ARTHUR TREADWAY
The sounds of battle filled the air, a blend of chaos and destruction. Amid the clashing swords and desperate cries, a soldier of mine fell to the ground with a sickening snap, his neck broken. – ACK!!! – his lifeless body hit the earth, stirring a cloud of dust.
Prince Laden Hu stood behind Astrid, one hand holding a sword to her neck, the other caressing her belly. – Are you pregnant...? – he taunted, his voice dripping with malice as he licked her sweaty cheek.
Orion, seeing the vile act, felt a surge of fury and fear. Helplessness gripped him as he shouted, – LEAVE HER ALONE!! SHE IS PREGNANT!! – Tears streamed down his face as he knelt, his gaze fixed on the ground, trembling with rage.
A Union giant fell with a thunderous crash, sending a gust of wind that rippled through the battlefield. – THUD!!
Orion's outburst was a mistake, he shouldn't have shouted that. He gave even more pleasure to her death. It was love, something I couldn't feel, I couldn't afford...
Astrid, her eyes brimming with tears, looked at Orion. She knew what fate awaited her. – It's okay, okay, Orion... Rest assured, war is like this... – she whispered with a pained smile, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Veins bulged on Orion's face as he stood and moved forward. – NO!!! – he screamed, charging to free his beloved.
The battlefield echoed with the clash of swords and the cries of the dying. – Cling! Clang! – Innocent soldiers fought and fell, it was war. Funny how the life of some is worth more than others, isn't it?
Before Orion could reach Astrid, Mara appeared beside him, her sword flashing. With a swift lethal strike, she cut off his head, decapitating him. Orion didn't even realize his death, but we did. – Laden! Don't play with your enemies, it's disrespectful. Kill her quickly! – Mara admonished the prince, her voice cold and unfeeling.
Orion was my friend too, I felt it, but I couldn't do anything. I couldn't go in now, I had to endure everything in silence. I had to save my strength to face Zeus and Poseidon, to win the battle. I wouldn't let Orion's blood be spilled in vain.
…
In my camp, my mother behind me, her eyes wide with horror as she saw Orion's body separate from the head on the ground. Her skin turned pale, and her body trembled. In a flash, she relived her moments of happier times with her friends in her mind, tears flowing freely as she knelt and covered her mouth to stifle her scream. – HMMMMMM!!!!! – Her agony was like a thousand knives to my heart.
…
On the battlefield, Astrid's scream pierced the air, filled with despair. – AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
Commander Callen, engaged in a fierce duel with Prince Alden, saw Orion's body on the ground and screamed in anguish. – ORIOOOOONNNNN!!!!
A white elf in my army shouted as he froze a Union soldier. – DIE HUMAN!!
Commanders Emma, Neythiri and Mey, saw Orion's body and immediately veins infested their faces. – NO!!!! ORIOOONNNNNN!!! – they screamed, their voices filled with a desperate desire to reverse his fate.
A Union soldier sneered as he decapitated one of my men. – WHEN YOU GET TO HELL, TELL HADES THAT I HAVE SENT GREETINGS!!
The worst was yet to come. Only I and the two of us knew she was pregnant, but Orion's scream had revealed it to all. My hands bled from the intensity of my grip. I prayed to the Light to prevent the horror I foresaw...
Alucard Olympus, son of Hades, approached Astrid with veins bulging on his face. – You make noise! – he snarled, tearing vertically her belly open with his sword, showing no mercy.
Astid bit her lips to suppress her screams, but the pain was unbearable. Blood trickled from her lips as she fought to remain silent.
Emma, fighting Drika, saw Astrid leaking blood from her belly, her fury was palpable from the scream. – ASTRID!!!
Prince Laden Hu smiled as he slit Astrid's throat. Her body slipped from his arms to the ground. – A pity! Your king is too cruel, sending a pregnant woman into battle... – he remarked, looking at Astrid's lifeless body.
Mara added fuel to the fire. – It was your king who killed you! If we noticed you had something in your belly, he must have too, yet he stil sent you here... – she sneered, her words designed to tarnish my image further.
Yes, I knew. But my hands were tied. They knew the risks and chose to take them.
…
Back at my camp, the Queen Mother wept bitterly on the ground. – AHHHHH!!! – she screamed putting sand in her hair. – MY FRIENDS...
The soldiers in the camp lost their morale upon seeing the queen's despair. Murmurs of doom spread through the camp. – We're going to die! – they whispered to each other, fear palpable.
General Cassilda, also in tears, knelt and followed the mourning tradition.
It was a British custom to mourn by throwing sand into one's own hair. I understood my mother's grief, but seeing the general follow suit was demoralizing the troops. I also felt the loss of my soldiers, but I couldn't afford to lose my composure. Was I cold for that?
Some Amazon servants that I sent to help my mother, approached her, trying to help her stand. – M-Madam, please stand up... – they whispered, gently lifting her.
Lancelot and Persival, my right and left hand, also frustrated me by kneeling and tearing their clothes.
I was alone in this. I knew soldiers would die, and they should have known too. Why didn't they understand me? A king must show poise and firmness, cannot be crestfallen and defenseless. Their behavior was disappointing. That's why I adopted Kara, to train her as a strong leader who could do what I, as king, sometimes could not.
…
On the battlefield, Astrid lay in the mud and blood, her belly torn open. The sight of the zygote emerging from her womb prompted her to cry out to me with her soul. [A-ARTHUR!! I can't talk, help me!!!] Her eyes trembled with fear, her whole body shaking. – AHHH!! – She struggled to make a sound; her throat was torn too.
In her final moments, Astrid, at the height of sadness and pain, looked at Orion's lifeless body, trying to speak. – D-Darling... Dear... Forgive me... – she whispered, unable to breathe. She so she shut up and tried to hold Orion's hand.
She pushed herself through the mud and blood, the zygote—attached to the inside of her belly by a kind of cord—dragging behind her. Her torn throat gushing blood. She had no air, her organs began to spill from her torn belly as she crawled.
[A-Arthur, help!! HELP ME!!] She called to me telepathy, her voice filled with desperation. – AHHH!!! – She tried to speak again, looking at Orion's body. – D-Darling... – she began, blood gushing down her mouth. – D-Darling... I shouldn't have come... – whispering, she gasped Orion's hand as she drew her last breath.