A/N - Now introducing... even more characters! Just to warn you, this chapter gets a little dark towards the end. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Also, thank you to Guest and Notchboots for your reviews.
Chapter 3 : Consequences
Meneas sighed as he read the reports on his desk. The mines had not been doing well lately and the miners were being forced to dig farther and deeper in order to find iron and other ores. The rest of the kingdom wasn't faring much better than the mines. Farmers were losing crops to void blight, the fish in the large lake by the city had all but disappeared. There were rumors that the southern desert state were being plagued by a drought and massive sandstorms. What's this world coming to? Meneas thought as he massaged the bridge of his nose. The only good thing that the king could see was that no monsters had been seen near any of the cities or major roadways. The last execution seemed to have done the job. I will have start to rationing the food supplies we have remaining. The approaching winter would be a hard one, there was no doubt in his mind. We will survive...no...we will overcome these trials that are facing us and come out even stronger, Meneas thought to himself as he rose from his chair and paced across the sleek dark oak floors to the open window. He stood there, hands clasped behind his back, staring down at the people of the city going about their normal lives unaware of the trouble that the kingdom was facing. Soon there won't be as many carefree smiles, Meneas thought sadly. A loud pounding at the heavy oak door interrupted the king's musings. "Come in," he commanded without looking away from the city below. The door swung open with little complaint. The same could not be said for the man who entered the office. "You need to do something about your son," growled a voice. Meneas turned around and his gaze landed on the disheveled form of the captain of the royal guard. "What has he done now Isac?" Meneas asked already dreading the answer, "I want a full report." Isac stood a little taller and launched into the full story of Kylar's antics. "Lady Jesame requested that Kylar join her for lessons in etiquette, she sent me to retrieve him. However, when I went to get Kylar and told him what Lady Jesame told me he bolted." Meneas closed his eyes, the beginnings of a headache starting to form at his temples. There was nothing Kylar hated more than lessons on manners with his mother. "Did you close the door before you told him what his mother wanted?" "Yes sir, I know that the boy doesn't like the lessons so I made sure to close the door, I even had one of my men stationed right outside to catch him if he managed to slip by me." The headache was getting worse. Meneas reached a hand up to rub one of his aching temples. "If you were prepared, how in Notch's name did he get away?" Isac rubbed the back of his neck and his cheeks turned red with embarrassment, "Uhhhh…..I tripped over the rug when I went to grab him when he looked like he was going to run. Once I got my feet under me, I looked around but the room was empty."
"And the man you left outside?" the king asked. "He said no one had exited the room while I was inside," Isac said with a hint of frustration, "I then gathered a group of my men and we spent the whole day searching the castle and the surrounding grounds. I sent some of the men down to the city even though Kylar is forbidden from entering the city without an escort." The captain paused and took a deep breath, "After we spent the majority of the day searching for him, we were heading back to tell Lady Jesame that we had been unable to relocate Kylar when Joseph saw him running down one of the halls that lead to the forbidden wing. We soon lost sight of him but there was nowhere else he could go, so we ran as fast as we could but we never caught up with him." The King watched as the man flushed a deeper shade of red. Whatever happened must have been really really bad if Isac was that embarrassed, Meneas thought and said, "Please continue." Isac fiddled with the hilt of the iron sword hanging at his belt and then he closed his eyes and said, "We were not really paying attention to anything other than finding Kylar that we didn't see the trap until it was too late."
