A/N: A few ground rules before we start, this entire story is set during the rise of the Roman empire which means there will be no Greek gods. Instead of Zeus we get Jupiter, understand? Second the story switches from third to first person so "-x-" is third and "-a-" is first. Special thanks to my beta for putting up with all my story ideas. The first chapter of this lovely fic is dedicated to a friend of mine named Fred, thank you for helping me realize how much I love character death and weird pairings. Anywhore; go ahead and get to the good stuff. Reviews are highly valued.
Knights and Dragons
Eva Padlino squirmed with all her might to escape the shadowy bonds that were currently curled around her arms and legs. Her eyes glanced around, taking notice of the other captives that rested around her — most of them were friends or at least comrades. Daniela Mistico, daughter of Ganymedes, rested to the left of her. She was the newest member of the rebels and to be quite honest the most idiotic — her reasons for joining were rather selfish, but Eva had allowed it because the girl had an interesting flare to her.
Now she honestly couldn't help but think that it would've been better if she hadn't let the girl join — maybe then she could've lived a little longer. Eva glanced to her right to see her second in command, Dante, trying to fight his way out of the bonds. He was a son of Mars who always got his own way. Even when death came knocking at his door, he would fight the grim reaper with all he had.
Eva took another glance around, seeing the blurred faces of her other comrades, all the people who had put their lives at risk just to help her bring down the queen bitch of the kingdom.
Speaking of queen bitch…
Her eyes glanced upward at the sound of a door opening and a look of pure hatred washed over her face when the queen came into view.
Queen Edvige stepped out onto the balcony of her castle, a bright smile gracing her lips. Today was one of her favorite days; she would finally be able to rid the kingdom of all the little rats that dwelled inside it. She turned slightly in order to make sure that her favorite knight was still inside the castle in case anything went wrong; he was in position and simply nodded his head and smiled at his queen to let her know he was ready.
She turned back to face the large crowd that had long since gathered and stepped closer to the railing of her balcony. Her hand went up in the air as a means to silence the townspeople.
"As queen of this kingdom, I would like to thank all of you for coming to this lovely event we have planned for today. Unlike executions in the past, the prisoners will have a chance to escape."
Nobody in the crowd dare to speak or even breathe while the queen spoke. The last person that even thought about breathing was stripped of their land, thrown in jail and beaten to a bloody pulp by the queen's knights.
"Now, Leonardo, be a dear and release our lovely prisoners." She spoke the words as if they were completely normal — this was all just one big game to the queen.
A black portal opened up in front of the prisoners and out stepped a boy looking to be about seventeen. He wore pitch black armor that seemed to fit his body perfectly and his eyes wandered up to his queen before glancing back at the prisoners. Some of the girls in the crowd swooned when they saw the famed son of Nyx. With a snap of his fingers the shadowy bonds disappeared.
Everyone in the kingdom knew about the queen's first knight, Leonardo. He was with her way before she rose to power. There were a few rumors flying around that secretly the two were together, but the queen would always deny any accusations. She saw Leonardo as her brother — a brother, who she would admit, on certain occasions, was smoking hot, but a brother nonetheless.
"All right now everyone. If the prisoners can make it to the gate there," the queen said pointing to the large gate that separated the courtyard from the outside world, "then they are free to go."
Eva gritted her teeth when she was released — the queen wasn't this nice of a person. "This isn't right; she wouldn't just let us leave. Dante, what do you think?"
The son of Mars looked at his leader before shaking his head; normally he'd suggest trying to escape, yelling 'Fuck the queen' and returning home to fight another day. This situation was different from any other he'd been in. No matter what anyone said, the queen was a complete and utter nut job.
"This is completely against everything I believe but we have to wait — someone will be stupid and try to escape eventually."
It didn't take long for Dante's words to come true; because of certain daughter of Ganymedes thought that now was the perfect time to leave.
Daniela glanced around the surrounding group with a blank look on her face. This wasn't making any sense; the queen was giving them a chance to escape and they weren't taking it? "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting the Hades out of here!"
She took off towards the large gate without a second thought. Fighting wasn't really her style anyway and her mother was more than likely worried sick — if she made it out alive she would go home and apologize for ever leaving.
Eva's eyes opened wide when she heard the yell for freedom that Daniela gave. Her body shot forward after her only to have a hand stop her mid-run. She glanced back at Dante who simply shook his head.
