Blood Moon

9. The King's Order

She heard the sound of footsteps coming her way and she turned, making eye contact with the very disheveled Legosi. He limped as he approached her, making her eyes narrow. "What's wrong?"

"I sprained my ankle." Legosi's gaze met hers and he halted. His hand reached out towards her face, flicking the hair that was stuck on her sweaty cheeks. "What happened to your hair?"

"The demon caught hold of it, some Knight had to cut it off to set me free." She said nonchalantly. Legosi slumped his body just below her, resting his arm on the arm of a now dead behemoth. "That's interesting to hear," he said, a smirk forming on his lips. "From what I remembered, they were all too busy stumbling to their deaths to save a helpless damsel."

Luna's eyes widened momentarily, surprised by the new expression she saw on his face, but instead of commenting, she picked up a pebble and threw it on him. "I am not the one limping right now, if I may remind you."

"I had to put on a show to make that scrawny rat lose his guard, I didn't intend to twist a tendon." He scoffed.

By then, the smoke has finally cleared and some soldiers were coming out of their hiding spots. As their eyes went back to normal, the gore was now visible. Everywhere they averted their eyes, corpses lay. A bitter look appeared on Legosi's face. "How many were killed?" Legosi asked.

"More than half of the troop." She replied, casting a sideward glance over him. "Don't feel too bad about it, the moment you come to accept that you can't save everybody's lives, the job becomes easier. If you think about it too much it will just consume you." As she was speaking, they heard a rustle and they froze. "What was that?"

They heard some more rustling and they called out. "Come out, I know you are here."

From behind the line of trees, the soldiers approached them. Some looked only for a moment before turning back and retching but some survived the sight. Those were the same ones that were slowly approaching the corpse of the behemoth. "Is i-it truly dead?" One of them asked, nudging the tip of his sword on the behemoth. "Obviously, yes."

Luna stood up, her uneven hair bouncing as she jumped off the demon's back. "This is the reason why we tried to warn you off. The day of the Blood Moon is only a week away, demons are becoming active, especially in the parts where sunlight barely reached."

"How do you know the exact date of the Blood Moon?" One soldier c****d his head curiously. "Even the Imperial witches are unable to determine that."

Luna's jaw clenched as she held out a hand to Legosi. "I just do." She said firmly, implying that she does not want to probe deeper into the subject. But the soldier insisted. "That is a very interesting ability."

The soldier smiled to himself. He thought that if he were able to take her back to the Palace, he will be given a nice compensation. "I'm the Vice Captain of Sir William, Sir Gregor." He introduced himself, dipping his head lightly.

"I offer you a place in the Palace, your services will do a lot of good for our King Saul." He flashed her a smile, his hand resting on his chest. Luna locked eyes with him as she draped Legosi's arm around her shoulders, making sure to keep his weight off his sprained foot. Legosi's eyes turned to her, waiting for her answer. "Your King, not mine." She said sharply. Cold and stunned silence hung over the place as the soldiers looked at her with disbelieving eyes.

"That sounds like treason, miss." The Vice Captain said threateningly. Luna only laughed.

"You are being protective of a 'King' that sent several inexperienced soldier outside the walls to hunt for food for a banquet despite the fact that the Blood Moon is approaching, wasting the lives of men that vowed their loyalty to him." She replied, emphasizing the word King disparagingly.

The Vice Captain snarled and took a step forward. "You insolent girl! How dare you speak of his Majesty like that!? You are a lowly commoner!"

"Better a commoner than a pet." Luna spat. The man went red in the face and his gauntleted hand closed over the hilt of his sword but before he could pull it out, a low laugh slipped past Luna's lips

"Are you sure you want to do that?" She c****d her head to the side, a small smirk playing on her lips. "I saved you from the behemoth, but I can gladly send you all to death too." She finished, a dangerous tone mingling in her soft voice. The Knight was taken aback, making him take a step away.

"Every man and woman in this nation belongs to the King, if he chooses to bring you to the Palace, you will have no choice but to comply." He retaliated.

"I owe nothing to the King that hadn't lifted a finger to help the people outside his walls." Without another word, Luna circled her arm on Legosi's waist and walked. No one dared to stop them. Once they passed the line of corpses, Luna let out a low whistle. Moments later, the sound of rapid steps made its way towards them. Rigel came over to them, his black fur wet with blood. "You're going to have to carry him." Luna patted the wolf's head and helped Legosi up.

"Bring him to Chief's home." She ordered him.

"How about you?" Legosi asked. Something was telling him that she won't be following behind.

"I have something to settle first." She muttered lowly before nudging Rigel forward. The wolf huffed and ran down, leaving Luna behind.

Luna then turned, meeting eyes with the Vice Captain. "Where's your Captain?"

