The soft echoing boots of Prince Kieth were unheard upon the cobblestone pavement because of the voices heard from the townsfolk. His heart was heavy, weighing on his chest, for he had been exiled. He loved and treasured that kingdom once, fought to protect it, and now it had turned its back on him. He let his head droop, pulling his hood up high over his face; it was hardly enough to conceal the sourness now spreading across his features. Sorrow and frustration wrestled with a small dash of betrayal within him but it was the sorrow that held closest to his soul.
He tramped on through the knotted streets of Elora, his feet moving as if they didn't ever rise off the earth, as if every step needed all the strength he had within him. No prescience of such exile, of such an unexpected blow, had ever come to him. His father, the King Regan, had banished him without the smallest qualm, no shred of mercy in him. And Madison, the woman whom he had loved with all of his heart, plotted against him with his brother, Mike. A hollow ache in Kieth's chest reminded him of her fiery red hair and radiant smile. How does beauty hide such darkness inside? Her treachery cut sharper than any sword ever could.
With each step through the town, with every shadow cast on the way, whispers accompanied him with every pace. He heard of stories spreading, sneers from those who found him out, even with his hood.
"That's him, isn't he? That prince who was banished?" a woman's voice mumbled from behind a street food stall.
"Serves him right," another man sneered, sniffing his nose. "He's always been the weakest link. No real power. Just smart talk."
Kieth's fists were clenched at his sides, but he didn't stop walking. He wouldn't stand up for them. The prince was gone; there wasn't a reason for that now. A title, life, honor all vanished like magic in a moment.
The more profound he went into the heart of the city, the worse the reactions. Some giggled with mouths open as they figured out who he was, pointing and whispering behind their hands. Others glared at him disgusted, unmistakable in their eyes. He could feel judgmental looks burning into his body, but Kieth kept his head down, keeping his face emotionless.
A rock came flying through the air and bounced off of his shoulder. Then another, this time harder, to his back.
"Get out of here, traitor!" somebody shouted; then came the cruel laughter.
"Elora doesn't need someone like you!" another voice chimed in. Kieth clenched every part of his body and ground his teeth. He could feel the hot sting of tears tearing their way to well up in his eyes, but he blinked them away. Let them see him sweat in agony, but not break. He was too proud for that. He had lost everything else; he wasn't going to lose his dignity too.
He kept moving. He kept hurling abuses and the crowd began collecting, booing and pelting the young man with stones, rotten fruits whatever they could lay hands on.
Yet Kieth said not a word. He neither flinched nor lashed out. His mind was elsewhere, far removed from the present humiliation.
He was thinking of the betrayal and that kingdom, which no longer offered him a place in it. There ahead was also the looming forest-the one place he could run to now that Elora had rejected him. After what seemed hours, he reached the gates of the kingdom.
She reminisced when iron bars used to symbolize safety, and might now develop into the walls of a cell.
Kieth paused, pressing his hand against the cold, unforgiving metal. All those memories tumbled back up to mind: returning from the academy through these gates, the celebratory and parade-like festivities that had been held in his honor for having done something significant enough to be praised by Elora, and waiting at a distance for Madison after she returned from one of her missions.
But now, the gates were a barrier between him and the life he once knew.
Kieht took a deep breath, pushed the gate open, and passed through beyond the walls of the kingdom. Sounds of town spitting jeers and whispers slurs began fading in behind him.
Before him stood the trees of the **Duskwind Forest**, looking like an ominous wall of night. It was infamous for harboring savage beasts, animals that even the strongest knights of the kingdom feared to challenge. Many of the knights ventured into the forest and never returned again. Often, it was said that there were many whose bodies were never found, and the stories surrounding what was in the forest had developed into terror myths.
Kieth's heart skipped a beat as he stood there, peering into the dark void that was the forest. Trees rose above him like skeletal spires, curling and intricate in ways he would have least expected, and thick underbrush covered natural paths. A cold wind swept through the clearing, bearing on its breath the distant scent of damp earth and decay.
He stood there, his inner voice screaming at him to turn back. This was his death sentence. There were no provisions, no magic strong enough to defend himself from the forest, which would devour him whole. Still, what other choice did he have? The kingdom was out of the question. The betrayal of Madison and Mike still burned too fresh in his mind, and rejection at the hands of his father sealed his fate.
The image of Mike laughing at him while the decree of exile was passed flashed through his mind, and Kieth clenched his fists in rage. No way was he going to go back. He had nothing left in Elora. No title, no love, no family. If the beasts of Duskwind Forest were going to claim him, then so be it. At least he wouldn't have to suffer through this embarrassment any longer.
He stepped forward into the woods, his thoughts going with him.
It was as though a wave swept him over the moment his foot touched to the moss-covered ground. His breath came in fitful gasps as he struggled to subdue the growing fear building inside him. He couldn't afford to show weakness now - that was when he was already so broken.
Every snap of a twig, every rustle of leaves made his nerves work overtime, but he kept going. "This forest may as well be the end of me," he muttered to himself
Kieth walked further into Duskwind, his body moving on autopilot, but his mind churned in thoughts over his past. All for the kingdom, he had devoted himself to giving life, setting his soul to become the most intelligent strategist Elora had ever seen. But intelligence was never enough. Not when those closest to you plotted your downfall.
He thought of Madison-laughing and smiling, eyes lighting up as they talked about their future. Yet she discarded him like he did not exist. She had played him so well that Kieth did not even realize what he was doing.
His heart was pounding with the full weight of her treachery. He had loved her. He trusted her more than anyone ever had. Now, trust was shattered beyond all repair.
And out of the darkness ahead, a low growl echoed. Kieth froze, breath caught in his throat. He flicked an eye out toward the surrounding trees, scanning for whatever had made the noise. The forest was alive with danger, and he was defenseless.
His hand instinctively shot to the side where the sword should be, but it wasn't-it had been left behind in Elora when he was forced out, and all he had for his own protection was his brains.
But what good would they be against the beasts roaming through these woods?
Now he whispered, his face one step ahead, "I. I cannot go back. I shall not return."
Meanwhile, at the castle, the celebrations were at full swing. In the ornately decorated chambers of Prince Mike, the king's second son, the smell of wine was in the air, and beside it crackled the fireplace. Mike sat back on his velvet chair, crimson wine was flowing in the glass, with a wicked grin under his lips.
Beside him stood Madison, her fiery hair shimmering in the firelight. She was laughing, her voice dripping with satisfaction as she raised her glass in a salute to their triumph.
"To the death of Prince Kieth," she said with a smile.
Mike took a long swallow of his wine, grinning, as he clicked the rim of his glass off hers. "Worked better than I could have imagined," he said, chuckling. "Our dear brother never saw it coming. And now, he's gone.exiled, just as we planned." Madison's smile spread wide; in her eyes began to gleam a malice. "But is it enough? " she leaned forward, swirling wine within her glass. "Exile is one thing, but what if he survives? What if he finds a way to come back? The thought darkened Mike's face. He set the glass down beside him on the table and looked forward, his eyes narrowing. "That'll never happen," he said coldly. "I've taken care of that already." A flick of his wrist, and the shadows of the room shifted and twisted into the bodily form of a man. He was tall, with a body in darkness, and a face shrouded by the hood of a black robe. It was unsettling, like the presence of a shadow that had come alive. "This is Specter," Mike said with a grin, gesturing to the darkshape. "He is the greatest murderer of Elora, and he'll never let Kieth be seen again." Specter bowed a fraction of an inch, his voice low, gravelly. "Your orders, Prince Mike?" Mike had settled back into his chair, a wicked smile twisting his lips. "Find my brother. Kill him."