The queen's eyes locked onto the small figure that was moving towards the gate and a sadistic grin overtook her lips. "About time one of them decided to be stupid." Edvige snapped her fingers and a cold wind suddenly blew into the area.
"Don't do it you stupid girl!" yelled Eva from the sidelines. "She's not going to let you go —"
Before she could even finish her sentence a burst of wind hit Daniela and sent her to the ground. A female figure landed on the ground, a look of disgust covering her face.
"To think — someone actually ran. I was actually looking forward to coming after you pathetic group of bugs. Of course that doesn't matter much now, you've sealed your own fate."
The woman that stood before Daniela gripped her sword, raised it into the air and stabbed it down into the small girl's head without so much as a second thought. There was no screaming or crying; the only sound that could be heard was the joyful clapping of the queen from up above.
Daniela's death was a sign to the rebels — it showed that soon they would all share her fate. So most of them did what any reasonable human would do when death is presented to them.
They went completely insane.
Most of them took off towards the gate as an attempt to follow Daniela's lead. "They can get some of us but, not all!" one of the rebels yelled. Sadly they didn't realize just how wrong they were. The queen clapped as her playthings ran about the court trying to reach the false freedom she had promised them — everyone knew they couldn't make it past her knights but it was sure fun to watch them try.
"Lorena, be a dear and kill them for me. You too, Leonardo." Edvige looked down at her knights with a bright smile.
The girl that was currently poking Daniela's dead body, Lorena, glanced up at her queen before growling in the direction of the rebels. She brushed a black strand of hair from her face and moved to meet the oncoming idiots — the 'prisoners'. Lorena wasn't the type of person to be gentle; when she had a job to do she did it without question.
So when she shot forward into the group of prisoners, stabbing the first one she could reach in the chest, nobody was the least bit surprised. She spun on her heels and sent a burst of wind at the oncoming group before rushing forward into the fray, a wide grin covering her face.
Leonardo, on the other hand, was just playing with the rebels; every time one of them got close to the gate he'd wave his hand and a shadow would do away with them. His eyes glanced around trying to located two certain rebels — he paused for a minute while ripping a girl in half with a shadow and glanced around, trying to locate Eva Padlino, the rebels' leader. When he couldn't find her or her second in command and when he saw that the doors of the castle had been forcefully punched open, only one word came into his mind.
Shit.
He ran into the castle only to find most of the guards knocked down and green flames blocking the stairs that rested in front of him. His hand began to rub at his temples. There was one thing that he'd learn since working with Edvige — never mess up her castle. The image of the last time something broke into the castle flashed through his mind and he was dashing up the stairs without as much as a second thought. Even with the blazing fire around him — the queen's wrath scared him more than any fire ever could.
Dante glanced over his shoulder, taking notice of the shadows that seemed to be slowly advancing towards him. He gripped hold of the spear that rested on his back before turning to face the oncoming shadows a smirk on his face.
"Give the queen a good punch for me, will you Eva?" Dante said.
The daughter of Minerva stopped and glanced back at her second in command. "What in the name of Pluto are you doing? We can make it, come on! And stop—"
Dante raised his arm in order to silence her. "Just give the queen a good punch for me, will you? I'll take care of this knight; you go on with the plan."
Before she could utter another word he was rushing forward into the darkness, a red glow slowly starting to emanate from his body. "You're an idiot," Eva mumbled before turning and heading to the queen's private room.
To say that Leonardo was surprised when Dante entered the shadows with the blessing of Mars covering his body would've been the understatement of the century. The knight had to respect the rebel's bravery, so in respect he pulled out his sword and rushed straight forward. Miniature explosions took place within the shadows with each clash of their weapons; the powers of war and darkness were shaking the castle.
Dante gritted his teeth and slammed his spear into the side of Leonardo's body. The sound of resounding metal reminded him of the one advantage that his foe had over him — one simple thing he'd overlooked. Leonardo was still wearing his black armor; a hand gripped onto the side of his spear and yanked him forward. Dante's began pulling helpless at the spear his mind racing as he neared his black haired foe — the blessing of his father was slowly starting to fade. He had to make use of it while it was still surrounding his body.
