[ ensiger ]

purple belt - round six

This was war. Neither male could take it anymore. King Eferhild stepped forward, facing his mortal enemy. King Wren glared at the man in front of him.

Both had hundreds of thousands of warriors at one's command. It was a fight to the death. In a fight only one would survive.

"You killed brother. How dare you! You favoured him over me. I should be the one to die! Heck, neither of us should even die at your hands!"

The elder male took a look at his youngest child. He had grown so much. War had made him mature much faster. Kind Eferhild no longer saw the happy laughing little boy he once raised. In its place stood a strong, proud warrior.

He chuckled at his son. "Oh, dear son of mine, why aren't you happy? You have everything that would possibly make you happy. Everything you would need. You are a King, Wren. You have a whole entire empire that follows your every command. You have created your own legacy that I know you will uphold. Oh, and you have me!"

"Bah, I have you? Then why did you kill Derek? You knew I loved him. That I cared for him. He was my older brother that you just killed without sparing a thought for him. And you still have the audacity to think that I give a bloody heck about my legacy? About you? You must be blind, old man." King Wren snarled.

"Take a look around. He was just a small sacrifice to the war."

"Stop your excuses and face me like the man you claim to be."

Both males unsheathed their swords.

"As you wish, son." King Eferhild mumbled.

Both men were strong. King Eferhild was ruthless and had killed countless people before, and Derek was not an exception. King Wren was his son, and he had taught him everything that he knew. Additionally, King Wren had trained with many warriors that specialise in different things when he had conquered his own land after fleeing from his home.

"Bring it on."

Their swords clashed and crashed, neither hitting the other's flesh.

Their beads of sweat, falling like pellets on the dewy grass.

A ring of power surrounding them, others were afraid to pass.

The warriors fought, their bodies dropped like little rag dolls.

All was silent, except for metal against metal and the few rare calls.

A shot rang through the night, ringing in everyone's ears.

Blood blossomed on the old man's chest, claiming his life.

A man appeared from the shadows, pistol and knife in hand.

Many gasped, them knowing that this was the dead man's eldest son.

The younger brother noticed the blood pooling on his father's chest and whipped his head around, looking at the man in the shadows.

"Derek? Is that you? Please tell me that you're real and I'm not dreaming." King Wren pleaded.

The warriors on both sides of the war were shocked. King Wren had never pleaded. Even when his wife was killed by King Eferhild, he had to watch from the sidelines, not making a sound.

The man started walking towards the last king left alive. "Yes, dear brother. I am well and alive. The man we call our father had trapped me in the prison and had claimed that he had killed me. Pah! As if that worthless male would be able to kill me. No, he had starved me, leaving me incapable of escaping on my own. However, his guards recognised who I was and turned on their master. Hah! Even his own men did not like him."

"They fed me food, waiting for the perfect time to help me escape. They distracted the old man, while I removed the chains and other torture devices. You know, he never treated me like I was his favourite. You were always the favoured one. You just didn't realise that all of this was the old coot's plan." Derek continued.

"Oh, brother. If I had realised that you were in prison, I would have helped you to escape." King Wren said.

"If you did, he would know and both of us would be dead immediately. You were just too careless. You did not know how to cover up your tracks. And that's your only flaw. Everything that had happened in your life was planned. Even your death. Those warriors behind you? They aren't yours. All of them report to that old man. And since I have defeated him, they all belong to me. Ridwilstun is also mine now." Derek- no, King Derek said.

King Wren was in shock. His whole life had been a lie. Nothing was real. His warriors aren't even loyal. Was the land that he owned even his? Or was it all a ploy?

"The only thing you have left is your land, Quetiputic is still yours, but not for long. You were always the favourite son. You were always better than me. You were blinded by love. You always thought that I was the favourite one because the old coot always bought me things. No. He did that so that I wouldn't complain. It was always you. Wren this, Wren that. Now, it's time to flip the game around and make it all about me." Derek sneered.

"So what you're saying is that you were jealous? You hated me because you were void of love? Are you really as blind as I thought you were? I loved you, Derek. Loved. You were the light in the darkness. You were my older brother. I wouldn't replace you for the world. But, if you want to kill me for your happiness, then do it." Wren spoke, love shining brightly in his eyes.

Derek showed no emotion as he lifted his pistol, placed his finger on the trigger and pulled, the loud bang making everyone flinch but Derek remained still, watching as his little brother falls to the ground in a similar fashion as his father. Dark, red blood pooled around his body, a hole in his chest where his heart lay.

He turned away from the scene, smirking to himself. He was now King Derek, ruler of Ridwilstun and Quetiputic. He heard a whizzing sound before he felt something hit his body.

He gasped, blood gurgling in his mouth as he dropped his weapons to clutch his chest, the writhing agony spreading all over his body. Not long after, he, too lay dead in his own puddle of blood.

The end.

"Now, Athena. Can you tell me what the moral of the story is?" Alex asked his fifteen-year-old sister.

"Stop treating me like a child! But the moral of the story is that karma exists, isn't it?" Athena said.

"To put it in lame-end terms, yep, you're correct. But more explicitly, what you do to others will also happen to you, whether you like it or not. So those people who killed mama and papa? They will get karma for what they did, I promise you."