Chapter 3-Xeo's past
It was a sunny day in the city of Grove and a young boy and girl were playing in a field with their mother. The children laughed as they ran to hide so their mother could come and find them. As the boy ran to hide behind a tree he heard a loud crashing sound and looked to see what it was. In the distance the guard tower on the far off city wall had come crashing down and the children could hear screams. The mother turned to the children and told them to run into the forest and not to come out until she called for them and than she rushed to the city with a large broadsword drawn. The little boy took his sister by the hand and ran into the forest.
"Xeo, Do you think mom will be okay?"
"She will be fine Raven, but she can only let lose her power if we are safe. Come on, we have to hurry."
Xeo took his sister into the forest and found a hollowed out log and quickly hid inside. He stood guard at the open end with his dagger ready to slay anyone who could hurt his sister.
"It'll be okay, Raven. It's most likely to be another attack by the rebels. Mom and Dad will handle it."
--
Queen Lancia runs to the outer wall that had just fallen moments before to find her husband laying on the ground bleeding. He raises his head with fear in his eyes.
"Lancia, where are the children?"
"They are hiding in the forest. They are safe. What happened here, my love?"
"It was the rebels. They attacked and demanded that we hand over your son. I told them that I would never give them Xeo and they attacked."
Than the proud kings head fell back and his eyes closed and Lancia began to cry. As she sat there crying she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to find a large man with a single eye looking down at here.
"I've come to take our son Lancia."
"Jarak, Only you would be so bold as to attack my husband in such dishonorable combat. Xeo will never be yours."
"That's funny, you spend all this time telling us that we humans are the weaker people, destined to be slaves. Yet you keep your half-breed son, when you shun all others. You should be ashamed of yourself."
"Xeo is as strong and courageous as any other elf. He has proven himself in battle time and time again. He is a pure elf in the eyes of my people."
"I've heard enough out of you, now tell me where he is or die!"
Jarak draws his sword and the queen bows her head before him.
"Than I choose to die."
As Jarak starts to strike another blade clashes against his and he looks down to find Xeo standing before him. Xeo raises his right hand to his father's chest and chants a spell that pushes his father back with a large flash of light.
"I wont let you hurt my mother. NEVER!!"
Xeo dashes at the man and begins swinging his dagger as quickly as he can, but his father easily blocks every attack. Xeo quickly begins throwing spells at Jarak as rapidly as possible while keeping up a strong defense. With every spell that Xeo casts Jarak is knocked into another wall or building, causing unimaginable damage to the once beautiful city. Than in the blink of an eye, Jarak's blade strikes Xeo's face and tears across the flesh from forehead to chin.
"My eye! No one messes with the doorway to MY soul."
Xeo grabs his face and runs forward towards his father and quickly jabs his dagger into his throat. Jarak falls to the ground as blood sprays from his neck and Xeo begins to laugh. Lancia stands up in the ruins that had been the city of Grove and walks over to Xeo.
"Mother, are you all right."
Lancia looks all around him and tears start to trail down her face. She raises her hand and smacks Xeo across the face and falls to her knees crying.
"You, you disobeyed me. You left your sister in the forest and destroyed Grove. You're not my son; you are just as wild and reckless as a human. Leave this place, take your sister and never return here. If you do, I will have you put to death."
"But mother, I was only trying to..."
"I told you to leave you horrible little beast. Go and never return. This is your fault. Now take your sins and go!"
Xeo hung his head low and began to walk back away. He turns with tears and blood on his face to look at his mother one last time and than exits the rubble that had been her city.
--
A teen age Xeo is sitting alone with long wild hair over his face in a dark room. He is running his finger over the scar his father had given him. Raven steps out of the shadow behind him without making a sound.
"Four years, sister. Have four years really past since we were banished form Grove. It feels like an eternity since I last saw mothers face."
"Yes, Xeo, It has been so long. We have grown so much since then, I'm sure they would be proud of us and welcome us back. Even if we are half human."
Xeo stands up and walks over to his sister. He looks at here deep blue eyes and smiles. He runs his scared fingers through her long black hair and begins to laugh.
"I bet they would. But it is our fate to never know."
A door opens at the side of the room and a semi-fat child walks in and nods at Xeo.
"Xeo, you will be late for your peace talks with the Clown gang if you keep hanging around in this dark room."