Think of something you idiot! Eva's voice rang in his ears and at that moment his brain went into overdrive and a plan formed. His fingers reached into his pocket as he pulled out a small bottle of eternal fire. The green flames caused Leonardo to hiss and some of the shadows around him to vanish. If there was ever a time Dante could say something heroic he wanted it to be now — sadly nothing heroic came to mind so he settled for his favorite sentence.
"Hey," Dante said holding the jar in the air. "Fuck you." With his sentence complete he threw the jar on the ground and watched it explode into a flurry of green flames. His body shot backwards from the explosion and Leonardo's did the same.
Dante opened his eyes to see the entire hallway covered in green flames. He got to his feet, ignoring the blood that was trailing down his arm and limped to the crumpled form of Leonardo. He grabbed his spear with a smirk, making sure to take in the sight of his fallen foe, and with a turn he headed off towards the queen's room.
Turning would be the last mistake that Dante ever made; there was a rule that every fighter knew the first rule of combat.
Never turn your back on your opponent.
A shadow lashed out at Dante's abdomen and before he even knew what was happening, the upper half of his body was falling forward and his legs fell backwards. Pools of blood formed under each of his body parts. Leonardo stood to his feet and glanced around, taking note of all the damage that Dante had caused before glancing down at his foe. He kneeled and closed both of Dante's eyes as a form of respect. With a groan he opened a portal and stepped through to go and aid his queen.
-x-
Eva slipped into the queen's private quarters a look of determination on her face. She looked straight ahead at the clapping figure of Edvige, who was caught up in the murder that was happening down below. Her fingers gripped hold of the imperial gold dagger that rested on her hip; she took slow steps forward trying her best to not be heard. With a quiet sigh she moved forward to the now rocking form of the queen.
"It's funny how people think they can go against fate, wouldn't you say Eva? Didn't you see how generous I was?" the queen asked with a smirk of superiority covering her face. "I even let your friends keep their weapons so they could have a better chance!"
The daughter of Minerva stopped in her tracks and her blue eyes bulged. She took a few steps back as the queen turned to face her. "How did you know I was coming?"
Edvige advanced towards the rebel with a calm look on her face. "I have little birdies all over the castle; they tell me all sorts of things." Almost on cue a skeleton bird landed on her shoulder and gave a gentle whistle. "So tell me how it feels to be utterly helpless. While I personally have never known the feeling, some say it's terrible."
Eva stammered — this wasn't supposed to happen. This plan was supposed to be completely and utterly fool proof. The only possible way the queen could've known about this would've been if she'd known from the start. Her eyes opened wide once she realized the truth — Edvige had always known.
"I see you're starting to understand. The only reason your rebels have been able to stay alive this long is because I allowed it. Now I think it's time this game ends. Kato take care of her for me."
"Anything for you, my queen," was the reply that came from the shadows. A figure stepped out of the darkness, a grin covering his face. Kato was the queen's third knight; he was a son of Pluto who had a dark mind to match his father's power. He looked over Eva for a minute before nodding to his queen.
"I always knew you were too weak to fight for yourself—," Eva was never able to finish her sentence on accounts of Kato's fist ramming into her face. His fingers gripped hold of her wrists; as he pulled her staggering body back towards him, he leaned in and rammed his forehead right into her nose. The daughter of Minerva cried out just as Kato released the hold on her hands.
Kato raised his hand into the air and shadows slithered their way around Eva's body. He gripped the hilt of his sword and pulled it out of its sheath. With a loud cackle he stabbed the tip of the sword through her chest — shadows began to push upward through her body and slowly began to tear her apart. She opened her mouth to scream only to have a shadow rip through her mouth. He pulled the sword backwards, pulling Eva's heart out with it.
"Good job Kato. I'm sure the Sibyl will enjoy her sacrifices," Edvige said with a smirk. The queen brushed a blonde curl out of her face before walking past Eva's body and heading for the door. "I do believe it's time to greet the commoners." Kato nodded his head and followed his queen, making sure to wrap Eva in a shroud of shadows to keep her preserved for their visit to the legendary prophet.
The queen exited the castle with both Leonardo and Kato following behind her. Lorena stood in the courtyard with blood covering her armor and most of her face. Her eyes looked over the field to make sure nobody was standing; once she was sure everyone was dead she turned and kneeled as her queen stepped past her.
"Good job, Lorena. I'm sure you gave them quite the show and I know Aquilon is proud."
