The Deserter
The ongoing war between man and lycanthrope has ravaged the lands from as far back as most can remember. Saphira has been one of many kingdoms to be ruthlessly tormented, shredded to pieces, and slowly turned by lycanthropes. My father handed down the responsibility of Saphira and protection of the land to me on the night of “The High Moon.” As much as I love my people I did not feel ready to rule over Saphira.
“Do not raise your voice with me boy.” My father raised one hand and with the other he was tightly gripping my arm.
“I’m not ready to be king. The kingdom is-“
“I know you Castiel, you are my son. Master of many arts; the fact that you deny the crown shows you deserve it.”
“No. I simply do not want it.” I yank my arm from my father’s grip and turn away.
“It does not matter what you want, the kingdom is priority. You will be king.” Those words spilled from his mouth like poison to my ears, as the doors to the court yards swing open and royal guards spill into the main hall. The guards wore dark grey armor with the royal colors; green and gold imprinted in their armor and their clothes. They stood in three lines; three guards came forward, and bowed down to one knee.
“Sire, the strongest of the lycanthropes have pulled a full assault on the kingdom. Several have breached the high wall already. What are your orders, your majesty?” My father glanced quickly at me then back to the royal guards.
“First send forward our Royal Guards to further protect the people, and summon Shadow Stalkers to take care of those beasts inside my kingdom walls.” He points to the group lined up, all kneeled down on one knee, “Three of you escort my son to the underground stone room; the rest split into bevies and accompany the Shadow Stalkers.” The guards rose to their feet, saluted my father, and continued on to their duty.
The three guards walked to my side; I look to my father and he only walked away. Knowing his disappointment I abide by his wishes and continue to the underground stone room with the three guards. We race out into the North Court Yard corridors and you can hear the screams screech through the inner kingdom. As we reach the end of the corridor and enter the garden a howl rattles the air around us. A rustling comes from the garden maze, the rustling moves closer to us as a royal guard flies from the garden through the air and hits the wall behind us. He hit the floor, quickly thrusts his sword into the tiled floor, and uses his sword as a crutch to lift himself off the ground.
The three guards escorting me pushed me to the wall and moved forward towards the garden. They cautiously move forward as the rustling moved closer more rapidly. The candle light that was originally lit within the garden had been put out; the only light shed within the garden was now the moonlight beaming in from the sky. The darker places made it hard to pin down where the beast might be next. The rustling moved closer and closer when a lycanthrope the size of eight men leaped from within the garden maze entrance, to the wall behind the royal guard; whom had been thrown.
The guard quickly rushed to his back side with his sword in hand as the lycanthrope hurdles atop of him. The guard’s helmet had flown off when his back hit the floor, and at that moment everything changed inside of me; the guard struggling underneath the lycanthrope with his sword in between its teeth was my childhood friend Dagen. Within those moments I unsheathe my sword and rushed towards my old friend on the ground. The lycanthrope from the corner of his eye had seen me coming and tried to maneuver to the side but Dagen had shoved his sword within its teeth sand yanked its mouth down to the floor; normally most would not have the strength for this task but because the lycan had his attention on me circumstances were different. I leaped for the lycanthropes upper arm and thrust my sword into his upper spine, forcing the wolf to release a horrific howl.
The lycanthrope pushes himself up to his hind legs and begins to scratch at his back trying to reach for me. The three guards charged as my escorts have surrounded the wolf and as one leaps forward the lycanthrope crushes him, then claws at him through his armor. Once the wolf had dealt with that guard he continued his attempt to claw me off of his back. With no success the wolf slams against the wall and I lose grip of one hand, and I hear a voice yell, “Pull the sword down Castiel. Pull the sword Cas. Pull it.”
I look down to see Dagen shouting at me from the ground, so I grip the sword with both hands and pull my body weight up and release and again I pull my body weight up and release. With success my body weight was able to drag the sword through the wolf’s spine. The wolf falls to its knees and releases another howl; Dagen walks to the lycanthrope, slips his sword within its mouth, and forcefully turns it through its skull; cutting the top part of the lycanthropes head clean off. Dagen reaches for the back of his cape and wipes his blade clean then sheathes it.
