Heirs of Nowhere (Centaurworld Fanfic)

Chapter 15: The Truth

Horse wanders around and she ducks when the Nowhere King swoops into the town, every griffontaur jumping out the way. She pants, and sees another griffontaur running after him with a bow and arrow, and behind him, a much younger Keres, seemed to be in late teen years running after him, and Horse follows the two of them after the Nowhere King. They run past other griffontaurs while avoiding the minotaurs, and the male grifontaur shoots his arrows at the beast, missing him. The Nowhere King uses his antlers against a building and rubble falls near them. They dodge but one lands on one of Keres's wings, breaking it and the other helps get it off and they continue. Horse tries to keep up, but they were too fast and they run through buildings. 

She nearly loses them and finds the duo near a cliff and the male griffontaur aim his arrow and shoots, but the Nowhere King catches it in his body and it turns into a black spear. He goes behind them and they were near the edge of the cliff and the Nowhere King takes his aim. The griffontaur's eyes widen when he shoots the spear at Keres, and the griffontaur pushes her out the way, getting hit instead and falls down to the ground. Keres gasps, "BROTHER!" She runs and catches him in her arms, and she holds her brother close, "No no.... please don't leave me." Her brother touches her cheek before having his last breath, dying there in Keres's arms. Tears fall down her face as she watches the Nowhere King stare before flying back to the minotaurs and Horse stood in shock, "He killed your brother..."

She falls back when time starts flying faster, to Keres in her room and her father there comforting her, then to the point where Horse saw Keres's plans. She looks and realizes Keres didn't want to join the army because of the power. Keres's real plan was to join the army so she can earn the Nowhere King's trust in order to kill him when he least expected it. She follows Keres as she makes her way to her father and actually listens to the real conversation. Keres reveals the knife to her father, "Doing things my way." Horse thought it was Keres stabbing him, but actually her father had hugged her, and she hears him say, "I lost your brother, I don't want to lose you too..." 

Keres cries and she pushes him away, trying to run but when he tried to pull her, the knife went through his throat, and Keres looked in shock, putting pressure on the wound. She freaks out and he motions her, "Run... do what you must." Keres cries, in terror of what she had done, and her father says, "Don't cry.." She covers her face, "I'm so sorry... I'll never for give myself..." Her father smiles, touches her cheek with his hand, "I forgive you... just do the right...thing." He has his last breath, blood on Keres's hands and on the marble floor. She cries as she watches her father bleed and she looks down, "If joining his army is my best option. then so be it." The guards burst in, and she flies out as they shoot their arrows at her and she leaves her kingdom. Keres looks back and tears fall down her face, "I'm so sorry father... I promise to do what's right." Horse backs away, "It was an accident... I heard every single word wrong... Now I know why you want to make him suffer..."

The door out opens and Horse slowly backs to it, looking back and she thinks, "Her father wanted her to do the right thing, but... is what she doing really right or..." She gasps, "She's suffering and she wants to be set free..." She jumps out back onto the battlefield and pants, Keres falling to the ground panting as well and she sees the twins' and Elk's halves still fighting, but both were getting weak. She runs to them, "I know the truth! I know what must be done!" She runs to the Nowhere King and gets his attention, "I know why she's doing this." The General pants, "Then why?" "You killed her brother during the war. She's doing this to make you suffer because she was suffering. She didn't murder her father on purpose it was an accident. She joined your army so she could kill you herself!"

.

.

.

.

.