He hesitated for a moment before leading the way. Turns out, he was where she left him. He sat on the ground with his head slumped on arm which was resting on his knees, shaking. "Captain, the girl wants to talk to you."

His shaking stopped and he lay still for many seconds. Slowly, his head rose. "Y-You. What do you want from me?" His eyes were wild and his hand covered his mouth. He could feel the cold metal of her blade on his tongue.

"It is only right that I speak to the man in charge, Sir Knight." She sank down on one knee, her eyes looking around to see if there was anyone behind him but there were none. All of the soldiers stood behind her.

"Your Vice Captain here had told me that I would be useful to have in the palace and wishes me to accompany you back." The words flowed out of her mouth like poison, entering his bloodstream and sending tremors up and down his spine. "I just wanted to know the Captain's opinion on this. If you ask it of me, I won't refuse." She said.

The Vice Captain's face contorted in confusion. Not long ago, she told him that she had no wish to serve the King but now she was asking the Captain. But his confusion didn't last long when he remembered the compensation they were likely to receive.

"Indeed Sir, the King will be very pleased to have her in the court." He said in encouragement. But what he doesn't see is Luna's eyes glowing bright red, staring deep into the Captain's eyes, igniting unadulterated fear from within him. Horrid images of death and gore was flashing in front of his eyes as he sat there shivering.

"N-No." He managed to say from between chattering teeth.

"What?" The Vice Captain exclaimed, his eyes wide in disbelief. "We weren't able to hunt, we might as well be able to bring back someone useful for the King! Sir, please heed my advice-" Luna's eyes flared a deeper shade of red and the Captain stood up, pulled out his sword and pointed it at the Vice Captain's neck.

"I said no! You dare question my decision, Vice Captain?!" There was something desperate from the way he said those words, even his armor was clanking as he shook underneath it. Luna turned to them, her face innocent and her eyes back to its amber shade.

"N-No, Sir. I don't." The Knight surrendered.

"Good," he took a deep breath and avoided his gaze. "Take the wounded down the mountain. We'll be leaving this place before sundown."

Before they could do as ordered, a soldier ran to them. "Sir." He greeted the Captain.

"Speak." He said, masking his fear with feigned dominance. "I looked everywhere but Sir Augustus is nowhere to be found."

All fear he felt left his body, replaced by concern and guilt. "Damn it," he whispered to himself. "This was supposed to be a harmless mission."

"What are we going to do, Sir?" Sir Gregor asked timidly. "The House of Rayne will be furious."

"I'll worry about my brother's wrath once we get home." He sighed, running his hand through his hair frustratingly. "For now, do as I told you."

The soldiers left and Luna was left alone with the Captain. "Who is Sir Augustus?"

If it were somebody else who had asked without permission, he'd have his sword on the throat of the perpetrator. But this was no ordinary woman. "My nephew." He answered.

"Do you only feel guilt for his death?" She asked, making him turn. Her amber eyes were humane but with the way she was scrutinizing him, he doesn't know which color was worse. "How about them?" She pointed her forefinger behind him, to the mutilated bodies on the ground. "Do you feel no guilt for them?"

His jaws clenched and a bitter taste entered his mouth. "Dying for game, don't you think it's a waste of life? It's not as if the King has many soldiers to spare." She continued.

"It was the King's orders, to defy his orders is treason, punishable by hanging." He replied, but as he heard his reasoning out loud, it lost its sense.

"What makes the King a King?" The question was sudden, making him think. "The blood on his veins? The crown on his head?" She approached him, her unnerving eyes not breaking its gaze. "You can dress a fool in luxurious clothes and put a thousand crowns on his head, but in the end, a fool is a fool. But you know what's worse than a fool? A man that follows him."

She took a step backward, placing her hands on each side of her dress and curtsying. "Blessing and glory to the King and the empire." She muttered mockingly before walking away.

In a span of hours, the girl had made him feel emotions foreign to him for the thirty years of his existence. Fear, shame, and guilt, emotions that a lifetime of privilege will make you a stranger of. As he stood there gazing at the bodies that littered the forest floor, a question popped up on his mind. "What am I doing?"

The soldiers headed down the mountain, their wounded tended by the few village healers. Even Legosi who had his foot wrapped in bandages helped tend to them. The village wives handed out warm soup to them as they laid there. Looking at them now, these soldiers will be unable to leave today. They were spread out on Mr. Fitzgerald's barn, moaning in pain.

By the door, Luna and the Choef were talking. "A behemoth you say," he said, confusion plastered on his face. "These demons go out only when the Blood Moon rises, that's why we never saw them as a threat. They were too slow and large to reach the foot of the mountain and they travel alone. They're not even intelligent enough to work in alliance with smaller demons. Something's not right here, Luna."

"This was also the first time I encountered a demon like that." Luna whispered. "I don't know much about the demons that I haven't encountered yet, only imperial witches and scholars know so much. Time are changing, Chief. We won't be able to survive with the little information that we have."

