The Knight crept slowly through the dense forest. For days he'd been in hiding, ever since that backstabber went back on his word. He'd done everything he was supposed to, and yet the accursed sorcerer had sent hordes of his minions to kill him. He stopped for a breather and sat with his back to a tree, and looked to the canopy above. Memories of his days with his fiancé danced through his mind.
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Lucien stood out on the balcony of the castle room he sometimes shared with Princess Rosa. He looked out over the sprawling landscape before him; the hundreds of buildings in the great city of Traliseth and the lands further out. The morning sun was just rising which cast everything in a brilliant red glow, and a gentle cool breeze blew his blond hair about wildly. He smiled, this was home. Just as the thought happened he felt a hand run up his spine, he jumped a bit and heard a sweetest giggle next to him.
"The bravest and greatest knight, in all the world, and yet you still frighten at the slightest touch" Rosa smiled next to him.
Lucien looked at her and gave her a warm smile. "Only because I keep letting my guard down with you, which is why you keep managing to sneak up on me"
She slapped his shoulder then He took her hand in his. Together they watched the ascent of the sun, bathing in the beautiful rays.
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Lucien stood outside the massive doors to the throne room, waiting. The pair of guards posted outside them shifted from foot to foot nervously as they tried to avoid his eyes. He ignored them as he stood proud in his immaculate formal attire which was a suit of red, with golden trims. On his shirt were a plethora of medals and honours. After a while of waiting, the massive doors finally swung open inside, and he was ushered in. Trumpets sounded as he walked the large red carpet an acknowledged the people who nodded or smiled at him as he walked by, up ahead the two magnificent thrones sat upon a raised dais, King Roland sat on the larger of the two, and on the other, Andraste, the king's adopted elf sister. Behind them on smaller seats sat, king's twin daughters, Rosalina and Victoria as well as Andraste's much younger daughter, Kailia. Rosa smiled at him as he approached the dais, he ignored her and knelt with his head held low before the royals. This was not the time for them to show affection towards one another. There was a low chuckle as the king left his seat and raised his hands, signaling the end of the trumpet playing. He descended the dais and stood before him.
"Stand Lucien" his voice boomed throughout the room as he held Lucien's shoulders helped him up.
"Today is a special occasion" he addressed the room as he stood proudly with his hands on Lucien's shoulders. "Our brave champion here proved his loyalty once more by leading his Dragon Knights on an excursion to the surrounding villages of Guan where he defeated the marauders who had taken up residence in the lord's manor and thus liberating the people who had spent years under tyranny"
There was a light applause by the inhabitants of the room and Rosa beamed at him.
"Now normally I would award such actions with a boon of sorts, but alas, I've already given Ser Lucien everything he could possibly ask for, and I'm afraid that if I were to continue rewarding him for his deeds, I'd soon have no kingdom left to rule" he laughed heartily at his own joke then continued "and so I've decided to award him with something else...." The king paused for dramatic effect before finishing."...My daughter's hand in marriage"
There was a collective gasp as everyone in attendance was surprised by his words, Andraste and the princesses especially. Lucien stared blankly at the King until he finally was able to speak.
"Which one, my Lord?"
"Whichever one you desire my son" suddenly the king's grip on his shoulder grew tighter and he lean in closer to whisper in his ear "Although I suggest you only look to the one you've been running around with in secret"
Lucien's face went pale as the king laughed and pat him on the back then stepped aside. He looked Rosa in the eyes and they both smiled at each other. He bowed gracefully and replied as his heart fluttered.
"Thank you, your Grace. There is nothing this humble servant would love more, than to have Princess Rosalina's hand in marriage my lord"
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It was a stormy night, heavy winds toyed with the trees while lighting raced through the skies followed by thunderous booms which echoed throughout the kingdom and furious rain drops pelted the streets and buildings. A single massive black stallion raced through the roads of Traliseth, and on it a figure in dressed in a red and gold battle armour with a matching shield strapped to his back. Lucien's hair clung to his head as the rain soaked it completely. The beats of the horse's hoofs competed with the occasional boom of thunder which threatened to deafen him. The castle loomed ahead and Lucien spurred his horse forward and flew across the drawbridge and into the courtyard where he dismounted quickly and barreled through the castles front doors racing along on his mighty legs.
He ran through the palace as fast as he could, taking sharp turns around corridors and walkways until he finally found the door he wanted. He stopped suddenly when he saw the cloak figure standing before the door.
