Lost Kingdom

The year was 534 AD. The world was dark, full of sickness, starvation, crying orphans in the streets of Slovia, and mothers screaming while holding onto her dead children. Slovia was once a rich Kingdom full of laughter and healthy residences, but once Queen Elbora had fallen deathly ill, King William had shut down. knights always walked the streets offering any assistance that they could by the Kings command while he tend to his sick Queen. They both share a beautiful daughter, Princess Lily. She was just a month shy of turning twenty and the only child. While William never leaves Elbora side, Lily helps around the streets of Slovia. After six long months of pain, Queen Elbora had passed away. Enraged, King William commanded Lily to never step outside the Kingdom ever again. understanding her father's pain, she agrees. That same night, while in his bedroom alone, the king neels beside his bed and he prayed to god one last time. "I have served you, all my life. I have built churches for you, I gave you everything I had in me. I had taken this dead land and created a kingdom full of love and respect for you. How do you pay me? One child that I almost lost during her birth, my Queen is dead, my kingdom is dying. You hear those cries? Those are the cries of mother's, children, everyone who served you out there is sick! What have you unleashed in my home!? What did Lily do to have to barrie her mother near her birthday? What did she do for you to wipe the kingdom away before she had the chance to show you that she can do great things with you in her heart? You tell me! You have brought death here, now after this, you're no longer welcome here and neither are your followers!" He angrily gets up and rushes to the throne room calling out any soldiers/knights awake or around to meet him in the throne room. By the time William was settled on the throne, there were a dozen knights awaiting for him to tell them what's going on. Amongst the Knights was Kenneth the VI, the Princess's secret lover. The king takes a hand and starts to rub his temples. "We no longer serve under a murderous god." The Knights wanted to gasp, but they kept their posture. The king then stands up and walks infront of the Knights looking at them one by one. "I need ideas on how to get rid of this suffering that the people of Slovia have endured. I don't care how I NEED ANSWERS NOW! HOW DO WE GET RID OF THIS CURSE? WHY HAVE WE FALLEN UPON IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?" Then his Royal Advisor, Velodrome, came slithering to William. Kenneth couldn't help but stare at him. Velodrome has had his eyes on the Princess since she became a woman. Kenneth wished nothing more then for him to catch the sickness and drop like the bug he was. Velodrome started to whisper in Williams ear. "There is a woman in the wood who has powers beyond our understanding. She may help us." The king became pale and muttered "swamp witch?" Velodrome slowly shook his head yes. Kenneth then sees Lily hiding behind a pillar trying to listen. Then they both make eye contact. Her eyes were blood shot red and her face was puffy from the crying for her mother. Kenneth's heart broke into a million pieces for her. He hated that he can't go up to her and hold her right now. One day he will get to hold her for ever how long they wish, but for now with everything happening, they'll have to wait longer. Lily and Kenneth were going to tell her parents their love on her birthday during her celebration ceremony. Lily puts her pointer finger up to her lips to tell Kenneth to shush. He gives her a small but sweet smirk letting her know that it's okay and he will. The king starts to speak again. "gather your things, saddle your horses, we have a three day journey ahead of us." " Us your Highness?" Asked another knight. William looked at the knight, "I'm joining you." The king leaves in a hurry to get ready. Lily stays put awaiting for Kenneth to meet with her. Lily's court lady, Rose, was about to pass by Kenneth when he called her over to him. "Rose, can you please tell Lily to meet me in her room?" Rose knew about them and thought it was so romantic. If it wasn't for her, Lily and Kenneth wouldn't be able to see each other as much as they have been for the past three years. "I was about to tell you that you'd better say bye to Lily. She needs to hear you and hold you soon. She's so torn about the queens passing." They both give each other a friendly smile and go their separate ways for now. Rose walks up to Lily and tells her to go to her room and that he will meet her there as soon as he can. She gives Rose a huge hug. They both have been so close. Rose was her court lady since they both were 10. Roses parents and siblings died after their home burnt to the ground because a torch had fallen. Rose wasn't home at the time, she left to go trade eggs for goats milk for her baby sister since her mom could not produce milk anymore. Lily then heads up to her room waiting for Kenneth. Kenneth met up with his squire, David, to get ready for the long road ahead of them. "Seeing Lily before you leave?" Kenneth looked at him in a serious way, "Yes, but while I am gone, can you please keep an eye out for her? I don't feel comfortable with that snake Velodrome being here while she is. I know she can handle herself but she just lost her mom. So just have her back if something happens?" David understood. Velodrome can't ride anymore since his back had broke when he was a child from tree climbing and had fallen. "Go see her. With the king this anxious to leave you will be lucky to make it to her door. Go I will take care of the rest." Kenneth thanked David and sprints to Lily. When he reaches to her room door, he sees