"Exactly where were you two morons while his majesty was aiding me in putting this demon down?" Dagen was tightening his van braces not even allowing them the common curtousy of looking them in the eye. "No answer, come now you cowards, loosen those lips."
The two royal guards left as my escort simply bent to one knee and begged for my forgiveness for their weakness. I glimpsed over at Dagen and saw him smirking and remembered that as boys how many times he would insist upon toying with the servants, and now as a general and commander of his own army he still insists upon pestering the guards.
I sheathe my sword and look to the two royal guards,"Go on and assist the 'shadow stalkers'. I will continue forward with Dagen and help him with what ever his mission might be."
"But your majesty, the king gave us specific instructions to escort you-"
Dagen scoughs,"I was headed to the East End to locate her majesty Lilith. I will escort his majesty as well." He puts his hand on his sword and grins, "So be on your way men, and aid the 'Shadow Stalkers'."
~~~
As we run through the east end corridors the 'Shadow Stalkers' begin fading through walls within the rooms around us; some move on from the area but one stays close only showing its near every few moments. Dagen puts his arm out and stops me from moving forward. He points to his ear the motions to the area, so I open my senses and listen closely to the sounds beyond our footing. I put my hand on my sword; prepaid to unsheathe and fight as a lycan comes crashing through a wall of stained glass.
We drew our swords and split up so that the beasts eyes would wonder to only one of us. I quickly turn to see the wolf focused on me, his fangs all snarled, and his muscles tense. He rose up to his hind legs and easily over towered both Dagen and myself by several feet. The wolf took one swing at me and it landed me on my back and engraved claw marks into my chest plate. I quickly pull my sword to my chest and thrust it through the beasts lower arm, I twist my sword, and pull it to one side.
"Try and hold the dog Castiel. I need more time." Dagen shouted from the other side of the beast catching its attention, causing it to crouch and snap at my face. If not for the sword in his arm; that was getting more and more difficult to hold; the beast would have bitten off my face.
From the corner of my eye I see a 'Shadow Stalker' wisp through the wall and within in that same moment slash at the beasts face. The 'Shadow Stalkers' are beings of magic, they were created to protect man kind. Eight grandfathers ago the deal was made between a powerful 'Mistress of Magic' and the head of 'Shadow Stalkers' that they would fight along side the king's men to protect the land. That as long as the kingdom was not to be known as corrupt against the people, the 'Shadow Stalkers' would protect their land. The 'Mistress of Magic' was able to keep them loyal to the family for years and now they protect us and I'm not sure they even remember why. All 'Shadow Stalkers' appear human but wear the blackest of armors and eyes are of pale white. It is rare to come upon one that is female such as this one, but her stance alone is powerful.
She moves forward and with one kick the lycan is thrown to the ground and removed from my sword. She runs to the lycan on the ground, puts her sword to its throat, and with one swipe of her double edged silver sword she slashes the wolfs throat open. She turned to me and sheathed her sword.
"I hope your majesty has not been harmed. For I would not forgive my self." She kneeled down to one knee and pressed her forehead against her crucifix shaped sword. She stay kneeling until Dagen made his way over to the wolf that lay dead on the ground.
"Thank you Stalker, now I guess we both owe you our lives."
The Shadow Stalker shifted her attention to Dagen,"My life's duty is the protection of the kingdom and the royal family. You owe me nothing." She sheathed her sword and grabbed one of the burning lanterns near by, then shattered it atop of the lycan. With one turning motion of her body she whisped through a wall back to the court yards. I looked back as the fire sway behind my shadow while Dagen grab my arm to get me to continue moving.
I look down the East End Corridor and can only see stained glass crushed onto the floor. Looking back at Dagen I can see the worry in his eyes and I ask him what frightens him.
