Isle of the Damned

Another fight

We'd arrived at the castle by nightfall. It'd been a long day and although the rain had eased up it still continued in light bursts. We'd stopped for food along the way due to Myla's complaining and unfortunately, we'd managed to get a bit of mud on out cothes. We couldn't do anything about it due to the fear of getting them dirtied again before we reached the castle. We'd just change there.  

We'd just tied up our horses, unsure of where the stables were. They weren't anywhere obvious and we just wanted to get inside as it'd been such a long day and there was still business to attend to. we started heading towards the castle doors.

"Do you think Analia will be a problem?" Ava was saying whilst looking at James who'd been in this region quite a few times as a spy. 

"She's young and horrifically biased but her parents aren't. They're genuine, rational people who've been told a lot of lies. I believe that they'll give us a fair trial. I don't know if Analia would go against her parents if they decided we weren't a threat as I don't know a great deal about her. I've always focused on her parents since she's too young to really do anything at the moment."

"How old is she?" Ava asked.

James frowned as he tried to remember her age, "I believe she's just turned seventeen recently."

"In that case, if she really hates us she'll now be old enough to come after us," Ava voiced her concerns worryingly biting her lip.

"Don't worry if she tries anything either her parents will stop her or we will. She's basically a kid anyway, what's she going to do? Throw a tantrum?" James reassured, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"We've got you, Ava. Evander, Alvaro, Arabella and I will definitely stop any physical attack she can throw our way. We will protect you," Myla said, butting into their conversation. 

Ava smiled warmly as we walked up to the door. We were met with guards, all of them seeming a little more threatening than the ones in Helena's kingdom. I wasn't sure if that was because of the black armour they wore or the array of weapons I could see in their hands; they were ready to attack on sight. 

"We're here to speak to the King and Queen of Zemaris," I voiced loudly. 

The guards looked me up and down before speaking, "And what is your purpose, peasant?" 

I wad deeply confused by what they said until I looked around at everyone else and saw what they meant. All of us were severely muddy and the little bit of rain that had fallen on our way here had caused our clothes to hang heavily. Our hair was a mess due to the wind when riding the horses and we all looked severely tired. We truly looked horrific.

I didn't know how the guard felt about our home and so I decided to withhold some of the truth. 

"I am here to discuss matters associated with the Isle of the damned," I said holding my head high, ready to gauge his response. I couldn't see their faces due to the helmets but I could hear how they felt through what they spoke.

"We'll let you in but if you cause any trouble we won't hesitate to get rid of you," he said in a stern voice. I guess he assumed we were here to spill information on the isle.

"Follow me, I'll take you to the royal family," a guard said motioning for us to follow him. 

"Do you mind if we take a minute to get freshened up? I don't feel like we can meet them looking like this," Myla asked the guard as we walked in. 

"I suppose. You do look awful," he judgingly said," Go use the rooms over there. I'll wait here. There better be no funny business."

We all combed out our hair, washed using a basin and changed into unsullied clothes. Everyone looked severely different. We were lucky that we took our belongings in with us. Normally, we'd have left them in a secure place at the stables but since we couldn't locate it we took everything in with us. Something finally worked out perfectly for us, I guess. 

We had all left the rooms to meet with the guard. He seemed confused as to why didn't look impoverished anymore. He moved his head scanning each one of us up and down.

"Who are you and why are you here? Did you think looking substandard would get you close enough to the royal family to harm them?" He interrogated. He pulled his mace into a defensive position. 

"We are here to speak to Queen Braelynn and King Teo about matters concerning the isle. I am Queen Arabella. Queen of Kamaria. They know we are coming, show us the way," I demanded, hoping the authority in my voice was enough to deter him from doing anything rash. There was no point lying, I don't think it'd go well for us given how people think about us already.

"GUARDS! TRESSPASERS!" 

I guess my command wasn't sufficient enough after all. Within seconds we were surrounded by guards. All with weapons drawn, ready to kill us if that's what was required of them. They circled us and I supposed it was time for our second fight. Our group reacted by forming a circle around Ava and James holding our own trusty weaponry close to us whilst dropping our luggage on the floor. 

"Has the royal family not mentioned we were coming?" I asked in surprise looking at the man who'd called for help. 

"They did. We just don't think malignant, wicked fiends should be allowed to even enter these lands," he hissed at us.

"We are NOT monsters. We are simply human too. All we're asking for is a chance you to hear us out," I argued.

"We'd never give pure evil the chance to live. Our lives would be improved by your death," the guard growled as he went to attack me. As soon as he went to attack the others headed in as well. The odds were against us but I knew we were going to fight like hell.

 Swords, maces, axes and glaves were clashing against one another. I got the great luck of fighting the man who'd called the others over here. He seemed tall and bulky. His armour covered his face but I had a feeling he was an intimidating person.

Our weapons collided a few times before he managed to grab my arm by surprise. He pulled me up against the wall, his arm pressed against my neck as he pointed the tip of his sword direct at my stomach. He was a good fighter and I assumed he was probably the leader, given everyone else seemed to act on his cues. 

"You're scum," he spat in my face pressing the edge of the sword further into my stomach, "Drop your sword and I'll let you watch as all you're friends die." He let out a laugh, it reminded me of the man in the forest and I felt vile rise into my mouth. I was disgusted.

I dropped my sword knowing that I wouldn't be able to get a good angle or really pierce through his armour from where I could reach. I looked around as he continued to crush my neck. The place was in pandemonium. Ava and James were no longer well protected and were working together to keep each other from being killed. The twins have been in two fights and were tired. They were barely able to hold a good fight. I don't think they'll be able to last much longer. Myla was doing great but like me, she was struggling due to the thick armour. Most weren't great fighters but they were protected by what they wore. I was unlucky enough to pick the leader, who would almost certainly be the best fighter here whilst he was in thick, metal armour. 

"You're an i***t you know, Seth is a mad man and listening to his ramblings is lunacy," I said, grabbing his attention. I stared at him in the eyes, refusing to break eye contact. I slowly lifted my leg to my hand, hoping he wouldn't notice. 

" King Seth is right. There's no way your traitorous ancestors deserted the war and you came out fine. You're all demonic creatures. f*****g cursed the lot of you."

"Are you aware of how insane you sound? All of our ancestors, including yours, have done something wrong in the past and I don't see any of you lot being 'cursed' or 'demonic'," I tried to reason. Something like doubt seemed to flicker through what I could see of his eyes but it quickly returned into hate.

"Our ancestors didn't desert the almighty war. No other crime is equivalent," He said in a crazed voice. It was bizarre how brainwashed he was. I wish it could be changed but King Seth had clearly done his job well. 

My hand finally reached the dagger I kept attached to my leg. I pulled it out slowly and before he had a chance to react I stabbed him in the eye. He immediately fell to the ground in pain and luckily, due to his helmet, I didn't have to see how gruesome his injury was. I didn't want to kill him as that might have looked like a threat to the royals and so this was my only option to deter him. Everywhere else was way too protected. 

I quickly looked round to see what I could do and as soon as my eyes grazed over Evander he fell to the floor with a loud thud. My heart sank. Were we all going to be able to survive this?