At the time Robin was walking to the court yard, the people had started gathering. It was no doubt they had their doubts, their fear. It was no surprise everyone in the capital had learnt that their city had new faces, and not those of traders.
He was in company of Bernard, the commander of the King's guard. A 6ft6 man of a body of that of a giant oak. He was bald but not old, at least not that much. He was the son of Lord Mern, of Merria Lands , just past the great Pines. He had his hand on the handle of his sword, with its body inside a neat grey scabbard. He had deep eyes and frightening face. He was one of the most dependable swordsmen of the land.
Robin felt restless the more he walked down the hall to the court. This was unusual. I mean, he had walked on the same path since he was just a little boy. He stopped. Bernard turned to him courageously.
"Lord, can I speak freely?"
" Uh, I know what you want to say, but say it!"
"You are afraid, of this men, of being king! You could always go back to Oldor, you will be a Lord there, no one will dare challenge you!"
"I will first honor my father's wishes. He would want to see me king! Do you doubt that Bernard?"
Bernard shook his head before letting a cold grin.
"Lord, let us make you king then. But first, let us go to the court!"
" Yeah, the court!"
They both laughed as they increased their pace. It was nice to know that he had support from some people. It gave him hope and strength.
The men were already in the premises when Robin and Bernard arrived. The committee members, which comprised of the most powerful men in the kingdom, were also there. As he entered the hall, he met the gazes, he could swear that these men were the sheep who turned into wolves.
He walked confidently to his usual seat, he was not yet king so he could not sit on the king's seat. His heart was pounding, obviously betraying his urgency of potraying togetherness and confidence. He turned back at Bernard then proceeded onto his seat.
"Lords of our land, guests!"
They all stared at him. He flashed his fingers through his hair then stared at the four mysterious men.
" Who are you guys, who do you work four"
" We have no names!" One uttered. "We are friends, trust us!" Another one added.
" We are here to feed and drink, we are traveling north from the south, we have urgent business there!" The other one justified.
" Bernbute is the long route!" Lord Mern stated.
"We heard of the death of the king, we surely had to pass through the city to honor him, he did a lot for us!" The last man commented coldly.
Robin felt a sigh of relief. May be these men were allies. He remembered the countless advice his father spoke of to have neutral men to guard you all over the land. He had spoke of mercenaries he had throughout the Kingdom, the anonymous ones, said he himself did not know of their existence.
He was getting deep into his head forgetting of how important the court business was. The other Lords- Phil, Collins, Mern, Siffix and Earl were engaging the men. The hand of the late king Edmond was not present at the court. It was his daughter's wedding the king had attended in the north.
Speculations were on that he had something to do with the terrible happenings to the king, in quest of his own ambitions. He was a cold man, Lord Bellich, also called himself Lord of the Pines.
"Young Lord Robin?" Lord Earl called out, "you ought to be attentive, now than ever!"
Robin snapped out of his thoughts. He stared into the eyes of one of them keenly then got up from his seat.
"Gentlemen, forgive our wariness, our kingdom is going through a phase so you will allow us to be paranoid, at least for now!" He stated as he walked behind the seats of the strange men.
" I will have you fed, given water and ale to drink but you will be arrested pending further investigation. " He paused then stopped walking. He thought he had stepped on blood...or a sticky liquid, might be paint...
He raced his eyes on the floor. It was blood! He was certain. Blood was oozing from the man that commented they were headed north. A silver dagger was sunk into his left rib, the same dagger his father told him the mercenaries used in most of their endeavors.
The other Lords watched him panick. Before he could summon Bernard and other guards the men took action. Suddenly he was on the ground his face dug inside the fountain of blood from the stranger. The impact of his fall made him lose conscious a bit. His eyes blurred, shadows casted past his face. He tried to look up but he could not. His neck could not let him.
For a moment he felt as if his heart had left his body. The commotion made the palace guards know something was off. Bernard was the first to react. Usually the guards were not allowed inside the court hall. Bernard peeped through the glass window. The Lords Earl, Collins and Siffix were seated with their smiles to their ears. Robin was on the floor struggling to get hold of himself and the Lords Mern and Phil lay motionless on the floor.
Only the three mysterious men seemed fine, their friend was slowly breathing out his heart. Robin on the ground tried to call for help but he seemed not able to put up the words together. He crawled on the floor as the three Lords mocked him.
" He thought himself king!" Earl teased.
" Hahaha, his father was a wise men, I doubt he is his father's son" Collins added
" The woman was an unfaithful serpent, she spread the apple everywhere. I took her in my backyard!" Siffix added as they busted into laughter.
Assessing the scene, Bernard was certain of one thing, his master was ongoing a betrayal, his heart was about to be handed to him. Bernard was about to walk into the court when a blade plunged into his heart from behind. Suddenly he could taste his own blood from his mouth. His eyes widened as he felt life leave his body. He staggered then fell on his knees then flat onto the ground, in a pool of his own blood.
Meanwhile, Robin was trying to free himself from this nightmare. He finally got strength to get up on his feet. He met the cold gaze of Lord Collins before a blade flashed in and out of his neck. He tried to stop the blood but he could not he collapsed onto his knees. Before his heart stopped, the killer stared into his eyes.
" This is for everything your father costed my family!"
Before he could retreat from Robin, a dagger plunged into his heart. The dying Robin chose to bring him with. They both moaned in pain as they fell to the ground. The once sacred court yard had just turned into a slaughter house. Robin closed his eyes in disbelief as life flew out of him. He could see flashes of Nira's face one last time, his prediction wasn't wrong after all, Nira had foreseen her brother's death yet she didn't care to warn him.