"Out of the way" He said.
"I'm afraid I can't Lucien. King's orders" the figure replied stoically with a shrug.
"MOVE!" Lucien shouted back. He was seething with anger and Brinn was making it worse.
"I'm sorry my friend, but I must obey my orders. You of all people should understand"
"Arghhhh" Lucien pulled his golden sword from its scabbard and lashed it at Brinn who simply stepped out the way. The blade sliced into the wall and split the door in two, Lucien kicked down the remains and stepped through but just as he did, something wrapped around his hand. He turned and saw the long coiled whip that extended from Brinn's arm under his cloak.
"Really Brinn? YOU FUCKING DARE TO ATTACK ME?"
"You did first, and as I said...King's orders" he quickly drew a dagger and rushed Lucien, as he attacked with his whip.
Lucien yelled at him and unstrapped his shield and rose his sword high....
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Lucien pounded his fists against the wall of his cell, each time he pulled his hand back he left a new splotch of blood there, his fists burned and his hands bled wildly, but he didn't care, he kept at it a few times before he focused his strength and gave one last punch that burst a hole in the wall. There was a slow clap outside his cell, Lucien turned around and saw King Roland and Brinn, Roland was staring at him sadly while Brinn continued his applause.
"How have you been son?" The king asked.
"What the hell do you fucking think?" He spat back. "You've had me locked in here for so long I can't even fucking remember the day...."
"About 4 months now old friend" Brinn ceased his clapping.
"What the hell to you want?"
"What, can't I come visit my fellow Celestial Knight?"
"Fuck you, traitor. I meant him…" I pointed at the King.
"I received word from Avrym...He wants me to send someone to collect Rosalina in exchange for someone else"
Lucien stared at him for a while before replying.
"Why are you telling me this?"
The king looked away from him, and stood silent before Brinn stepped forward and opened the cell door.
"Our liege would like you to carry out the mission, we have the girl Avrym will accept in return. So all you need to do is deliver her, and bring our princess home"
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Lucien awoke with a start and stared at the sun through the trees, birds sang happy songs above while he sat there. A gentle breeze lapped at his face making two loose strands of his hair float in the wind. He got up and then smiled, that stupid dragon was going to pay for fucking him over. He exited the forest into a wide clearing which had a cliff out in the distance. His armour glinted in the sunlight as he stood in the clearing taking in the sight until he heard the sound of great wings beating against the air, followed by a huge shadow covering a massive portion of the clearing. He looked and saw the largest dragon he had ever laid eyes on. It landed before him with a thunderous thud, and stared at him before opening its maw and words flowed out.
"You didn't possibly think you could escape me did you?"
Lucien laughed as he stared down the beast. "I would never run from such a pathetic monster, who needed to ambush me in order to gain an advantage. I was merely looking for a better place to kill you. And I think this will do well enough"
The great dragon towered over him, glaring with its piercing red eyes. Lucien however just smiled at him, for fear was something he had never felt since he killed his first dragonling at the tender age of 12, and even though he didn't have his sword and shield he never doubted his ability to slay the dragon. The beast opened its mouth once more and spoke, and its voice thundered loudly in the clearing.
"All of this is futile, human. The princess will not be returned to her home, and neither will you. So I offer a choice, kneel before me and I shall make your death painless, challenge me however and you will suffer a painful death."
Lucien was surprised by how cool its voice was, as if it hadn't actually come from the dragon itself. Lucien, however, remained firm in his resolve. He was there for a reason, and he wasn't leaving until his task was completed successfully.
Calmly, he gazed up at the towering beast and replied, "Could you please shut the fuck up already? Your breath is unpleasant and reminiscent of the stench of tens of rotting corpses"
The dragon let out a low, menacing growl. Smoke began seeping from its nostrils and mouth as it snarled. It opened a massive paw and Lucien's sword and shield fell from it, then it turned and walked a few paces while shrinking to a smaller size.
"Very well then human. Ready your blade so that I may teach you a lesson that your masters seem to have neglected during your training; the difference between a misbehaving dog nipping at your heels, and an ancient beast capable of leveling cities in an instant!"
Without another word, the monster spun and blasted a ball of fire at him, Lucien scrambled for his sword and shield then quickly rolled to the side just in time to save himself. He hurriedly strapped his shield to his arm then stopped and turned after hearing a loud boom. The forest he had come through was now up in flames. Lucien straightened himself and held his sword to his side.
