In the empty throne room, the kingdom's two most powerful men gazed at each other. Neither making any sound nor movement. Simply gazing at each other, yet with this, many emotions and intentions were conveyed.
After a brief yet silent exchange the pair slowly began to close the distance between themselves. If anyone else chanced upon this scene, they would've assumed the two were about to start a brawl, the ones you would see in back alleys or in front of pubs. Yet all they did was continue to approach one another, right until they merely a meter apart.
In that instant, the two man dashed forwards.
"Brother!" laughed Fenrir as he brought Sleph into a warm embrace.
"It's good to be back by your side brother" replied Sleph with a warm smile.
The 'masks' they wore were no longer seen, their cold gazes that could pierce into the very soul of a man were now genial.
"Brother, lets go to my room. We can drink some wine and catch up, or maybe just reminisce about old times" suggested Fenrir.
Sleph replied with a warm nod and followed Fenrir as they made their way to the king's chamber. As he walked alongside his brother whom he hadn't seen for nearly two years, many memories he'd buried in a corner of his heart began to resurface.
It all started when the Crown Prince Fenrir Avernus was visiting a neighboring country -that had later been destroyed by the Avernus Kingdom-. Soon after crossing the border of the two countries a large group of cloaked figures appeared. The group contained swordsmen, knights, archers, crossbow men, and even mages. They had surrounded the Prince's convoy leaving his guards no choice but to repel the assassins.
Yet what the guards didn't know was that there were traitors among them. Several knights drew their swords on their former comrades that they had shed blood and sweat with for years. The betrayal was a greater shock than the arrival of the assassins themselves. The young Crown Prince -who was barely 14- was horrified by the sight before him. Limbs and heads were strewn about, screams, shouting and explosions had drowned out any other sounds.
The prince was filled with despair. They had called for reinforcements but by the time they would arrive it would be too late.
The Vice Captain of the Royal Guard was accompanying Fenrir. He ordered his remaining men to charge towards the forest to allow the prince to escape. The remnants of the convoy paved the way for the prince with their corpses. The knights were covering Fenrir with their shield to block the volleys of arrows aiming at him. And the kingdom's mages were frantically casting assortments of shield to defend from the enemy mages.
The surroundings were ravaged after the endless barrage of magic spells. Spells ranging from simple blasts of lightnings and ice to massive fireballs rained down on the Fenrir's group.
By the time they had broken through the encirclement, their numbers were cut down to a quarter of what they had when they left the capital. The mages were running low on mana while the knights were depleted of their stamina. They were all panting and sweat poured down their faces and backs.
"Prince, you must escape into the forest. We'll hold them back." shouted the Vice Captain.
"But-" replied Fenrir before being interrupted.
"No buts. Your the future of the kingdom. You must live!" bellowed the Vice Captain with his back facing the prince, readying himself for his final stand.
"Alfred, take him into the forest and don't turn back" yelled the Vice Captain towards one of the younger knights.
The young knight nodded towards his Captain and mentor before slinging the prince over his shoulder and running as fast as he could. Tears could be seen in the young knight and the prince's eyes as they ran.
The shouts of their friends and acquaintances echoed through the forest.
The remnants of the convoy were loyal until the end. Not surrendering and fighting till their dying breath. The mages detonated their mana cores bringing dozens of enemies down with them. While the knights took on several enemies each tried to hold them back for as long as possible. All they could think about was their loyalty to the kingdom and the royal family as well as their hatred for those traitors.
But they were severely outnumbered and soon they began to fall, one by one.
Eventually only the Vice Captain remained standing. Blood gushing out of the numerous wounds across his body. His armour, sword and shield were damaged beyond repair. He was alone facing so many foes yet he didn't back down. Not once did he show fear or hesitation.
The leader of the cloaked figures signalled towards the others and they began to run in the direction the prince went .
"Don't you dare think about harming the prince, you'll have to trample over my dead body!" hollered the Vice Captain.
"Then that's what I'll do" replied the leader of the the cloaked figures, in a calm voice.
The Vice Captain could see the man start to smile under his hood. Then he disappeared...
And soon the captain's vision was dyed red and slowly darkened...
