In the Time of Knights and Dragons: Part III
Hello again, GX fans. We, Peach and 15animefreak15, would like to thank you all for staying with us through this series of tales and offering your suggestions. We appreciate it and your reading and reviews. So now, we have reached the final chapter in the story of a prince and princess whose marriage meant a peace between two kingdoms. Bring out your tissues and hankies, everyone. You're about to need them. Please don't hate us…
Last time, Prince Syrus of the British Kingdom and Princess Anne of the Hapsburg Kingdom got married, sealing the peace between their two kingdoms. They had a joyous wedding feast and night. So what does the future hold for them? Read on…
Disclaimer: Please see the previous chapter. In addition, we don't own the Hungarian Horntail dragon. We sincerely hope that Ms. J.K. Rowling doesn't mind us borrowing it.
Warning: More married love, violence and character death. Sadly, the last is not a typo. You are going to need tissues, everyone.
The morning after Prince Syrus and Princess Anne married and knew each other for the first time, they slept, cuddled close. The morning light seeping in through the window and the call of the birds alerted them that it was time to wake up.
"Mmm, is it morning?" she murmured, opening her blue eyes to look at her husband and lover. "My prince..." She rubbed his arm lovingly.
He yawned, one arm around her and the other moving to inter-lock their fingers. "It seems that it is, my princess," Syrus murmured back, gazing at his lover with his silvery gray eyes.
She kissed him again. "I do not believe we must leave the bed, yet..."
He returned the kiss and smiled. "No, I believe we can rest in a while longer. We did have a long night..."
"Who said anything about resting?" she asked with a slightly naughty smile.
He blinked, then got a glint in his eye. "You make a very good point, my love."
And so again, they enjoyed what was their right through marriage. 'I hope we have a boy like my love,' she thought, willing that she would conceive or had conceived.
'If we have a boy, then he shall be our heir. If we have a girl, she shall be beautiful like Anne. But either way, we shall have many children,' he thought happily.
Finally again, it was over and they lay in each other's arms. "That was not painful at all," Anne sighed softly in the afterglow.
"That is good to hear. I never wish to hurt you, my love," Prince Syrus breathed, kissing her forehead. They lay at rest for quite a while after that, and then fell asleep for a time. They awoke in the middle of the day and dressed, smiling.
The royal couple walked down to the dining room, and were greeted by the older couples. "Good morrow, son," William greeted.
"Good morrow, Father," Syrus greeted cheerfully. All signs of his nervousness and worry were gone.
"Everything went well, little brother?" Zane asked softly.
"Yes, it did, brother," Syrus answered equally softly with a broad smile.
Queen Darla and Queen Katherine exchanged glances and smiled at the princess. "Good morrow, Anne," Katherine greeted knowingly.
"Yes, good morrow. I am guessing that things went well last night?" Darla greeted.
Anne nodded at her husband's mother. "It was...wonderful," she answered softly, with a mysterious smile. Both sets of parents were glad that both the wedding, and the night after had gone smoothly. Everything seemed to finally be peaceful and in place for a happy lasting peace.
They ate lunch, and then a young page ran into the room. "SIRES! TROUBLE!" The boy was sweaty from running and out of breath.
Both families were alarmed by this, and the two kings stood from their chairs. "Catch your breath, boy, and tell us what is going on," King Alexander stated in a commanding yet gentle voice.
"Yes, please tell us, young page," William added.
"Sires...a great beast is heading toward us...a fearsome beast, a dragon! It seems unstoppable."
Queen Darla gasped. "A dragon?!"
"Yes, the fearsome Hungarian Horntail," the page panted.
"A Horntail?" Katherine moaned. "Those come from south of our borders...They killed many of our soldiers..."
"They are one of the most dangerous types of dragon, and their hide is thick. It would take many knights to bring one down," Alexander added, frowning.
"We must stop it before it harms our subjects," William said. "Alexander, shall we fight?"
Alexander nodded. "Yes, we must fight alongside your men, William. I am sorry that my own are not here to help."
"It is all right...We can stop this dragon," William said.
"Syrus, we must get our armor," Zane added.
Syrus had never fought anything before, let alone a dragon. But he knew what he needed to do. "Yes, let us go quickly before the dragon gets too close."
"Be careful, my love," Anne said, eyes wide with fear.
Syrus moved to her, wrapping his arms around her in a loving embrace. "I will be. You be careful as well, all right? If the dragon reaches the castle..."
"I will, love, but...I don't know if I could live if you," she murmured, "but...if I am carrying our babe..."
