Chapter 5

 

Too bad Lucian’s word is worth about as much as pebble.  Lucian wandered through the torch lit halls of the second to top floor of the castle.  This was where the royal bedrooms are located (all except for the king’s, anyway.).  Lucian’s bedroom was the first door on the left with his name engraved in a gold plate that was smelted into the top part of the white door.  Konda’s room was three hallways down from his, and found on the right side.  You could easily tell which one was his, because it was the only one with no lock and the paint chipped off by where it would be.  Konda had had a lock originally, but it didn’t last very long.

When Konda and Lucian were younger, Lucian would follow Konda around like he was his shadow.  The only way Konda could pry his brother away from him, was to dash to his room and lock the door.  But Lucian, being the little resourceful boy that he is, would take a chair from one of the royalty guest rooms across the hall and use it to get a (unlit) torch hung on the side of the marble wall.  He would then proceed to use the torch and beat the lock off.  This happened about seven times until Konda finally got sick of replacing it and just accepted that there was nothing a lock could do to keep Lucian away from him.  Ever since then, Konda has always kept his door closed in an always failed attempt to keep Lucian away.

Except for now.  When Lucian made his way into that hall way, he could see that the door was slightly cracked, with a minute glimmer of candlelight leaking out along with a cool night time breeze.  Lucian sat in query for a moment, then reached into his pocket and pulled out the scroll.  “Konda, I’m sorry for the argument before.  But you know that we have to study.  It’s not just that I want to do it, it’s that father ordered us to.”  Lucian whispered, leaning against the wall by Konda’s door.  “So, let’s study now.  Then I won’t bother you anymore, alri…”  As Lucian was whispering, he had grabbed hold of the door handle and opened the door fully, revealing the nearly pitch black candle lit room, and saw Konda. 

When Lucian saw Konda, he couldn’t finish his sentence, air had escaped him.  Breathing seemed impossible.  Lying in front of the balcony window was Konda, dead, with a dagger stabbed through his chest.  His eyes were frozen shut and dark red blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth.  Lucian’s hand went limp and the scroll fell silently to the floor.  Lucian swallowed, trying to speak. “K-Konda?” Lucian cracked. Tears trickled down Lucian’s cheeks. 

 

Suddenly, an abnormal burst of wind flew in through the window.  The curtains flew wildly in the air as the candle light disappeared.

“Hello prince Lucian,” a voice hissed inches away from behind Lucian’s ear.  “You really should have stayed in your room.  My orders were merely to kill your brother.  But since I have a witness, it seems that I get to do one more thing before I leave.”  The assassin was appropriately cloaked in black garb with a hood and mask covering his face, all except the small bit of pale white skin that made his blood red eyes scream.  He strutted over to Konda’s lifeless body, and slowly drew the knife out him.  The sight only made Lucian’s tears progress into a river, as he horridly watched.  He pranced back over to Lucian and waved the bloody dagger in his face, “Recognize this little beauty?”  Lucian remained petrified; staring at Konda’s departed body.  The assassin’s mask wrinkled revealing a murderous smirk.  “That’s right.  This is your royalty hand down dagger, the one that you never wanted to see blood on.  Oh!  But what’s this?  Your own brother’s blood on your treasured weapon?”  The man spun the weapon around in his hand, “I suppose, if you could speak, you’d be asking me how I got your weapon.”  The assassin looked at Lucian through the corner of his eye, “Well here’s a hint: you should really watch where you’re going.”  The assassin’s smirk widened along with his eyes.

No response came to any of the assassin’s questions.  Lucian could barely hear him talk.  All that Lucian cared about right now is that this man had killed his only brother.  Lucian closed his eyes as his eyebrows fell and scrunched together.  His eyes shot open with bloodthirsty revenge flooding them, his hands were clenched tightly into fists.  For the first time in Lucian’s life, he felt nothing but fury, and could only picture this man hanging from the gallows.  Rage filled his every thought as he stared down the murderer.  Lucian tried to take a step forward, but found himself in the same position as before.  He tried again, and he was still stuck in the same spot.  The assassin turned around and saw Lucian’s puzzled and hateful face.  The man laughed, “Having some trouble moving?”  The assassin held up a thin slip of paper with charter symbols lined vertically. 

It was a rouge spell that would bind the wearer’s body, making it impossible to move until removed.  The man leaned forward into Lucian’s face.  His sense of humor faded and was replaced with a taste of revenge, “May all you Artolian backstabbers suffer just as much!”  With these words whispered into Lucian’s ear, the man plunged the knife into Lucian’s stomach.  The force of the attack pushed Lucian over flat on his back.  The room started to fade into darkness, as Lucian slowly lost consciousness.  But before all senses left him, Lucian felt another paper scroll drop into his hand.       

 

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            Lucian slowly opened his eyes, and realized that he was in his brothers arms.  Lucian jutted up, and then withdrew backward onto his back, grasping his stomach, wincing.  “Konda, you’re alright.” Lucian managed to say, as he tightly held his wound. Konda frowned putting his warm hand on Lucian’s forehead, “Lucian, it’s me, Aurora.  Konda is… well…”  As the illusion of Konda dissipated, Lucian’s smile fell. 

