Chapter 9

As Tension Grows

Lavitz heavily breathed, not caring that he was possibly taking in more of the dragon's poison by breathing more heavily than normal. Lavitz, Rose, Shana and Dart had been fighting Greham and his dragon for what feels like over an hour. The group managed to kill the dragon and eliminate one threat that stood in their way, but that left the ruthless Greham who seemed to have a never ending supply of magic in his repetoire. Greham was exhausted, but still had enough energy to manuever himself. The same could be said for the group, with the exception of Lavitz. Lavitz's determination and anger fueled him. The lancer held up his weapon as he awaited for Greham's next move. "This battle is beginning to sicken me!" Greham states. "It's time to finish it!" the man launched himself forward. Dart prepared his attack, but Lavitz sped forward and found the opening that he was desperately searching for. The young knight launched his spear forward and pierced through Greham's armor, plunging the long weapon through the enemy's chest. Greham froze in midair, he looked Lavitz deep into his eyes as blood began to pour from his mouth. "D-damn you..." he muttered. Lavitz snatched his spear out of Greham's body and held it off to the side to spin his weapon, flinging it clean of blood.

Greham collasped to the ground. A red liquid flowed from his chest, staining the emerald green armor. "Lavitz..." he weakly muttered. "I...I am sorry..for betraying your father...I did it for power...the same power that I possess. Your father was strong and I knew that I would never be surpassed if I was able to further improve myself. So what better way to be on top than to kill the competition?" Greham slowly blinks and dropped his weapon. He could feel his body growing cold and weak. His eyes were heavy and they looked empty. "Please forgive me..." Greham continued. "I deeply respect your father and if I had the chance...I would apologize for what I did. Well, maybe it isn't too late. I still have my chance, when I finally reunite with your father, in heaven." And with that Greham soon passes. The same green light consumes Greham's lifeless body, causing it to disappear, and floats into the air. Lavitz turns his back to the scene and gives a deep sigh. Dart looks over at Lavitz and rests a single hand upon his shoulder. The blond knight looks up and then turns around. "Being angry won't solve anything...neither will justifying revenge. Getting revenge really isn't the ideal thing to do. It doesn't make one feel better and it doesn't resolve anything..." Lavitz puts away his weapon and stands with his arms folded. "Well-" Something then catches Lavitz's attention. A small green orb floated down and hovered before Lavitz. The young knight extends his hand to the object and it emits a bright green light. "The spirit of the Jade Dragon recognizes you, Lavitz...You should feel honored." Rose said with a smirk. Lavitz takes the spirit and holds it in his hand delicately. "So...I'm a dragoon as well. I will humbly accept. I doubt I could turn it down anyways." Lavitz gives a small chuckle before putting the object away. Then, it happened...Shana collasped onto the dirty, wet ground, wheezing and desperately gasping for breath. It was the poison. She had inhaled far too much. Dart was in a panic as he laid eyes upon his childhood friend. The young man scooped the woman up and said, "We have to hurry...We really have to hurry to Lohan. It's the closest city! There's no time to waste." The two began to nod as they took the only way out of the moisture filled depths of the forest, the cobweb wall. Dart made sure that he had Shana securely on his back and climbed up the cobwebs with his focus mainly on saving Shana. Once out of the hole, Dart and the others rushed toward the exit and made their way to Lohan.

Once the group was within the limits of Lohan, they made their way to the nearest clinic. They stepped through the doors of the medical facility and requested the help of the doctor that resided there. Dart laid Shana upon the bed and allows the doctor to inspect her. "It's been so long since I have seen this." The doctor muttered. "Dragon poison." leaned closer to Shana and began to go over every detail in regards to her condition. "Physically she's fine...It's her soul that has been contaminated. This is quite the complex case." Dart anxiously rushed closer to the doctor and said, "How?! How do we cure her." The doctor quickly takes two steps back and maintains a reasonable distance from Dart. "Go out and find Dragoni Plant...It's great for curing dragon's poison. Though I am not too sure if it's still around...I last heard of it being seen north of the dragon's nest." The doctor instructs. "If you don't mind, young lady...could you stay and help me tend to your female friend here?" Rose looks over at the doctor and gives a nod. "Sure." she said. This left Lavitz and Dart to venture outside of Lohan by themselves. This alone made the young knight nervous. Lavitz hoped that the entire trip didn't involve a heavy air and silence. The two men, soon left the clinic, and made their way to the shrine.