that she's just walking in. They both get in there, he quickly takes off the chest piece to his armour and grabs Lily and hugs her tight. He knows she needed a real warm hug, not a cold bumpy one from armour. She just started to cry harder. "I can't believe she's gone. I just saw her. She looks so peaceful after being so sick for a long time. Kenneth, how am I suppose to go on without her? She was not only my mother or queen, she was my best friend." Kenneth starts to play with her brown curly hair. It usually soothes her. "When I get back from this, I'm gonna ask to take a few days to myself and spend every minute with you. I'll hide under the bed if I have too. I am so sorry that I can't be here for you." He gently kisses her forehead. His hair is starting to fall out of his bun. She takes his hand and has him sit on her chair so she can put it up. She also loves playing with his hair. It was a beautiful dirty blond just like his stallions. She takes her brush and gently brushes his hair. Once she was finished, she rested her head on his. "Please tell me you'll be alright with that snake here." She lets out a little giggle. "Yes darling, You just worry about getting back home to me. Also," she lifts her head and then sits on his lap and continues, "when you return, after my mother's burial, we will give it a couple days then we shall tell my father about us." Kenneth gave her the are you kidding look. "With my mother now gone, it has made me realize that life is indeed short, she wont be there to see us getting married, crowned, having many children, nothing. I want us to be one. I want to be yours and you become mine. My father will need to understand that. Plus with my mother gone, who knows how he will turn out to be like. Will he be the same great king, or will he turn cold and turn his back on everyone. I need to know that the kingdom will thrive soon. I need your help while you're out there. Keep an eye on my father, and make sure his intentions to help OUR kingdom are not dark." They just stare at each other. Without saying words, they said a lot with that stare. The stare of them knowing that very soon, their secret will come out, and they'll finally be able to be together without hiding it. There was a knock on the door. Lily quickly gets up and sees Rose quickly walking in and shutting the door so no wandering eyes will be able to peek in on them. "I am so sorry to intrude my lady, but sir they're almost ready. David told me that you're all set." They both give their thanks and Rose slips through the door. Kenneth lets out a sigh. The urge to not leave grows stronger with each passing moment. He stands up as Lily picks up his chest armour that he took off to hug her. She helps him get ready trying to hold back the tears. "Wait." She then goes to her hope chest and pulls something small out. She walks to him and then shoves her handkerchief down his shirt and places it next to his heart. "There, now remember when you're out there, I'll be right here waiting for you. Bring this back to me, I'll marry you before my 20th birthday. I mean it. You come back to me." He can see that her eyes start to tear up. He gives her one last hug before turning to the door and heading out to the stables. Lily just stood there dreading the worst. She had to go and say good bye to her father before he leaves. Kenneth reaches the stable where David is patiently waiting for him. " Thanks again, i was able to say good bye. If everything works out, soon you won't need to do this for me anymore." David was confused and was about to say something when he was interrupted by another knight riding to them. "Kenneth are you ready?" Kenneth puts his helmet on gets on his horse, then the knight and him ride off to the front of the castle where everyone else is. When They got there he sees all the Knights dressed up and ready to go, the king was giving Lily a hug on the last step. William then gets on his horse. "We ride until dark." He then takes off. Kenneth waited to be the last one to leave so he can stare at Lily as long as he can. She sneaks a blow kiss to him and then waves. Then Kenneth if off. It hasn't even been two hours and Kenneth misses Lily so much. They haven't been apart this long and this far before when they started seeing each other. He starts to think how much he's going to hold Lily when he gets back and never letting her go. Then he starts to panic a little bit with the thought of how will her father react once the cats out of the bag. They ride until the sun sets and set up camp by a little creek. They managed to get a deer for dinner. After everyone is asleep in their tents, Kenneth stays by the fire and plays with Lily's Handkerchief. He gives it a little sniff here and there. It does smell like her. While he presses it against his face as away of holding her, Reginald, another knight sits next to Kenneth. "When do you plan on telling him?" He asks Kenneth. "Im sorry?" Reginald takes a sip of water. "Don't pull that. Son, I've only seen three men fall head over heels for a lady. One being my dad with my mom, me with my lady, and you. I would never have thought I'd see the day where a knight would marry a princess." Kenneth shushed him. "Nah he is passed out. Poor guy drank himself to sleep. I guess any man who had just lost their wife would. But, I don't think that is the only reason for his little party of one." He then takes another sip. Kenneth is curious to know what he meant by that. "Look, I'm not suppose to tell anyone about where we are heading, but since you're gonna be the new king soon, I think you should know." He then leans close to Kenneth to whisper it to him. "We are going to see the swamp witch." Kenneth instantly turned pale. The swamp