Chapter I
The four kingdoms, divided long
ago by catastrophe, no longer live in peace. Rage fills the veins of their
Kings. Power-hungry men are never satisfied. Conflict can never be settled in
their hands. With the possibility of a long-forgotten fifth kingdom rising,
will the four kings find peace? Will more lives be lost over the choices of
four? This is their story.
- - - - - - - - -
“Watch your step, milady.” William
coos with an amused expression plastered on his face. He observes the girl in
front of him, reaching a peak in her youth. It takes him back to a time before
the demons rose; a time when the four kingdoms lived at peace. He shuttered at
the thought of what was to come in her adult life. Of what dared to lurk behind
the ides of time... The two occupy the
forest not too far off from the castle grounds belonging to those of the Iron
King. Enormous oaks and overgrown vegetation occupy the slight-line, as well as
the distant outline of the castle.
“I’m /fine/!” She snaps back
though he can hear the smile in her voice. Her two feet are placed one behind
the other on a fallen log, arms outstretched as if preparing for flight. Her
tiny stature threatens fall but she manages to keep her balance.
“Call to mind that I must show
you the proper way you are to address your superiors, little lion.” He reminds
her, though he cannot help the smile on his own lips.
She turns to face him finally,
her lips tugging into a wide grin as the corners of her emerald eyes crinkle.
“My superior?” Her voice adopts a playful tone, her hands temporarily resting
on her hips. She slips down from the log, ringlets of dark hair falling past
her shoulders.
“Indeedly so.” He responds, eyes
glancing over her. He ensures there isn’t a mark on delicate porcelain skin
before continuing. “I do believe that heading to the castle would be most wise.
Nightfall will be upon us soon. Vile creatures lurk in the darkness.” She huffs
in response but holds her argument.
“I am not /scared/ of what lurks in the darkness, /William/.” She
speaks as they begin toward the castle. Her bottom lip purses, eyes skimming
the trees surrounding them. “What use do we have for a castle anyway? The
forest is our home.”
William chuckles in response,
shaking his head. “Oh my little lion, you are much too young to remember.” He
reaches over, tousling her hair affectionately. “It was not always this way. We called a castle our home for ye—“
She huffs and strays out of
reach. “I do not wish to hear it! I do not wish to pay visit to any Iron
King!” She growls before her head snaps
away from him, striding forward.
“Lana…” William lets out sigh,
rushing to catch up with the girl. His age threatened, bones aching under the
sudden jerk to follow her. "Little lion, please wait!” With a grumble of disapproval
she stops in her tracks, folding her arms across her chest.
“Do not speak of Nahoa again. The
Kingdom fell in ancient times. I do not know where your mind has gone over the
years, William, but even a child could tell you that is myth.” She informs him,
lifting her head and turning to look at him with those piercing eyes.
“Little lion, I assure you—“
“Halt!” A new voice calls. The
pair turns to see a young guard, presumably of the Iron King. “What is your
business here?”
William stepped forward, clearing
his throat to speak. “Sir, our intentions are far from harmful. We wish to pay
a visit to the Iron King, on the request of Queen Eleanor and King Fergus of
Nahoa.” Much to his liking, Lana wandered out of ear-shot, humming in the background as she wished to take no part
in the exchange.
The guard’s
eyes widen at the request, taking a step back. He eyes the older man, who’s
dark hair bared strands of grey in recent months. “With all due respect, sir,
Nahoa is a myth. I do believe it is suitable to deem you insane.
The castle has a place for your kind, the Iron King offers refuge for you. Please, I assure you that it fell centuries ago;
no one charts into such territory much less travels from it. We will get you
the help you need. Come with me, I must insist.”
“I was
afraid you might say that.” William’s voice lowers as he turns to reach into
his pocket on the inner lining of his coat. He draws a tampered paper, burn
marks lining the corners, having faded to yellow ages ago. It's sealed with the mark anyone who has picked up a book in recent months could deem as the mark of the mythical kingdom. “Allow me to deliver
this to the Iron King himself. I assure you the trip will be worth it.”