"You missed you giant worthless lizard, I'm over here"
The knight steeled himself and charged forward as the dragon let loose a volley of smaller fiery projectiles, but Lucien simply laughed as he dodged between them and slapped away a few with his shield. The ground caught fire wherever the flames hit around him, he ran towards the dragon who then breathed a long stream of fire at him, but Lucien was unfazed of course; he refused to break his charge. Instead, he raised his shield in front of his face then leapt for the dragon's face, aiming his blade at the place between its eyes, he was surprised however, when the beast spun and swatted at him with its tail. Lucien quickly lifted his shield to block the blow, but the force behind it sent him flying through the air. He landed heavily and rolled a few meters before he came to a stop.
"Ok that didn't go as planned" he groaned
"You shall endure much more pain before the day is done, human"
"Ha! Tis but a scratch you scaly motherfucker"
The beast laughed, which came out as a loud boom. "You really ought to learn some respect!"
It drew its head back and spewed more fire from its maw at Lucien who rolled to his feet and just lifted his shield to cover his face once more. He stepped back and smirked as he was obscured by smoke and fire, he then lifted his sword above his head and tossed it where he was sure the dragon's head would be. He listened carefully then jumped through the fire after hearing the beast's agonizing roar, he rushed towards the dragon as it thrashed about and quickly noticed his sword stuck deep in the beast's forehead and grinned. He knew it wouldn't be enough to kill it, but it would make his job a lot easier. He closed in on the beast and made a giant leap, and grabbed hold of a scale at the edge of the dragon's snout. The dragon stopped and stared down at him angrily, Lucien simply smiled and waved at its narrowed eyes.
"Well, you're one ugly fucker aren't you?" The Knight taunted. "Say, would you be so kind as to help me get to where my sword is so that I can slice this ugly thing off your neck?"
The dragon just stared, perplexed at the casual nature of the Knight. Lucien stared back and said "No? Then allow me to show you something absolutely badass"
He started to climb up its face using the dragon's scales, but just before he reached the top of its snout, the beast flapped its wings and took to the skies with Lucien hanging on.
"You pathetic sack of meat! You only delay the inevitable. Remove thyself!"
"Really! Do you fucking think me suicidal, You son of a whore?"
The beast flailed about as it flew, causing the Knight to slam into its thick scales, but that did not stop him. Instead, he laughed and continued climbing.
"Tossing about like a mad cow won't do you any good, you oversized scaly bitch! You're as good as dead motherfucker!"
When he reached the eyes of the great beast, the two stared at each other in mutual hatred until Lucien spoke with cold enthusiasm. "Oh great Avrym, lord of darkness and shadows! Take a long hard look, for I'm the last thing you're ever going to see!"
He jumped across to its right eye, grabbed onto a scale beneath it and adjusted himself so that he was seeing eyes to eye with the dragon. He clenched his fist tight and swung with all the strength he could muster in that instant. The beast saw the Knight's action and shut its eyes tightly. The beast's efforts were futile, however, as the Knight's steel gauntlet easily broke through the hardened scales like they were nothing. Lucien yanked his bloody fist out of the dragon's eye socket as the beast's eyeball exploded, it careened through the air as it shrieked in pain and flew blindly towards the cliff. Lucien looked behind as he hung on for his life and noticed where the dragon was flying to, a look of terror crossed his face as he looked down and noticed how high up he was. He smiled inwardly as he let go of the beast, and fell. Time slowed as he was engulfed by the air all around, on his way down, to eternal slumber.
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Lucien stood admiring his work, the wolf's body was riddled with stab wounds from the large hunting knife the boy held in his hand. He turned and looked at the two girls to his left, the older one stood, arms outstretched protectively before the other smaller girl which lay on the ground crying her eyes out. They both wore the frilled dresses of nobility, though he couldn't possibly fathom why nobility would be out here, this close to the woods, without even a single guard or attendant. The older one stared at him defiantly, as he wiped the blade and put it away.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" He finally asked "I just saved your life, the least you can say is thank you"
The girl stared at him appalled, balling her fists, then stomped over to him and pointed her finger and his face threateningly, which was a funny sight with her being a full head shorter than he was.
"Thank you?"
"You're welcome"
"That was my cousin's pet you dolt!" She screamed.
"Wait, what?"
"You just murdered the wolf my baby cousin has been caring for, for years. What's the matter with you?"