Back at Bale, Serafino made his way out of the library and towards the castle. His mind had been riddled with thoughts on what the man in black said. The young man shook his head and told himself, "I have bigger things to worry about right now...that man probably has mistaken me for someone else." A young woman bumps into the red head and quickly apologizes. Serafino snapped out of his train of thought and gave a gentle smile. The woman starts to take off, but then abruptly stops to turn around and say, "HEY! You're a knight! Just what I was looking for!" Serafino raised an eyebrow and responded with, "What can I help you with?"

"Your King...I mean...Our King!"

"You want me...to help you with him?! That makes no sense."

"No no no no no no no! I saw our king!"

"Outside of the castle?!" He shouted.

"Yes! He's wandering around town right now. The last time I saw him, he was in front of...Mmmmmmm...the weapon shop."

The color flushed out of Serafino's face. Why was King Albert wandering around town with no escorts?! The King knew as well as the other knights did that this was a time of war and someone with such an important role, such as himself, shouldn't be out and around by himself. "Oh...No..." was the only phrase that popped into the young man's head. Without a second thought, he darted off in the direction of the weapons shop. Serafino was white like a ghost, even though the young man should have been red in the face from the running that he was doing. Serafino skidded around the corner and found himself in front of the shop. The man breathed heavily and looked everywhere, but no sign of King Albert. "Where did he go?" he questioned. The red head turned around and bumped into a tall slender body. "I'm terribly sorr-" Then he realized who he bumped into.

Serafino slowly looked up and as his attention slowly moved up the slender, green clad body, his face lost even more color. The young knight's red tinged, emerald orbs met the King's light brown ones. Serafino took note of the giant bruise that decorated the King's face. He began to turn his attention down to the ground and begin to count the cobblestones. "Look at me...I want you take in what you've done to my face." Albert said in the most calm tone of voice possible. "I appreciate your intentions and your concern for my well being, but I imagine that you could've found a better way to apprehend me."

For as calm as Albert appeared, he let off an air that that was so intense, it could make any grown man shake. Serafino began to panic slightly. Why? Why did he punch the king? Even though the young king was trying to strike him, he shouldn't have returned the favor. Albert continues to stare at Serafino. The knight, nervous because of Albert's presence, traced his eyes from the ground and back to the bruise. "I...I..." Serafino's voice began to tremble. "I...am deeply..." The king began to smirk, thinking that the young knight was about to apologize. Oh, how wrong he was. Before Serafino could finish his sentence he turned around and took off back to the castle. Serafino's "flight or fight" response kicked in and he knew good and well what he was going to do. No doubt that the knight was going to flee and so...he did. Serfino took off and didn't think twice, too bad that the King was swift. He managed to catch Serafino by the arm and bring him back. The bystanders who were in the area couldn't help but to stare at the duo. Albert looked deep into Serafino's eyes and said, "Look...I can understand how you're feeling, but do not run from me. I'm not mad, but I AM upset with you...Doesn't matter, I forgive you." The king gives a gentle smile and then continues with, "Let's go back to the castle...everyone's waiting for us."

Serafino gives a gentle smile as he takes the appropriate position beside the king and escorts him back to the castle. As the two walked, Serafino began to feel uneasy as if something was amiss. The young man scanned his surroundings, taking note of what was going on. The citizens seemed uneasy and the plaza didn't seem as active as it was thirty minutes ago. What in the hell was going on? The young man raised his guard as he continued to move through the city. The knight noted that as they made their way towards the castle, the air soon grew thick. Something was coming and Serafino wasn't so sure that he was ready for it. "Your Majesty, Albert..." Serafino muttered. The red head looked over at his king, who also had a stern expression upon his face. "I know. Something doesn't seem right...Something is wrong."