The guard lets out a sigh. “Sir, please, be
cooperative, I would hate to take such drastic measures to restrain—“ He pauses, eyes catching the girl
approaching them. She slips past William, drawing his dagger in the meantime and takes a step forward, running
the tips of her fingers along the sharp edges.
“If you
dare to threaten William…” she begins curtly, eyes fixed on the blade in her
grasp as she makes her way towards the guard. “Then I can assure you that it
will not be you reporting back to the Iron King. Now, are /you/ going to be
cooperative?” Her eyes flicker up to meet those of the guard’s, who quirks a
brow at her actions.
“Are you
threatening me?” The guard, who William half-expected to be angry, had a grin
tugging at his lips.
“I am
certainly not offering you tea.” She growls, brows furrowing as her grip
tightens on the hilt of the weapon.
“I mean no
disrespect, I—“ He steps toward the petite girl.
“Take us to
this Iron King, immediately.”
“Very well then, milady. If you insist, follow me.” The guard
turns to begin leading the two toward the castle. She rolls her eyes, but follows.
“I do
believe a certain someone did not wish to speak to an Iron King.” William
begins with a chuckle, resting a hand on the young girl’s shoulder to lead her
forward.
“I do wish
to have a word with him about his guards. He must hire all fools to work for
him.” She grumbles, holstering the dagger. William laughs at that.
“You may think me to be daft, milady, but I am not deaf.” The guard smirks, shaking his head.
“I do not
think it is the best way to deal with the guards, by threatening them, little lion.
Perhaps being kinder towards them would be more effective.”
“William,
he threatened you.” She huffs. "I will not stand for you being put in harm's way." She states, but falls quiet as they approach castle grounds.
The guard
leads the pair to the steep cobbled streets leading up to the extravagant
castle bearing the name of the Iron King, which could be spotted from miles
away. The building’s threatening presence makes it haunting, yet the carefully
sculpted stone allows its beauty to come through as the setting sun gleams over
it. It’s placement on the hill gives the King his sights to overlook the entire kingdom, to which he is always searching for
possible threats. The walls tower over the three as they approach it,
thickening at nearly seven feet. The
three enter through an archway whose oaken doors swing open to greet them, the
sound of clambering iron bars ringing through the courtyard. The courtyard
itself is about sixty yards long, a stone path winding around various gardens
decorated with flower bunches, fountains and benches. They take the path through
another archway into the castle. The lavish inside walls are lined with
carefully crafted iron, etched with some patterns and designs. Red curtains line the
windows, outfitted with gold tassels. The marble floor has been evidently
maintained, Lana swears she can see her reflection in it. Iron armour ensembles
line the walls, weaponry as well.
“I shall
approach the King about your presence, please, make yourself at home.” The Knight gives the two a nod before disappearing down the long hallway lined with
doors. Lana reminds herself to close her mouth, eyes skimming the room.
“I see why
he is the Iron King, I suppose.” She murmurs, boots scraping the floor as she
crosses the room to study the portrait of the King. William smiles at her
side.
“I do
believe this visit will be beneficial.”
“And why do
you believe that?” She holds in a sigh, folding her arms across her chest.
“Trust me.”
William offers a warm smile to her, to which she shakes her head and presses
forward, examining the sculpted iron. She runs her fingers along the creases
and edges, but jumps when the guard clears his throat.
“The King
will see you.” He announces, gesturing for them to head down the hallway.
William gives the guard a nod before walking forward, Lana following suit.
“Whoa whoa, not you.” The guard grabs hold of her arm, though his grip is far from rough.
“What?
Why?!” She growls.
“You have
committed a crime against the Iron King by threatening one of his most loyal knights.” He smirks, appearing to be all too pleased with himself. “You must serve
your time.”
“You’re
mad!” She shouts and attempts to jerk away from him. “William!”
“Little
lion, we will get these matters sorted once I speak with the King. Please, be
nice to the knight.” He coos before entering the throne room.
Lana
growls, cutting eyes at the knight. He only winks at her before escorting her
down to the holding cell, heading down the hallway and turning down a flight of
winding stairs.
“I just
thought you should know that I do /not/ like you.” She snaps after he gives her
a gentle shove into the cell, closing the door behind her.
