Chapter 42:
The Martyr and the Prince
WARNING: This chapter contains detailed violence and gore. Please note this is a sad chapter.
In the grassy clearing, there were only two figures standing near each other, their stares heavy as they ran forward, clashing as their swords made contact, throwing them both back a step as they fought to take the upper hand in battle. Beads of sweat dripped down the prince's brow as the tension in the chilly air stagnated. There were no words traded between the two, only the sounds of bated breaths and steel against steel cutting through the air.
"You'll regret ever trying to kill me, elf!" The prince shouted, thrusting his sword forward in a slashing motion, taking a step forward with the momentum.
Silas blocked the prince's sword with the side of his blade, pushing back against the prince with his sword held in front of him across his chest. He gritted his teeth as he looked for an opening. With the prince's brash movements, it did not take long for him to find one. As Clarence stepped back, preparing another heavy strike, Silas was the quicker of the two and moved his sword towards Clarence's neck, between the prince's body and his sword. The movement was rapid and hard to defend against, but the prince was able to quickly parry the blade.
"You're not bad, Crown Prince." Silas refused to call the human by his name, as it would humanize him. He would rather kill the man, knowing as little about him in order to lessen his guilt for taking a life. The prince was not innocent, however, and Silas felt if he were to kill the crown prince, he would be saving the Yursear kingdom from itself.
Silas's blade had just barely grazed Clarence's neck, but there was still a small slice on his neck where beads of blood began to form and trickle out slowly. The prince, wearing his gloves, touched his neck with his hand and then stared at the red liquid staining the fingertips of his leather gloves with some disgust. He lowered his hand and laughed lowly to himself, stopping the battle momentarily.
"You really are a beast, you know." The prince stared up from his glove with an expression Silas had seen numerous times in his life as a soldier. The prince's eyes were dark, almost lifeless as a small, eerie smile passed the young man's lips, making him look deranged as he looked at Silas with an obsessive gaze of blood lust, as if he were drunk on the idea of painting Silas's fresh red blood across the courtyard. Seeing such a mad expression, Silas's pupils shrunk slightly as he tightened his grip on his sword, the air around them changing once more.
The two leaped at each other again, this time Silas was the first to move. He lifted his sword and made a careful diagonal swing downwards, slicing down towards the Prince's chest. However, Clarence jumped back, the creepy smile still donning on his lips, and attempted to slice in Silas's weak spot, to his side. Seeing his sword coming down, Silas could only grit his teeth and retreat back two steps, standing on the balls of his feet.
"Don't be such a coward!" The prince screamed, sounding petulant as he ran forward, thrusting his sword towards Silas's heart. Silas caught the swing with his sword and pushed back, causing Clarence to fall back once again, their battle continuing.
The two fought in waves, moving their feet as if they were dancing. Clarence's fitful frenzy made Silas unable to lead in battle, but his attacks were more agile and skillful, moving the prince back more times than he could attempt to move forward, making him fall into a defensive state. Silas, using the elven sword techniques, waved his sword as if it were a blade of grass in the wind, moving fluidly with ease as he parried the prince's attacks, using his speed to take the upper hand. The prince did not seem to mind falling back, however, and he began to move to the side, attempting to flank the elf. Both fell into a strange state of fluidness as the battle progressed, neither landing any hits.
Silas wanted to end the battle quickly, and as he slashed fervently at the young prince, he decided that if he had to kill the prince to end their battle, so be it. They continued to swipe at each other, both ignoring their surrounding, focusing only on each other as their dance of death continued.
It was because of this that neither of them heard another opponent quickly approach. His disheveled hair and appearance matched that of the two men fighting to the death, but his annoyance and anger was on another level as he approached the battlefield.
"You!" Captain Laurent screamed, slicking his brown hair back and out of his face, his breath ragged, as if he had run the whole way. Vaan stepped forward to stop Beau, but it only momentarily slowed him down. His armor clattered with his movements as he moved quickly forward, and a dark bruise was forming on his face where, Vaan assumed, he had hit it when he fell unconscious earlier. "You are still under my custody, you slippery elf!"
The captain only faltered for a moment as he looked past Silas to see Clarence. As he stared on in confusion, he slipped out a weak, "Prince Clarence?" before Vaan stepped in front of him, blocking his view of the fighters, locked in an intense battle.