"I'm sorry," he started backing away from her "I saw it and you girls and just thought you were in danger"
"Excuse me, but did we ask for your help?"
"No...."
"Did you hear us screaming in terror?"
"....."
"Did it even look like we were in danger?"
"Now that I think about it....."
"NO! we weren't, so what reason did you have to come in and kill Sabie?"
Lucien was speechless, he was only trying to help and in doing so he had done more harm than he intended. He hung his head in shame as he apologized once more.
"Oh you think a simple 'sorry' is going to fix this?" Her voice was venom to Lucien which threatened to make him numb before melting his insides.
"How can I fix this then?" he asked, not wanting to be remembered as a psycho wolf murderer. "I'll do whatever you want"
The girl huffed at him and went over to the younger girl who was still crying, she tried getting her up but she wouldn't budge.
"You can start by taking her and following me" she waited until he had the other girl in his arms before storming off. After a short while she turned around and asked his name.
"Lucien Arengar" he replied
"Well I'm Princess Rosalina" she said smugly while resting a hand on her breast, the she pointed at the other girl. "And that's Laura. Starting today you're going to spend the rest of your life in service to the throne"
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Tears floated up from his eyes as he raced toward the ground, and he smiled sadly "I'm so sorry, I've failed you so many times...." He closed his eyes as he finally crashed. He heaved as the wind was knocked out of him and he felt it as every bone in his body cracked and shattered, then the bright afternoon sun faded to black. The sky was dark when he woke up, the stars twinkled overhead and the wind was cool against his face. His entire body burned and he felt tremendous pain all over, he coughed and gurgled on blood that had welled up in his mouth, slowly her spit it out and wondered how he was still alive. He was then startled by a familiar voice.
"Welcome back to the waking world, My Love."
The woman's voice sounded cheerful, yet he couldn't help but feel a chill creep up his spine. He attempted to sit up, but quickly realized he couldn't move.
"The poison currently flowing through your veins is preventing you from moving. As well as all those broken bones"
The woman knelt next to the knight and relief settled on his face as he saw the familiar beautiful face of the woman he had come to rescue, his one true love.
"Princess Rosa….you're alive…..I was so worried." he tried to be happy, but his body wouldn't let him. As he could feel that something was off about her, very off.
"What is the matter, sir knight?" The princess smiled, and the knight saw how the light in her eyes betrayed her; they looked cold and dead.
"How did you know about me being poisoned? Even I didn't even know...." The knight stared into the princess' eyes; he already knew the answer to his question and he dreaded it. He was starting to feel something he hadn't felt since he was a child.
Fear; pure, agonizing, fear.
The princess cocked her head to one side and feigned confusion. Once again, the knight noticed how the expression didn't meet her eyes.
"Why, My Love, I know because I am the one who poisoned you."
She held up a knife, which was still dripping fresh blood tinted with green. The knight felt his heart sink as the sensation of terror grew stronger and his mind raced with what he felt was going to happen next.
"I came here to save you!" He screamed.
The princess smiled and plunged the knife into his chest. The knight suddenly realized he was no longer wearing his suit of armor.
"Please... don't... don't do this! You... you have to... snap out of it!"
The young knight pleaded, but his cries fell on deaf ears as the princess removed the knife and plunged it into his chest, again and again and again. He watched helplessly and pleaded; he cried and screamed; he cursed and hollered as she continued stabbing him.
It took several minutes before the young knight's cries finally subsided and he laid there, dead at last. The princess shed a single tear, "I'm so sorry, My Love..."
She continued kneeling next to him as the dragon landed softly beside them. The sword still erect in its forehead and its eye completely healed. It reached up and plucked the sword from its head and tossed it aside. It was then suddenly surrounded by a brilliant light as it transformed and moments later in its place stood a tall, slender, regal looking dark elf, his dark complexion was complimented by the beautiful moonlight that shown upon his form. He wore flowing robes of dark purple with silver along the edges, his black hair reached down to his shoulders, and his eyes burned a fierce crimson. He scoffed at the Lucien's body and said sadly.
"I promised you an agonizing death if you challenged me...and all this for a king who sold your soul to me"
He snapped his fingers as he walked off.
The knight suddenly rose to his feet and shambled after the man. His steps were unbalanced and he stumbled a few times, he was followed by the princess.
The poor lad didn't know it, but he was alive again, yet still dead.