“Of course, you can’t be Konda, he’s dead.”  Lucian gave a half laugh.  Aurora shook her head, “I wish I could say you were wrong.”  Lucian’s smile fell deeper than ever, seeming that it would never climb its way back up again.  The look of sorrow in Lucian’s eyes seemed familiar to Aurora.  It was the same look that he had always had when he would talk about that reoccurring nightmare.  “Lucian,” Aurora began, “Did you have that nightmare again while you were unconscious?”  Lucian seemed to be fighting back his tears. “No,” Lucian admitted, “Konda’s death was my nightmare.  I saw that black clothed man sneak into Konda’s room through the balcony, and approach Konda.  Konda turned around and faced the man while he was holding my knife, ready to kill him.  But, Konda didn’t do anything.  He let that man kill him…” 

Lucian’s voice cracked as tears broke through.  Aurora gave a sympathetic frown, “He knew it was his time Lucian.  He knew there was no use resisting.”  Lucian turned away from Aurora with a sorrowful grimace.

 

Large footsteps echoed in the hall, leading to the king walking into the room, followed by Fargo.  Lucian glanced up toward his father, who was glaring down at him, “I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”  But he didn’t look glad at all.  Far from it, he looked completely frustrated.  Fargo peeked over the king’s shoulder, noticing Lucian.  He strutted over to his side and held out a sheathed dagger.  “I believe that this belongs to you.” Fargo beckoned Lucian to take the dagger, but Lucian just stared at it with a heavy heart.

Aurora’s neck snapped toward Fargo, giving him a murderous glare. “Take that away!  Can’t you see it’s only making him feel worse!?” she barked.  Fargo shifted backward as a bead of sweat drooped off of his brow.  He nodded and then went back to the king’s side, and hid behind him.  Aurora eye’s followed him over with the same evil glare.  She looked back at Lucian, only to find him attempting to stand.  His knees were bent inward wobbling with his hands out to his side steadying himself.  Aurora held out a hand, prepared to catch him. “Don’t push yourself to hard.  You have a pretty deep cut,” she cautioned with sympathy, washing her anger away.

 

The king turned away from his struggling son, and turned to Fargo, “Best prepare the army.  I presume that theirs is coming as we speak.”  Lucian, with his hand against the wall holding himself up, shifted his attention to his father.  “Army?” Lucian repeated, “What’s going on?”  Fargo stepped out from behind the king with his boney hand sticking out toward Lucian as if trying to slow him down.  “It is nothing for you to worry about, you’ll be safe,” Fargo reassured.  Lucian fiercely banged his fist against the wall getting everyone in the room, even his father, to look at him.  “I don’t care if I’m safe!  I care my kingdom is safe!  It’s absolutely something for me to worry about!  I’m the only prince now!”  Lucian’s harsh screams accompanied by his lowered brow and ferocious tone sent a cold chill through the room.  No one had ever seen this Lucian before.  The cheerful, loving, childish little boy was gone, with no apparent hopes of returning.  Lucian was now filled with pain, sorrow, and anger.  It is only too sad to say, that this new Lucian was created by his brother’s death.

No one in the room could look Lucian in the eye, except for the king.  Lucian’s rage buried his fathers, leaving him with a sad, mournful daze.

“You’ve been keeping me in the dark for too long!”  Lucian roared.  The king shook his head solemnly, “I only did it for your protection.”  Lucian lowered his head and gave a deeper stare, “Protection?  How is taking my right of my Magite prophesy protecting me!?”  The king’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of Lucian’s words.  The king shut his eyes and breathed slowly, “I didn’t want you to get hurt.”  Lucian shook his head in confusion.  “When Konda received his,” the king slowly started, “he was overcome with fear, and couldn’t sleep for days because of the nightmare’s he had had.”   The word nightmare beat a tone in Lucian’s head.  His anger began to wither away.  Lucian’s fist loosened and began to ask a question with open ears, “What… was his prophesy?”  The king took another deep breath, “The same as his nightmares.  It was all about last night.  The night he died.”  Lucian’s body began to shake.  Aurora had her eye’s closed, seeming like she had heard this before.  She stood up and opened her eyes facing Lucian, “When you’re brother received his prophesy, and then had his first nightmare, he always came to me for comfort.  Just like you did.  For some reason, you and your brother came to me saying that you had the same nightmare.  Konda’s prophesy.”

Silence filled the room.  Everyone was perfectly still, bathing in the satisfaction the vanquished anger.  This sensation came to an abrupt end as an enormous explosion shook the entire castle.  Fargo ran to the balcony window and leaned out, peering past the village walls.  He turned back with a serious and panicked expression, “Demi-mages!”  Aurora and Lucian turned to the king; that had returned his frustrated sense.  “They’re just outside the castle gates,” Fargo finished, quickly shutting the window.  The king stepped into the hallway and looked to his left.  “Father,” Lucian exclaimed, taking his hand off of the wall and taking a risky step forward. 

