The Broken Sigil

Chapter 16: The Protectors

She finally came back to her senses, and snapped away from the vision, away from Celvin and all the bad things that happened there.

    “No!!!” she screamed whilst standing still. “My family! Aldus! Frederic!” she threw herself on the king, punching him on the chest. “Get me back to them!” she demanded, not knowing that what she just saw was a vision, she thought that if she went back into the vision she could help them.

    “Isolde…” he grabbed her arms so she would stop punching him. “Calm down,” he released and turned his back on her.

    “Don’t tell me to call down! My family is in danger!” she walked towards him, but before she could pull him on the shoulder to face her, he turned at her and blew some kind of glitter from his hand. Isolde stopped herself surrounded by sparkling white glitter, she felt short of breath before she fell to the ground unconscious. He slowly walked and stood above her standing still for a moment, as a soldier entered the tent and stood behind the king.

    “Any change of plans sire?” asked the soldier.

    “We keep going north…” he answered as he came out of the tent. He could feel it they wanted to speak to him, after all it was time in fact he wondered what took them so long. He moved to his tent as he starred at the entrance but thought better of it and moved past behind the tent, as he climbed a small snowy hill, the farther he climbed the more he disappeared in the dark until he was completely gone from sight, he looked around but he couldn’t see much, it quiet just the howls of the wind it was the perfect setting, he got on his knees as if to meditate, inhaled and closed his eyes, he was concentrated and entered his own bubble. They were talking… 

    “Francis…” he heard Lucius’s voice calling out to him in the air.

    “Lucius? You are alive?” asked the king.

    “What took you so long?” asked Lucius, not replying to his question. “The world’s in danger and you are nowhere to protect it.”

    “Lucius… I…” he stuttered.

    “You should have been in the Ashen Fields by now.”

    “You are right…” he sighed out. “Lucius…” everybody went silent for a moment. “Something happened,” he had a hard time breaking the news to him.

    “I know, the Mark is opened, how or why we have no idea.”

    “No, something else…”

    “What is it?”

    “When I got the call from Cristopher, I mustered the army and marched south towards the Ashen Fields, our first stop was Celvin, but when we got there… Celvin was no more,” he finally mustered the courage to say it.

    “What?” Lucius was confused.

    “What are you talking about?” Cristopher joined in. “Is this some kind of excuse because you didn’t come to serve your duty?”

    “No! You must listen to me!” he got serious suddenly and now demanded respect from both of them. “Celvin was attacked by the White City, they’ve burned it down and now claim it as their outpost, they’ve killed the people, we did what we could and saved some of them, but it was bad!” he finished.

    “What are you talking about? My father betraying the alliance!? The pact that he made sure every kingdom signed?” Cristopher was furious, they just called his father a traitor.

    “You must believe me!” he yelled.

    “Oh… dear friends…” joined the fourth voice. “Don’t you know better than belittle poor Francis…” he laughed.

    “Raoulin…” Lucius greeted him with disgust in his tone. Of course, he was here, once the Protectors establish a telepathic connection everyone can hear it and could join in the conversation.

    “And you Cristopher! Why do you play innocent? When you played the biggest part in this coup?” asked Raoulin while laughing like a maniac, he set him up even though Cristopher had nothing to do with the attack, he tore them apart, he tore old friends apart. Lucius snapped out of the communication and opened his eyes. Cristopher knew what was coming and he had to disengage too.

    “Listen to me!” Cristopher stood up and blocked the blade that was coming at him from Lucius before he himself drew the sword.

    “Your family betrayed mine!” Lucius cried in anger, his eyes and face were all red, he was ready to murder him, he ran at him again and they locked their blades again no one showing any weakness as Lucius kept pushing and he pushed back.

    “He is lying!” Cristopher tried to reason with him. “Why would I do something like that!?” Cristopher gained strength and pushed hard, pushing him away and on the ground. Lucius stumbled and his clothes turned white from black from all the ash, his sword flying away from his grasp, but it wasn’t a problem, he got up immediately and pulled a dagger from his boot as Cristopher tried to throw a punch at him but he dodged and pushed Cristopher’s hand away along with the sword. He grabbed Cristopher by his clothes on the chest and pulled him towards him, as with the other hand he pressed the dagger on his neck. He stopped himself from doing something really stupid, he calmed a bit after staring at his face, he knew Cristopher very well at least he thought he knew, he couldn’t do something like that, what kind of a friend he is?

    “If I wanted to kill you…” said Cristopher and looked down, while Lucius had the dagger pressed on his neck, Cristopher had the pointy end of the sword above Lucius’s hearth, but Lucius wasn’t fazed not one bit, and suddenly everything made sense. The visit from the king at Celvin, the call from Cristopher to join him in the Ashen Fields, the distraction from Katrina as if to take some book from the city, everything a ruse, a diversion. Was any of this real the Mark opening? And the dead coming back to life? Or just a play to get him away from Celvin so that he won’t be there to defend his family. Frederic is a good swordsman but a Protector… could bring down entire armies, it would make sense that Katrina and Cristopher got him away from the fight so that his father could claim an easy victory. And on top of that there was Aldus who came to the Ashen Fields, why else would he come other than the fact that it really happened and that Celvin was attacked.

    “Aldus!” he thought to himself. How could he leave him alone with Katrina, she will harm him. He screamed his lungs out as he pushed Cristopher away and punched him in the face so hard he knocked him out. Lucius stood above his body and just buried the dagger next to his head. He couldn’t bring himself to stab him, no matter the crimes he may have committed, he couldn’t kill his best friend, and even if he did commit the crimes he will answer for them, and he will make sure he does. Lucius grabbed his sword and ran down the hill towards the camp with unnatural speed.