Hey guys! I'm back! I just noticed that it's more than a month since I last updated. Wow, time passes real fast, isn't it? Well, I finally have a break from school. Thank you very much for your patience. Since I haven't been writing for quite a long time, I sorry if you think that this chapter is slightly... formal, as in the way characters talk in the story.
Just a recap:
Last chapter, Richard and Wally sneaked off into Steel City, where Richard gave Rachel a suprise by being their in person with her and accompanied her for a some hours until he had to go back to Keystone City. Richard confessed to her that he loved her. (Note that they aren't married. Victor and Karen were, though.) Speaking of Karen, she was pregnant with Victor's child, and Victor was serving Azarath, in other words, Slade's army.
In this chapter, you are going to find out what happened after Richard bid farewell to Rachel.
Love Story
Chapter 29
"La…La…Laaahhh!"
"Shh… We are going to be caught if you continue your nuisance!" Richard hissed as he clasped Wally's mouth closed. "We're reaching!"
"Uhmph…" Wally pried Richard's fingers off his mouth. "Geez… What is there to be afraid of?"
Richard ignored Wally's question and continued to ride into Keystone City, with Wally lying across his horse's back. The trees attacked Richard, their gnarled twig fingers reaching out to snatch his hair. He then pushed past some branches that blocked his path and the charming black horse trod upon damp dead leaves. The howling wind and their heavy breathing were the only audible sound.
Just a couple of hours before, it was raining. The rain had made it difficult for Richard and his horse to travel in the forested short-cut that lead them straight to the castle's back gate, especially when there was a drunken man that was needed to be carried. However, the rain had stopped now; the moon peeked through quick-moving clouds, splashing silver on the soaked undergrowth and the narrow and sinuous path. In the intermittent moonlight the forests looked surreal, like enchanted woods in Fairytales. Trees loomed tall in the darkness, suddenly caught the light and seemed to bristle and straighten as they came near. Ferns drooped long tongues over their residence—strong, firm trees. Short, thick climbing plants reached out, and then curled back on themselves with crooked stems.
RxR
Richard gently pushed the door opened, Wally leaning against his shoulder. The rusted hinges of the door screamed as it swung open. Richard glanced around the unlit hall, where the moonlight was the only source of light.
"We have been waiting for both of your arrival."
Oops, Richard thought. He didn't like the familiar voice of the speaker.
Bruce stepped out into the silvery streaks of moonlight from the darkness of the darkness of the hall. His face darkened, betraying no emotions. Richard could practically see the tension in between them.
"I… I can explain!"
"Explain? What is there to explain! You and your new found best friend skipping downtown to enjoy yourselves when half of Strata[1] was being conquered by Slade?"
Richard was shocked from the news. Strata was Bruce's strongest allied country. No doubt, Slade already had spies eyeing over the nation. That would make Slade easier to attack and control part of Strata.
"I am very disappointed in you, Richard," Bruce shook his head, then left.
"You, old man!" Wally suddenly pointed at Bruce accusingly, his words echoed throughout the spacious hall.
Bruce turned back and looked at the drunken prince. Rudolph emerged from the darkness and stood beside Bruce, glaring at Wally as a means to order him to shut his mouth.
However, at that drunken state, Wally continued his nonsense. "Ol' man… You… Yes You! You'd really… think you could tell Rich off like that? You are p…praying for your death, I'm telling you! Do you know who I am? I… am Prince of Keystone City. If Father knows—"
"Wally West! I have had enough of you! I will not tolerate any more insolence from you. You will go back to your room to reflect on what you have done today!" Rudolph shouted, then summoned the servants to help him back to his room.
"I am very and truly sorry, Bruce. I hereby apologize to you on behalf of my son," Rudolph bowed down to Bruce.
Bruce hurriedly told him to rise. "Dispense the formalities. I have yet apologized to you on behalf of Richard."
"It is all right," Rudolph nodded to Bruce. "It is not early now, may you have a good night's rest."
"Yes, but I still have some… matters to settle with Richard," Bruce said silently.
"I see. Then I shall see you in the next morning."
RxR
"Richard."
The Adonis looked up. He didn't even like the sound of that.
"Please, answer me honestly: where were you?"
Richard remained silent. What should he say? Oh! I was happily fooling around with my girlfriend while half of Strata was under attacked.
"I went to the library."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, to do some research on battle skills."
"And what have you found?"
He was caught.
"Where were you?" Bruce hollered and slammed his fist on his desk for emphasis.