"Leave." Vaan said, his rough, gravely voice cold as ice. Beau returned his cold stare, unblinking, as he sized up the large man in mercenary armor, his eyes trailing over the large sword at his waist.
"Get out of my way, or I'll arrest you too." Vaan held firm and Beau glared at him. Though Vaan was slightly taller than Beau, the two seemed evenly matched as they stared down each other. Beau looked him up and down, gauging his chances of winning against him, "Now that I look at you, I recognize you. You were one of the people that took my prisoner. Too bad you all weren't smart enough to cover your trail. You all were incredibly easy to track, especially with the screaming crowd shouting where you were headed." Vaan barely held back an annoyed groan as he glared back at Beau, "We didn't finish our fight from earlier either." Beau smirked and grabbed his sword, "I'll incapacite you, and take you and the elf back to the capital for punishment." Vaan unsheathed his sword, and the two glared at each other as they held their swords up to each other, "That should come with a big bonus. I've needed a vacation for awhile now anyway."
Vaan's face was fierce as he moved back to prepare to strike. Captain Laurent stepped back and lifted his sword again, moving towards Vaan. As they moved to strike, they both added more momentum to their movements, both of them using their body weight to force the swords through the air with enough force to slice through the wind. As Vaan sliced down diagonally, Beau lifted his sword in the opposite direction, preparing to parry the strike as their swords fell down on each other.
As the swords made contact, the force behind them made the two men's feet fall deeper into the loose dirt underneath their feet. The sound of steel against steel clanged out, and the more the two men pushed at each other, the louder the sound of the steel became. The two armored men's pressure was well matched, and it was difficult to know who would overpower the other.
There was no need to wait for that, however. As Vaan pushed closer forward, the sound of their swords became clearer, and soon, there was a clear cracking sound. Beau looked down at their crossed weapons, and as the steel blade cracked near the base of the sword, he jumped back, allowing his sword to break. Vaan, having already cracked his sword down the middle, moved back in a similar fashion, leaving the gap between the two men just as large as before. Now, there were only sword fragments in between them, and both of them could only look at their sword handles and the fragments on the ground.
It seemed their swords were unable to keep up with the battle. What a shame, Beau thought to himself. Vaan's expression did not change in the least, but his brow tightened somewhat as he looked at the shattered sword in his hand as he shook his head.
Having no sword to use to fight, the captain motioned with his hands towards Vaan as smiled mischievously, "Why don't we make this quick and use our fists instead? I do not want to leave this battle as a draw." Beau's words made him seem egotistical, but his skill was well known in the kingdom. Only a fool would underestimate such a large man's strength.
Vaan nodded silently, moving closer to Beau. Standing by each other, Vaan was slightly taller than the captain, but his muscles were not as large as Captain Laurent's. It would be difficult to see who would take the upper hand, but Vaan did not lack confidence in his own ability. The first to move was Captain Laurent, who raised his fists and shot forward, moving fast for having a heavy, armored frame. Vaan was prepared for his fists and raised his arms, blocking the heavy punch with his chest covered. When the captain's fist collided with Vaan's armor, there was the loud sound of metal clanging.
"Looks like you have some skill." The captain remarked, staring at the dent left in Vaan's arm armor. Vaan said nothing as he lifted his fists and prepared his own attack, moving to take down the captain once and for all.
As the two slammed into each other again, Vaan slightly faltered, and Captain Beau took the opportunity to knock Vaan off his feet and onto the ground. Vaan let out a surprised grunt before he was able to swiftly jump to his feet again. The loud noise; however, caught Silas's attention, and he glanced over to see what had caused Vaan to make such a noise. As he glanced over, he gasped in shock as he watched Beau and Vaan trading intense blows.
While Silas's attention was moved for only a moment, Clarence looked between Captain Laurent and Silas with an unreadable gaze, full of irritation and frustration. How dare he interrupt our battle, Clarence though, glaring at the captain. His eyes then moved back to Silas, who seemed frozen, as if he were more afraid of Captain Laurent than he was of Clarence himself. Feeling a strange emotion rise in his chest, the prince lifted his sword and sliced it mercilessly towards the distracted Silas, landing a shallow cut on the Silas's chest with enough force to knock the man back to the ground.
