With Your Blood on My Hands
"I'm relying on you."
The words were said with affectionate sincerity and the sight of his smile always made Asbel smile back. He enjoyed the sound of them as he played them back in his head; at least he was needed somewhere.
"If fortune is on our side, it will not take too long to find the key," Richard remarked.
"It will be," Asbel said doubtlessly.
He did not think anything of walking up the stairs of the central tower while Richard stayed on the first floor. A quick glance revealed that there were few places to hide on the initial floor. He was trying to think ahead and ensure that no soldiers were hiding on the platform up above.
He was halfway up the stairs when he looked over to see Sophie ahead of him on the staircase on the far side of the room. He looked down to Richard, who had spotted the key and was quickly walking over to where it hung. Asbel paused for a moment, considering following Richard, but decided that finishing inspection of the area was more important.
Sophie's voice was the first thing that indicated something was wrong. "Someone's here."
The moment she spoke, the person hiding realized that he was found and made his move. The soldier stood up suddenly and jumped down from the platform above with his sword outstretched. Asbel turned around instantly and reached for his own sword out of instinct, but there was no matching the speed at which a person fell when they jumped.
The soldier jumped from such a height that his knees buckled when he landed and Asbel was fairly certain that he heard the sound of a crack, but a thousand times more important was the glint of silver as the soldier's sword arched downward. Asbel could only watch, moving much too slow, as Richard started to step back.
The prince was not fast enough and the sword cut deep into Richard's left shoulder. The sword continued downward, cutting his chest as well. Asbel was barely aware of what he was saying as he shouted the prince's name, reaching forward before grabbing the staircase handrail. Asbel hastily jumped over the railing, watching in horror as blood splattered over the floor. Richard went limp and fell forward. His body landed on the floor with the sickening thud of a corpse, but Asbel would not so much as comprehend that sound.
"I did it, I did it!" the soldier gasped as he stepped back, looking down at the prince's motionless body in disbelief. "I killed the prince!"
Pascal and Sophie tackled the soldier at the same time as Asbel ran to Richard's side and dropped to his knees beside him. His heart was racing faster than his mind could keep up with the situation. A puddle of blood was quickly forming around his body, staining his clothes red and dripping from the carpet onto the hard floor.
"I'm relying on you."
It just seemed too impossible, his mind would not so much as consider the chance that Richard could be gone from his life as brusquely as he reentered. On top of that, it just could not be possible that something would happen to Richard while under Asbel's protection.
"C'mon, just hang in there!" Asbel said as he took the prince's hand and placed another on his shoulder.
Asbel leaned forward to get a better look at Richard's face, which was mostly hidden by the long, blond hair that was becoming tainted from the expanding puddle of blood. There was too much blood, much too much blood. The knees of Asbel's pants became stained with blood and the feeling of its warmth threatened to pull him into a relation he would not accept.
Stay with me!
He found himself holding on to Richard's hand too tightly when he saw that his eyes were still open, though he lay there motionlessly. Somewhere in his mind, Asbel knew what that alone meant, though it still seemed all too impossible. The denial slipped into fear as his mind started to reel with questions of whether he was still breathing and if his heart was still beating. Asbel's hands started to shake as they became covered in his friend's blood.
"I'm relying on you."
The knees of his white pants were becoming dyed red. Bloodstains had a way of never coming out of white material. Asbel's thoughts whirled as he tried to think of what to do, though some part of him already frantically started to wonder if it was too little, too late.
What if I hadn't stopped to look at him again?
What if I just stayed by his side?
Asbel only let go when Richard blinked and suddenly jolted. He felt relieved at first, but then confused when Richard suddenly started to rise to his knees. Asbel moved to support him, watching as more blood fell to the floor. Asbel found himself stepping back when Richard suddenly rose to his feet unaided.
Asbel watched, half in disbelief as the prince turned around to the soldier Pascal and Sophie had apprehended. He was looking away from Asbel, but when he got a brief look at the prince's eyes, the sight made him blink. The color was…different?
No, it couldn't be.
"You filth!" Richard said, his voice furious and hoarse, as though he had not spoken in a long time.
"Richard?" Sophie questioned quietly, her eyes widening.
It was almost more of a question of who he was rather than just what he was doing. Asbel took a step to follow after him hesitantly as Richard stepped forward and grabbed the knight by the armor piece around his neck. The prince grabbed the man with both arms, as though one was never hurt.
Moving quicker than before, Richard jerked the soldier away from Pascal and Sophie and threw the man onto the meeting table. Asbel watched half in disbelief, wondering where the strength had come from. Regardless, he was already making excuses in his mind.
Adrenaline – or shock – or something.
Richard climbed up on the table and drew his sword with near ceremonial grace, lifting it high above his head. The soldier started to scramble away, holding his arm up in futile defense.
"How are you...you filthy scum!" he shouted, bringing his sword down upon the man's arm. "You'll pay for what you did to me. You'll suffer like no other!"
Pascal grimaced and looked away as she lifted a hand to cover Sophie's eyes. Asbel winced but could not bring himself to look away. Richard sliced at every joint that was unprotected by armor, sending splatters of blood across the table. He plunged his sword into the man's neck to finish him off, but lifted his sword to attack yet again.
"Richard, stop! That's enough!" Asbel shouted.
"It's not enough. It'll never be enough! It's nothing compared to the pain that I feel!"
The soldier had long stopped moving. Blood was splattered over Richard's boots and clothes while a puddle formed around the corpse and started to trickle toward the edge of the table.
"No, Richard!" Asbel shouted. "Stop it right now!"
"How dare you order me?" Richard demanded, straightening as he screamed the words.
"Richard…" he trailed off, looking at the prince disbelievingly.