A white cloaked man approached his father in the hallway.  His father said a quick few words that Lucian couldn’t make out, leading to the man nodding and looking into the room at Lucian.  The king walked down the hall out of site with Fargo following, and the white cloaked man entered the room and looked straight at Lucian.  The man gave a smile, “We meet again!”  Lucian nodded slightly, only half remembering who this man was.

 

“Forgotten me already, have you?  Come now, it’s barely been a day!”  The man smiled patting Lucian on the back.  Aurora walked up and gave a polite curtsy.  “Hello, my name is Aurora, royal maid.”  The man turned to her, and gave an equally polite bow, “Ah, hello.  I must say I do sympathize with your job.  It’s not easy.  I dare say that I couldn’t do it.”  Aurora smiled sweetly nodding.  She was certainly pleased with the man’s manners, but a bit disappointed that he had left her without a name.  “Sir,” Lucian started in, “I don’t supposed you could tell me what is going on?”  The man smiled nodding, “Yes.  I suppose I could enlighten you concerning what is at hand.”

“For some reason or another, the Villenore Kingdom has declared war on the Kingdom of Artolia,” the man stated plainly.  Aurora raised her hand, “How did they declare war on us?”  The man pointed at Aurora, “In a message they left,” his finger shifted to point at Lucian, “in his brother’s hand, after he was murdered.”  Lucian stared down at the ground.  Aurora lowered her head, looking over at Lucian, not meaning to bring it up.  The man took a deep breath regaining the two’s attention as he readied to tell more.  “The note said that an assassin, hired by the Artolian King, had killed their only princess, and that the death of Artolia’s eldest prince was a personal revenge.  Also that that murder would be followed by many more in a war between the two kingdoms.”  Aurora jumped up, “What?  That’s absurd!  Why would we kill their princess!?”  The man shrugged, “I have no idea.  But they said that the killer was still alive, and that they are keeping him captive in Petoris.  Where he will be sentenced to death in two weeks.” Aurora sat back down, and cooled off.  “So,” the man began again, “if you really did want to find out.  You could go ask the killer himself.”

 

Then a girl peeked out from behind the door.  The man turned to the door, then walked over and brought out the half elf girl.  The man returned to the two, with the girl following him like Fargo follows the king.  Lucian and Aurora sat quietly, looking at the girl.  “Oh,” the man remembered, “I suppose you haven’t gotten her name yet, have you?”  The man signaled the girl by pointing his head at the two.  The girl looked down at her fidgeting hands and finally began to talk, “H-hello… my name is Yuuki Horoshimo.” 

Then her cape resting on her shoulders began to rustle.  A small furry creature popped its head out by her neck.  It had milky white fur and bright green eyes.  It had black pointed ears and a black mane around its neck.  The tip of its tail and paws looked like mittens with the same colored black fur decorating them.  The Yuuki gave a small smile, “And this is Moshi.”  Aurora’s eyes lit up.  She immediately jumped up and raced to the small little creature.  “It’s so cute!”  Aurora squealed.  Yuuki’s shoulders raised, she leaned backward away from Aurora, with her eyes as wide as ever.  Moshi seemed to sense Yuuki’s uncertainty.  So as Aurora put a finger out to pet him, Moshi widened his jaw, just big enough to fit her finger in his mouth, and sunk his teeth into her finger.  Aurora shrieked and, loosing her balance, fell backward onto the floor.  She sat on the floor with a tear in her eye looking at the bite marks in her finger.  The man gave a chuckle, “Heh, heh.  Yes, he does that sometimes.”  Lucian cracked a smile as Aurora grumbled with a scowl, glaring at Moshi, who was glaring back licking his chops while his tail swished back and forth.  Yuuki fell into ease, and stroked the top of Moshi’s head.

 

Lucian attempted to stand up, but failed and plopped back down onto the floor in pain.  The man examined Lucian.  He had a slit in his shirt exposing a bloody gap in his stomach.  He turned to Yuuki, “Looks like we have another wounded one.”  Yuuki nodded, and then slowly approached Lucian.  She got down on her knees and gently slid her hand over his injury.  She peacefully closed her eyes, then took a breath in and smoothly released it.  As she did, her gloved hand began to glow, just as it did before.  The skin around the wound came together and sealed it’s self closed, only leaving the blood that had escaped out of the injury.  Moshi jumped down from Yuuki’s shoulder and onto Lucian, and began to lick up the blood.  The man nodded his head, “Yes, that’s another thing he does.  He feeds off of blood.  He’s a blood hound.”  Moshi leaped back onto Yuuki’s shoulder with a full stomach.  Yuuki resumed stroking the top of Moshi’s head, giving a small but sweet smile that seemed to pass to everyone around the room, except Aurora, who was still mumbling with a glower toward Moshi.

Author's Note

Tee-hee. I love little Moshi. ^-^