The two soon found themselves at the foot of the castle steps. Serafino, suspicious of there being danger turned to the King and said, "I am afraid to escort you inside. I wish not to lead you into harm. Something is amiss and I do not want to lead you into the middle of danger." Albert nods in understanding before turning around. Lucien was approaching from behind. "There you two are!" the middle aged knight shouts. "I've been looking for you for the past hour or so." Serafino quickly interrupts Lucien and begins to say. "Take the king!" Lucien was puzzled, he didn't understand why Serafino was talking in such a way. Lucien huffed and said, "Why are you talking oddly?"

"Don't you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"That tension...something's happening and we're just idly standing by. Lucien, please believe me when I say this, but we cannot take His Majesty Albert into Indels! We just can't!"

Lucien's expression changes as he listened to his fellow knight express his concern to him. Lucien nods and then grasps Albert by the arm and leads him away from the castle. Once they were gone, Serafino looks at the castle and drew his weapon, the classic spear. The red head stares at this weapon and then says to himself, "Who am I kidding..." and with one gigantic wave of his weapon, said spear transformed into a scythe. "Much better~" Serafino then rushed up the stairs once he was at the doors he slowly opened them and quietly entered the building. It was quiet, eerily quiet. Something was indeed wrong and Serafino was about to get down to it. The red head sneaked around corners and up the stairs. He laid his eyes upon the back wall of the second floor of the castle and immediately lost his breath. His comrades, all piled against the wall, bleeding from the holes that seemed to have been newly made in their bodies. Serafino gasped and almost regurgitated at the sight. He couldn't dilly-dally much longer, he needed to keep moving. It was apparent that there was an intruder in the castle, who knows there could have been more than one intruder. Serafino made his way further upward. Serafino stopped at the throne room doors and placed his ear to them. He could hear gruff voices talking amongst themselves, none of which sound familiar.

"Where is that pesky King?! We need to take him back to Hellena Prison and occupy this damn town!"

"We've searched this castle up and down...Moved all of the surviving knights underground..and searched the King's chambers...Nowhere."

"Where in the hell could he have gone?! Are there Sandoans searching the town?"

" Of course! We have our best troops looking for the King."

"Wait...Something's not adding up. You said that we moved all of the surviving knights into the underground right?"

"Yes..."

"And the deceased ones are in that pile...right?"

"Yes..."

"I didn't see the red haired one...Nor Lavitz...Neither did I see the one with the short black hair."

"Neither one of them should be a problem..."

"Lavitz shouldn't because he's on a mission and shouldn't be a problem for a long time, but the other two-"

A familiar voice then speaks up...Serafino could recognize the owner of that voice. It was the man who was cloaked in black."

"The red haired man WILL pose a problem. He is no ordinary knight. His partner will be easy to take care of, hands down, so I suggest that you look for him and make sure that he's placed into captivity. He's second in priority to His Majesty Albert...We need to make sure that he is captured before Fruegal and his troops come to claim the King."

Serafino quickly backed away from the door and began to run away. He couldn't stay in the castle no longer. The redhead runs down the stairs and then turns around because he realizes that the entrance was now being blocked by soldiers from the Sandoran Army. "Damn it!" Serafino muttered before searching around for an escape route. He needed to think fast. His main priority now was to get back to King Albert before the Sandorans get to him and Lucien. They were closing in and Serafino was running out of options. "Where?" The knight turned around and noticed the balcony. "I have no choice...It's really high up, but I think I will survive." Serafino ran out onto the balcony and looked behind him. Serafino stood up on the railing, put away his weapon, and hopped off. The young man landed with a massive splash in the water below. Sandorans heard the splash and ran to the balconies. They saw Serafino's red hair floating downstream. "There's that red knight!" one of them shouted. "We shouldn't go after him...He's probably dead..." The man, cloaked in black sneered and said, "Like hell he is. Didn't I tell you all that he's not a normal being?! Stop standing around and go after him! Contain him and seal him away! I have to leave...You know exactly what to do." All of the Sandoran soldiers gave a salute as the man in black disappeared into thin air.