witch is an evil, manipulating, old hag. Rumor is that if you make a deal with her, her price is sometimes deadly. "The Kings snitch I mean advisor was explaining that she has big powers that can wipe out the curse that Slovia has been dealing with this past year. The only thing is that since this is a huge favor that means a huge price." Kenneth. feared for the future of the kingdom and the Kings mental state. It's the next day after the king and the Knights ate wild boar for breakfast they were on their way. They were on the trail for only two hours when they cone across a village. The whole place was ashes. Smoke and the smell of death filled the air. Reginald catches up to Kenneth. "What the hell happened here?" Kenneth asked out loud. They all stop at what was once the front gate. The doors were nothing but a pile of splinters. The fence had blood and deep scratches all over the place. "Bears maybe?" Said another knight." Then Reginald gets off his horse and walks to where the doors were and kneels down. He picks something up and blows away the dust and ashes off of it. He then stands up, clutches the item, slowly looks around, "It was the Nauls." Everyone went silent. Nauls were a vicious group of people who shown no mercy to anyone or anything. They were feared by everyone. No one has been able to stop them for over a hundred years. Some say that they're demons from the east. Others say that they're shape shifters. What we do know is that they're not far from Slovia. "Search for survivors". The king commanded. Kenneth goes to Reginald and see what he found. Reginald holds out his hand to give it to Kenneth, He takes it then Reginald goes to the village. Kenneth finds a claw in his hand. It's no claw he's ever seen. It was huge but very old looking. He then takes it to his horse and puts it in his sack. Maybe it'll come in handy with how big it is. He then joins the rest of the group. Charred bodies are everywhere. Some adult and some children. There was no sign of any survivors. Kenneth caught up to Reginald. He was just leaving a hug that wasn't burnt. I went to go inside, he puts his arm out infront of me and shakes his head no. I then see another knight coming out. Once that guy moved, there was just enough light from the sun going through the door for me to see a corner of a straw bassinet that was covered in blood. Kenneth's legs and arms started to feel numb, his blood felt like ice. His heart was pounding so hard that he can feel it in his teeth. He then heard the other knight telling the king trying to keep it down, "it must to have been a nursery for the whole village." Kenneth's eyes started to burn between the mental shock he's going through and the smoke from the bodies and buildings. "We leave now. There is nothing we can do for them now. When he get home and the fires gone, we will get more help and give them a burial that they deserve." Everyone starts to head to the front. Everyone was silent to the horses, during the ride, up until they camped out for the night. Everyone was sitting by the fire getting warm. It was turning into autumn so the nights were very cold. "Who are the Naul?" The new knight, Stephenson the III, asked. The king takes a sip of water, clears his throat and begins to tell the story of the Naul. "We don't know if they were men once and had turned into demons or if they can change into anything they want too. They kill anything that crosses their path. May it be a man, a child, they're done for. Either they can't be killed or there are so many that any number killed will never EVER make a difference. They've been around for at least a hundred years but are believed to be much much longer then that. Sometimes they take women who are never seen again. We pretty much know what happens to them". Kenneth then gets up and heads to his sleeping spot full of furs. He just lays there tossing and turning. He can't help but worry for Lily. If they do make it to Slovia, with how sick everyone is, and us being out here, they'll never make it. We need to either get home or hurry with this plan. He flips over and digs into his pack. He pulls out Lily's handkerchief and holds it tight. He misses her so much. He was finally able to go to sleep. He started dreaming about Lily. She was standing by the fountain that is at the center of the kingdom. She looks at him and smiles so beautifully. Then her smile fades and then he sees every thing on fire. Screaming Slovins echo everywhere. Then he hears a weird screeching yell. Kenneth wakes up with that screeching still yelling. It was still dark so you can't see five feet infront of you. You can't tell where the noise is coming from. He then heard movement close by. He reaches for his sword that's beside him. The screeching stops. When he was about to pull his sword from its sleeve something makes the horses start getting defensive. He can hear something walking around the camp. Then this oder hits him. It was so foul it made his eyes water and nose burn. It was a mixture of blood, musty, skunk, and crap. Reginald then grabs his shoulder which made Kenneth jump. Reginald tells him to shush. " It's a lone Naul." Kenneth looks past Reginald's shoulder and sees the rest of the Knights ready with swords drawn. hunched down with a small torch for some light. He then looks at Reginald and whispers "I thought they hunt in huge groups." Reg stares into the darkness. "That's what is making us nervous". Behind the group pops out a hairy looking man. He starts taking his club and swings and hits everyone. Kenneth gets up fast and joins in. The screeching was horrible. A knight managed to knock the club out of this things hand. It then started to use its claws. He got one of the knights. Reg managed