Deep in the forest the young knight Alfred had finally stopped running and put the prince down. He had began to hide their tracks and made sure they moved more cautiously. Fenrir's face was filled with dried tears and snot while his eye seemed empty.
"Prince we'll stay in that cave tonight then move towards the town that we spotted earlier" spoke Alfred in a hoarse voice.
The pair were beyond tired, their throats were dry and their stomachs were empty. Luckily there were fruits and berries scattered around the cave that they'd found.
For the rest of the afternoon they ate whatever they could scavenged and attempted to rest. The prince held the dagger Alfred gave him close to his body as he slept. While Alfred was clenching the hilt of his sword. They couldn't stay awake even if they wanted to. The day's events had drained all their energy.
The next morning after a handful of fruits for breakfast the pair headed towards the town they spotted the day before. They hoped to get some supplies and a horse then find somewhere safe to stay until the kingdom's reinforcements arrived.
Five hours passed until they reached the town. It was of a moderate size and was bustling with activity. The pair stood out like a sore thumb amongst the farmers, peasants and merchants the filled the town. Alfred had dumped his plate armour in the forest as it was too heavy and damaged to be of any use. Yet his chainmail was in a similar condition and was stained with blood, he didn't know if it was his or his enemies' at this point. While the prince wore a luxurious tunic and trousers that were torn in several areas.
The pair quickly made their way through the unguarded gates and into some alleys. Attempting to trade for cloaks with the passerby's. Eventually they managed to get two cloaks at the cost of Alfred's family heirloom -his ring-. Although pained by the loss, he simply had no choice.
After half an hour of searching they found a merchant who would provide them with a days lodging, food and horses. This time they pawned the prince's crown which was adorned with an assortment of jewels. The prince cared very little for the loss of his crown, he was just grateful to be alive, sad that so many had died because of him and angry at those who had cause all this bloodshed.
It felt so good to wash off all their blood, sweat and filth they've accumulated over the past two days. They then patched up their wounds as best as they could, Alfred had been lucky to only suffer a few shallow cuts while Fenrir only a few scratches. The pair ate the food the merchant provided like wolves. It was absolute bliss for them, to be somewhere safe and comforting after all the trauma they had suffered.
That night the two had tried to get a good nights sleep. But the images from the previous day still haunted them. Occasionally tears or sobs could be heard from them.
The two woke up the next morning and ate.
"Prince, today we will be leaving and head north. We can't head back to the kingdom as those b#stards will be expecting it" said Alfred with a mouthful of food.
"But then how will my father's reinforcements find us?" replied Fenrir worriedly.
"They'll find us. Place some faith in your father" spoke Alfred with a slightly dejected look.
The two quickly finished their meal, gathered their weapons and armour and made their way out of the inn. As they exited the inn Alfred was horrified. He spotted a trio of cloaked figures wandering the street. He quickly pulled Fenrir into the nearby alley and pulled him further away from the street.
"Alfred what happened?" said Fenrir in confusion.
"I think they've foun-" right before Alfred could finish his reply a dagger pierced through his heart.
Alfred looked down in horror. Although he was only a low-tiered knight he was deemed to have promising potential so he was shocked when he didn't even notice someone behind him. Alfred would soon join his comrades in the afterlife.
Fenrir stood their dazed by the death of Alfred. He was the only person who could help him, now that he was gone, he was all alone. Fenrir knew him, a young boy who's a novice with the sword would never be able to fend off someone who could kill Alfred undetected.
"Boy, you can only blame yourself for being born the crown prince" chuckled the hooded figure, who appeared from the darkness behind Alfred's corpse.
Fenrir was overcome with fear. Cold sweat drenched his back and a shiver crawled up his spine. His limbs were trembling. Fenrir tried to move away from the man by walking backwards. But instead tripped over an empty beer bottle and fell back. The man towered over him, with his dagger dripping with blood in his hand. Fenrir had his back to a wall now, he had no where to run. The man continued to approach Fenrir at a leisurely pace right until he was a step away.
The man sheathed his dagger and reached forwards to grab the prince. But right when his hand was about to touch the prince's head, a boy dashed out and in one fluid movement he grabbed the man's dagger from his sheath and sliced his throat.
He was saved. The crown prince was saved.
Fenrir looked up at the boy who had saved his life. It was a beggar with silver hair and pale blue eyes...