Kings Ride By

I'm at war with the world

And they try to pull me into the dark

I Struggle to find my faith

As I'm slipping from your arms

Chapter 1

With her three year old daughter, Rhiannon in her arms, Carolyn Fry stood in her room staring out the window at the bleak landscape covered in graves, a washed out sun doing it's best to illuminate the planet.

To this day it still reminded her of the stories she had heard of post-apocalyptic worlds. But, she supposed, it was to be expected. The Necromongers had nearly decimated the planet along with its people, but thanks to the Furyan's sheer ruthlessness and bloodlust they hadn't gone down easily.

She had to chuckle to herself. Riddick would probably be pissed to know that he was a walk in the park compared to these people. At least he had his own moral code, she sighed, thinking back to another lifetime that included a girl named Jack and drug addicted Merc.

Not these people. She had seen abhorrent things in the two years she had been here, done deplorable things in the name of survival, had horrific things done to her all in the name of punishing Riddick.

She, and anything they considered his, was the closest they had been to having their pound of flesh. But, as far as Carolyn was concerned they had taken their pound of flesh and then some.

They had taken everything from her, even her name, as they forced their Furyan attributes upon her. Everything but Rhiannon, and even she had been marked emotionally and psychologically. Fucking Furyans and their fucking head games.

One of the brothers had lost fingers when he had dared to touch Rhiannon shortly after their capture and arrival. Now, while none of them would dare lay a hand on her, she had been made to watch terrible things, been made to watch her mother do terrible things. Carolyn sighed as she stroked her daughter's hair, before starting another lullaby.

Their life had already been chaotic enough with Riddick popping in and out never knowing when he would show up. While he had stayed well hidden all those years, he could never seem to stay away.

Rhiannon was the result. The last time they had seen him was just before the Necromongers had attacked Helion Prime and Imam had come up with his half-baked plan to put a bounty on Riddicks head to force him into helping.

He had refused to help when Jack had left and joined up with Mercs and thinking back to their last conversation, Carolyn knew better than anyone that no one made Riddick do anything.

Two years now, with no hope, no promise of salvation, having her very life ripped from her body. She had learned to show no emotion outside of this room. Showing emotion was bad. Very bad. They used it to twist and turn her inside out till they had shattered her self control, not happy till they had her crashing to her knees in front of them, begging and pleading with her very soul for it to stop.

She knew their history well, knew their traditions well. Knew everything that had happened to these people from the day of Riddick's birth to the present. Had been shown mental image after mental image till her brain was twisted into thinking it had happened to her. Knew of their hatred of him, for him. How they blamed him, and in their warped way of thinking, her, for the destruction brought down upon their heads by the prediction of an Elemental.

She had seen several from the Elemental race tortured. Been made to watch, sometimes actually participate. To not, meant instant death. These people were sadistically twisted and none more so than Riddick's own mother. Bellona.

Carolyn hated the woman. Hoped that she burned in the fiery bowels of whatever hell she went to. The woman was pure evil and wanted nothing more than to see her own son crushed to pieces in front of her. She had had her husband murdered less than a year after Carolyn's arrival here and been slowing descending into madness every since.

Placing a finally sleeping Rhiannon in her bed, Carolyn couldn't help but smile fondly, casting a glance at her door to make sure she was still alone, at the thought of Riddick's father, Rainier. Oh, the man had scared the hell out of her make no mistake about it, but he had also been the kindest to her in his own way and had adored Rhiannon.

Instead of raping her mind for every minuscule piece of information she had about Riddick, he asked. Instead of filling her mind with images so heinous that she was nearly catatonic, he told her of their history, of the atrocities that had been committed, the losses that they had suffered.

He was interested in knowing about the man his son had become, often asking her to speculate on his actions. Riddick was much like his father, she mused.

Three months after her capture, Rainier had returned from a trip to their "high country" and discovered that Bellona had Carolyn's face marked with the sign of a traitor during his absence. Rainier had protested loud and long before sending Bellona across the room with the back of his hand.

Bellona had sought revenge on them both just a few months later, having Carolyn and Riddick's son cut from her body and killed in front of them and Rhiannon. Rainier had been enraged, publicly flogging Bellona himself in front of the entire village and having the mark of a murderer branded upon her.

Carolyn's hand unconsciously found its way to the scar on her belly. It had been Rainier that had forced her to choose a name for the child, explaining to her that all Furyan children were given names that meant warrior.

Carolyn had wondered at the time what it had meant that Riddick was named after Kings. So, she had decided on the name Baron Jedediah Riddick. Beloved young warrior.

It was Rainier that had the infant buried so that she could see the grave from her window and Rainier that had held her back while shovelfuls of dirt covered her child and she attempted to throw herself into the grave with his tiny cold body. Rainier had become the rock on which she stood.

Bellona wasted no time in exacting her revenge after her latest humiliation. By the end of the month Rainier was dead and Carolyn had done what she had to do in order to survive the woman's wrath.

Riddick's brother, Raynor, had showed the tiniest bit of compassion by having Rainier laid to rest next to his grandson. The grief, which had been raw and oozing in the beginning, had faded leaving in its place a never-ending wistfulness buried deeply in that place that she rarely had the chance to go to.

A knock on her door jolted her out of her thoughts and she hurriedly straightened, closing the shutters and moving into the middle of the room closing her mind off as she straightened her gauntlets and called out for the person to enter.

A smile broke out on her face as her visitor closed the door tightly behind him, giving a brief bow before placing a kiss upon her cheek. "Aunt Ryder," he said with a gleam in his eye that reminded Carolyn so very much of Riddick.

Bandi was the son of Riddick's other brother, Bhaltair. Bhaltair was the right hand man to his mother having helped in the assassination of his father, Rainier. He hated Carolyn almost as much as his mother and found great amusement in renaming her Ryder, the mounted warrior, upon hearing that she was pregnant with Riddick's second child. He was also the brother to lose his fingers for touching her daughter.

Bandi's mother had died in a fall down the stairs shortly after Carolyn's arrival and she and the young man had grown close. Even now she could tell that he had been up to no good.

Sitting in a chair to pull on her boots she asked him, "And just what is it you've been up to today to put such a cocky grin on your face."

"Harassing Grandmother Bellona," He replied, a smirk covering one side of his face.

Carolyn raised an eyebrow waiting for him to continue. "I spent the day asking her to tell me about my mother. Every question I could think of. As smart as she and father think they are they've never figured out that I saw him push her."

Carolyn was on her feet in an instant, covering his mouth with her hand hissing in his face. "You fool! They'll kill you if they ever find out. Promise me you'll be careful! Promise me! I can't lose you, as well."

Bandi carefully removed her hand from his mouth. "I promise, Aunt Ryder. I'm sorry."

Carolyn looked into his eyes and shook her head. "Brat."

He smiled and shrugged. "Speaking of which, she wants to see you."

"Wonderful." Carolyn said shaking her head as she finished dressing.

Just before she opened the door to her room, she turned placing a kiss on the young mans cheek. "I saw the flowers."

"It's his birthday. How could I forget?"