Words Written in Blood
Chapter Four
A/N: Humans are officially the dumbest beings on the planet. "Hey everyone, since the salmon population's low, let's kill off the sea lion population!" You know, it'd make a whole lot more since if humans just quit eating salmon than killing off the sea lions to save the salmon, IDIOTS!!! Okay, sorry about that…it honestly has nothing to do with the story…unless I write it in somewhere. Okay, no, I won't do that. So…enjoy the story!
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Geoffrey waved good-bye to Elincia as he mounted his horse. By his side, Kieran and the other Royal Knights stood ready. Today would be the day they would be able to march on Felirae and hopefully win Lucia back. With all luck, they would back it to the castle before sundown and take a detailed look at the palace. If Lucia was there, they would find her; Geoffrey had no doubt about that. He only worried what would happen if she wasn't.
No, he could not think about that. His sister would be there, and she would be in good health as well. If not, Ludveck would find her brother's lance through his chest.
He gave one last look back at his queen before commanding his knights to set off. This was their one chance; if Lucia was not brought back now, they knew there would be consequences.
--
Lucia sat with her arms wrapped around the man she loved as they made their way down the Old Highway on horseback. They had left Castle Felirae not too long ago, and carefully proceeded towards Fayre.
Bastian had decided upon the old route to the castle, figuring it would be less likely for the knights the travel. If he made an incorrect assumption however, things could take a turn for the worst. If they were caught, Bastian would be breaking his contract with Ludveck, and would have to face his wrath.
This was a thing the man did not want. He could not risk anything happening to Lucia, so he chose his path carefully. One wrong move could result in disaster.
--
"My plan is genius. Genius I tell you!"
Ludveck laughed as he sat behind a large desk centered in the middle of the room. Nathaniel rolled his eyes as the man continued on about his 'genius' plans.
"I shall fool that General Geoffrey without raising a single finger! Hahaha!!"
"Umm…sir. With all due respect, umm… What about the sub-humans?"
"Oh yes! I nearly forgot about those monsters! What ever shall I do? … Aha! Send the three in the dungeon to be executed. I don't care how it's done, just make it happen. That heron girl…hmm… Oh, I know. Lock her in the secret room."
"Are you sure that's such a good idea?"
"Positive! Now, get to it!"
"Yes, sir…"
"Hahaha! Once that 'queen' and her faithful knight are out of the way, the throne will be all mine! Crimea will be mine! Lucia will be mine!"
--
Bastian directed his horse to turn right to continue on the trail to Fayre. They were soon greeted by the thick forest that ran alongside the road. On the other side of them, a river flowed carelessly. The count ordered the horse to stop abruptly, causing Lucia's head to collide with his back.
"Ow! Bastian, what was that for?!"
She was quickly silenced by the count as he directed his gaze up ahead.
"Milady, someone's approaching. This could be dangerous…go hide in the woods for now."
"What?! But Bastian! What about you?"
"It does not matter what happens to me. You, however, must stay safe."
Lucia whacked him on the back of the head.
"You fool! You're not even supposed to be in Crimea! Don't you think that'll look suspicious?"
"I'll say that I am returning from Daein, of course."
"But… If something happens to you, no one will be able to escort me."
She smirked. Bastian sighed and shook his head.
"You've beaten me with that point, my fair maiden. Now, let us hurry before all this arguing has gone to waste."
The count dismounted and helped Lucia down from the horse.
"Bastian…what will we do with the horse?"
"He shall have to wait out here. Now, as I've said, let's go."
He picked the swordmaster up and carried her into the forest, leaving her stunned.
"Bastian! Put me down!"
"Of course, my dear."
The pair sat there, sheltered by the trees, arms wrapped around each other until they could hear the clopping of hooves approaching. Lucia closed her eyes and Bastian pulled her closer to him, kissing the top of her head.
They could now hear men shouting and someone dismounting his horse. Lucia nearly jumped when she heard the voice.
"General Geoffrey, sir! I, Fifth Platoon Captain Kieran, have found a loose horse!"
The other man sighed.
"Kieran, we can all see the horse. There's no need for you to-- You know, never mind. Nice job on 'finding' the horse."
"Thank you, sir! Now, I, Fifth Platoon Captain Kieran, shall capture the horse!"
"You do that…"
The general turned to one of his knights.
"Sir Jerrell, can you think of any possible reason why there would just be a horse in the middle of nowhere?"
"No, sir. Not really. Someone must have left it here."
"I, Fifth Platoon Captain Kieran, shall take a guess that the owner is in the woods! And I, Kieran, shall investigate!"
Bastian bit his lip and tried not to scream as Lucia dug her nails into his skin. He tried to soothe her and pulled her closer to him, but it was no use. He could feel blood running down his arm as a crunching of leaves could be heard.
"Kieran! You can't just barge into the woods and be like 'hey! I found your horse!'"
"But General…why not? This person could be an escaped criminal for all we know!"
"While that is true, Kieran, you still aren't going to do it. Now, men, can we please start back out for Felirae?"
"Yes, sir! That sounds like a fine plan! The beautiful Lady Lucia must be rescued at all costs!"
Bastian heard the men gallop away--fortunately, not taking Bastian's horse--and took Lucia's hands, removing her nails from his arm.
"Oh, Bastian, I'm so sorry, I--"
He put a finger to her lips.
"Milady, you do not have to worry about me. This, this is nothing--especially compared to what could have happened if we were caught."
"Yes. I suppose that it's true that the army is going to Felirae. It looked like the majority of the army too. They wouldn't leave the queen without guards, would they?"
"That is a good question indeed. If I wasn't afraid of Ludveck finding out, I'd take you to see her, but alas, I have no control over it. If only I hadn't joined Ludveck."
"Now, Bastian… You're being too hard on yourself. None of this is your fault."