"Where are you putting your attention when you are in the middle of battle?!" Clarence angrily snapped, letting the blood from Silas's flesh wound drip from the tip of his sword.
Silas felt his body fly through the air, making him land heavily on his back, smacking his head onto the ground as he grunted, bouncing a little from the impact before he stopped, looking somewhat in a daze. As he regained his bearings, feeling the wetness of blood pool on his chest, he heard the sound of footsteps, and a heavy boot fell on his chest, right below his wound, pushing him back onto the ground and knocking the wind out of Silas's chest.
The prince's voice cut through the ringing in Silas's ears, "Stop looking at him. You're fighting me." Clarence's eyes went cold and his expression fell sharply, holding his sword tightly as he pointed the tip towards Silas, who was still reeling on the ground with his sword lying next to him. His head was spinning from the hit to the back of his head. As Silas tried to regain his senses, he could only groan and try to push Clarence's heavy boot off his chest.
"Get your shoe off me, you coward!" Silas seethed as he tried to regain his senses.
Clarence pushed his shoe heavier onto Silas's chest, forcing the air out of Silas's chest. He gasped and tried to take in a shaky breath. Clarence, seeing Silas pain, grinned wickedly as he bent at the waist, bringing his face down mere feet from Silas's.
"Is this it, elf? Is this all that you have for me?" Clarence laughed as he looked down at Silas, whose face was contorted in pain, "Your death will not be swift, as punishment for your crimes."
Clarence glared down at Silas once more, letting the disgust reign over his face as he looked at his sworn enemy. Is this how he felt, Clarence wondered to himself, As he held his sword above his head, moments before he attempted to kill me ten years ago? Clarence bit back a sharp laugh and lifted his sword above his head,
"Now your ten years' reign of terror is over, elf." Clarence's sword gleamed, and he resisted the urge to smile, wanting Silas to see Clarence's apathetic face as the last thing he ever saw again. "Goodbye."
Just as the prince had started to lower his sword, there was a loud bang, and everyone's attention was taken from their battles and towards the distant sound of an explosion. From where they were standing, it was impossible to see the source of the sound. However, the explosion was a big enough distraction to pull away the prince's attention long enough for Silas to look to his right, where his sword was resting. The few inches between the sword handle and his fingertips felt like miles, but it was close enough for Silas to attempt to reach for it.
With only a short window of time, Silas reached his fingers forward as he moved his body as much as it would allow with the pressure of Clarence's foot on his chest. His fingers dug into the ground as he inched forward, using the momentum of his fingers to move his arm closer and closer, feeling the pull of his muscles as he stretched his limbs to grab the sword. It was only a moment before Silas's fingers brushed the sword. Grimacing, he moved a little more, using two of his fingers to pinch the handle to pull it closer to his hand.
Just as he could grab the sword, he heard the prince say in a mocking tone. "What do you think you're doing?" Silas looked up, his pupils shrinking as the prince moved his foot off to Silas's chest and towards his hand, where he had lost the grip on his sword.
"Agh!" Silas could not help but shout out in pain as the prince stomped his foot down heavily on his fingers. With his fingers sprawled out on the ground, it felt like all of his fingers would break one by one. Seeing the elf's pain, the prince laughed to himself as he ground his foot onto Silas's palm. The pain made Silas cry out as he bit his bottom lip, attempting to alleviate the pain any way he could. Silas weakly glanced over to Vaan, who was locked in an intense battle with Beau. Any moment of broken concentration from Vaan could easily turn their even battle into a definite and quick loss for him.
Though Silas did not want to admit it, he was on his own. If he did not find some way to get back on his feet soon, his head would be disconnected from his body. He squeezed his eyes tightly as he thought about what to do, but his racing mind made thinking difficult. Though he had been in battles numerous times, he had never been at such a disadvantage. Silas felt an unnerving fear run through him so thoroughly, he did not even think to use his mana to try to save himself.