"What could be going on?" King Albert muttered into his hands. Lucien sighed and stood up. "I have no clue your Majesty, but what ever may be going on, it must be something serious. A lot of time has passed since we last saw Sera...Sire, I hate to say it, but...Your country may be in dire trouble." King Albert grew pale and rested his forehead on his hands. "Where could I have gone wrong? How could this have happened? I thought sure I took the necessary precautions to make sure that nothing of the sort happened. At least, nothing should have happened within the city. I don't understand." Lucien moved in front of his king and said, "I don't know how long I can keep you here, Sire...You need to be relocated to safety." Albert stood up and clenched his fist tightly and held it to his chest. "I can't leave my country...I cannot leave this city." Lucien bared his teeth and was ready to argue, but he calmed down. He understood that Albert loved his citizens and cared deeply for his country. "It doesn't matter..."

"Huh?"

"Your Majesty, please...Please listen to me. You cannot stay here. If something happens to YOU...this country's well being will be at stake. You are key, My Lord...KEY to your citizen's happiness and bright future. You cannot stay here. Please listen to me and listen to me well! Your life may be in danger. We don't know exactly what is going on here. We're just hiding underneath some person's house unaware of what could possibly occur. We don't know what may happen or if someone may find us down here...My duty is to lead you to safety and that may involve getting you-"

A long drawn out creaking began to sound from the door at the end of the pathway. Lucien quickly places himself between the entrance and King Albert, weapon drawn and ready to kill whoever entered. "Wait...don't attack..." said an all too well known voice. It was Serafino. He managed manuever is way through the water and into the first doorway that he could find while floating around in the water. Serafino was drenched from head to toe, but that was the least of his worries. The knight closed and locked the door behind him and approached the two. Lucien put away his weapon and Albert steps from behind Lucien and says, "Report."

"We need to leave the city! Sandorans...Sandorans have invaded the castle and have stationed their soldiers throughout the town. They're looking for both His Majesty Albert and myself. Albert...Albert...I mean, Your Majesty...You have to leave. They want to capture you and take you to Hellena Prison. One can only assume that Doel is pulling strings. Indels Castle has been seized and all of the knights are imprisoned underground and some of them are dead within the castle! We can't stay here. We just cannot. You need to leave. I have no clue as to what their next move is going to be, but don't let them capture you." Serafino was in a panic. He knew his duties and the only thing that he really needed to do was to properly carry them out and make sure that everyone was safe. King Albert had a pained look upon his face. To hear of how his men died fighting to protect the castle was too much for him, but he understood that these men died for a great cause. The King stood up and said, "I'm not leaving...I can't leave...I refuse to leave my people. I have to be here for my people if I am here then there may be a chance that no one will be harmed." Lucien gave a sorrowful look and then added in, "If...your presence really did keep people from being killed...then those knights would still be alive."

The king bit his lip and then ran his hand through his hair. He didn't know what to do. For once, as King, he didn't know what to do. He remained silent and continued to think. Lucien repositioned himself next to Serafino.

Lucien opened his mouth to say something but he then heard a loud voice echo across the plaza. Serafino walked up to the door and cracked the door slightly and listened. "Citizens of Bale, listen closely! I know one of you is hiding your King. The almighty King Albert of Serdio. Surrender him to Imperial Sandora! If you fail to comply, every five minutes we will slay one of your fellow citizens! Just to show you that we are serious! I am going to make an example of this woman!" The three then could hear a woman scream, one could assume that the Sandoran soldier was bringing her over to demonstrate his seriousness to the town. "Is there anyone who wishes to ante up King Albert before I slay this woman? No? Oh well!" A gut wrenching scream fills the area that the King and his knights resided in. They all turned their heads and King Albert covers his ears as they heard the woman give off her high pitched dying scream. Finally, silence filled the area, before a loud thud was heard. The woman's body was just tossed aside without a second thought. "You have five minutes! Five more minutes before I slay another one of you people. Who's next?! I know...how about this kid and his sister?! That should convince you all to tell us who is keeping the King in their home.