Lorena simply nodded her head and stood to her feet just as Edvige prepared to address the townspeople. She raised her hand into the air to silence the roaring crowd.
"Now everyone, I'm glad you enjoyed the show. As queen I thank you all for coming to this lovely event. I pray that Jupiter blesses all of you!"
As the queen began to give her thank you speech a certain son of Hercules was getting a little more than pissed off.
-a-
"I pray that Jupiter blesses all of you!"
This supposed queen couldn't honestly be serious. She had just ordered the murder of well over twenty people and now she wanted Jupiter to bless us for viewing the entire ordeal? Obviously the message I had gotten from my father was sent right on time. My fist balled and the familiar flow of power began to course through me. I began to slowly move through the large crowd around me as the queen continued to thank everyone for supporting her.
Once I reached the large gate that separated the lovely queen from the rest of us, I pulled my fist back and prepared myself for everything that would happen after I punched. With a satisfied smirk I shot my hand forward and waited for the destruction to begin.
Now, I'd love to tell you that I hit the gate, the queen came at me, and I completely kicked her ass but that would be a lie. Instead when I punched at the gate a vine slithered around my arm and restricted my movement. My fist stopped a few inches away from the gate.
"I really wouldn't do that. The queen and her knights would eat you alive."
I glanced over my shoulder to find a woman with brown curly hair staring back at me. She was obviously older than me but I had a good foot on her. "I'm pretty sure I could take most of those guys, now mind releasing me?"
She waved her hand and the vines uncoiled from my arm and retreated back into the ground. "Like I said before, they'd eat you alive. While you may have nice muscles, they have experience."
With a twist of my heels I was staring down at her — there was this gleam in her eyes that made me believe she had tried to take down the queen before and things hadn't turned out that well. "I'm Vitale, son of Hercules. You are?"
Her green eyes seemed to glow for a second before she spoke. "I'm Pietra, daughter of Ceres. And for the next few days I'll be your guide around this lovely kingdom, come with me." She grabbed my arm and pulled me through the crowd — well in actuality she pushed me through the crowd, I was like a human bulldozer! We got a few curses and a few shoves but we made it out of the crowd unharmed.
I was dragged around the entire kingdom, making sure to take note of everything that Pietra had to say, whether it was about the locals, the queen, or even the way things used to be. We stopped every so often for her to show me some of the local shops. The Venus lounge was a place people went when they wanted some fast love; Vulcan's forge was the weapons shop; and Bacchus' Grapevine was the local bar.
"This is our final stop. There are some people inside I want you to meet," she said motioning me inside the large parlor.
She glanced around the bar and grinned when her eyes locked with someone else's. Her fingers interlocked with mine before she pulled me across the bar. We stopped in front of a girl who sat silently on the table, her eyes scanning the entire parlor. Both her eyes stopped on Pietra before shifting over to me and a grin formed on her face.
"Nice of you to drop by Pietra. Raul and I were starting to get bored. The constant questions about the future get annoying after a while."
My eyes shifted to the brown haired male that was sitting on the floor beside her. If she had not mentioned him I more than likely wouldn't have noticed. His eyes met mine for a second and I felt as if he was looking past me and into my soul.
"Pietra," I started, averting my eyes from Raul. "Who in the name of Pluto are these people?"
The small daughter of Ceres blinked before glancing up at me. "Oh right, I almost forgot. Vitale this is Severa, the Sibyl, and this is Raul, her bodyguard."
I glanced at the girl who wore a constant smirk. The black hair that etched down her shoulders helped to hide a good portion of her face and her green eyes seemed to radiate an unnatural light. My hand went out and she grabbed it respectfully. Her eyes met mine for a second as she retracted her hand.
Then suddenly something I honestly can't explain happened. Severa's body jerked forward in one instant almost as if she was going to fall off the table. Slowly her body began to float in mid-air and an unfamiliar coldness appeared in her eyes before eventually her mouth opened and black fog escaped from her mouth
"Pietra what's going on?" I glanced at the daughter of Ceres who wore a shocked facial expression. "She — she's giving a prophecy. This is the first one ever that hasn't required a sacrifice."
Severa's body hovered for a few seconds, her head moved as she cracked her neck before letting out a loud ghostly moan and speaking.
"I am the Sibyl, guide to the underworld. Let the oak leaves and the sands of fate determine the path you shall take…"
