The Invisible Protector

Khalib is not alone

Khalib shook his head out of the memory, remembering being told that Juru was on the move across the border again, and Khalib couldn’t stomach Juru attacking the princess again. He looked around at every dark corner of the room, and finally spotted the dark figure in the shadow of the dresser. Khalib stood up, and drew out his sword with a blade of black knowing that the cloaked, crooked figure belonged to Juru. “Show yourself!” He said quietly, and the figure phased into image.

“Prince Khalib! Fancy seeing you here on this full moon!” Juru hissed, as he got up close to his face. “What is a prince like yourself doing all the way out here? You should be in the protection of your kingdom, and yet you mock that protection and come to the most dangerous place for a royal of darkness to be at! Here is not a place where I want to find my future king!” He asked and made a small smile.

“It is my own business, but the real question is why are you here?” Khalib asked as he seethed his sword giving a defensive look.

“You have a lot of courage to be making faces towards a person such as myself who steals them. The real criminal is you! Protecting the Princess of Light. It makes me sick!” He smiled making a challenge, calling him out, and while avoiding the question as well.

“I don’t need to keep a neutral expression around you, but you are avoiding the question!” Khalib responded trying to take the attention as to why he was here as well, and he waved his hand constricting Juru in his place with with black smoke.

Juru tried to fight the curse, and he answered, “because that face you are staring at is my ultimate goal! I have been watching her for years! Trying to weaken her, and make her face mine!” He continued to struggle out of the curse, and he smiled, “I can see you fancy that girl too!” He smiled to his accusation. “She is a pretty one ain’t she?” he asked trying to push more anger out of the prince. “You want her face? You want to court her, but you know the consequences of such actions don’t you your highness? Banishment, public shaming, death, treason, who knows what your father will come up with!” He taunted and snickered.

Khalib only frowned as he tightened the curse on Juru making him wheeze. “As I have said it is none of your business!”

“It is my business because you are next in line to the king, and why would I want to be ruled by a fancier of the light!” He stated and wheezed out a maniacal chuckle. “If you wish to keep this a secret you shouldn’t keep me alive!” He chuckled more.

“You insidious leach! You know that I can’t kill a shadow!” Khalib said as he took a quick look at the princess making sure she is still alright. He was almost distracted by her beauty again, but then forced himself to switch his gaze back towards the crooked man.

“Correct you are! That power to kill me is resting in the bed, but with both of us here her power is nearly zero! She is practically a halfa now, but without the elements to use to her will!” Juru stated and laughed louder observing that the princesses royal glow has faded. “Or you spare her and get us both killed! So it's your time to chose your Highness!”

Realizing the pickle he is in he bit his lip trying to think of a solution of a way out that would both keep him and Amaede alive. He thought about the princess, and points of exit and ways to keep Juru occupied. He smiled thinking of a plan as he released the power of one of the runes, and he could instantly hear Juru struggling less to breathe under Khalib’s curse.

“So you are choosing death aye?” Juru smiled feeling his power weaken slightly as well. 

“On the contrary actually!” Khalib replied with a smirk, and waved his hand forcing a vase to shatter. He quickly heard the princess beginning to stir. Khalib quickly lifted another rune, and the curse on Juru quickly dissipated barely enough to keep Juru in his place.

“You fool now both of us are dead!” Juru said louder trying to struggle free for his escape.

"Who said it will be us both?" Khalib snickered more, and gave Juru a wink. Khalib began to walk away out towards the window while still holding a weak grip on Juru. “Have a good night Juru!” Khalib's snickering as he opened the window and dove out. As he fell he felt his power come back, just enough to make his magic work even with the full moon in effect. He waved his hands around, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. 

Juru broke free, and tried to make his escape, but he felt the burning sensation of Amaede’s weapon and he turned around slowly. He frowned seeing the princess wide awake and giving him an icy cold stare. She stood proud and tall, and he could still see a small sliver of the silver scar he had given her this evening. “Now look at how the tables have turned!” Amaede said and smiled, she continued, “I have been waiting for years to finally have you under my control! Unfortunately, you were not successful at staying in hiding tonight! From this night on you will no longer torment me!”

Juru looked around seeing all of the runes lifted, and the royal glow the princess had regained slightly. His eyes closed tight feeling the searing pain of the princess's glowing weapon burning again on his neck. He felt too weak to move as Amaede kept applying more pressure to him increasing his pain. He bit his lip to keep himself from screaming. 

She grabbed his hair and forced his neck back to face her. She looked right into those cat eyes, and felt nothing but sick satisfaction to see him finally in real pain. After all of these years, Amaede finally had control. She smiled, and moved her weapon to point at his heart. She observed Juru’s face twist to the burning touch of her hands, and she proudly said, “now I can be the first princess to kill a shadow! Now accept the light into your heart!” As she said the last line as a small ritualistic prayer she had learned in the textbooks, she stabbed him into his heart watching the black blood drain out as she took her weapon out.

Juru tasted the black blood build up in his mouth, and he stared one last time at the princess as he slowly took his hand and touched her face with his blood soaked hands gingerly. It didn’t burn as he smiled and collapsed to the floor.

