Chapter 21
Painful Memories
"You taught him"? Susan said confused
"Yes he did, he taught me how to use a sword and how to be a soldier" Kadius explained
"Which was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made" William growled
Kadius's eyes narrowed at that and the dagger he still held to Harold's throat twitched a little causing Susan and Alberta to become even more anxious. Susan watched William and wondered why he was trying to aggravate the man who was threatening to cut her uncles' throat.
"You took me in, you taught me everything you knew and then you arrested me and sentenced me to death" Snarled Kadius
"You left me no choice, you treated the Narnians I entrusted you to command like slaves and then above all you tried to murder my friend" William shot back his hands curling to fists.
"She was a Calormene, the same people who massacred my family"! Kadius Yelled
"That had nothing to do with her, she was under my protection" William argued
Kadius gave William an even darker look and then looked at Harold who he still held hostage; he looked at his soldiers who all had their guns aimed at William. He took a couple of deep breaths trying to calm himself before he finally turned back to William.
"Pick up the painting and bring it to me" Kadius commanded
William did not move, he just stared straight at Kadius and growled with anger. Susan had never seen William so close to the edge he truly looked like he wanted nothing more than to unsheathe Excalibur and end it once and for all.
"Now William, we both know you're not in a position to refuse me" Kadius said with an evil smile
William grunted at that and then slowly bent down and picked up the painting from where it had fallen on the floor. He then glanced at Susan and slowly walked forward and stood in front of where Kadius and Harold stood.
"Now give it to him" Kadius ordered nodding his head to where Quigley stood.
"First let him go" William countered nodding his head at Harold
Kadius seemed to think about that for a minute before finally agreeing, he slowly lowered the dagger and pushed Harold forward. Harold stumbled and was caught one handed by William who nodded at him and then told him to get back to Alberta and Susan.
"Now William give Quigley the painting"
William slowly handed the painting to Quigley who gave a squeal of delight as soon as he touched it. However his smile faltered after William looked at him with such disgust that Quigley immediately fell silent, Kadius on the other hand continued to wear his evil smile as he watched William trying to control his anger.
"Now explain Kadius, how did you survive"? William demanded
Kadius smiled at the memory and was filled with happiness at finally being able to tell William how exactly he failed to kill him.
The many Narnians stood on the hill watching as the army of the Calormene's slowly approached them. William was at the front of the Narnians on his white horse, George was at his left while on his right was Kadius.
"Look at them, look at the scum" Kadius spat
"Calm yourself Kadius, you must never fight in anger" William said wisely
William then turned and looked at the army behind him, each one he admired for being here and knew that Narnia was a strong country because of the strength and courage of its occupants. He turned back and saw the large numbers of the Calormene's, he knew this battle would be tough but he knew that the Narnians could do it.
"It's time" said William
"For Narnia William"? Kadius asked holding out his hand and smiling at his usual question he asked every time before a battle.
"For Narnia" William repeated smiling and grabbing his hand.
The beautiful castle of Cair Paravel rested on the cliff's overlooking the Eastern Ocean. The castle was alive with the small town outside the castle packed with many different Narnians going along with their business while the castle guards carefully patrolled the walls.
Inside the castle however something big was happening, for today in the great hall the court had gathered to witness a trial.
"Kadius of Archenland, you are hereby accused of attempting to murder a member of the court and also for treason against the Guardian and High Protector of Narnia, Sir William the Phoenix" The chancellor announced
Kadius stood in the centre of the hall staring at William who sat in the middle of the table which was placed just in front of the dais where Queen Swanwhite of Narnia sat on her throne.
"I have not committed any crime; I have only done the duty I feel befits any soldier of Narnia. I admit I attempted to kill the Calormene girl but that is because her kind cannot be trusted, for decades we have been at endless war and I say that if anyone shelters a Calormene in this magnificent castle then they are the ones who have committed a crime" Kadius shouted to the whole hall but his eyes remained on William.
"That Calormene girl you speak of ran away from home and abandoned her Calormen faith and heritage, I invited her into this castle and allowed her to work as the Queen's lady in waiting which I did with the Queen's permission" William explained
"You are blinded William, you see a young girl and you believe no harm can from her but I know that no good can come from a Calormene, I saw that myself when they murdered my family and burned down my home" Kadius replied darkly
"I feel your pain, I too have lost loved ones but trying to murder someone for the crime of others is not how you remember them" William shot back
"William you taught me how to fight, you taught me what it took to be a soldier, you taught me the old code so I beg you please order my release we are friends" Kadius said softly
William sat in silence he turned around to Swanwhite who still sat on her throne, she gave him a sad smile and Kadius knew what was being unsaid between them. William turned around and faced Kadius, he looked him straight in the eyes and sighed.
"In any normal trial, I may consider your sentence be exile. However I feel that you are to dangerous and to unpredictable for that, you have shown your hatred to Calormen and I feel that the way you treated the Narnians under your command was so shocking that I think you will hurt anyone to fuel your fury, therefore you leave me no choice but to sentence you to death in the name of the Queen, High Protector and Royal Council"
Whispering and muttering broke out among the many Narnians in the hall, Kadius however was silent he stared at William with so much hatred he would love nothing more than to pierce his heart with a blade.