"A trap!?" the king interrupted Isac, alarm in his voice, "Where the Nether did he get a trap that could take out several men?" Isac sighed, "Kylar used a mass of giant spider webs to block the hall, the damn things were practically invisible until we were in them." That explains why there are cobwebs in his beard, Meneas thought. I don't believe I have ever seen Isac this untidy. "None of my men were able to stop in time and so we all ended up trapped in the webs. I tried to reach my sword but all that entangled me further in the trap." Isac paused again, noticing the vein ticking near the king's temple, a sure indicator that King Meneas was very close to losing his temper. Maybe this wasn't the smartest idea... Isac thought as he watched the the king warily. "By all means, please continue," Meneas growled in a low threatening voice. "Yes m'lord, as I said we were all trapped, I yelled for Kylar to come and let us out of his trap," Isac sighed, "He came, but refused to release us from the spider webs and walked away." Isac decided to leave out the part where the walked into the shadows and disappeared in the shadows. Once he and his men had been freed they searched the hallway for anything that could have aided the boy in vanishing but there was nothing, not even the clear powder that came from a splash potion of invisibility. "How did you manage to escape the trap?" The king asked focusing solely on the captain. Isac shivered at the look in his king's eyes but he answered promptly, "We didn't, a maid that was polishing the lamps found us and ran to the guards yelling about a massive multi-legged monster in one of the old hallways. My men came running and the one in the lead got trapped with us. That was when they realized that it wasn't a new massive monster but a bunch of trapped men. It took an hour to free all my men and after they were freed I came straight here." Isac stopped speaking and waited for the king to come to a decision about what actions he would take. When he finally spoke the king's voice was like ice, "Since we obviously have a problem with spider webs, all the men who were caught in the web will scour the castle until there are no more spiderwebs."
"But sir, that is a job for the servants!" Isac exclaimed, "We have to guard the castle in case the city falls under attack." King Meneas smiled and Isac shuddered at the sight, nothing good ever happened when the king smiled like that, "Oh but that is why you and your men are doing this task, there might be giant spiders in the castle." "Yes sir," Isac said and turned to leave. He had just opened the door when Meneas said, "And Isac." The king paused and waited for the man to turn around. "When you find Kylar, send him up to my office." "Yes m'lord," Isac said and shut the door. He didn't start to breathe easier until he was halfway down the hall. You may have pushed your father too far this time Kylar, he thought, though my interference will have most likely have made whatever punishment you get worse and for that I'm sorry.
The sun had just risen above the trees when Kylar snuck into his bedchambers. He grimaced when the sound of the door shutting echoed loudly in the cavernous space. Kylar went over to the massive chest that stored his clothes and struggled to lift the lid. I do not see why mother insists that my clothing needs to be stored in this heavy thing, he thought as he reached inside to find his pajamas. It is not like I have all that much in there, just a couple pairs of light green shirts and dark green pants. His mother's words echoed in his mind. A proper prince wears only the colors of his kingdom. A proper prince only needs a few pairs of clothes. Why can't you be like a proper prince and do as I say? A proper prince is never filthy, so why is there dirt on your knees? Kylar frowned. Even in his mind, he could not escape his mother's constant lectures and complaints. Yawning, Kylar changed into the pajamas and made his way towards his bed. The black marble floor was as cold as ice and it slowly leached all of the warmth out of Kylar's feet until they were nearly as cold as the floor by the time he reached his bed. He had just gotten into bed and pulled up the covers when a sweetly feminine voice spoke into the darkness. "My, aren't we late getting to bed." Kylar shivered at the icy disdain that he could hear just below the thin veneer of sweetness. The voice continued to speak, "Don't you know that a proper prince always goes to bed early and rises with the sun." "Yes mother," he said hoping that she would just go away. The covers were ripped away from the bed and the sudden freezing draft made Kylar shiver even harder. "The sun is up so you must be too." Lady Jesame was suddenly right in front his face and Kylar jerked back to get farther from his mother. The queen looked down at him and, sneering, hauled Kylar up by the front of his pajama shirt. "Since you decided to skip etiquette lessons yesterday, I will spend the entire day teaching you how to behave properly," Jesame said, an ice cold fury erasing any hint of the false sweetness from before. "Get dressed," she said and tossed Kylar at the clothing chest. Kylar tried to roll out of the way but he still hit the corner chest with the side of his face. He hissed silently in pain as the impact opened a cut down his right cheek and caused the wound from earlier to start bleeding again. "Stand up Kylar, you are not going to get out of your lessons today," the queen said as she stalked over to the small boy who was lying in a heap on the floor. Kylar tried to rise but wasn't fast enough. He let out a small whimper as his mother's kick to his stomach flipped him onto his