"I will not allow that dragon to take a single life if I can help it, my love. And that includes mine. But if I do not return...live on, and perhaps we shall still have an heir."
She nodded, frightened. And then, there was a bone-chilling roar in the distance. "He's here!" Katherine gasped.
"I have to go. Remember, be careful," the prince whispered, giving his new bride a quick kiss.
"I will be," she whispered back, kissing him. 'Please, Lord, keep him safe,' the young bride prayed in her head. He pulled away and ran with his brother, father, and father-in-law to get suited for battle.
The four men dressed quickly. "The dragon must be stopped. The castle battlements will hold," William muttered, "but why would a Horntail attack us like this?"
"I do not know. Perhaps it is old and was driven here by hunger because it could not hunt," Alexander replied.
"Then perhaps we can drive it off...But if it is injured, perhaps we can put it out of its misery, King Alexander," Zane said.
"We can try. The main danger with a Horntail is its tail. It can crush a man, breaking every bone in his body," the Hapsburg king explained.
"Then let's beat it quickly, Alexander," William said quickly.
"Yes, that would be wise. Stay in front of it and watch out for its tail. That is all the advice I can give," Alexander explained.
And so the men went out of the castle on their horses. The women sat in the castle. "Syrus," Anne moaned in her chair, looking out the windows, trying to see.
"Do not worry, Anne. They have trained for such a battle as this. And Syrus is no exception," Darla soothed.
Katherine hugged her daughter to her. "It will be all right, love. Things will be all right."
"I cannot be a widow, Mother, not when we have only been married a day!" Anne whimpered.
"Anne, your father, my husband, and my eldest son will make sure that he returns safely," Darla stated, determination in her voice.
Outside, the dragon had made it past the village and was flying toward the castle. It was injured and in pain and not conscious of wanting to hurt humans. They were a source of food and annoyance. The sticks the villagers threw just annoyed it, so it blew flames. A wooden hut or two in its path were set ablaze, along with one of the many fields the serfs tended. The villagers screamed in terror, many of the attacking force having also been seared by the fire.
"It's injured, Father," Zane observed from his horse. "Its neck is wounded!"
"I can see. We must kill the poor creature," William yelled back as they rode.
"Yes, and fast. Before it does more damage to the village and the fields!" Syrus said, eyes wide at the destruction before them. But the dragon wasn't interested in the fields or the village now. It was fixated on the castle.
"No...it's headed for the castle! We must stop it!" Alexander stated. The men changed course, following the dragon.
Meanwhile, Anne trembled. "I have to see what's going on!" she exclaimed.
"Anne, what do you mean?" Katherine asked.
"You must not go near the outer walls, Anne. It is too dangerous!" Darla stated.
"I have to see if Syrus is all right!" the princess exclaimed, running for the stairs. She raced to a battlement and saw the beast flying toward the castle, and her husband, father, father-in-law and brother-in-law in hot pursuit.
"How can we attack it if it is so high up??" Syrus called out to the others.
"It will fly close to us, but we must draw it to us, son!" William shouted. "OI! DRAGON!" he shouted to the beast. The dragon turned its gaze to the ground below, seeing the four humans on horseback. It roared at them and slowed, but only because it was watching where it was going and didn't want to crash into the castle wall.
The other men took up the call and up on the battlement, Anne moaned. "Syrus..." She worried for her father, father-in-law and brother-in-law, of course, but her husband was foremost in her thoughts.
Finally, the dragon grew annoyed at all of the shouting and turned, circling above the four royal men in agitation. "It stopped flying toward the castle, Father!" Syrus said.
And then the dragon moved right for them. It roared and Zane drew his sword. "We must make this quick!" The other three drew their swords as well, and the dragon flew upward in an instant when it saw them. However, the pain from its injury increased its anger, and it dove back down again.
Zane thrust his sword as his father did the same. The weak point in the dragon was near its jugular vein, so if they could open the vein, death would be quick. "Aim for the vein in its neck!" William shouted. Zane's sword scraped the dragon's hide, but it managed to dodge William's and Syrus's blades. Alexander also got in a hit, but it did little damage.
"It is moving too fast, Father!" Syrus called as it soared upward again.
"We'll get it, son!" William shouted and managed to score a hit in the same place as Alexander. Each hit to that place in the hide weakened it further, so a well-placed hit might just kill the dragon.
"Brother, try again!" Zane shouted.
