown” Eleanora was right in front of Rouva as she put her hands on his
chest while moving closer to his neck. Rouva grabbed her wrist and glared down
at her. He jerked her hand away from his neck and moved past her and towards
Sorance. Sorance stood in glee as Rouva came towards him. “That hair of yours
Rouva"“ Sorance hand moved quick
and gripped tightly at the ponytail and hair on the back of Rouva’s head. The
grip forced Rouva to lift his head back and chin up. But just as Sorance had
gripped Rouva’s hair, Rouva had held a sharp sliver short knife to Sorance’s
neck. The knife pecked at Sorance’s neck hairs and Sorances grip on his hair
held tightly. “You’ve gotten quite good
with a knife, boy” Sorance growled “You touch me and I will cut your throat!” Rouva said The Pair stayed locked like that until Maxencen and Endor pulled them
apart. Rouva allowed himself to be pulled over to his seat and his knife
removed. While Sorance scowled and pushed and yelled for Endor to get off of
him. His wife Eleanora stood behind him as he took his seat. “No blood yet, Cecelia”
Maxencen whispered to Cecelia Cecelia just looked at him
and shook her head before maneuvering dress to allow herself to sit on the seat in front of
Luna’s symbol " which was positioned next to Shileen and Katharine. Cecelia is a beautiful
young woman who was known throughout the Kingdoms as the most beautiful woman
to rule. Cecelia had fair pale skin, with scars crawling up her arms and back.
Her rich brown hair hang down her back to her waist, it was pulled back out of
her eyes but was out. Her eyes were a beautiful silvery blue of colour. Next to her Rouva had his
arms crossed and was glaring across at Sorance. Maxencen sat down next to her
and laid his hands out palms down on the table. All Kings and Queen were
seated as Endor took his seat between Sorance and Rouva " if it was anyone else
the two would have torn them apart to get at each other. The Five Kings and
Queen sat in silence as another meeting began. No one knew who to talk first.
Cecelia let out a breath she didn’t realise she was holding. ‘War’ she thought
‘that’s all, than say no more’ “War” Cecelia said simply “We can’t just sit here
and do nothing again” No one spoke as Sorance
let out a loud cruel laugh " his wife smirking behind him. Rouva just looked
disgusted as the man laughed while Cecelia just looked at the man. “War!? You wish to stop
war!?” “You object? Emperor of
Drakon” This brought Sorance’s
attention. He had not been called such a title by Cecelia " no one ever called
him Emperor, not since he became a mad man. But Sorance Questioned
“And how is it you plan to stop all wars? “With a speech and a peace
treaty? Do you expect us all to become like this one!?” Sorance holding his hand out to
Rouva “Watch your tongue,
Sorance!” Cecelia yelled The room fell into silence
as the argument came to a sudden halt. Cecelia’s and Rouva’s chair’s scratched
at the stone floors as the two stood. Cecelia’s chair had fallen in the
commotion and the sound of it hitting the stone seemed to stretch on and on
within the quiet. “You have no right! No Right at all! “Too comment on my way of
ruling!” Rouva yelled He had long gone and
slammed his hand on the table and was glaring crossly at Sorance, who just sat
and smirked at the other King. “Sit down Rouva” Cecelia
said “You expect me to sit and
"“Rouva yelled “SIT DOWN!” Rouva looked at Cecelia in
complaint but did not argue further. He simply pulled his chair in and did as
he was told: he sat. Cecelia let out a breath and turned and picked up her
chair, before taking her seat. The room once again fell into silence. It was an
irritating kind of silence, the sound of nothing but the ringing in your ears,
but the irritating silence was broken quite as quickly as it was created. “My quire has been wanting
to sing their song for quite some time now. Queen Cecelia - Luna’s Cecelia”
Eleanora spoke in her hateful tone Sorance’s feral grin sat firmly on his face as those words reached his
ears. Those around the table - Rouva, Cecelia, Maxencen and Endor - had a
rather grim reaction. Eleanora’s quire wasn’t truly a quire. It was an army.
Their song was a battle cry and Eleanora was the one that sang it the loudest
while in a deranged train of thought inside her castle. Eleanora would sing it
several of hundreds of times, frightening the servants and messengers. Eleanora looked so
deranged at that very moment as if she would sing it right then and there. Her
left eye seemed to twitch and her hair fell out of her odd hairstyle " it was
an unwanted sight. “Please M’lady Eleanora.
There is no need for your - your quire to sing” Maxencen said as he stood
pushing his chair back and out of the way. “No one wants to hear that
old hag sing” Rouva muttered Maxencen gently grabbed
Eleanora’s hand and swiftly pulled her towards his seat. She sat down as her
raven hair fell out of its styling. Maxencen moved to be in between Cecelia and
Rouva when she had been seated but was nearly pushed off by Rouva because he
sat on the arms of his and Cecelia’s chairs. “Please enlighten me, King
Maxencen. Why is it you wish not to hear my wife’s lovely voice sing out?”
