The Broken Sigil

Chapter 8: Snake

He managed to pull it out as blood started bursting out of the wound like a volcano. He grabbed the dagger by the blade on the tip of his fingers and tried to aim, the concussion was giving him a hard time he would often see multiple figures and a blurry vision. Suddenly he closed his eyes breathed out and focused, it was his son’s life on the line, he finally threw the dagger whistling whilst spinning in the air until it finally landed at the back of the head of the soldier. Aldus could see the blade sticking out of his mouth as the soldier fell and dropped Aldus on the ground. 

    “Aldus!” Frederic yelled after him as he ran.

    “Father!” the kid ran after his father too.

    “Oh… my boy!” he picked him up from the ground and embraced him as Isolde came running from the corner of the hall. The three of them embraced together as a family, never looking more at peace even though the whole world was burning around them.

    “Go…” he spoke.

    “Frederic?” Isolde looked at him surprised.

    “Go to the Ashen Fields, go to my brother, warn him, you’ll be safe there.”

    “No…” she protested. “What about you?” 

    “I need to find mother and father, I will join you to the Ashen Fields, I will be behind you,” he assured. “Now you listen to your mother alright?” he kneeled down to Aldus and touched him by the shoulders. The three of them embraced each other again, for Frederic it seemed that this might be the last time he is with his family because of the chances of him mowing down an entire army of the White City mind you, and finding his parents even they haven’t been killed already, realistically it seemed like a farfetched dream. But chasing his dreams was the only thing he knew how to do, all his life he’s been dreaming of being a worthy king and a good successor to his father, and he will take on an entire army if that’s what it takes.

    “Frederic…” said Isolde quietly as he let go of them.

    “Go…” he struggled to hold the blade with the injured hand while with the other one he still held Isolde’s hand who finally parted and went different ways. 

    “Edmund… Look at me, Edmund hold on!” Alfred was still on his knees whilst Edmund was lying on his back surrounded by a pool of his own blood and barely breathing.

    “You men are too busy drinking and w*****g around, always blind to the games being played around you,” spoke Isidora from the outside, Alfred wondered who could it be, it never would occur to him that his own wife was betraying him. Not that the two of them were that close, he would always drink and be on his travels, whilst she would stay at the kingdom and watch over the kids, they weren’t a happy couple by all means but at least she has given him an heir, but as it turns out the kids were never theirs but only orphans from the streets, she got under his skin and under his head, she twisted his mind, implanted fake memories, and changed the timeline so that he would become king, a kind that would fail and she will be seen as the savior and the successor for the Empire she was going to create.

    “You’ve turned my men against me,” he looked angrily.

    “Alfred… They were never loyal to you,” she raised her hands trying to explain to him whilst she still held the dagger.

    “Justice will be served to you! You snake!” he cursed at her.

    “Justice will be served when the whole world is engulfed in flames,” she pointed the dagger at him, as she then slowly moved towards Edmund. “Your son Lucius was no fool, but nobody listened,” she crouched beside him. “The Sigil is back, and will burn this world with every living thing in it,” she slowly pierced his throat with the dagger as Edmund choked for a couple of seconds before breathing out his last breath.

    “No…” Alfred fell to the ground, dragging himself towards his friend.

    “A pity…” Isidora stood above him while he was struggling. “The great Edmund and Alfred won’t be there… to see the new world,” Isidora got down on one of her knees as she grabbed Alfred by the hair and pulled on it. “Now rest…” she also stabbed him in the throat. “There’s a great battle coming, for both of you,” she stood above both their bodies.

    “Argh!” Frederic brought down a soldier from the White City as more of them were coming up the stairs, he had come out and was fighting them on the walls.

    “Frederic…” a familiar voice called out, as he turned and saw his mother holding her wound on the stomach and struggling to get up the stairs.

    “Mother!!!” he ran up to her and helped her climb the stairs. “Mother please stand up!” he picked her up and carried her across the wall, but from the direction where he was heading climbed a soldier and starred at each other.

