continuation of the fourth chapter
It was Tom's chance then. The elder brother failed. This must be the destiny of the youngest brother. So, Tom volunteered to search for Timber Lea. Amaryllis refused because his journeys won't be fruitful anyway that his stepsister was already dead. But Tom was determined and believed that she was still alive. For you see, unlike Hatchet, Tom felt empathy for their father, so, he must please him and become the hero. King Jack then prepared better equipment and horse for his youngest son's journey. Like the knight in shining armor, Tom travelled across Necropolis for many weeks, stopping in villages, hermitages and castles, and asking for a girl who could not see and hear.
One day, he came upon what was called the Sun Palace. He stayed in an inn outside the main castle of the royalties. He asked the maids about his stepsister, but the maids only scrubbed the floors with obvious secrecy in their tongues. It was the same with the stable boys and cooks. They would ignore him but their awkward aura showed that they indeed knew of a girl who could not see and hear. That night, Tom woke up by the murmurs of a procession towards the palace. He soon found Timber Lea among them. She was inside a glass casket, but Tom felt that her aura was still alive, only asleep. In a rush, he took his sword and went out to stop the black parade.
He fought the guards with great ease and frightened the other villagers away. He broke the glass casket, carried his stepsister in his arms and rode off into the forest. He didn't went too far until he encountered his brother, Hatchet, in the woods. The elder brother admitted that he didn't kill Timber Lea and their mother found out when his weakening aura gave him away. Because of this, he gained his young brother's trust and journeyed to the forest together and told each other's adventures. After many days, they became lost and soon, unwittingly came back to the Sun Palace where all the people were expecting the return of the "Precious One."
The two brothers were surrounded by the royal cavalry. "We can take them down, right, brother?" Tom remarked as he held out his sword. Then, Hatchet joined the other knights and said, "Arrest this man!" Tom could still defeat the cavalry but he was dumbfounded by the sudden betrayal of his brother. In the Sun Palace, Tom was bound in chains in front of the monarchies, Prince Bruin and his sister, Princess Helena. He watched his elder brother, Hatchet, being hailed as the hero and awarded with an accolade and trophies. "Stop this!" he shouted, "He is not the champion he seems to be! He is here to murder that innocent girl! You have it all wrong! He's the villain!"
Princess Helena giggled, "Oh, eternally clueless boy, you're the villain here. You kidnapped the Precious One."
Prince Bruin added, "Besides, she's going to be dead anyway."
It was then revealed that Timber Lea was going to be sacrificed to the dragon called Illuden. This horrified Tom as he was dragged away from his snickering brother and into a sad dungeon. That night, Tom listened to the funeral parade of his dear stepsister outside the palace and into the forbidden hills. Suddenly, the dungeon's doors were opened and a mysterious stranger freed the prince from the rusty bounds. Tom knew it was the loyal herald, Lionel. He gave the prince his sword back and instructions on how to save Timber Lea. When everything were as still as a tomb, Tom rode off with a horse given by Lionel.
When the moon was at its fullest, Tom perceived the silhouette of Timber Lea against its silver light upon the forbidden hills. Then, an enormous monster emerged from Hell. It was a scaly creature with six limbs and talons for hands. It was black, horned and slender. It had skeletal wings, a tail of poisonous spikes, and a lion's mane. Its jaws revealed megalithic teeth and a throat that spits acid. It had only one eye on its face, but it was closed. Its aura was made of the tortured souls from hell. And tonight, he's hungry again for some innocence. Tom seized the Precious One before the dragon sunk its teeth upon her. Then, it chased them through the forbidden hills.
"You're a fool, brother!" appeared Hatchet out of nowhere. He held his two swords in both hands and fought the dragon's sword-like claws. Tom also pulled out his sword and docked the dragon's tail though it came rolling down towards him. Hatchet's two swords then penetrated its scales and sliced through its entrails. But one sword got stuck near the ribs. Fierce with pain, the monster attempted to draw out the weapon, but broke it off, leaving the iron point rankling in his flesh. Now he twisted himself into a coil, then stretched himself out on the ground like a tree trunk. As he moved onwards Timber Lea, Tom made it first and thrust his sword into the opened jaws and pinned Illuden's head on a petrified tree. As he struggled in the agonies of death, Hatchet jumped on him and slashed the dragon's head off.
Tom turned to his stepsister and found her body covered with Illuden's blood and slowly her flesh was melting and revealing her ivory bones. The two brothers were horror-struck and took off their blood-spattered armors before it drips on their skin. Tom suddenly punched his brother right in the jaw to break, and blamed him for Timber Lea's terrible death. "Face it, Tom," Hatchet replied as he walked away with Illuden's head, "You're not the Hero here."
The sun rose, and the people of Sun Palace rejoiced for the death of Illuden and praised more and more the heroism of Prince Hatchet. While he was escorted away to be prepared for brunch with the royal family, Tom had the grim desire to turn the tables and intruded the castle. After dealing with the guards, he arrived at the den where Prince Bruin and Princess Helena were getting ready for their meal with the gallant Hatchet. "Your majesties," Tom pleaded, "He is not the hero he seems to be. He did not kill Illuden. It was I." Lionel, who was helping the two monarchs dress up, played along and asked, "Then, what proof do you have?"
"Hatchet indeed retrieved the head," Tom explained, "But if he really beheaded the monster, where is its cyclopean eye?" Prince Bruin opened the closed eye lid of the dragon head and found no eyeball. He gasped and Tom presented to him the Illuden's eye that Lionel had given him before. "Don't worry, Sir Tomas," Princess Helena, "You shall get what you deserve. But first, let us give Hatchet what he deserves." In the royal dining room, Prince Bruin and Princess Helena questioned Hatchet, "What happens to a person who claims that he defeated Illuden, but in truth, he didn't?"
At this point, Hatchet knew that Tom had successfully turned the tables, "That sly son of a fox…" But thinking quickly, Hatchet's answer must also benefit him though it will give the happy ending to his younger brother. He then turned to the two monarchs and answered, "This liar must be banished into the forbidden lands of Mortevalle." Everyone who heard the latter word gasped with horrific intensity. The two monarchs would rather torture and kill this man than throwing him to that place they call Mortevalle. They looked at Tom who was hiding in the shadowed corner. He nodded while his elder brother smirked at his plate of poached eggs.
Nervously, Prince Bruin and Princess Helena announced, "Thou hath decided thy own punishment!"