The crowd that gathered on the cliff remained silent, William stood over the stone which had now became infamous for executions. George stood next to him carrying Excalibur in it's sheath, Swanwhite stood on the other side of William and had one hand on his shoulder reassuring him that it would be alright.
Kadius was brought out by two fauns, his hands were bound in shackles and the sound of chains could easily be heard due to the silent crowd. The fauns dragged him to the stone and stopped him in front of William, he seemed like he was about to say something but instead he just nodded at the guards to put Kadius's head on the stone.
However as they were about to carry out the command, Kadius suddenly moved quickly he drew one of faun's sword from it's sheath and stabbed him in the stomach while he elbowed the other one in the face with his other arm causing him to hit the floor.
He then grabbed Swanwhite and held the sword to her throat, George and other guards all drew their weapons. However William commanded everyone to lay down their weapons he would not risk Swanwhite getting harmed.
"Kadius leave her out of this" William said
"Why should I"? Kadius demanded holding the sword closer to her throat causing a small cut to appear
"No, don't do it I'm the one that sentenced you remember, so let us finish it" William offered
Kadius thought about his proposal and finally agreed, he ordered a guard to remove his shackles and ordered somebody else to bring him his sword. William waited anxiously and kept telling Swanwhite it would be alright, eventually the guards returned carrying a sword in a sheath which he handed to Kadius.
Kadius then pushed Swanwhite who was caught by William, he then moved her out of the way as Kadius quickly unsheathed his sword and sheathed it at William's head. William quickly rolled out of the way and grabbed Excalibur from its sheath that was still held by George. The sword glowed in his hand and both the William and Kadius faced each other weapons held up high.
Their swords clanged together and William had to quickly move as Kadius brought his sword down and attempted to slice William's torso. William responded by hammering Excalibur down upon his sword causing sparks to shoot from the blades, everyone watched shockingly as the two former friends continued to bring their swords down upon each other; George stood next to Swanwhite his sword still drawn waiting for the opportunity to jump in and help his brother.
Eventually the two swordsmen started to tire, William swung his sword high and brought it down near Kadius's head but he countered it with his own sword blocking the strike and also was able to leave a devastating gash in William's sword arm. Both of them started to get closer and closer to the edge of the cliff, they gave everything they had to try and disarm the other. Finally William attempted one last attempt at disarming Kadius and was instead countered and received a devastating cut in the side of his torso causing him to fall to one knee.
Kadius smiled at his victory, William tried a last resort defence but that ended with Excalibur flying from his hand. Swanwhite screamed his name and George took a step forward obviously anxious to join in, however Kadius made sure that nobody came near by dragging William closer to the edge and threatening to throw him off if anyone came near.
He then raised his sword up preparing to deliver the killing strike, however just as he brought the sword down towards William's neck he rolled out of the way and grabbed Excalibur from the ground, he then spun around quickly and managed to stick Excalibur in Kadius's chest as soon as he turned around.
Excalibur was then retracted from his chest and Kadius begun to stumble back near the edge, he gave one last look at William which was one of pure hatred before he fell over the edge and crashed into the water below.
The impact of the water hurt a lot, but not as much as the temperature which hit him like a thousand knives. He struggled for breath and tried to swim up but the wound in his chest caused him instead to slowly sink, his consciousness was fading and just when he was certain he was going to die he heard a voice.
"Kadius, Kadius" It whispered
He tried looking around but couldn't see anyone, the voice kept calling his name but still he was the only one in the water. Suddenly he felt something travel down his throat and suddenly he was breathing fully and normally under water, his wound had healed itself and had turned into a scar.
"I am Tash Kadius and I will save you if you promise me your service, I can also guarantee your revenge against the man who sent you here" The voice said
"Yes" Kadius mumbled shocked that he could speak
"Then for now you will live in my country where you can prepare until it is time" The voice informed with a high cold laugh.
"So that's how you survived, Tash saved you" William said
"Yes and now the time has come to have my revenge" Kadius said with an evil smile
However before Kadius could act and arrow sped through the air and connected with Quigley's shoulder causing him to drop the painting. Susan looked up to see Sophia on the roof of the house firing many arrows at the soldiers, William acted fast and punched a shoulder in the face and grabbed his machine gun. He kicked the painting causing it to slide on the ground to where Susan was; she picked up and looked at William.
"Get inside"! He shouted as he opened fire on the soldiers.
Susan, Alberta and Harold all ran inside the house, they heard lots of gunfire and many screams from the soldiers. Eventually Sophia entered the house carrying her bow and arrows; she was followed by William who continued to fire the gun he had taken. He fired a few more shots before he closed the door and told everyone to get in the sitting room, but as they entered the room many shots could be heard and many bullets started flying into the room through the window. Everybody got down and William began firing whenever he could out of the window.
"William what are we going to do"? Susan asked desperately
"I don't know" William replied looking worried