He looks down, shakes his head, looks up, and smiles, "Frightened, don't be childish Prince Castiel." He takes a deep breath and frowns, "I am worried though. Do you see those claw markings on the ceiling?" He points.
I look up to see at least four trails leading from the windows where the stained glass had shattered. So in response I nodded. "What exactly does that mean, and why is it making you worry?"
He sighs, "It means we might be running into Prowlers. They move very fast and none but Shadow Stalkers have lived to speak of seeing one." He grips his sword tightly then let's go. "My duty as a Royal Guard is to protect the Royal Family. I will be Damed if my friend since boyhood gets slaughtered under my watch." He pauses to tighten his chest plate, "There will be other Guards to retrieve your sister, for now I have to protect the heir to the throne."
~~~
It seemed almost never ending; like a constant scramble to the end of the road; but Dagen kept pushing me, kept motivating me to keep forward. Everything seemed fine for a moment until we reached the outer parts of the castles walls. Blood stained weapons in the hands of corpses that lay limp on the ground. The Lycanthropes had all but finished off what was left of the royal guard outside the castle walls, and all that remain to fend them off were the Shadow Stalkers.
Chaos was all there was; Royal Guards slashed to pieces, their insides spilling onto the ground. Chaos was the only word for the brutality outside the castle walls. Lycans atop guards, feasting on them then moving to the next, never giving another the chance to land another blow. Dagen was moving fast trying to maneuver behind all the mess of the slaughter.
"Only a little bit more to go. Just keep your head down Castiel." He put his hand on my shoulder pushing me lower so that I would crouch.
Swords hacking at flesh and every blow to a Royal Guard I felt as we push through the ever growing chaos of this scrambling war within the kingdom. I look up for an instant to see a Lycan with jet black fur leap head first between both Dagen and I; pushing both him and myself to the floor. Franticly grabbing my sword I look up to see the Lycan on top of neither me nor Dagen but someone behind us. I rush to my feet and lung atop of the Lycan plunging the sword deep within the Lycans upper neck, twisting and turning the handle. The beast choked and coughed but only shook its body in attempt to make me release. Dagen ran to one side of the beast and shoved his sword into the side of the Lycans neck disabling the wolf from rotating his neck at all. I quickly pull my sword out and thrust it deep within its upper back. The wolf lunged upward to his hind legs and released a horrific howl, so I push my sword in deeper and with one twist the wolf falls to the ground.
Rising to my feet I see the the man laying in a pool of his own blood, choking on what was pooling out of his throat; I knew him, and I grew up around him.
He grabs my leg and grips it tightly, "Your father Castiel," He was choking on his blood trying to speak, "He needs you... He needs you... Your sister... She was by.. Castle gates... She did-" Pulling him close I try to hear what he was trying to say, but just like that he was gone.
"Castiel, we need to go now. He's gone." Dagen put his hand on my shoulder and pulled me to my feet; I looked back and nodded.
"We have to keep heading to the underground stone room Castiel."
Gripping my sword tighter, I put my self together, and stopped Dagen from moving forward. "We have to head for the main gate. My sister; Lilith was there, she needs us."
Dagen only sighed in reply and simply said, "I'm sorry Castiel, but right now the heir to throne comes first. Someone else-"
"No Dagen. I will not allow my sister to perish here. Not like this." I take my sword, continue walking, and for a moment turn back to look Dagen in the eyes, "So we are going to receive my sister, and because I am future king you will abide by my command." In that moment I had treated Dagen like a lesser man and I could see Dagens eyes shifting down, trying not to meet mine.
Dagen took a step back, and bowed down; but only for a moment. "I suggest we continue moving your hiness. It isn't safe to stand in one place." And with that he started off towards the castle wall gates.
Dagen and I kept pushing through the bodies of fallen royal guards, and the feasting Lycanthropes. It's was a never ending nightmare that awoke me to my reality. Becoming King of Saphira, would be the protector of this madness; an insanity I'm not sure I can handle. Though as we drew closer to the gate, Shadow Stalkers were more in numbers and the beasts seemed to be at a lose. This made it easier for us to maneuver through the nightmare.