to distract the thing by whistling. Then Kenneth takes his sword and swings at this beast. It's arm falls to the ground. Then the screeching intensified. They all covered their ears from the pain it was causing. The beast then runs into the darkness. Once the screeching couldn't be heard anymore, they looked for the badly wounded and dead. The king took part in the battle. He walked up to the chopped off arm and uses his sword to pick it up to inspect it. The claws were huge. It looked human but not at the same time. Reg goes to the king to let him know the damage. "One dead and one wounded". The sun starts to rise. "Let me talk to him." The king then scrapes the arm off of his sword and walks to the man whose wounded. Kenneth and a couple other Knights circle around the arm. As soon as the sun light lands on the arm, it started to melt! Green, white, and red puss was all that was left. The king goes up to the knight. It was the new guy. "Son, how bad are you hurt?" Stephenson looks at his leg, it has a huge gash. "You're going to have to go back. You can't continue with us." Stephen starts to tear up, He would rather die helping his people then to go home with his tail between his legs. "I need you to also bring back Fredrick also. His wife needs to know and give him the burial he deserves. We can't bring him with us, and i will not leave him here." He didn't have a choice after that. He couldn't do that to another knight and his family. Another knight takes some of the kings alcohol and pours it on a cloth and puts it on Stephens would and tightens it up. During clean up and getting stephen and Fredrick's body ready, Kenneth writes a letter to Lily. Once the camp is picked up and everyone is ready, he walks up to stephen, "Please give this to the Princess." Stephen shakes his head yes. "Dont peek and say no word to anyone else." Stephen looks at him, "I give you my word." He then goes with his horse and Fredrick's horse carrying his body on it tightly. Reg walks up to Ken and they both watch him leave. "Think he will make it?" Reg lets out a big sigh. "For his family, Fredrick's family, and the kingdom's sake, i hope he does." Then he goes to his horse. Then they all take off to finish this quest. They should reach the witches place in a few hours. Once they made it to the woods the horses start acting a bit nervous. It was very dense. They kept on smacking themselves because of bugs. "We should see it any time now". The king called out. Not one minute later, they come across a run down cabin with moss growing all over it. The king gets off his horse and ties the reign to a branch. Everyone else does the same. They start to walk to the cabin trying to be quiet. The leaves and twigs crunching under their feet are enough to have an animal a quarter mile away hear them. They get up to the door and see bones of animals dangling. Before the king could raise his hand to knock, he hears a raspy voice coming from inside. "I've been expecting you, come in your majesty." Reg and Ken go in first to make sure there were no surprises also expecting them. They slowly open the door and it created along creeeeeeeek. It was dark and dusty. Reg and Ken walk in first. When they make it to a table, all the candles lite up at the same time. What startled them the most was an old hag was standing in front of them. She has long grey filthy hair, wrinkles, and was surprisingly short. "Hello boys, care to let him know he can come in?" She walks to one of her chairs very slowly and sits down. The king then walks in and grabs the other chair. She then gets a jar and starts putting random stuff in it. "So your kingdom is under a curse, you have no idea why or how. You need help getting rid of it. I can help. Question is, what do I get out of it?" The king then takes a sack that was hanging on his belt off and opens it on the table. Gold coins, rubies, and pearls fall out. "Now now, you're going to have to think of something else. Do I look like a young woman who can just pack up and move? I don't need wealth your Highness." Reg starts to pick up the coins and jewels and pearls. "What is it that you want then?" The old hag starts to smile. "A bride for my son. Nothing more, BUT I get to choose who!" Before she can get another word out, "Deal" The king stated. Then her smile grew larger. "Tis' done." She finished filling the jar and then seeling it. "Take this to your water source. Anything and anyone who drinks it will be cured. Crops also. I'll be there in after the last day of winter to claim a bride for my son." She slides the jar to the king. It was so cold. She gets up and turns to look out the window. "I do not know how it started but that will stop it. It's getting dark, you better be on your way. I need rest." The king gets up and they all rush to the door besides Ken. He walks up to the hag and pulls out the claw. "Have an idea what they are?" She turns and looks at it. She gently takes it and inspects it. "A Naul claw. They were once men. They worked for a noble king. Then one day, they turned on him and his family. They r***d the the queen and their children right in front of him. Once they all had their way they killed them leaving the king to suffer. That is where they made their mistake. He made a deal with the devil to curse them and their families. Turning them into these creatures who can only come out at night. Do you mind if I keep this?" Ken was shocked by the story. He shakes his head yes and heads out the door. They're all waiting for him. Ken gets on his horse now determined to get back. "What was all that about?" Reg asked Ken. "Just trying to find out more about the Naul. So far nothing useful really, But we do know one thing, they can't be out in the sun."