His friend had never been a person to abuse his role of power, certainly not around friends. Almost instantaneously, Richard's shoulders fell and he lowered his sword without taking another slash at the soldier. Asbel saw his entire demeanor change, as though every trace of uncharacteristic wrath was gone.
"What…wait…" Richard said, sounding almost disoriented. "I'm sorry, Asbel. I didn't…I didn't mean to say that…"
Richard doubled over in pain and staggered as he distanced himself from the decapitated body. He quickly stepped off of the table and Asbel was at his side again, ready to help if he stumbled.
"Are you okay? Is it your chest?"
"I'll be okay," he said dismissively. "Let's just hurry to the south bridge. We have the key now."
The memory of Richard's eyes wide open as he lay perfectly still was too prominent in Asbel's memory to let the dismissal go so easily.
"Yeah, okay, but…" Asbel paused, deciding that agreeing would be the best way to start questioning him. "What about your wound?"
"I'm alright. He barely struck me. It's nothing to worry about," he said as he replaced his sword in its sheath.
"Nothing? But I saw how deep it was," Asbel countered.
Pascal looked at him curiously. "He's right! He actually looks just fine."
He was bleeding like crazy…
"All right. That's enough, Asbel," he said, sensing that the redhead still had something more to contest. "Open the gate already."
"R-right!" he stammered. "Got it."
The mess left behind was expansive and lurid. Asbel glanced over his shoulder at the sound of the soldier's blood dripping off the edge of the table, onto the chairs and floor.
"Richard, your sleeve…" Asbel trailed off, trying to do anything to delay his friend.
He glanced down at it impatiently. The fabric of the sleeve on Richard's jacket was only hanging by a thread. Asbel looked at it, his confusion deepening by the moment. By the state of the jacket, it was a miracle that Richard's arm was not severed.
"I suppose there's no point in keeping it," he said as he started to shrug out of it.
He shoved Asbel's arm away and took only one step forward before his knees buckled. Asbel was at his side before he hit the floor, with an arm around his waist to steady him.
"Just rest for a minute, alright?" Asbel said pleadingly.
Richard's irritated attitude was gone as suddenly as it came. He nodded and let Asbel guide him toward one of the chairs at the table. Asbel pulled Richard's left arm around his shoulders to give him more support, though also to get a closer look at it. As impossible as it seemed, what Pascal said was true; there was not so much as a scratch where blood had gushed from just a few minutes prior.
Did Sophie use an arte on him while apprehending that soldier?
But if she didn't why wouldn't she just say so?
"Pascal, Sophie, can you two go ahead and scout for more enemies?" Asbel asked. "Don't engage them if there are too many, just come get me if any of them come this way."
"Got it," Pascal said with a salute.
Asbel led him toward a chair at the table that was farthest away from the soldier's body. Subsequently, it was also closer to the blood Richard left behind. Both of the friends were still leaving footprints behind, creating a gruesome path.
"I don't know how you're even standing with all the blood you lost," Asbel said, unable to let the topic go.
"It's more of the soldier's," he lied. "I'm sorry for troubling you."
"I'm sorry for not getting to you quicker," he said, watching the prince carefully. "Do you want my coat? Your shirt is kind of a mess."
The entire left side of his white vest was stained red and much of the sleeve of the shirt underneath was in just as much disrepair. On top of that, there was still a notable tear where the sword cut through the fabric, even if there was no sign of a wound underneath.
"I don't want to trouble you," Richard said.
It seemed impossible that someone consistently so polite and considerate could have just decapitated someone. Asbel convinced himself that it was just a onetime reaction to suddenly being attacked. On top of that, he had not seen Richard truly react to the death of his father and upheaval of the kingdom since they came together again.
There are a thousand reasons. There have to be.
"Here," Asbel said as he removed his coat and handed it to him. "Your shirt is all cut up, it isn't safe to continue on like that, even if we are avoiding combat."
"Thank you…" he said, though he seemed a bit guilty to accept.
"Do you really feel up to continuing right away?" he asked hesitantly.
The question did not seem to upset Richard in the slightest. "We have almost finished our role here. I have to continue, a king should lead his men."
Asbel nodded, albeit hesitantly. Asbel pulled his sleeve over his hand and reached out to wipe the blood off of Richard's face. He grimaced, but did not object to the help. Asbel did not quite know what he was doing, but his mind was more ensnared on the fear for Richard's life than the episode that ensued.
"I'm sorry that I wasn't at your side…especially right after you said that you were relying on me." Asbel paused, looking around the room. "I could have prevented all this."
"Please, think nothing of it. You were carrying out your duties by surveying the whole area," he said. "We both need to finish what we came here to do."
Richard stood up, though he kept a hand on the back of the chair, presumably for support. Asbel followed suit, though he could not help but keep a watchful eye on his friend. He seemed normal again; Asbel cared too much to look for any signs to the contrary.
"I'll lead the way," Asbel said. "I won't let anything happen to you this time."
Richard smiled wearily as they started toward the exit. As they walked away, Asbel would not look back to the scene they left behind. He forced his thoughts back to what truly mattered, guided by words that kept repeating in the back of his mind.
"I'm relying on you."
Happy facts: "Stay with me!" was a canon thought from in game dialogue. =w=
A day late and a dollar short, but this was for RichAss Week Day Five! The prompt was fear. I actually have a second one that I'll finish…eventually…
As a little fun back story, I debated titles on this one. The title you see here was my initial idea, but when I started this, I was at work on a work computer.
A work computer that any employee can sign on.
And I thought to myself "HMM. MIGHT NOT BE THE BEST IDEA TO SAVE SOMETHING AS 'WITH YOUR BLOOD ON MY HANDS' WHERE ANY ONE OF MY CO-WORKERS CAN COME FIND IT."
So I saved it as Reliance but ultimately went with the original. XD