back. Lady Jesame let out a snort of disgust when she saw Kylar's bloody face. "Useless brat, all you ever do is make more work for me to do," she said, "now I shall have to fetch my lady's maid to clean your face." Turning away, his mother walked to his bedroom door. She was just about to leave when the door was thrown open, nearly hitting a very surprised Jesame. The queen recovered quickly. "Hello Isac," she said to the man standing in the doorway, "would you please fetch my lady's maid, Kylar seems to have taken a bit of a tumble and needs to be tended." "I am sorry m'lady, Sarah had to leave suddenly to take care of her deathly ill mother," Isac said as he looked around the queen to see the small form of the prince curled into a small ball on the floor. "In fact, she said that she wouldn't be able to return for at least two weeks," Isac continued. As he was saying this, he gestured behind his back to his second in command. The sound of running footsteps told Isac that Cor had gotten his silent message. "Then who will care for Kylar?" The worry in Lady Jesame's voice sounded real enough to Isac. Her eyes, on the other hand, were filled with annoyance rather than worry. If you want to know the truth, look for it in the eyes. His father's words echoing in his mind, Isac said, "Because of his misbehavior last night, Kylar will have to help my men and I clean all the spiderwebs in the castle and after that is done he is to report to me for the next three months for punishment." "What about his etiquette lessons?" The queen asked, anger leaking into her voice. "Unfortunately, there won't be any time for Kylar's lessons, he will be too busy working and training to do much else," Isac said. "That will not do," Jesame declared haughtily, "if Kylar has misbehaved, then that means he needs more lessons on manners not less." "I'm sorry m'lady, the king himself has commanded this." "Fine, if that is how it is then I suppose he will just have to make all of them up after he's done playing guard," Lady Jesame said as she stormed out of the room. Isac let out the breath he was holding and went over to check on the boy who was still lying on the floor. The captain knelt down by the prince, his dark green eyes meeting Kylar's pale blue ones. "Sarah's mother has been dead for three years," was all the boy said before he passed out.
When Kylar awoke he was no longer lying on the marble floor of his bedroom. Instead, his head rested on a pillow that, while not as comfortable as the ones on his bed, was still preferable to the floor. He attempted to sit up but a firm hand pushed him gently back until his head was once again lying on the pillow. "There will be none of that Kylar." The sound of Isac's voice caused Kylar to open his eyes and his head to glare at the man. "And why should I listen to you," he said, sitting up. The sudden burning pain that shot through his belly caused Kylar to fall back down with a groan. "Because that fall you took gave you a nasty bruise on your stomach in addition to those cuts on your face," Isac said giving Kylar a reproving glance as he resettled the blankets around the young prince's shoulders. Kylar sighed in defeat. His face was sore and his stomach felt like it was stabbed by a red-hot blade of pain. "Why did you lie to my mother?" Kylar asked the captain to distract himself from his aching body, "You could lose your rank if she found out." "I didn't exactly lie to her," Isac said, "I told her that Sarah's mother was deathly ill, being dead could be considered to be deathly ill." This managed to bring a small tired smile to Kylar's face. Closing his eyes he said, "I doubt that mother would care about the semantics, it is common knowledge that Sarah's mother has already died." Isac hesitated for a moment but then he reached out and lightly ruffled Kylar's blonde hair. "Since when has Lady Jesame ever been interested in anything that was common." This time, the boy let out a small pained laugh. "Get some rest Kylar, I did go to your father with my idea for your punishment after I got you settled and he agreed with my suggestion. However, you should know that he extended the time that you have to spend working to six months and you will have to sleep in the guard barracks." "That is fine," Kylar murmured sleepily, "I hate my bedroom anyway." Isac frowned at Kylar's words and opened his mouth to ask him about them but the boy had already fallen asleep. His injuries may be worse than I first thought if he is still tired after sleeping for the entire day. The captain moved to his chest at the end of the bed and retrieved a potion of healing. I'm sorry for this, he thought as he gently roused Kylar. The boy half opened sleepy eyes. "Drink this and then you can go back to sleep," he said as he tilted the bottle to the child's mouth. Kylar took a sip and grimaced at the horrible taste of the liquid. He raised his hand and tried to push the bottle away but all his weak attempt managed to do was spill a little of the potion on his face. "I know it tastes bad," Isac said, not unkindly, "but you have to drink a little more, it will make you feel better in the morning." Kylar sleepily glared at the disgusting red liquid but he drank the rest of it. " There, that wasn't so bad," Isac said as he set the now empty glass bottle on the small table near the head of the bed. With a snort of derision that told Isac exactly what he thought of the guard and his healing potion, Kylar turned over and went back to sleep. Isac sighed and bent down to blow out the lamp on the bedside table. After that task was done he climbed into the bed, careful not to jostle the sleeping boy, and slipped under the covers.