" I highly doubt there is just one of them out there..." Lucien states. "So we can't just barge out there and kill them all". Serafino rubs his temples and then sighs. "You're right...We can't assess the situation take the best method of action. Now, we know that we cannot run. They're killing off townspeople. They're practically just forcing His Majesty out...It's basically trying smoke us out! They know all too well that His Majesty Albert loves his people." Lucien and Serafino faced their king and awaited his decision. King Albert looks at both of his men and says, "I am..." the sound of dying screams cut him off as the children were slain in the middle of the plaza and their bodies tossed to the side. Albert couldn't take it anymore. He just couldn't. "I am giving my self up to them! I can't stand this anymore. I love my people too much to take much more of this senseless slaughter." The King rushed past his two knights and out of the door. Serafino didn't think twice, he followed after his King. Lucien followed suit.

"STOP!" Albert yelled. He looked distressed and his face was drenched in sweat. "Do not harm any more of my people!" The young king looked over at the pile of corpses that sat off to the side. The color flushed from his face and he gave a hard swallow. "Just take me away and do not harm any of my people." The Sandoran soldier approached the King and placed a single hand upon his chin and tilted his head back some. "So you're the little pretty boy that has been giving us so much trouble." he said with a disgusted look upon his face. He lets go of King Albert's chin and gives him a strong punch to the stomach. Albert doubled over and began gasping for breath. Saliva dripped from his mouth to the ground along with a small amount of contents from his stomach. The Sandoran soldier wasn't done yet, he spat upon the king to add more insult to injury. "You disgusting insect..." The soldier then said before finding himself at the blade of Serafino. "Touch him again...and your head will roll, you sick bastard." Serafino had a cold, hardened look upon his face. The young man wasn't afraid to decapitate the enemy, especially if they harm his Lord. "Do you want to test me? I'll do it...right here in front of your men, commander."

"Oh? So you're familiar with our rankings...Bravo, Reaper...Bravo."

"How do you know that name?!"

"You fought against us before...A man with red hair, that wielded a large scythe, and had unique green eyes. After you decimated most of my men single handedly...You became a well known threat."

"I guess word of me really did travel fast."

" I suggest that you back off...unless you enjoy seeing your king beaten again."

King Albert took a deep breath and then shouted. "Sir Almeric...Stand down! I agreed to turn myself in...there's no need for this violence." Serafino moved his weapon from the Commander's throat. He gives the Sandoran a look, scanning his black armor. The red head looks over at King Albert and said, "Yes, Your Majesty." He bowed and stood on the sidelines. Lucien was surprised. He found out that there was more to Serafino than he knew. So the timid young knight had a darker side. Serafino bared his teeth as he watched the lower ranked soldiers run up to their King and tie him up. The Commander looks down at the King and grabs him by his ponytail, forcefully pulling backward. "You...have been quite the troublesome one..." he then speaks to his soldiers. "Take him to the city's entrance...Fruegal's men should be here any minute." Lucien closed his eyes as the Sandorans began taking their King away. Serafino looked at King Albert and gave one final salute. "I am sorry, Your Majesty! I have failed you and Lavitz." He shouted. "Take care, Your Majesty!" Albert gives a gentle smile before disappearing around the corner. Lucien looks over at Serafino and states, "You have a lot to tell me. It seems as if there's a good bit about you that I do not know." The red headed knight scratches his head and gives a small grin. "This town is under martial law! Bale is under the command of Imperial Sandora, which means, no one leaves and no one enters this city. Anyone who is found violating this rule will be executed on spot, so do NOT test me nor my men." The commander instructs before turning to Serafino and then stating, "You two, come with me." Lucien and Serafino looked at each other before unwillingly following the commander, back to Indels Castle. Serafino could not shake the thought of King Albert being imprisoned by Imperial Sandora and being subdued to their vile acts within the quarters of Hellena Prison. The young knight turned his head towards the sky and looked at the clouds that hovered above. The only thing at this present time that he could think of was,

"Lavitz...please...please save us all...Serdio needs you most. For the sake of the citizens of Bale and for the sake of his Majesty Albert, himself..."