Richard averted his eyes from Bruce and glanced uneasily around Bruce's study room. It was filled with sketches of battle formations and attack patterns. There were also drawings of the human body, but pin pointing on the weak parts. Maps were careless strewn on the floor. The room looked somewhat intimidating.
"Where. Were. You." Bruce repeated.
Silence.
"Steel City."
RxR
"See there?" Slade pointed onto a point on the map. "We will begin from the Naczas Mountains[2]. Then we move forward to the central of Strata."
Malchior looked at him, raising a brow. He seemed unsure of Slade's move.
He cleared his throat and explained, "Look, for a strong country like Strata to be defeated under the hands of other kings, is a rather… rare thing."
He quickly continued, "But that doesn't mean that it is impossible."
He stopped to clear the phlegm in his throat. He had been having coughs lately. "The king would panic, as they were not prepared for this. The the king and his generals would be busily preparing for more ambush. In such a hurry, there would be flaws. Besides the rushing, the people of Strata would lose faith to their king. The king, then, would have to pay equal amount of attention to them, but he also has to prepare for the attacks, right? The Soon, chaos would spread over the entire Strata. From there, we strike. The king would be too devasted. It is either they fight their last battle, or surrender. In either way, they still have to lose."
"Allies?"
"What allies? After conquering Gotham, they have made no move to confront us. They are cowards!" Slade snickered.
"You certainly live up to your name, Deathstroke."
Both of the evil men laughed wickedly. Slade laughed, then soon started coughing wildly as if he had contracted some mad diseases.
"Oh my… Here," Malchior passed him a cup of tea. "It will help to sooth your cough."
"Tea, eh? I've never heard of tea relieving cough."
"Of course, but this is not any normal tea. It's my mother's grandmother's recipe. Of course you don't know about it. Since when were you interested in family matters?"
"If that is the case…" Slade took a sip of the tea.
"Hmm…" he closed his eyes with pleasure.
"Premium tea, from China," Malchior stated.
Slade looked at him quizzically, "Since when do you have premium tea here?"
"Oh, I always carry them around me."
"Really, what did you add? This is really… nice."
"Family secrets," Malchior winked.
RxR
"Listen up, soldiers!"
The soldiers were lined in neat rows, listening attentively to Bruce and Rudolph as they speak. The soldiers stood proudly, their chest puffing up, propelling their shoulders away from them. Their chins were held high. None of them fidgeted.
"You all have been under intense training for these few months," Bruce continued.
"Strata is under attack."
Despite the shocking news, the soldiers remained still, as still as statue. Their rock faces betraying no emotions.
"We have discussed with King Crockett[3] the plan," Rudolph began.
"We shall let Slade's army conquer Strata," Bruce announced, he never considered Slade as a King.
This time round, there were whispers among the troops of soldiers. All of them were unsure about this decision.
Rudolph explained, "By conquering such a powerful kingdom like Strata, Slade would get proud. He will put down his guard, for sure. He would get greedy, hungering for more kingdoms, forgetting about traps that they were slowly lured into."
Rudolph paused, waiting for any daring objections. However, there were still only whispers.
"They will head here, the last piece of land that holds the key of their victory. All of us knew, deep down inside, Keystone City is a kingdom that holds priceless value. Keystone City have been the envy of the neighboring kingdoms because it was once one of the largest kingdom in this continent," he continued. "Half of Keystone City has already been conquered by our enemy. Slade, especially, would be tempted to strike us, to control this land, which is also coincidently, our last hope."
Bruce injected, "We pretend that we back off during the battle in Strata, deliberately letting Slade have Strata. He will fall into our hidden trap in due course because of his pompous attitude."
The whisperings among the soldiers had died down then. Richard was also there when the instructions of the impending war in Strata was given. Despite the explanations, he still remained unconvinced. Even both the king had mutual feelings.
Could the plan work? Strata was their only hope to defend Slade's army from getting into Keystone as Strata had strong and powerful army forces. What if they make a mistake? It was just a shot in the dark that Slade would be lured into their trap.
Can they afford to risk it? But most importantly, is it worth to sacrisfy Strata for a wild guess?
Still, the doubt and suspicion that grew out of the underlying fate of their future were quietly poisoning the minds of Bruce, Rudolph, and Richard.
[1] Strata: Let's pretend there's such place called Strata. In fact, I did a quick reasearch and found out that, in the comics, Strata was an underground world, the prithplace of the second Terra.
[2] Naczas Mountains: mountain range that doesn't exist, made up by myself.
[3] King Crockett: Isaiah Crockett, alter-ego of Hot Spot
So... how is it? Did you get the mega hint I dropped?
Oh, thanks for the reviews you guys wrote (: