Chapter Nine: The Duel

What happens when the Lion Prince and Castor meet at the old bridge in the forest to fight?

Chapter Nine

The Duel

Sometime while Castor was asleep, dread had crawled into his cave and settled in the pit of his stomach. He woke wishing it was any other day. Groaning, he stretched and stood up. Having not thought to bring a change of clothes, his shirt and pants were rumpled. The elves had still not given an answer, so he didn’t know how this all would end. Morin, Gamling, Silvermace, and Ironfist would accompany him, armed to the teeth with the stony weapons they had spent the past few days making. Castor would simply ride bareback on his horse, the dwarves being his “one weapon of choice.” He took a deep breath and set off to find Morin.

~

The Lion Prince woke without the feeling of smug satisfaction he had hoped for on this day. If those fools hadn’t let the Prince and Princess escape, it would be there. But it had run away with the Prince and his family; like the two young slaves that he had not been able to find anywhere. He cursed loudly. He really needed to improve his security.

He had spent hours and hours, even stayed up all night, trying to figure out how to fix this, but the only solution he had come up with was to win. He had to win and take Castor as his prisoner, that was better than the Prince. Didn’t they all say Modet was much worse protected without him? Then again they also said he could not be held in any prison...
He shook himself. Now was not the time. Now was the time to humiliate the name that had been humiliating him for years. The Quarter Master of Modet, the only one who would dare cross the Lion Prince’s threshold and survived.
He scowled.
And yet he had never tried. No, the Lion Prince had never even seen the man.
Well, there is a first time for everything, he thought. Then a malicious grin spread across his face. Time for the Quarter Master’s first defeat.

Castor seemed to be riding alone. His horse clopped down the thin dirt road, hoof beats bouncing off the trees. The Lion Prince was holding Prince Calleo, and Castor’s best friend, hostage. If Castor won, which he most likely would, the Lion Prince would likely hold them still, in the spite of his loss. If he lost, for sure he would keep them, to show that he had no mercy. Calleo shuddered. So much rested on the shoulders of the elves- and whether they agreed to his idea.
Castor glanced from side to side. Padding soundlessly through the woods were the dwarves, ready to ambush the Lion Prince when he showed up. They were almost as skilled as the elves in the art of camouflage, but Castor had eyes trained to see what others’ would skim right over.
Approaching the bridge where they were supposed to meet, Castor started. His end of the bridge was snapped, the wood splintered and hanging into the river. How were they supposed to attack with no bridge to cross? Castor looked into the water. The troll seemed to have found another residence, though his smell remained.
The dread growled in Castor’s stomach. It was becoming restless, and stretching, moving into other parts of his body, constricting his heart. What if something had already happened to the Prince and the Lion Prince had decided not to come?
Then Castor’s head snapped back to the bridge. He had heard something; the snap of a twig, a horses hoof hitting a rock. Suddenly, coming forward from the trees, were the elves. He looked at Shadowheart, who nodded.
Suddenly, a caw came from up above. Castor turned to stare at the sky. A winged, black shape stood out against the blue sky. Castor’s horse reared up and turned to flee. The black shape soared down, cawing and clawing, and becoming more distinct.
It was a griffin, falling from the sky. And on its back- The Lion Prince. The griffin landed gracefully a few feet away and charged over- but then, the Prince made it stop short.
“John,” Castor whispered.
“Castor,” The Lion Prince whispered at the same moment.
There was fire. Heat, smoke, and fire. Their home was being swallowed by the flames, and they were threatening to engulf the young boys to. Their mother was screaming. She was trapped by walls of flame.  “Go, go! I love you my boys! Save your sisters!” and she turned to stay with their father, already dead and blistering on the ground. Never before had Castor felt so helpless. His brother, John, led him through the smoke towards their sisters room. They grabbed the small feminine hands and dragged them outside. They coughed and coughed. People in the street were shrieking, raising the alarm. Choking on the smoke, they made it out, only to turn and watch the blaze devour their home and their parents.
For a second they both stood there, stunned. Then the Lion Prince reared up on his griffin and flew towards the hazy outline of his castle. His men on the other side of the bridge were quick to turn and follow. Castor just sat on his horse, not knowing what to do. The elves disappeared and the dwarves came slowly out of the forest.
No one but Castor and John knew what had happened.
“What was that?” Morin asked gently, standing next to Castor’s horse.
“He’s my brother,” Castor whispered hoarsely, staring at the spot where the Lion Prince had been sitting on his griffin.

Author's Note

What do you think? Did it shock you?
I really hope you liked it! Thanks again to HOS for giving me the name!

Reviews

[Megan]

holy poop that was an epic ending! I don't think anyone saw that coming haha cause it sure did surprise me, but it was great! I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next :D you have a great way of keeping people on there toes

[BrynnaW.]

Shocker! Very exciting chapter! Wonder what shall happen next! :) Please, keep on writing so I can read more!

[Black]

great chapter,
cant wait for the next one!

[TheElfPrincess]

Wow yes that shocked me a lot! And yay another of my names, for the prince himself :P Great chapter, full of excitment. So curious to see what's going to happen!