The Fenril Knights were overwhelmed in catastrophe by the time they met up with the Sword Princess.
An attack in the middle of winter! Who could have seen it coming? Those black demon-like creatures – what could have summoned them?
Garrett surveyed the small group of Fenril Knights. Of the original ten from their group, four remained –that included himself. Coldbird, the captain of their ship…Ryan, one of Garrett's best friends… and the late King of Arctica's brother, who was now the new king, but not crowned yet.
Garrett was the newest of the Fenril Knights. He had been reluctant to join, but Ryan had seen his talent in swordplay and basically forced him to join.
Now Garrett was wishing he had never owned a sword. Sweat pouring down his back, heart pounding rapidly, he was accompanying his fellow Knights in fleeing to the confines of the castle. He would have nightmares from the things he had seen. They could not have been of this Earth. But he would have to be brave, like a Fenril Knight should.
Coldbird spoke in a hurried breath. "Your majesty, I think I know what might be going on!"
"What?" demanded the King.
"Possibly the demons are behind the attack."
"Preposterous! The demons are a myth! You don't have proof."
"What else could have sent those things, majesty?"
Ryan interjected. "Could it have to do with that mysterious cocoon in the lower chambers?"
"What…that old thing of my brother's?" questioned the king. "They can have it, for all I care."
"No, your majesty!" shouted Coldbird. "You don't know what that thing really is, do you?"
"It's worthless. You would do best to not cross me."
"But-"
"I am the king, I say what will happen! My brother is dead, I am the king, with or without a crown!"
Garrett muttered quietly to Ryan. "Is it true that the 'cocoon' could have the corpse of the Ancient Demon Queen?"
"Anything's possible, Garrett. Just don't let the king hear anything about that."
The Fenril Knights had now arrived at the lower chambers. Torches illuminated the eerie, dark, large room. The Sword Princess was standing there, holding her gleaming blade; her flaming red hair reflected a glowing face that showed no fear.
"Your majesty, you're all right!"
"There was an attack upon disembarkment from our ship, Elmina," said Coldbird in a quiet voice.
"And yes, his majesty is fine. We were forced to flee to the castle as there were dozens of dark creatures."
"Demonic, they were," said Garrett suddenly. Everyone looked at him. Elmina gave him a quick glance that contained a smile. Garrett nodded back.
"They-were-not-demons!" shouted the king. "The demons are a myth!"
Ryan spoke. "Your majesty, under present circumstances, I think we must believe anything is possible. The air has an evil breath in it. I can feel it."
"Blasphemy, Ryan!" shouted the king. "Not one more word of it shall be uttered here!"
Ryan sighed, obliged, and went off to stand watch.
Coldbird redirected the conversation. "Elmina, do you have any plans in mind?"
"For our safety, I believe we should evacuate Arctica Castle temporarily. For the protection of his majesty, especially."
"Preposterous!" shouted the king for the second time that night. "The castle walls are firm enough to protect us from any mysterious creatures! All we need to do is shut and bolt the gate."
Garrett turned away from the group and walked towards Ryan, who was looking down the hall from which they had just came. "See anything, Ryan?"
"Nothing so far. But it just seems as if the hall is getting darker and darker by the minute."
"Isn't that what happens when night approaches?"
"The sun has already gone down. No – it's something else." He started to walk away from Garrett, and walked further down the hall, further from the group.
"Ryan…"
"Quiet, Garrett. I see something. A shadow, darker than the darkness is capable of."
"What!"
"Quiet. Go and inform the group immediately. I'll stay here."
Garrett did not hesitate. He hurried toward the Fenril Knights as fast as he could.
"Coldbird!" he shouted.
Coldbird stopped talking and looked at him. "Yes, Garrett?"
"Something's t-there, down the hall! Ryan saw it. He said it was a dark shadow!"
The king looked directly at Garrett. "You're imagining it. There's nothing there. This castle is impenetrable."
Garrett refused to be swayed. "That, your majesty, is preposterous!"
"Pardon me?"
"You're too confident, king. This castle couldn't keep out demons."
"More of the lies! Demons are a myth. A myth!"
"You wanna check with Ryan, then? He saw something – I'm not lying!"
There was a sound – a swish – then a thud, followed by a guttural sound. The knights and Elmina turned. Ryan was standing completely still; a massive spear had penetrated his chest and was coming out of his back.
"Ryan! NO!" shouted Garrett. He was at his friend's side in a few strides.
"I'm…sorry…. Garrett…." gasped Ryan. A trickle of blood was running from his mouth. Garrett reached for the pointed end of the spear. "No, Garrett!" he shouted. "Leave…the spear… Run…for your lives…demons….here…" His eyes closed and he slumped sideways onto the cold, stone tile.
"WHY!" shouted Garrett. "What do they want from us?"
Coldbird turned to the king. "There's your evidence, your majesty. It seems as though the castle walls couldn't hold out everything."
The king, for once, was lost for words.
Coldbird spoke again. "We must leave Arctica – now. We must tell the world what has happened here."
"My, my, it looks as though Zeikfried had good aim," said a voice behind them. Everyone turned, once again.
There was a glow of blinding light, and then there was a creature. It was robed in white, with majestic colours all over. It had the shape of a horse, as it appeared to be on all fours. It was huge. There a half dozen or so eyes all resting on long antennae, surveying the room. The eyes were dark and cold. A few of them were fixed on Ryan's body and the spear, but most were fixed on the Fenril Knights.
The Fenril Knights, for their part, were silenced.
Coldbird was the first able to speak. "What…the hell…are you?"
