Chapter 5 - The King's Betrayal
1558 Words
Magnus could feel his heart racing and the adrenalin beginning to build deep inside as he tried to comprehend what in the world was happening to him. The King, his leader, a man he trusted more than anyone else had just commanded before his fellow soldiers that he be apprehended and charged with treason!
But he had not yet given a reason as to why.
Magus' eyes were now fixated as he glared straight at his accuser; they seemed darker than they usually were as his lips were both pressed tightly together in an effort to prevent him from saying anything to make matters worse... Not that matters could possibly be any worse than they were.
This had to be a joke; there was no way that he had done anything even remotely treasonous against the King and Magnus knew he was being falsely accused.
The question was why?
Why would his King agree to do this to him and who had put him up to it? Magnus had always been greatly loyal to the crown and a heroically noble Captain of the great Dremivian army. His mass of thoughts immediately silenced as a voice broke through.
“Guards, take him to the dungeon!” King Leofilliah suddenly commanded there before everyone in attendance, an evil grin spread across his face as if he were for some reason pleased with the turn of events.
As instructed, the guards began to pull Magnus by the arms in the direction of the main doorway of the Great Hall. It appeared that they were headed to the dungeons far below the castle where Magnus would be locked away until dawn and his imminent execution that followed.
As they made their way down the centre isle of the room Kaine, Liston, Payne, Henrick and some other soldiers watched in shock as the guards holding onto Magnus were fast approaching where they had been sitting.
Their eyes met with their Captain's as he suddenly spoke up.
“You all know me... you know I’ve not done this!” Magnus protested as he was pulled along forcefully by two armed guards, four more quickly moved in to help escort the prisoner; two in the front and two more at their rear.
Kaine’s hands clenched into fists at either side of him and both Henrick and Payne immediately noticed him doing it. They all knew each other well enough from countless years of serving together and it was obvious that when Kaine clenched his fists he was preparing himself mentally for something he was about to do. Something he probably shouldn't do.
Henrick looked over to Kaine who met his glance with clenched teeth. It was as if he was communicating something through mere expression alone, asking for forgiveness for what he was about to do.
“Kaine, don’t...” Henrick whispered with a frown.
“Don’t be stupid man.” Payne added.
The warnings of his fellow soldiers seemed to brush right off of him as he watched Magnus being marched along. This was not right and he would not choose to stand by and watch an innocent man forced to die. He knew Magnus, he knew there had to be something sinister going on here.
And in that very moment he had made his decision.
Kaine waited for the right moment to make his move. He looked at the closest guard’s sword as they began to approach, to pass by on the way out of the Great Hall. Their next stop would be the dungeon.
Before he had a chance to think too much about it Kaine quickly stood, reached for the sword and unsheathed it, kicking that guard in the back and drawing the other guard’s attention.
"Captain go, get out of here!" he bellowed desperately.
Magnus saw the distraction as his chance to fight back and used his shoulder to knock one of the guards off balance, then turning to the second guard and roundhouse punching him in the face.
The two guards who were behind Magnus had unsheathed their swords by now and they rushed at him, but he was in a rage and with his massive strength and skill in unarmed combat, they were no match.
One was grabbed by the shoulders and thrown backwards into the seated soldiers; food and silver platters crashed loudly on the floor as that guard landed with his back on the table with a grunt. The next guard came running at Magnus with his sword drawn but Magnus was far too quick and he grabbed the guard’s wrist, twisting him around and hoisting his arm upwards, snapping it in two places.
“Argh!”
Magnus took that guard’s sword and prepared himself in a fighting stance for the next guard who was moving in on him.
Meanwhile Kaine, who was also a skilled fighter was defending himself from one of the front guards. His long sword crashed loudly with that of the guard’s as he moved into a parry position and deflected the oncoming blade from hitting him in the shoulder.
“Magnus, we need to move, now!”
Magnus looked over towards Kaine and then back at the guard he had been fighting, kicking him in the stomach and swinging his sword down to finish him off.
“The doorway, move!” Magnus commanded and Kaine nodded.
Having formed a plan, both men went into full sprint towards the main entry of the Great Hall, but as they reached the doorway their eyes widened with fear. As they were abruptly forced to skid to a halt just outside the doorway Magnus stood watching the approaching armoured guards marching toward them from the open corridors.
Their escape route had been blocked off and there was no other way out!
"There are too many of them!" Magnus shouted, shaking his head, "We'll never make it through now."
Kaine looked back for a moment, a look of defeat fixed upon his face as he shook his head and started to apologise to his Captain for his apparent failure.
“I’m sor-”
He didn’t get to finish.
Kaine suddenly jolted forward mid-sentence as the sharp end of a long sword instantly appeared protruding from the middle of his chest. His eyes wide in both pain and surprise as he sucked in a sharp breath and looked down at his fatal wound.
“Kaine, NO!” Magnus shouted with malevolent fury gripping his very soul.
As the guard pulled his sword out of Kaine’s chest, Magnus forgot all intentions of escaping as he lunged forward and caught his friend who dropped to the ground below.
Cradling his fellow soldier in his arms for a moment, Magnus knew what a wound of this kind had meant for Kaine.
Kaine’s pupils were dilated, his skin had already become pale and his mouth was gaping wide open as he gasped painfully. A small amount of blood began pooling at the corner of his mouth as he looked up frantically at his Captain; the man he would follow into death itself.
He proceeded to cough and spluttered up a bit of blood onto his own chest.
Magnus looked down and shook his head violently from side to side in anger, scrunching up his face in an effort to conceal his inner rage for allowing this to happen.
A better question was ‘why’ did this have to happen? He needed to know.
“Why?” Magnus asked, his voice almost a whisper.
There was a hint of pain and heartache in it as he spoke, shaking his head from side to side with a forced smile as he spoke again.
“You stupid, brave fool... why would you help me?”
As he raised his head to look at Kaine again with tears in his eyes, Magnus froze.
Kaine’s eyes were still wide open but glazed over and his face held a blank expression. It was only then that Magnus had realised that Kaine was limp in his arms…
He was dead.
Magnus lowered his head again gritting his teeth together, still cradling Kaine’s lifeless body in his arms as the guards proceeded to surround him once more.
Without warning Magnus' world went black as he was suddenly knocked in the back of the head by the handle of a sword; he fell to the floor unconscious.
The guards worked fast to shackle his wrists behind his back as their treasonous Captain lay still on the cold stone floor. It appeared that they were taking no chances of Magnus regaining consciousness and starting another dangerous fight.
Two guards reached down and hoisted him up by his arms, beginning to drag his limp body through the entrance of the Great Hall as everyone there was forced to stand by and watch.
The soldiers continued down the corridor with six more accompanying guards escorting the prisoner for safety purposes.
Magnus was on his way to the dungeon and per his handed down sentence of death for treason to the crown it appeared that he was doomed to die…
The apparent traitor was to be beheaded at dawn.
- Writer