Sorance’s grin seemed to widen even more if that was even possible. Maxencen coughed " cleared his throat. “No one wants War, Sorance.” Eleanora had started to hum at this point. “War is unnecessary!” Cecelia yelled “It bring nothing but
chaos and mourn” “But it brings us victory
and celebration! Does it not?” Sorance’s smirk just seemed to grow “Yes it brings us victory,
but only after a battle of death has
been won” Maxencen said Endor and Rouva watched
the argument from their seat, but there was something that caught the attention
of Endor. Eleanora. She as singing the melody of her ‘war song’. It would only
be a matter of time before she actually started to sing the song. And it won’t
go unnoticed. But Cecelia and Maxencen
seemed not to take notice of Eleanora’s haunted muttering but instead continued
on their pointless argument that would not be won anyway. Sorance was a
despicable man but he was not stupid, he was far from it. He knew how to draw
out the fight in someone - expect for Rouva - and he knew how to get them on
the battlefield, Endor had always hated that about the man. As Eleanora actually
started to sing Maxencen and Cecelia started to falter in their battle of words
against Sorance. They both turned to Eleanora who seemed just as many had said
she was. Mad. Her nails were tapping on the table to the imaginary beat that
she seemed to swing her head too. Her song was cruel and vile: “Why
destroy what man created” Why
falter when it’s so clear” “Glorious war” “It’s
like a blooming flower” “So beautiful as blood splatters” “Why
deny it?” “When
it was created by man” But then she went back to
humming the song. It was only one part of the song but it brought horror to all
of their faces " expect Sorance, who was smiling as if he couldn’t be happier. Sorance’s sudden loud
laugh made them all jump and look back at him. He had pushed his chair back as
he had stood. His large wrinkled hands lay flat on the table as he looked at
them all. It was a menacing look he gave the: one of triumph. War had started. “I declare here and now!”
He shouted “War on all of you!” He grinned down at their
frowning faces. Rouva stood. “I’m not joining any war” “If you do not want to
join voluntary, then I’ll just force
you too” Sorance smiled his awful smile down at Rouva. When Rouva had left the
meeting later that day and arrived back at his Kingdom he had order everyone to
be prepared and awake for anything, and if anything looked like an enemy: “Shot it” ~
“That could have gone
better” Maxencen said to Cecelia. They were the last two to left. After the dispute,
Sorance, Emperor of the Drakon Empire at declared war on all of the Kings and
Queen that said at that rounded table of ‘peace’. Endor had even a laugh and
told him that he would be the first to strike the Drakon Empire and that it
would be the final strike. Cecelia and Maxencen had
not agreed so much. War was the last thing
either of them needed nor wanted. But with Eleanora’s song of war - that simple
and vile song - it meant serious war. But this new establishment was the least
of King Maxencen’s worries. Cecelia gave Maxencen a
look of ‘Really? Was that comment necessary?’ but then looked back to the door.
Both Cecelia and Maxencen were both seated " Maxencen sitting in what used to
be Rouva’s seat. Cecelia gave a sigh and rubbed her head as a headache
approached, but then she looked to Maxencen. “What will you do now?” Maxencen looked to her. He
frowned and just played with his blonde hair near his ear. His eyes pasted
Cecelia and he noticed her annoyed face and glaring eyes. He let go of his
hair. “With this war or that
other matter?” “Which do you think?”
Cecelia didn’t seem as if she was in the mood for games so Maxencen decided he
wouldn’t play any. “Right…. King...King….
Tell me again why I can’t just left my Brother take over?” “Because your brother is a
good for nothing two timing backstabbing monstrosity! Who, may I add, Is trying to kill you!” Cecelia was clearly angry but she still seemed to say it so
blankly. “Right…” “Maxencen. Surely there’s
someone who you trust that can pull it off? That isn’t your brother!?” “I wish there was…”
Maxencen smiled grimly “I don’t know how you can
still trust him - even if he is you brother - after what he’s done! After all
he’s lied to you about!” Cecelia complained. She had been there when he had
committed is greatest sin against Maxencen. “It’s harder not to
forgive family, Cecelia” “I know, but still…” She
placed her hand on top of his and rubbed her thumb over it. “But there is someone…”
Maxencen suddenly said “Yes?” ‘Who’ is what she
wanted to say “I’ve actually never met
him, but one of your soldier’s told me about him once” “One of mine?” She was
confused to say the least “Said he was hard workin’
and quite friendly “Apparently he’s my
nephew” Shocked was one of the
many emotions Cecelia was feeling at that time. Cecelia knew of one of
Maxencen’s nephews - She thought he only had one - and he was nothing like what
he had just described. “Which soldier was it?
Where is he from?” “I didn’t catch the
soldier’s name but he had red hair. But he said the boy was from Cartha.” “Cartha… in Katharine?” “Said his name was Adaies
Grayth”….. © 2016 PenguinEmpiressAuthor's Note
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4 Reviews  Last Updated on February 7, 2016 Tags: conference, Kings, Queen, past dilemma, violence Author
PenguinEmpiressQLD, AustraliaAbout'Do not pity yourself. If you wallow in self pity, life will be an endless nightmare' ~ Dazai Osamu I'm a loner .o./ Guess i should write something other than that, hey? :p. Ok lets see, I pers.. more..Writing
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