"I'm sorry, where are my manners? I am one of those… 'myths'… your king so delicately called us.
I am Alhazad the Majestic - one of the Lords of the Demon Race.
"You're a d-demon?" stammered the king. "B-but that's not possible…"
"Well, I'm right here, so there can be no more denials and ignorance. Anyway, let me get to the point. My superior, Zeikfried, has told me that there is a 'cocoon' – as you humans call it – here, in this castle. We desire to possess it, for reasons which are our business."
Garrett's mind raced wildly. He remembered Ryan mentioning a rumour that something related to the Demon Leader was in that cocoon.
Alhazad continued. "One of your men here recently discovered our presence." A few of his eyes rested on Ryan. Garrett felt a hot surge of anger and sadness. "So Lord Zeikfried decided to send a message by killing one of your knights with his Dark Spear. Apparently, the ambush on the shore did not work. But I hope this one will. Here is our ultimatum: give us this cocoon, immediately, our you will all be slaughtered like this one here."
The king gave in to the demon's demands. Like a dog, he fell to all fours and began to whimper. "You can h-have it!" he whimpered cowardly. "I just want to live…" He crawled toward Alhazad and made a motion as if he were going to kiss the demon lord's feet.
"Your majesty, NO!" shouted Coldbird. "You don't know the truth of that cocoon! You don't know what lies within it!"
"Quiet, human," said Alhazad coldly. "Do not interfere with this. Your king is showing an excellent example of how humans will soon all bow before us, the Superior Race."
Coldbird ignored him. "I won't let you do it, your majesty!" He lunged toward the two of them, sword in hand.
Alhazad turned to Coldbird, as if he were going to attack him. In a flash, the king had stood up and ran in front of Coldbird. "He's going to kill us all anyway!" he hissed savagely.
A red beam projected from inside Alhazad's white cloak. It was meant to hit Coldbird, but the king had stood in front in the nick of time. The beam hit him instead. The king froze for a second; a look of horror came from his face, and then he fell forward onto the floor.
Alhazad paused for a second, and then began to laugh. "Whoops. My bad. One more down, three to go. You ready to die as well?"
A second beam came from Alhazad, but Coldbird deflected it with his sword, and it flew off into the chamber.
"You demon bastard," growled Coldbird. 'You're gonna pay for this treachery!" He glanced at Garrett and Elmina, the only other Knights left. "You two! Run from Arctica! Spread the word that the Demon Race exists! I'll take care of this one!"
Garrett looked back at Coldbird once more, and then grabbed Elmina's hand; the two of them ran from the chamber as fast as they could.
It was just Coldbird and Alhazad left. "Just you and me, demon," Coldbird said quietly. "You'll never catch those two –they're too good for you. As for that cocoon – I know what's in it. And you know what – you're gonna have to work for it!
Garrett and Elmina ran until they were both out of breath. They were in the long hallway before the back gate of the castle. They were almost there. Garrett sat down and leaned against the wall. Elmina joined him.
"I never should have joined the Fenril Knights," said Garrett solemnly. "If I knew this is what've had to go through…"
"Life is hard sometimes, I know," responded Elmina. "But it's how you deal with it that reflects what kind of person you are."
"Yeah, I know. I can't believe the demons are real. Even I thought they were a myth."
"And yet, here they are. What will we do, now?"
"I'll fight it!" stated Garrett. "I'm a Fenril Knight! I shouldn't run – I should stand my ground!"
"That's just plain stupid, Garrett, and you know that."
"What?"
"Think of the others – Coldbird, Ryan. They sacrificed themselves for our greater good. To throw your life away would be poor repayment to them."
"I can't just run from my problems."
"You are an inexperienced Fenril Knight, Garrett. If Coldbird or Ryan couldn't kill that demon, then I'm betting you can't."
"Thanks for your confidence."
"Hey, it's the facts."
They were silent for a moment. Then Elmina spoke.
"Garrett – let's leave our problems for now. We'll abandon this frozen wasteland, tell everyone about the demons, and someday – maybe someday, we'll fight them again. Until that time," Elmina squeezed Garrett's hand firmly; "We'll find some quiet village to live in. It'll be just like the old days, before you became a Fenril Knight or before I became the Sword Princess."
"Maybe we could do that," said Garrett. "Fine…we can do that, I guess. But I can't forget this. Revenge is gripping my heart. I will not be completely free until I have completely avenged my fellow Fenril Knights – may their souls rest in peace."
"All right. Let's leave, then. We're almost out of this dreaded castle."
The two of them got up, and began to run to the back gate.
A voice rang through the hall. "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"
A flash of white light, and Alhazad materialized before them. "You are the last ones left. You two will die now, and Arctica Castle will belong to the Demons."
'You're wrong, demon!" said Elmina, unsheathing her sword. "Garrett will escape, he will tell the world about you and your race's existence, and they will fight you!"
"No, Elmina!" yelled Garrett. "I'm not leaving without you!"
"I'm sorry, Garrett, but the world needs to know about this treachery! Someday – someday, we'll see each other again! Go!"
"I swear to it, Elmina! Upon my sword, I will not truly rest until we are together again! Someday!"
He met eyes with Elmina one more time, then turned and ran for his life through the gate.
As soon as he had gone through, Elmina severed the rope holding the gate up with her sword. The gate crashed to the ground with a resounding noise.
Alhazad laughed at Elmina. "You amuse me, Princess. Put down your sword. I'm not going to kill you. I have a better plan. You realize, you are very beautiful…
Garrett sighed, and looked across the snow-covered valley to the mountains in the distance.
Hard times were definitely ahead – and he would have to deal with them.