“Aw,
really? I’m growing quite fond of you.” He beams, leaning against the wall
beside her new habitat.
“Fuck you.”
- - - - - - - - -
“Please bow
before your majesties, King Kaiser Raymond and King Luke Vane.” The Page
announces, trumpets sounding at the entrance into the grand hall. The two
brooding men stand tall in front of their court, muttering amongst each other. Kaiser
has a few inches over Luke, both dark haired and baring a rather intimidating
presence. Their clothing is made of the finest cloth, draping elegantly over
their battle-worn bodies.
“I do
believe we have more pressing matters to discuss rather than to converse with a
mentally unstable man.” Luke murmurs with a sideways glance at Kaiser.
“Sir Leonidas the
Reckless has informed me that this man comes bearing great news. I believe we
should give him at least a few moments of our time.” Kaiser reasons, giving a
nod for the court to rise. He dismisses them, leaving only the page, his fellow
King and William in front of them.
“Your
highness, I apologize for disrupting your meeting of strategic advances but I
come with news from the Kingdom
of Nahoa
“Nahoa?”
Kaiser attempted to hold in a laugh that slipped through his lips, shaking his
head as his comrade joined him in laughing at the older man. “Perhaps you were
right, Luke, he is out of his mind!”
“I have
this.” William piped up, stepping forward and holding out the envelope he’d shown
to Sir Leon
earlier. Kaiser fell silent, outstretching his hand to take the letter from
him. He unfolded it and smoothed out the parchment, reading it over. Luke
peered over his shoulder, eyes beginning to widen the further down the page
they got.
“My… my
apologies, Sir William.” Kaiser murmurs, swallowing back his pride. “Where is
the she?“
“I do
believe we need to discuss your Knight holding my companion hostage…”
- - - - - - - - -
“So, what do they call you?”
“Do you not have other duties to attend to?”
Lana growls, sitting on the sandy floor of her cell. The iron bars to which she
had attempted to break or bend in some way had proved to be unbreakable. Leon sits on
the other-side of the bars, back pressed up against the cool stone wall.
“Oh come on. Here, I will start.
I’m Sir Leonidas
the Reckless of Vindico, honourable Knight and right-hand man of the K—“
“Ooh, Leon the Reckless?” She grins,
visibly perking up. She jumps to her feet, hands wrapping around the bars. “Oh,
do tell me more? Come closer, I want to hear you better.” She offers a charming
smile, emeralds glistening under the candlelight.
“O-Oh, well I…” Leon gets to
his feet and obeys, chuckling. “I do not wish to brag, but, if you must know, I
am the most successful in battle. I make daring moves to advance on the
battlefield. I—“ As he got closer, she lunged forward, wrapping her arm around
his neck and holding his back against the bars. He only laughs, shaking his
head as he does not dare to struggle in her grasp.
“You’re so lucky that I do not
wish to bring you any harm.”
“You’re lucky I haven’t—“
“Milady!” Luke shouts, jogging to
Leon ’s
side to pry Lana's arm off him. Leon
has not stopped laughing, unable to wipe the amused grin off his lips.
“No harm, sire, I did have the
situation under control, contrary to how it appeared.” He smirked, sending a
wink at the girl in the cell.
“Enough fooling around, Leonidas. ” Kaiser
orders, scoffing at his playful nature. “We have vital matters to attend to.
Will you please bring our guest upstairs?”
“Alright, alright. As you wish,
my liege.” Leon
unlocks the cell, opening the door and mockingly bowing as Lana exits. She
decides to ignore him, stepping out and glancing up at the two new faces.
“Where is William?”
“Upstairs in the main hall. I do
not believe that is the proper way to address a superior, young lady. I am King
K—“
“You’re not my King.” She
mutters, walking past the two towards the staircase.
Luke blinks several times before he turns to look at Kaiser,
brows furrowing.
“What have you got us into?”
With a sigh,
Kaiser rubs his temples. “I do believe it will help us win the pending war,
Luke. We need all the forces and support we can gather if we plan to defeat the
King of Beasts and the King of Madness...”
Comments
Post a Comment