    “He is here!” announced the soldier, as the others heard him and soon started running after Frederic, they wanted blood and they wanted royal blood, Frederic placed his mother on the ground as she leaned on the wall, he was ready to face the soldier but he wasn’t alone and soon other soldiers started coming up, even behind him, he and his mother were surrounded.

    “No…” Jacklyn struggled to get up, she couldn’t have her stupid son getting himself killed. “Not today Frederic!” she gathered all the spare strength she had left and grabbed Frederic pushing him off the wall, all while he was falling he saw his mother getting stabbed in the back and saw the blade coming out of her chest.

    “No!!!” was the last word he could ever speak before hitting the ground and then darkness, he fell unconscious all the while the city above him was burning to the ground, his city, all the while, while his family was still in danger.

    Isolde knew where she needed to go first, she held Aldus by his hand and traversed the tight cobblestone alleys, smoke and screams filled the air around them, their situation was truly terrifying, houses and buildings burning around them. Isolde peeked a corner and saw soldiers enter a home as they killed the man who was just trying to protect his wife and kids, the kids they took away, but the wife they took off her clothes ready to use her body. Isolde picked up the kid and covered his eyes as they ran past the soldiers who were busy with the woman.

    “Help me!” the woman screamed her lungs out as Isolde big tears dropping from her eyes kept running for dear life whilst holding her son.

    “After her!” the soldiers stabbed the woman without hesitation and without mercy and chased after Isolde and Aldus. Both of them pushed the big wooden barn door and went inside, Isolde placed Aldus on the ground as he stood on his feet, and his mother barred the door of the barn with a plank that she found nearby.

    “Come on!” she grabbed his hand and they ran towards the horses, she placed a saddle on the horse as Aldus helped her attach it on the other side, the soldiers started pushing on the door, but it seemed she barred it right, the plank just wouldn’t give, she then picked up Aldus and placed him on the saddle, the soldiers started pouring out of the windows since they couldn’t get through the door. Isolde was about to jump on the horse when a soldier grabbed her by the leg and pushed her to the ground.

    “Mother!” screamed Aldus, she got up and pulled out a dagger that she had hidden on the strap of her right thigh, she didn’t hesitate at all and without even a blink to the eye, she stabbed the soldier in the face, but before she did that she got stabbed in the stomach by the same soldier. She fell to the ground she didn’t know why strength had deserted her until she saw the wound on her stomach.

    “No… no, not now,” she struggled to get up while the soldiers kept coming from the windows.

    “Mom! Get up! Please!” cried Aldus, as she got up and tried to jump on the horse but again another soldier pulled her back before she hit the ground she smacked the horse’s ass as the horse ran towards the door, it got up on its two legs and with the front two, it broke the plank that barred the door before it burst outside. The chaos that ensued outside scared the horse motivating it to run away even faster. Isolde looked as the horse ran away in the distance with her son, she knew that Aldus would be safely away from the city.

    “It’s over now,” the soldier lifted the blade ready to kill Isolde, but just as he was about to swing it, an arrow landed in his back, the soldier struggled for air as it reached with his arm to find an arrow sticking in his back. The soldier fell on the ground before Isolde as she crawled away from him. The other soldiers looked outside the barn, and all they could see was a flock of glowing arrows headed their way, the arrows landed on them, their bodies riddled with arrows everywhere they could land, every arrow killed a White City soldier, every arrow landed on the ground, but no one was even close to Isolde, she opened her eyes and looked how she was inside a circle that wasn’t filled with the glowing arrows, they weren’t made out of wood, but they glowed yellow as if some kind of magic, such precision was remarkable until the arrows disappeared into thin air like they never even existed. Out of the mist that formed because of the burning city came a figure, that had a long white hair that was pushed back, he also had piercing blue eyes, with a white cape, he also carried a staff in his right hand as he was approaching her. Isolde could have sworn she had seen him somewhere, but in all the shock and pain she couldn’t remember, but one thing was certain he was a descendant from Aelizia.