"You may be right, but that isn't how it feels. Now, if we'd like to make Fayre before it gets too late, I suggest we get going."
"Yes, you're right."
--
"Good afternoon, Princess."
The heron stared at the man that had just entered her room. What was he doing here?
"Duke Ludveck has ordered for you to be moved into a more comfortable room. If you would just follow me…"
She tried to break free of Nathaniel's grasp as he dragged her down the hall. It was to no avail, however…she was just too weak. The brunette pulled her through the long halls and stopped at a bookshelf. He adjusted the object, and it swung out, revealing a door. He opened it, and pushed Leanne inside. The princess fell to the ground as the door slammed behind her. She heard a click as the bookshelf was put back in place.
--
Nealuchi suddenly heard pounding from above and the door to the dungeon was thrown open. Footsteps filled the room and men rushed down the stairs. The door to their cell was unlocked and shoved open. One of the men grabbed the raven's wrists and tied his hands behind his back. Three more restrained Mordecai as the tiger tried to fight them off. A fifth picked the still-unconscious Lethe up off the ground and laughed.
"Let's go, you filthy sub-humans. The master's got a surprise for you."
Nealuchi gulped. Nothing good could come from a 'surprise' from that beast.
--
Leanne struggled to her feet and looked about the room she was thrown in. She gasped at the sight. The brick walls were covered with blood and skeletons were strewn about the tile floor. There were no windows. She could see a small door on the opposite side of the room.
The heron walked in that direction and descended the two steps down into the room, taking care not to bump her head on the low ceiling. The sight that greeted her eyes was even more disturbing than the last.
A man was chained up against one of the walls. He looked half dead. His clothes were torn, and scratches were present on his skin. She stared at him as he just lay there, unable to move.
Ludveck is more of a monster than I thought…
--
"Duke Ludveck, General Geoffrey of the Crimean Royal Knights is here to see you."
"Thank you. Please let him in."
Before the servant had even turned around, however, the doors burst open. A very angered Geoffrey stormed into the room and glared at Ludveck.
"Your Grace… I believe you know why I'm here."
"No, General, I can't say I do."
The noble smiled and Geoffrey could barely stop himself from smacking him.
"Is that so? Well, then…I'll start this off with a question: When is the last time you've seen my sister?"
"Your sister? I haven't seen the girl since the last council in Melior!"
"So she hasn't been here then?"
"No! Why ever would she be, Milord?"
"Oh, it's nothing. You wouldn't mind if my knights and I searched the place then, would you?"
"Not at all. Feel free to look about. Take your time--I have nothing to hide."
"We'll see about that, Milord."
Ludveck watched as Geoffrey walked back over to his knights and barked out orders. He laughed at the younger man's stupidity.
"You never said which sister…"
He laughed to himself and turned back to his paperwork.
--
"Marcia, have you found anything?"
"I'm sorry, Geoffrey, but no. There's no sign of your sister."
"Man, I really thought she'd be here. Now I don't know what I'll do…"
"It'll be alright, General. Trust me. Have all the rooms been searched?"
"Yes, I believe so."
The General leaned against the wall next to a bookcase.
"Well, with the exception of the room at the end of the hall. Your brother's still in there looking around."
"Still?! That fool. He should have been done a long time ago. I'll go get him for you."
"Thanks, Marcia."
Geoffrey watched the pink-haired girl walk away.
"Hey, General! I, Fifth Platoon Captain Kieran, just remembered something!"
The azure-haired knight jumped at the sound of his soldier's voice and spun around.
"Kieran! Don't come up behind me like that!"
"Sorry, sir!"
"Well, what is it?"
"If I remember correctly, didn't there used to be a door here?"
"Kieran, I think you might actually be right for once. However, I wasn't able to get this stupid thing to budge."
"Hmm…that's a shame. Shall I get the troops ready to head back out?"
"Yes; as soon as Makalov's finished, we'll be leaving. I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to…"
--
Makalov grinned as he rummaged through the drawers of the room he was in. This Ludveck guy sure did leave a lot of gold lying around! He picked a small box up out of the drawer and opened it. His eyes lit up when he saw the dazzling ring inside.
"This'll fetch me a pretty penny…"
He laughed to himself as he admired the ring.
"Makalov! What's taking to long?!"
The man jumped and hid his hands behind his back.
"Oh, uhh, Marcia! I was just finishing up!"
"Well, good! Everyone's waiting on you! You didn't find anything, did you?"
"No! Nothing at all!"
"Well then, let's go!"
"Sure, Sis! I'm coming!"
The woman sighed as she walked back out the door. Her brother slipped the ring in his pocket and followed behind her.
You know, at first I thought coming here was a bad idea, but this ring… Man, this thing must be worth a fortune!
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A/N: Ouch…I just cut my hand. I'm sure no one's interested in the story, but I'll tell it anyway! So, my dad was going around the house saying something about "I'm the master." And I was like, "What, the master of crazy ideas?" Gosh, my hand's bleeding now…where are band-aids when you need them? *gets a band-aid and puts it on wrist* Okay, so back to the story. He told me to "get the master his flashlight", so I screamed "Yes sir!" really loudly (luckily none of our neighbors are home or I probably would've gotten the cops called on me). Then when I handed him the flashlight, he shined it in my eyes and I fell to the ground. While falling, my fingernails decided to dig into my skin in three different places. So now, my hand really hurts. Fascinating, huh?
But anyway, this chapter wasn't of great quality… The next one should be a lot better though. I really didn't have many ideas for this, so oh well! Plus, English class has drained all of my writing ability. Only like 2 days until the weekend though! Yay! But anyway, umm…I did have actual comments on this…what were they? Oh, I can't remember. I'll probably think of it as soon as this is posted though. Oh well…