As Clarence watched Silas's mind racing, he laughed and dug his foot even deeper into Silas's hand, causing Silas to scream out in pain. Silas swung his free hand over to Clarence's foot, trying to push it off his likely broken hand, when, in desperation, he grabbed Clarence's ankle. Clarence tried to pull away in shock, but Silas held tight as he opened his mouth wide and took a deep, strong bite out of Clarence's leg. Silas then began pulling his head back, trying to pull the skin off his leg. Clarence screamed in pain and kicked Silas in the stomach, trying to free his leg, but it only made Silas bite harder.
Blood pooled down Silas's chin as bits of flesh hung between his teeth, leaving a foul taste in his mouth. Clarence attempted to kick the elf off, but his teeth were tightly fixed onto the prince's leg, and there was no way Silas would let go of his own volition. They were deadlocked in battle, both fiercely fighting with their lives.
"You disgusting animal!" Clarence yelled as he kicked Silas in the stomach again, trying to free his leg.
"I could say the same to you!" Silas looked up at him, releasing his heavy bite as blood dripped from his lips. "Who has terrorized who for ten years?!" Silas shouted as he lifted his hands, his right hand bent awkwardly from Clarence's attack. With his broken right hand unusable, Silas could only push the prince's legs with his left hand with a heavy blow. Clarence lost his balance and fell to the ground, his sword falling out of his hands as he landed on his back, only feet away from Silas. The sword flew out of reach, the blade still warm with fresh blood.
Now on the ground, Silas lunged at Clarence, using only his bare hands to grab the young man and slam the back of his head on the ground, much like the prince had done to him earlier. Silas ignored the trickle of blood trailing from his lips as he said, gnashing his teeth, "Who burned down my tribe's village? Who enslaved and murdered my people? Who destroyed my home, Prince?" After each word, he threw the prince down to the ground, shaking the young man like a bag of gold coins. "Don't play innocent when you've ruined countless lives!" Silas was only inches away from the prince's face as he leaned forward, anger dripping from his words as he glared at the young man. Silas had now gotten a keen control over his senses.
Clarence, unwilling to lose now, lept forward and tangled with Silas, moving the two onto the ground, their faces close enough to each other to feel the moisture of each other's heated breaths. As they rolled, Clarence bit at Silas, and Silas scratched at the man's arms, leaving no exposed skin without injuries. Silas was able to land a heavy punch on Clarence's face, and soon a large red spot formed on his left cheek. Blood trickled down the prince's nose, but he ignored it as he threw Silas to the ground, on his back. Silas was only given a moment to recover before the prince's hands wrapped tightly around his neck, and the air in Silas's lungs was pressed out, making him choke as the grip on his neck tightened to the point where his face would soon turn purple.
"You'll die today!" Clarence yelled, the smile on his face sadistic as he looked at the struggling elf below him. Silas could only grit his teeth and think fast, before he ran out of oxygen. While he thought, the prince smiled as if he had already won.
The prince's victory was premature, however. Silas had trained in many forms of hand-to-hand combat, often experiencing what it was like to have an enemy larger than you attempting to overtake you. Adora would have been ashamed if he were unable to break himself free of the prince's grip, and thinking of her, Silas lifted his hands between the prince's arms, near the crook of his arms, and aggressively pushed out, loosening the prince's grip. Clarence was startled by the sudden move, causing his hands to lose their strength. This gave Silas the chance to grab Clarence by the collar and flip him over, using his body weight to switch their positions, leaving the prince on the ground.
"So much for killing me." Silas spat, looming over the prince with a look of intense disgust and anger.
Silas lifted his fist and punched Clarence in the face, landing a heavy hit to the prince's pale cheek. Clarence's head moved to the side with the hit as he gritted his teeth, looking particularly weak under Silas's fist once again. Silas let his fist repeatedly fall against Clarence's steeled face, and soon his fist was lifted into the air, bloody and raw. Clarence coughed weakly, his face battered and bruised from taking repeated blows to the face. Still, Clarence managed to let out a weak laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" Silas sneered, the pain in both hands screaming intensely.
"Maybe this is how it was meant to end." Clarence said weakly, between coughs. His split lip was swollen, and blood was dribbling down his cheek, "Maybe fate wants me to die by your hands."