"My lady Raven, I wasn't aware that you had returned from your trip to the lost city. Did you find what you were looking for?"
"No Darkus, I only found the remains of an ancient people. Anything of value must have been lifted by the Clowns before I arrived."
Xeo looks to Darkus, than nods as he exits the room.
"Raven, Darkus will fill you in on your next job. You will leave tomorrow, because tonight we celebrate you're 15th birthday."
Raven bows to Xeo as he exits, leaving Darkus alone with Raven. Darkus walks over to Raven and kisses her hand.
"My lady, your next assignment is to assassinate Joker. Bonk's little brother has become a thorn and Xeo's side and must be eliminated.
Raven nods and grabs a sword from the bed and swings the blade at Darkus, stopping at his throat. He doesn't flinch. Raven laughs and smiles.
"Soon you will be carrying out these kind of assignments. I hope you will be ready for what that will mean."
Raven exits the room.
"I am ready, Raven, I wish Xeo would just let me prove it to him."
--
Xeo enters a large meeting room where members of his own gang have been waiting. A large man with red and black face paint stands up and slams his fist down on the table.
"Xeo, how dare you keep the Clowns gang waiting? If you really want peace between us you had better start showing a little resp..."
The mans sentence is cut short as Xeo throws a knife into the mans neck and than sits down.
"Bonk, I thought you had told your puppets to watch their moths when addressing a higher power."
Bonk just nods and sits there. The meeting gets under way and after several hours Xeo stands up at the head of the table.
"Bonk, I will pull my men from your grounds, and we will see if this peace can last. If any of your thugs cross onto Vert ground, there will be hell to pay."
Bonk nods again and the clowns rise and exit the room. Xeo slumps back into his chair and smirks. Darkus enters the room from behind and takes the seat next to Xeo.
"My lord, I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now. When will you start giving me field assignments? I think I'm ready."
"I will tell you when you are ready Darkus. But for now, I will need you here. You are the best of my elite guard. In time, I will let you have range but for now you will have to trust my judgment."
Darkus bows before Xeo and exits the room.
"Darkus, my reign over the Verts will end soon, I need you here to take my place and defeat the clowns and all else who oppose us."
Xeo rises from his chair and looks out of the window in time to see Raven get into a car and leave. He smiles to himself and blows a kiss out of the window for his sister.
"With luck, she will return from this mission. I hope that she understands how important and dangerous this mission is."
--
"The mission was a success, my lord. Everything is going as planned."
Xeo was pleased to hear this as he began to read his mail. As he opens a note, he jumps to see that it had been written in blood.
"Xeo, I know you had your sister kill Joker. I challenge you to a duel to the death at the high planes at midnight. Be there or never see your sister again."
Xeo knew this would most defiantly be a set up, but he grabbed his sword and called for Darkus to bring around his car.
"This will be the end for me, I hope you are ready to rise up and take the power of leader Darkus."
--
Bonk is standing with Raven in the middle of a field waiting for Xeo to arrive.
"Don't worry my love, this will all be over soon."
Bonk hears a noise and turns to see that Xeo is alone. Xeo draws his sword and charges without a word. Bonk is ready for him and the battle begins. After what seemed like hours of exchanging blows back and forth Xeo and Bonk come to a stand still.
"Let there be peace between us Xeo. Your sister loves me and I love her. Can we settle this without bloodshed?"
"You lie! Raven would never turn against me for a makeup wearing freak like you."
Than Xeo springs into the air bringing the swords tip down towards Bonk's head. Bonk blocks the attack and Raven runs forward.
"Xeo, Please listen to him. Stop this!! If you don't stop I'll use magic to stop you."
Raven than raises her hands and lighting shoots from her fingertips and hits the blades. The two men fly apart in a flash of light.
Bonk gets up and looks to Raven.
"Thank you, my love. I really thought he was going to kill me if you hadn't stepped in."
Raven than looks around, but Xeo is nowhere to be found. Raven's eyes fill with tears and she falls to her knees. Bonk comforts her.
"Bonk, I never wanted to have to do that. But I couldn't let him do that. Now I may have lost him forever."
(Well, there you have it. Xeo's past. Maybe I should have written this first. Oh well. Next Chapter-Love to Hate.)