Dullahan: The Headless Knight

Part 4

“What have you done . . .” Felix mumbled as he rested on Sasha's bed, he couldn't breathe right, so much that he could hear his heart pumping blood within his chest.

“Sasha doesn't have to fight, Felix, there must be anoth—”

“She picked up the gauntlet!” Felix interrupted Roger. As much as he hated it, and even though he was King, for the first time in his life he felt more powerless than he could ever remember. “If she betrays the Knight's code then all of our credibility would go down the drain.”

“You've never seen me fight,” Sasha mumbled as her mouth rested on the side. She took slow but steady breaths.

Felix turned his face toward her. “Do you even understand who that Knight is?” and swallowed around the lump in his throat. He got up from the bed and opened the curtains to her bed side. They offered view on the courtyard. There, standing amidst complete darkness, laid the rider who came to challenge the King, but would settle for his daughter instead.

“Look at him!” Felix said, as pointing at the Knight. “He does not eat, nor does he sleep. He only waits!”

“I can take him,” Sasha insisted. “You should trust and believe in your daughter, if only a little.”

Felix waved at her as he rushed towards the exit. His face heated and he felt it best to remove himself before he said something he regretted; he had just recently been reunited with his daughter after all.

“My father knows that Knight, doesn't he?”

Roger pondered for a moment, but then nodded. “Yes, he does, better than anyone.” He sighed. “Your father never told you what really happened during the old war did he?”

Sasha shook her head. “He never told me anything about it.”

“It was during that fateful day . . . Felix used to be a good prince, one that was loved by all and who cherished justice above all, but it was that day that he would betray everything he stood for. Have you never wondered why he hates anyone who so much as whispers of the Headless Knight?”

Sasha's eyes grew wider as she blinked repeatedly. She couldn't hide her excitement, as there were lots of tales of what really went on during the old war, a tale of great battle and how the previous ruling family appeared to have just vanished into thin air.

“Your late grandfather was a tactical genius, Sasha, we all felt incredibly lucky to have been under his service . . . your father included,” Roger continued.

“People speak of a great duel between Felix and the -then- Crown Prince, Dylan Harren, one that occurred amidst fire and smoke, the two clashed until your father emerged victorious. Or that is how the history books would have you believe.”

“You mean, that's not what happened?” Sasha mumbled. Her heart skipped a beat.

“Dylan along with his wife were captured and held captive. I remember it like it were yesterday: the screams of the Crown Prince, as his arms were tied by a heavy chain. The soldiers brought his wife before him and began violating her. Dylan was a proud man, what do you think he did?”

Sasha's jaw dropped, the idea that her father's legacy was built on something so terrible was unbearable, she tried to speak but words betrayed her.

“Dylan pulled his eyes out with his two hands as to not see what they were doing to his wife.”

Sasha covered her mouth completely as she sighed.

“After the soldiers were done, Dylan was taken to a private cell, where he was beheaded, but do you know what is the part that still haunts your father and I to this day?”

Sasha shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. She watched in horror as Roger tightened his hands into fists, driving his fingernails so hard that a bit of blood came out.

“When he was beheaded, people swore that they heard Dylan speak . . . and he spoke well. It was an oath and it went like this: ‘One day, your charade of honor will come to a halt. You deem yourself a man of honor, but you are far from it . . . Mark my words Felix, on the day that you show your true mask, I will rise from the grave, and with my head in my hands I will challenge you, and I will strike you down along with your family.”

“That . . . is insane, my father would never do that, Roger! Are you sure of this?”

“I am . . . I was there when it happened, and so was your father when the head talked.”

Sasha rolled her eyes and swallowed. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I'm telling you this, because I want you to know why you cannot fight that . . . thing, Dylan Harren became the thing that people hide in the darkness for fear of retribution. All the soldiers who were involved in the torture of his wife, disappeared amidst mysterious circumstances, and he now stands here, prepared to take the life of your father.”

“No . . . this can't be true—”

“You think war is innocent? That it is noble and just?” Roger took a pause as he scratched his lower chin. He gently shook his head. “The concept of justice and nobility contradict the nature of war: to fight and kill, so that another rule, to have peace prevail is hypocrisy incarnate.”

“No . . .” Sasha shook her head, tears stained her cheeks. Was she meant to question even the love that her father had for her? She a princess and had a right to tend to the people, but at that point she felt like she couldn't. “Would sins committed by our parents be cleansed by our own deeds?”

“One thing is for certain. You will definitely not fight Dullahan tomorrow,” Roger said as he glanced toward the exit, and began to let himself out, leaving Sasha alone with her thoughts.

Sahsa could only look at Roger as he passed her by. Her face was burning hot. For some reason, she was agitated at merely the thought of not fighting. She mustered enough energy to knock whatever was in front of her and let out a scream. “I'll show you all . . .” she vowed.