Trying to wipe off the black fluid on her face, Amaede looked at her night gown soaked with blood as she dropped her weapon and sat on her knees. She cried relieved that this menace is finally gone for good. She quickly realized that this was the first man of darkness that she has killed, and it was not just any dark folk it was a shadow the most powerful of them all next to the royal family who held greater power. “Amaya!” Amaede yelled out to her nurse.

Amaya burst through the door and gasped at the site. “Amaede are you alright?” She said and quickly ran towards the princess and hugged her tightly trying to hide her eyes to the body.

“I am more than alright now,” she said and cried happily hugging her back. Amaede looked towards the window thinking about the figure that escaped through her window. Who was it? What was it? She did not know of, but she liked to believe that it was someone looking out for her, or something at least. Then she thought about what the figure was doing in her room in the first place which gave her a shiver to the possibilities. She pushed those thoughts aside, and silently thanked whoever or whatever it was that had looked out for her tonight.

“Amaede?”

“Yes?” she replied, and stopped hugging Amaya.

“Lets tell everyone the good news! Also, do a proper disposal of this menace!” Amaya asked and smiled from relief of whatever was hurting Amaede is now finally over. 

“Ok,” Amaede replied and smiled. She placed her hand on her chest feeling this sudden cooling sensation, and it began to radiate throughout her body. It was almost as if a tidal wave moved within her making her slightly dizzy, and yet extremely energized. Carrying away her pain, her exhaustion, and her weaknesses. She removed her night robes slightly over and gasped seeing all of the collected scars from Juru disappear. All of her curses have been lifted, and she began to feel power that she has never experienced before.

“Amaede you’re radiating light!” Amaya said as she covered her eyes practically blinded by the power, and she stood up and turned around to shield her eyes.

Amaede laughed nervously feeling this unknown power. Power she never could finally feel again because Juru leached it out of her. She felt this energy surge through her veins, she felt unstoppable, and free for the first time in her young adult life. 

Amaya ran out of the room shouting, “Juru is dead! Amaede is free!” She kept repeating it, turning on lights along the hallways. Knocking on every door, and eventually made her way to Amur’s room. She was shaking with excitement as she shook the king awake. “Your highness!” She yelled, and continued to shake him.

“What is it?!” He yelled, and sat up instantly.

“My apologies for disturbing you your Highness, but Juru is dead! Your daughter killed him! She is glowing brighter than ever!” Amaya jumped up and down trying to urge Amur out of bed by beckoning to follow him.

“She what?” He asked again shaking away his remaining drunk stupor, and watched Amaya run out of the room shouting in celebration back towards Amaede’s room.

He got up and ran to his daughters room seeing a cluster of people around her door as a huge glow of light from the door pierced out into the hallway. “Everyone move!” He yelled, and the people moved instantly bowing to their king. He burst through the door while squinting his eyes, and gasped seeing his daughter staring out the window, sitting on a nearby couch, and glowing very unnaturally bright for his kin. He looked on the floor by his feet seeing the pools of black blood beginning to soak into his slippers, and he saw Juru’s body on the floor just beyond his feet. His daughter, his weak daughter, killed a shadow all by herself and that was a rare feat to accomplish for any man, but his daughter is now the first princess to kill a shadow. She was the first to kill a shadow without the order of the Dark Kingdom in over fifty years. He walked slowly up to his daughter, which he could tell that she was very deep in thought whilst sitting by the window. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up smiling. 

“Hi Dad,” she said and looked down staring at the blood stains on her robes. Still trying to make sense of what had happened tonight. “The curses Juru placed on me were lifted I guess, so I think my power is making up for lost time.” She explained her thoughts as she sighed. She smiled feeling the utter contentment of her recent triumph.

“So tell me what happened dear,” Amur asked, and sat down at an adjacent couch. He waiting patiently for Amaede to collect her thoughts as she stared at the floor.

Amaede looked up and faced her father, she replied “I heard a vase shatter, and I woke up seeing Juru just standing there staring out the window. I took my opportunity and drew my weapon on his neck, and I guess that I was so angry at him for all of the things he had done to me I just took faith into my own hands.” She sighed as she broke her gaze from her father and faced the floor again.

Amur hugged her, and felt the greatest relief that he hasn’t felt for years. 

Reviews

[jjwilbourne]

Khalib's forbidden love for Amaede is great. I'm hoping that Khalib gets the girl in the end and that's a really good reader reaction if that's what you're going for. It will keep me reading. I'm still unsure about certain yet to be revealed details about their world, but you made it clear that Amaede and Khalib are two elements that can not mix. At this point, I feel like you're promising me that by the end of the story you will give me closure on this.
I was a little disappointed that Juru was killed off so soon but then I don't know what your next move will be. So it will need to be good to move the tention and story to the next level.
The dialog was this chapter's biggest weakness. It felt a tad scripted at times. I'm horriable at dialog myself so I don't have many suggestions to remedy. The part where Juru is explaining the conseqences of what would happen to them if Khalib made the wrong move felt a bit expositional. I would try to find a way to slip that information in without Juru explicitly saying it. I also don't know much about Khalib's relationship to Juru or how their kingdom works, but Juru seemed a bit disrespectful to his prince. If you want to keep that vibe, maybe you can explain why he dislikes or has lost respect for him outside of the dialog.
Keep up the good work! I intened to keep reading.