The stench of the blood mingled with the smell of burning bodies. Screams, the clashing of swords, the burning palace. It was all chaos.
The beaten down knight was running through the corridors dragging the weeping king behind him. They were trying to escape. The siege was the last thing the kingdom had expected on the day of the festival.
Suddenly, their way was blocked by the enemy soldiers. The knight grit his teeth and slashed forward. The king screamed before huddling into the corner, "Ahhhhhh!!! No! Please don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me!"
'Fuck!'
The knight screamed, "Your Majesty! Please run! I'll hold them off so make your escape!"
"No…no." The king quivered, "I can't run. My-my legs won't move!"
"Please My King!" The knight pleaded, "I'll catch up to you! Please escape now!"
"NO! I CAN'T!" The king wailed, "What if there are more soldiers! I can't go!"
This annoyed the knight but he couldn't say anything about it as he had his hands full dealing with the soldiers. Suddenly,something whizzed past his face and a sharp pain erupted in his left shoulder. He glanced at the arrow that pierced his shoulder. Fresh, hot blood flowed like a river. He clenched his teeth before pulling it out and stabbing the oncoming soldier.
At this rate, he couldn't carry on much longer. He approached the king and lifted him by the arm and they ran with the enemy still hot on their trail. They managed to evade the soldiers and entered a tunnel the knight was sure the enemy must not have discovered.
The tunnel ended at the port of the kingdom. There were already many boats leaving the port. All those who were able to escape were quickly piling into the last ship. Most of the ships had been destroyed by the enemy.
The two boarded the ship and it wasn't long before the last ship too left the port. Ivan watched as people scurried to the port wailing, screaming and crying. Smoke rose from the kingdom and the stench of blood was carried to the sea. Ivan's head hurt terribly. He thought about his parents who must have perished in the siege. He clenched his fist.
"Ah! You're hurting me." A small voice came from behind him. Ivan turned around and looked at the king, releasing his wrist in the process. He looked at his tear-stained face with splashes of blood. His hand moved to clean the blood but he stopped himself when he saw his hands covered in it. He rummaged through his pocket before pulling out a clean, white handkerchief.
He held it out for the king, letting three words slip out of his mouth, "Are you okay?"
The king's eyes flared, "OK? How can I be okay? My kingdom has been burned down! I was forced to flee due the incompetence of my soldiers! What ok! I'm ruined!"
'Ah, this bastard. If you weren't the king, if I hadn't promised to your father, if I hadn't vowed my life to you, if…if…you weren't my priority, I surely would have left you to die, you coward.' These were his only thoughts before seeing black and collapsing.
___________
Ivan woke up with a start in cold sweat. He took a moment to catch his breath. His head was splitting and when he moved a sharp pain came from his covered wound.
Looking around, he found himself lying in the corner of the room. There were many other people too. Some were injured, some were scraping whatever they could find to eat. He felt at a loss looking at them. He spotted a woman cradling her sleeping child while silently crying and his chest hurt more.
'I couldn't protect the kingdom. Ha, I really am incompetent.' He thought.
"Oh! You're awake. That's good. Your wounds were severe, I was worried you wouldn't have been able to make it."
Ivan looked up and saw a middle-aged man with a gentle face, holding a tray of warm water and bandages.
"Are you the one who treated me?" Ivan asked. The man nodded before setting down the tray and crouching down. He began to undo the bandages which were soaked in blood, "This the fourth time I'm changing your bandages. The wound is deep."
"Thank you." Ivan replied softly. The man laughed lightly, "Oh, it's fine. This is my job anyway."
They spoke no more and the man carefully cleaned the blood with the cloth. He applied some herbs to it before bandaging it up again.
"You're a doctor? Are you treating the injured on the ship?" Ivan asked, when the man was putting his stuff back on the tray. The man smiled, "I'm a baker actually but my father was a doctor so I was taught the basics. I can somewhat treat the injured but they will need to go to a proper doctor after the ship reaches Thysilia.
"How much longer till we reach there?"
"A few more hours."
Ivan nodded. He thought of home. Noxus once was a beautiful kingdom but it was invaded and reduced to ashes. The escaped people were traveling to the nearby kingdom in hopes of starting a new life.
A new life…
He couldn't have that. He still had his priorities. His eyes instantly widened. His head shot up and he searched in the crowd for the person he had come with.
"If you're searching for the man who was with you, he's in the other smaller room. He wouldn't remain here so he shut himself up in the room." The baker said, handing him a bowl of hot soup. Ivan received the soup and got up.
"But you have to rest!"
"It's fine. I'm fine." He paused for a while before speaking again, "Don't worry I'll rest." He thanked the man once again before leaving the room.
He found the other room at the end of the short corridor. He knocked thrice, before entering.
"Your Majesty, have you eaten?"
The king was sitting on the bed and seemed to be in thought but he responded by shaking his head.
"I've brought soup." Ivan said, setting the bowl down on the small table. Hearing soup, the king got out of bed and sat at the table. Rain picked up the spoon but stopped before scooping up the soup. He scrunched his face in disgust, "This does not look like soup. I can't consume this."
It's true. The soup didn't look palatable. Ivan sighed, "My King, please eat up. This is the only thing we have here on the ship. And it would take some time to reach Thysilia. At the moment, please bear with this."
The king didn't say anything. He only scowled before drinking a spoonful. His face changed colors as he struggled to swallow, " This…I can't eat this! It tastes vile." He pushed the bowl away but Ivan only pushed it back wordlessly. The king glared at Ivan and he only stared back. A few seconds later, the king humphed before picking up the spoon again and begrudgingly drinking the rest up.
The knight quietly stood beside him making sure he drank it to the last drop.