Reaching the gate was like opening a festering wound. I ran up to the gate opening to see a Lycanthrope Prowler attacking my sister Lilith. Her green dress was laces at the bottom with mud, her dark brown hair draped down her back, as she try to use her magic sphere to block the Prowlers attacks. Gripping my sword tighter I run in towards the prowler and hear Dagen shout after me. As I run in towards the Prowler it quickly turns its head and leaps over me and behind Dagen. I continue on to Lilith's side to reassure my self of her safety. Dagen checked his stance and griped his sword with both hands. As I continue forward to help Dagen Lilith grabs my arm and buegins to cry.
"Did you find our father Castiel?"
"No Lilith, I have yet to have seen father." Releasing a sigh I continue on to Dagen's side. Running towards the Prowler to see it slashing its claws at Dagen. I continue to make my way behind the Prowler; noticing its hard shell on its back making it near impossible to attack from behind. I make my way towards the Prowler; trying to find a soft spot; when the prowler just stopped hacking at Dagen, and for a moment I thought he might be dead but I could still hear the heavy panting coming from my old friend. I hold my sword tighter standing my ground waiting for the beast to come my way, but he only turns slightly and pounces another man in dark armor. The armor was so familiar to me I had seen it so many times before in my life, I had even remembered a time when I was a boy and I made the pathetic attempt to lift a shoulder piece. Now the armor lay on the dirt struggling underneath a Prowler, it's chest plate already torn to shreds, and the royal cape; that hang on the back on the armor with the family crest; soaked in his blood. My fathers blood. The beast lay into him as if it were the last time it would eat. My father looked at me and I could see the life being chased from his eyes.
I looked back to see the gate entrance clear and with no signs of other lycanthropes nor guards. So without a second thought I ran for the gate, I closed my eyes and I just kept running. At first I thought I could hear Dagen but it didn't matter. The sound of my own heart beating in my head out drummed the noise around me. Tripping over my own feet I drop my sword to the ground and fell to my knees. Scrambling to my feet was a feat all its own as I continue rushing through the thick wooded area. My feet shifting over soft dirt, attempting not to run into any trees, and my body slowly feeling the weight of my already light armor.
I ran so far I reached the "Dagger Bridge," signifying I was already on the out skirts of Saphira. I dropped to my knees realizing how much of a coward I was. I ran from it all; because I was afraid. My father died leaving me the responsibility to protect everything from these monsters.
"Your Majesty, where are going?" I turn to see Dagen, crouched to one knee, with sweat dripping from his face.
I stand to look at him but feel my knees weakening from the truth. "He's dead Dagen." My voice shakes as I fall back against the bridge post, "My fathers dead Dagen. What do I do now?" I put my face in my hands and let my tears fall through.
"You go back, you get ready, you get stronger."
I lift my head from my hands and look Dagen in the eyes, "Get stronger, but I am Castiel heir of the Bigod family, master of many arts, and I just ran away from a century war."
"So you will return with your head held high-"
"No, I'm not ready. I do not want to lead a kingdom down into damnation." I rise to feet, "Find someone else, because this coward just wants to disappear."
"You cannot mean that Castiel. You are the male-"
"Just shut up, I do not care anymore. Leave me be Dagen."
Dagen grabs my arm, "What of your father, what would he think? What would he want?"
Yanking my arm from his grasp I continue to walk away, making my way across Dagger Bridge. "I'm not ready to be king. I will never be ready. I am sorry my friend, but I have to go."
Making my way down the bridge I hear armored foot steps following close behind, knowing they are Dagen's I turn and push him back. "Just leave me be Dagen. I will not go back."
"Yes I see that Castiel. But you are my friend and running away from the crown makes you a deserter, and I would rather fight with you than against you." He sighs as he brushes off his chest plate, "So wether you like it or not here I am, and I am here to stay."
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SmarleneB Community Member 
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