Chapter Forty Four
1163 Words
“So, let me try to understand this-“
“I would rather you not…”
“After me choosing to protect us from those morbid creatures-“
“There were no morbid creatures whatsoever-“
“You attacked the Prince of Chi and rendered him insentient?”
“I handled the situation how I saw fit…”
“By knocking him uncurious?”
“Why are you stating the obvious? It’s not like I denied what I did and besides, you were too afraid of your friend-“
“Hey hey hey! I was not afraid, need I remind you that it was I who gallantly guarded you and my Prince from those macabre creatures!”
“What macabre creatures? There were no creatures!”
“They were too!”
“They were not!”
Were too!”
“Were not-“
“Quiet! Both of you!”
Roselidah and Lawrence had been too engrossed in their intense argument to notice that Luke had begun regaining consciousness. The two were currently in front of each other, locked in what appeared to be an intense eye contest. Luke’s command had stopped their bickering but it had nothing to dissolve their discord.
“We need sleep…We haven’t slept a wink, the exhaustion is catching on to us…”
Luke darted his eyes between the witch and Lawrence. None of them were budging. Luke huffed, Lawrence was fighting a losing battle. The witch could easily tackle him, hadn’t she just knocked him unconscious a while ago?
Hadn’t he deserved it?
Memories of what had transpired earlier flooded his mind.
Stephen had located him.
Stephen had told him his father was dead.
Stephen had died.
His father had died.
Chi was without a leader.
It was beginning to sink in. The heart-wrenching facts were beginning to sink in. Lawrence and the witch were right. If Stephen had chosen to abandon his kind for humans then did it not stand to reason that he had chosen to remain loyal all this time? If he had borne an ulterior motive, he would have stricken at an opportune time during King Matthias’ reign, but he didn’t. Stephen had been a good friend to the king, to the late king. Stephen had been a good friend to him, to his brother, to his late mother. Stephen had been a good husband to his wife, Sabrina. Stephen had been an excellent advisor and a council elder. Stephen did not deserve his spite or his harsh judgment, Stephen deserved his respect.
But how would he be able to offer him that? Luke knew, in his mind, that this man was a good man, a man of honor. Yet he wasn’t. Stephen was also a deceitful…creature. Yes, he was no man. He was one of them. The creatures who wished to wipe humans from the face of the earth. Creatures that had put them within walls. Creatures who made them prisoners of their own fear. Stephen was just like his sister, a traitor.
Luke slightly shifted to regard the body before him. Stephen had died painfully. It was obvious that he had undergone great agony before he gave in. Luke took a deep breath before standing up. At first, his feet were wobbly and as a result, he stumbled a bit but as time trickled by, he steadied himself. His decision was geared by his desire to understand Stephen’s imminent actions. Not his past doings but his current ones. Stephen was aware of Luke’s mission. He was aware that Luke had gathered a few men and journeyed to the enchanted woods with the aim of reaching the magical realm. He knew that Luke’s mission entailed saving his brother and avenging his father’s distress in the first place. So yes, it was indeed possible that Stephen knew Luke would consider him a threat and plunge a vessel draped sword through him. Stephen was no stranger to combat. He was no stranger to tactic and tackle. No, Stephen knew sneaking up on Luke would lead to his own demise.
For some reason, Stephen had wanted to die. The question was why?
“Prince! Luke!”
Luke’s thoughts scattered unwillingly when a pebble hit him on his glabella. He glared at the caster of the stone. Lawrence averted eye contact.
“I did not realize that you two lovebirds had stopped arguing…”
“What!”
Luke almost laughed at the bewilderment on their faces. They were both alarmed, both prepared to launch into yet another argument.
“My parents fought a lot. So did Sabrina and Stephen…The thing is, these fights were not fueled by anger and vehemence. Rather, these arguments, heated arguments at that were fueled with passion and love…”
“Are you implying that I love this buffoon? He is a human, a cowardly human with a pea for a brain!”
“And you think you are a prize? What man or creature for that matter would want a cold witch who feeds on their fears?”
The air was suddenly covered with suffocating silence. The witch and the cowardly human separated significantly, both breathing and frothing. The prince stared on, unimpressed. No. he had never been in love. He had been flustered around beautiful women, he had been attracted to some nobles but love? Never. He had always had bigger things to worry about. Right now, he did have bigger things to worry about.
Like the fact that he no longer had a father. His hearo was dead.
He had a hard choice to make. He could either proceed with his mission of rescuing his brother or he could choose to fulfill his duty as Chi’s new king.
His brother needed him, his people needed him. How was he meant to choose between family and family?
But Baric is your blood.
And what of the people? Dawson taking the throne only meant one thing, trouble.
“What happens Rose?”
Roselidah’s desire to hurt the foolish human dissipated in an instance. The Prince, the human had referred to her by name. Was he finally tolerating the idea that creatures were not monsters after all? Could she finally tell him what he was? The more she hid it from him…
“What happens when what?”
Luke licked his dry, scaly lips and swallowed bulged air.
“What happens when my brother dies in your realm. What does his death really mean for everyone? Creatures and humans alike?”
“There is a high likelihood that the world would be destroyed…”
“You mean like an apocalypse? Armageddon?”
“Yes…”
Luke heaved a strained sigh. Who was he willing to be beside during Armageddon?
- Writer