Just a little farther, Kylar thought as he looked up at the edge of the lower part of the tower roof. It is not even ten feet away, I can make it, all I have to do is climb a little more. His arms were trembling from the two hundred feet that he had already climbed. Kylar gripped the stone just above his head and pulled himself up. The wind whipped around him, tearing at his hair and clothes with icy claws. Kylar held the stone a little tighter, not wanting to be blown off the tower. He was just reaching up with his right foot when the stone beneath his other foot gave way and Kylar was left hanging by his hands. Kylar struggled to find another foothold but the wall, which had plenty of cracks in between the stones a few moments ago, was now as smooth as a pane of glass. Fighting to keep his grip, Kylar looked down and saw the faint glow of the torches seemingly thousands of feet below. Another strong gust of wind pulled at Kylar until he was hanging on by only his fingertips. The wind laughed in a cruel feminine voice, How long can you hold on little prince? The temperature dropped sharply and Kylar's fingers started to go numb. Gritting his teeth, Kylar tightened his hold on the tower and shouted, "I will hold on as long as I must!" Let's put that determination to the test, shall we. The voice said and claws ripped down Kylar's back. He screamed. The claws continued to dig into his flesh for what seemed like hours until his blood ran down his legs and dripped onto the castle roof far below his feet. Well, well, well, aren't we the stubborn one. Kylar looked up and saw the transparent form of a woman floating upside down above him. Where Irina had seemed to radiate a pale blue-white light, this woman appeared to be made of the darkest storm clouds. Hers was the cruel beauty of a deadly snake. She smiled and Kylar froze in terror. Instead of normal teeth, She had inch long fangs. Her smile has too many teeth, was a Kylar could think as his gaze fixated on her mouth. The woman reached down and dug her bloody claws into the backs of Kylar's hands. A good prince obeys the queen, she whispered in his ear as she ripped one of his hands away from the wall. And, as the queen, I command you to fall…. The rest of the woman's words were drowned out by a crash of thunder. A cloaked figure was briefly illuminated by the flash of lightning. One second he was standing on the top of the tower, in the next he had the woman was pinned to the wall by her throat. "Nightmares belong to me." He said in a low, thunderous, voice that seemed to come from everywhere. A white light lit up the woman's face as the man continued to speak, "And I do not take kindly to people stealing what is rightfully mine." The man reached back and a diamond sword formed in his hand. Swinging the blade forward, he sliced the woman in half. She screamed in fury and vanished. The cloaked man turned his glowing eyes towards where the young prince clung to the wall. Despite all his effort, Kylar's trembling fingers finally gave out and slipped from the stone. I do not want to die! he cried out in his mind as the tower wall rushed past him. Closing his eyes, Kylar waited for the deadly impact ….that never came. Instead, he felt strong arms wrap around him, transforming his fall into a gentle drift. Kylar opened his eyes to see Isac's face, glaring angrily upwards at the cloaked figure as the man continued to hover near the tower roof. As the captain floated down towards the castle roof, Kylar got a good look at his rescuer's face. It wasn't Isac after all. Although the two faces were nearly identical, Isac's had a few more scars. And his eyes, Kylar wondered a little bewilderedly as he sunk further into a deep, dreamless sleep. Why are his eyes blue?
Who are these mysterious characters that have appeared? What are your opinions of the members of the royal family and the captain of the royal guard? Who or what was that woman in Kylar's nightmare? Please leave a review and let me know.
A HUGE thank you to everyone who has Favorited or Followed A Hero's Return!