Silas looked down at the husk below him, and he quickly lifted his fist. This is it. Silas thought to himself, If I hit him one more time, this will all be over. My village will be avenged. My mission will be over. Silas squeezed his eyes and steeled his nerves. I'll be able to see my family. As Silas slowly opened his eyes, he looked down once more at the prince below him. He thought he would see the angry, possessed creature that was constantly torturing him since he had returned to the Yursear kingdom, and long before that, but as he opened his eyes, his good hand closed into a fist high above him, he was surprised by the sight beneath him. Behind the hate-filled eyes that were glaring at him was the reflection of a lost, scared child. One who was alone, running in the dark, trying to find anything to hold onto, anyone who would save him.
Just like the child Silas had saved in the castle ten years ago.
Silas faltered. His fist shook. He tried to take a deep breath, but his lungs felt limp. Unable to hold any substantial air. Silas looked at his bloody fist, then down to his battered body, then back to Clarence's limp body. Silas took in a shaky breath. He squeezed his eyes shut again, his face contorted.
I'm so sorry.
Silas slammed his fist down. A silence took over the field. The smell of blood; however, hung heavy in the air. Silas suddenly felt like gagging, and he had to gingerly hurry to his feet, nursing his broken hand, before he turned and puked, heaving heavily as everything in his stomach came up with a vengeance, as if it were his ancestors punishing him. Vomit and dried blood dribbled down his chin as he attempted to hold back the tears of pain pooling at the corners of his almond eyes. All Silas could taste was the sour, metallic flavor of the prince's blood in his mouth.
Silas inhaled a deep breath and then dry heaved once more, taking in more deep breaths as best he could to calm his sick stomach. His shaky breaths caused him to cough violently, shifting his bruised ribs as it awakened all the pain in his body that had been hidden by the adrenaline that had been pumping through his veins.
The pain awoke the memories that day of the castle, the memories that would haunt Silas awake numerous nights for the past ten years. He thought of the first man he had killed, the unfortunate knight that had sacrificed himself to protect the prince. Then he thought of the maid that he had attempted to save, the poor young woman that had been dragged out from underneath the prince's bed, who had been decapitated attempting to hide. His thoughts then landed on Clarence, thinking of the young boy with the light blue eyes, filled with tears, as the young boy called out to him in an innocent voice. The young boy trusted him, hugged him, and thought of him as his savior.
If he was not the prince of the Yursear Kingdom, I wonder if things would have been different. Silas thought to himself, his eyes dizzy from blood loss. As his thoughts drifted, Silas fell to his knees, collapsing shortly after, unable to even summon his mana to dull some of the pain.
Through the ringing in his ears, he could hear the sounds of footsteps, hearing muddled screams becoming closer and closer to him. Silas could only close his eyes, allowing the shallow tears to fall onto his pale, bruised and bloody face. They burned his skin as they fell, leaving the man on the ground, his chest facing the ground like a corpse.
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Thank you all for reading, and always a huge thank you to Hunny for helping me write/ finish this monster! Ah, she's so long..... Thanks so much for your continued support and comments! ♥ ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡ Ah, I want to spoil, but I won't! (￣ ￣|||) Hunny says if you want to know what happens next, smash that kofi button (*/▽＼*)
Thanks for your patience! Hunny and I found this chapter particularly triggering to write, so it took us longer to finish it than usual. I'm not sure why, but it makes you feel as if you are part of the battle, and honestly my fight or flight was kicking in just writing it ;; I'm fairly tight on warnings for chapters like this, and there will be more to come in the future (like the novel tags, lol).
Also, actual important notice! We are close to wrapping up arc 2~! Yay!! (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄) That means in the near future (still unsure as we have particular plot points to hit first), we will be finishing arc 2 and going on a short 2 week hiatus to prepare ahead. We're hoping it falls while we're on vacation! Arc 3 will be even more violent and wild, with more spice! ヽ(~_~(・_・ )ゝMore "innuendos" from this aguafiesta, teehee. I'll be editing the draft on the plane (smh probably around 350 pages), so there may be some slight grammar changes and such reuploaded around the beginning of May. That may include me finally drawing a map of the kingdom and starting drawn character profiles if I have time!
Thanks always for reading, all! First announcements will always come from discord, followed by my twitter @cat_masseuse! For art only, see my instagram @phiphimagician! I'll try to be active on all three of hiatus when the time comes, so see me there! :D