Syrus got a determined expression on his face as the dragon dove toward them once more. At the last moment, he had his steed rear up and he struck with his sword. It sliced through the dragon's tough hide and with a roar it staggered mid-flight. "Father, brother, I did it!" the youngest prince called happily. Unfortunately, in its struggle to stay aloft, the dragon had turned, swinging its tail around in the process. Syrus didn't see it coming, and had the wind knocked out of him as the dragon's tail crashed into his armor. He fell off the horse and hit the ground hard, getting knocked unconscious.
Up on the battlement, Anne's heart had beaten wildly. And now, she shrieked. "SYRUS!" She was certain she'd seen her beloved killed, as there was a sudden gout of blood. This caused her heart to race catastrophically. "Sy...rus," she gasped, feeling her chest clench painfully, and she sank to the stone, unconscious as her mother and mother-in-law raced up to her.
"ANNE!" Katherine shrieked.
"Oh, no! Anne, can you hear us?! Anne!" Darla called out as both mothers kneeled beside the still princess. But Anne was not responding.
Katherine checked her daughter's body. "Her heart isn't beating right...And her breathing is too irregular. We must send a messenger and get the healers." The Hapsburg queen's brown eyes were wide with fear and pain.
"Yes, I'll go now and do that. You remain here with her," Darla replied, worried as she stood and ran back into the castle. She first ordered the royal physicians and healers to the balcony, then sent a messenger to tell the four outside the castle walls. The healers moved and quickly got the princess back to her and Syrus's chambers, and worked feverishly over the young woman.
Meanwhile, the messenger ran to the scene where the dragon had just been confirmed dead. Prince Zane knelt over his brother. "Syrus! Little brother, wake up!" he said over again.
Finally, the young prince groaned and opened his eyes, vision blurred for a moment until it focused. "Brother...?"
"Oh, thank heaven. I thought for a moment...but you are all right..."
"MY LORDS!" the messenger shouted, coming to them.
"What is it? Has something happened at the castle?" Alexander asked while Zane helped his brother onto his feet.
"Yes...something is wrong with the princess...she has collapsed..." The four men looked at each other, pained. William placed his hand on Alexander's shoulder and Zane held his brother. "You...you must hurry," the messenger said, pained.
"Anne," Alexander murmured; he could guess why she had collapsed.
Syrus's eyes were wide with fear. "Anne...no..." And so the men raced back into the castle. They reached the bedchamber and Katherine was standing near the bedside in tears. Darla was fighting tears of her own, even if Anne wasn't her actual daughter.
Alexander pulled his wife into his arms, obviously pained as well at seeing his daughter in such a condition. "Oh, Anne... Katherine, what happened?"
"She saw the battle...we don't know what she saw...but...the healers cannot save her," Katherine moaned painfully. The girl's skin was pale and she was struggling for every breath.
"No," Alexander moaned when he learned that he would lose his only daughter.
Syrus's eyes were wide as he went to Anne's bedside. "She...she must have seen me...when I was knocked off of my horse..."
At the sound of her husband's voice, Anne stirred and opened her blue eyes for the last time. "Syrus..."
Syrus took her hand in his. "Anne...I am not dead. The dragon did not kill me, but...you are..." He couldn't bring himself to say the awful word. It would be too real then, as if he were accepting it.
"I thought...oh, my love," she moaned weakly.
"Anne, my love, please...you must hang on," he begged, tears coming.
"I'm...it hurts...but...you're alive," she whispered. She was trying to stay, but her body was very weak.
Syrus felt his own heart breaking, but it was a different kind of pain. "Anne...I am sorry...forgive me, I should not have left you..."
"You...had to protect us all...oh, darling...please don't blame yourself," she murmured, fighting the blackness.
"I know...I did kill the dragon, but...now I am going to lose you..." His heart contracted painfully at the thought. It was unbearable.
"I'll be with you...always..."
Katherine was sobbing into her husband's chest and Darla was doing the same. Zane and his father were also fighting tears. They had won the day, but Syrus was about to lose the love of his life.
Syrus knew this was it; his princess was slipping away from him. He leaned down, and placed one last kiss on her lips. She kissed back. Her strength faded and she met his eyes for the last time. "Syrus...I...love...you..." And her eyes closed for the very last time. And then, her breath rattled in her chest and she was gone.
"Anne," the prince moaned brokenly. He didn't want to believe she was dead, but he knew that she was. He wanted to scream her name to the Heavens, so that they might hear him and bring her back. But his voice left him, and all he could do was shake as tears streamed down his face. 'I...I have lost her,' he thought, his heart ripping.