"How about these men? You saved their lives, maybe they would be able to tell us something new." Chief Argus said, gesturing towards the men that lay on the floor.

"They don't know much, this is their first encounter with a demon, and even is they did, their vows to the King will hold them back. It is a rule to never disclose any secrets of the palace to those who live outside the walls."

"I don't know what to do anymore." The Chief said, running his fingers through his messy hair. His eyes were gazing at his wife who was helping the other maidens take care oft he wounded, his eyes warming. "Well, atleast all the barriers are made. We'll deal with this matter once the others leave."

On the other side, the Captain and his second in command stood side by side. "The healers said that we won't be able to leave today, Captain. Their witch is not much help as he could only partially heal the wounds. The wives said he had only been training for six months." Sir Gregor said with a look of disgust on his face.

From behind them, a goat bleated. Sir Gregor smirked and waved his hands towards them. "Well atleast we can grab as many livestock as we need before leaving."

"No." Captain William said calmly. "We won't be taking any of their animals."

Sir Gregor's eyes widened. "Captain, the King will be very displeased if we don't bring anything back!"

"We weren't the only troop to be sent out. I am certain that the others were able to bring something. There's too little to go around this place, taking even a little away will be the death of them."

"And?" He scoffed. "Captain, you shouldn't worry about that. Our priority is to fulfill our King's orders, you know better than I do. Besides, with a witch that can't heal wounds, how much weaker will their barriers be? Even if we take nothing, either way they'll die."

"No, they won't." The Captain replied. There was something with the way he said those words, as if he knew something he didn't. Sir Gregor could only clench his fists.

The Captain had a faraway look on his face as he stared at Legosi's back. He only caught a whiff of it when they were up the mountain, but now he was certain. This young man is a warlock. He could feel his energy even if he was far from him. Captain William is one of the strongest warlocks in the palace. He came from a long line of noble blooded warlocks that had flourished generations after generations inside the palace walls. But this young had raw and innate force. He was brimming with potential and power. A few weeks on the King's training field and this young man will be on par with him. He will be renowned in the King's court. But he won't take him.

From behind Legosi, the Captain spotted Luna. Her eyes were studying the place as she stood there quietly. She was a dormant beast, a force bot to be messed with. Up in the mountain, when the smoke was clearing, he saw her kill the behemoth. A normal human couldn't move as fast as she did. Her blade was also glowing. He knew the young man would be unwilling to come but if he wanted to, he can overpower him and bring him back to the Castle. The problem was, would he be able to go past her?

He couldn't point out what she was, a warlock? A demon? She seemed to be both but she had no smell of death on her, only dark rage. Bringing her to the castle would be like bringing in a wolf in sheep's clothing inside your home. She's human, that's for sure, but that's not all she is.

He could tell the King about her but what would happen after the King decides to take her? She had shown contempt against the King and if she kills him, the palace will be thrown to chaos. There are six Princes vying for the throne and without hailing an heir, they will fight brutally to climb to the top. If that happens, the only stronghold they have will crumble.

They are running low on soldiers, and the amount of men they will need to capture her would be devastating. "It's best to leave them be, Sir Gregor. We lost enough."

They spent the night in that village, some of the uninjured men taking turns guarding. Before the sun rose, they were already saddled and ready to leave. "Thank you for your hospitality, we will be leaving now." The Captain said to Chief Faramus.

"It's our honour to serve you, Sir Knight." He bowed. Sir William's eyes drifted to meet Luna's and he nodded to her in acknowledgement. Luna bowed down in return.

"Hüa!" With that, the troop turned and their horses ran, leaving only a cloud of dust as they disappeared from view.

Luna turned and called to Legosi. "It's best if you rest for a whole day. We'll go back to training once you are fully rested."

Legosi looked down on his injured foot and agreed. "I will."

Luna looked to her side and looked at Rigel. Even the wolf showed signs of exhaustion. "Let's go home." Flinging herself atop her trusted friend, Luna and Rigel headed up the mountain. As they passed the trees she noticed the lingering smell of blood in the mountain. "Such a waste of precious life." She muttered.

As she reached her home, she got off Rigel and headed to her door. As she was about to open it, she found that the latch had been tampered with and her door ajar. She tensed up, quickly grabbing a dagger from her boot. Quietly, she entered, hands braced for attack. As she entered, she saw no one. There was no mess, everything was as it should be except for the door. There was also no signs of demons nearby. "What could it be?"

Luna turned to get one more look around the place when her eyes saw something sprawled on her bed. Quickly she moved towards it and placed the tip of her dagger on the person's visible skin. "Who are you?" She growled. The body turned and so did its head, showing a mass of thick golden hair. Green eyes met hers and she froze. "You!"