The royal physician moved close to the bed and checked the girl's body. "The princess...is in Heaven now," he pronounced sadly. Katherine began sobbing harder. Alexander could no longer hold back his tears, and both parents held each other for comfort. Darla continued to sob against William, knowing her son was in the greatest pain.
William held his wife tightly. And then Zane moved to his brother. "She loved you so much..."
"Br-Brother...why...why did she ha-have to die??" Syrus asked, still holding her now-slack hand.
"I do not know," the older prince answered, tears in his eyes. "She just...passed...I'm sorry..."
Syrus went to his knees and whimpered, "Anne...I wish that dragon had killed me...at least we would be together in Heaven..."
"Don't wish that," Zane murmured. Syrus seemed to lose his voice after that, and just continued to cry. He knew wishing to be dead was a horrible thing, but he was hurting so much.
"Z-Zane," William managed, "let...us...give him a moment."
"Yes, Father," Zane answered, moving away.
The two families left the bedroom to give Syrus some time alone, and after a minute or so he found that he had run out of tears. He looked at his beloved, her hand limp in his. A resolve seemed to take hold of the widowed prince as he stood, looking down at her still face. "Anne... oh, Anne...I love you so much. It hurts...more than any injury I could ever get. I would fight and kill a hundred Horntails if it would bring you back to me. But it will not...nothing will. I know that killing oneself is a sin, but...I just cannot live with this pain. Without you...I have lost the will to do so... I am just not strong enough...I am sorry, my love..."
Syrus let go of her hand and unsheathed the dagger on his belt. "Lord, please forgive my sin. For I cannot live without the maiden that I love. Please allow me to be in Heaven with her. Amen." As Syrus finished, he raised the dagger, and then plunged it into his heart. He gritted his teeth at the pain, blood pouring out of the wound as he fell onto the bed. "Anne...if I am forgiven...then I shall see you soon...my love..."he said weakly. As the world slipped away, he managed to take the hand of his love, hoping that he would see her again. Within seconds, the young prince was dead.
Outside the room, Katherine found her voice. "She was...so happy with him..." Her youngest daughter, her baby, was dead and it broke the mother's heart. She loved Prince Syrus as a second son and to see him grieve like this was a physical pain.
Darla dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief, still shaking with slight dry sobs. "Yes, Syrus...oh, William, he looked heart-broken..." She had grown to love Anne, too, as a daughter, and she had looked forward to the joy of grandchildren.
"He...loves her so much...To lose her this way...I only hope he can live on without her," the British king said, not knowing that his youngest son had just taken his life.
"Perhaps we should check on him, Father, Mother," Zane said, aching for his brother and his dead bride. If he could turn back time and save Anne so Syrus would be happy, Zane would do it. He only hoped his brother could somehow carry on without her in this life.
"That may be wise...that statement he made worries me," Darla replied, frowning.
The royal families soon found out they'd had reason to worry. The room was quiet. "Brother...OH NO!" Zane shouted. The once bright linen of the bed was now soaked in crimson blood.
"Syrus! My son!" William cried out in anguish.
"SYRUS!" Darla cried, falling to her knees as fresh tears streamed down her face. She buried her face in her hands, having lost her beloved son when she believed he would live.
Katherine's face was white. "Oh, no...NO!"
Alexander's eyes were wide with shock. "No, this is a tragedy," he murmured in anguish. They saw the prince had died holding his beloved's hand, the tears still on his cheeks at her loss.
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A short time later, messengers were sent through the kingdoms to announce the deaths of the beloved prince and princess. The people mourned for days, from serf to nobleman, for the young ones who had died so tragically. Anne and Syrus were buried side by side a day after their deaths in their bridal wear, holding hands. In the Hapsburg kingdom, Prince Rudolph grieved the loss of his sister and immediately commissioned an artist to make a statue of the young lovers. Likewise, in the British Kingdom, Prince Zane did much the same so that his kind-hearted brother and his bride would not be forgotten. Sometime afterward, the Hapsburg royals sent for Anne's older cousin, Lady Katrina, a girl with hair the color of fire and eyes the green of Britain's hills. She agreed to marry Prince Zane, continuing the two kingdoms' alliance.
Yes, we killed them off… And yes, we cried while writing this. But though our teen royal couple is dead, they will meet again in the final two chapters of this series. Next time, we will meet a boy named Bastion and a girl named Violetta in the city of Milan in the time of the great Italian Renaissance. This tale may not have major antagonism because we figured that one couple deserved a break in their past lifetime together to make up for what they'll get in the 21st century. But it will have some comedy for you. So stay tuned for "Music of the Night…" So until then, please read, review and stay tuned. Thank you!