A Queen for the King

Death to the King

The sound of water dripping echoed the now empty jail underneath the castle as Arny laid on a deteriorating wooden bench. The smell of sewage and death mixed together as the sound of mice squeaking and crickets chirping moved around the underground cell. As the sun slowly rose, yells and screams could be heard outside as Ronan's army began executing innocent civilians by savagely bludgeoning them to death or by being burnt alive on a steak.

The shock of all the events that had happened the day before began to slowly creep up on Arny throughout the night. One moment he was at the altar getting married, the next he was in a dirty, cold jail cell waiting to be executed at the hands of his older brother. On top of that, Arny also didn't know the state of his wife's whereabouts, which drove him even crazier. Not that she would care now to think about him, but Arny did want to make sure Ronan didn't get to her just yet. 

The entrance of the hail swung open as guards began walking towards Arny's cell. Arny quickly got up from the bench and sat up, surprised that it was already time to die. Just like the day before, Arny was grabbed by both arms and dragged outside to a gloomy, depressing day. Just a few steps away from the jail entrance was the royal garden where Arny first saw the princess. A garden that was once filled with bright, colorful flowers was now burnt to ashes with a scaffold in the middle. 

The crowd that had gathered yelled and screamed obscenities at Arny as he was dragged to the platform by the two same guards that dragged him out of the cathedral the day before. Just next to the scaffold was Ronan and Celestia, wearing the crowns that were meant for both Arny and the princess to wear on the princess' coronation day. The couple glared at Arny with a look that could be described as filled with pure evil and anger. Arny was placed upon the scaffold to stand before everyone as Ronan stood up to give his speech. 

"This man here has committed multiple offenses against the King and Queen" Ronan said to the crowd "Not only did he conspire with my father, the late King Hadrian, he deliberately did everything in his power to make sure that not only my subjects were treated horribly, that my wife, the Queen, was seduced and manipulated under his stupidity in order to see that I met my untimely death. And to that, the penalty for treason, conspiracy, maltreatment of the royal court, and unlawful seduction of the Queen is death. Today, we will witness the destruction of our mortal enemy and bring Edessa and the Orane Empire closer and stronger than before." The crowd cheered as Arny's hands were being tied behind his back. 

Arny looked at Ronan in disbelief after hearing of the false charges he was being accused of. Within less than 48 hours, Arny went from being the rightful King of Edessa to a criminal. It was as if his reign as King had never even happened. Now, he was being treated like a traitor for offenses against the 1 day King Ronan. Soon enough, the noose was placed around his neck. The time for his death was just moments away as Arny hoped that by now the princess was somewhere where no one could hurt her.

Just as Ronan gave the signal for the latch to open, a muffled, crunch-like sound could be heard behind Ronan. Both brothers quickly turned their heads towards the noise only to find Celestia falling to the ground from her throne. Multiple arrows pierced her body as she laid on the cold platform next to her husband, her body twitching and struggling to stay alive. Blood poured from her mouth and wounds as Ronan kneeled down to hold his dying wife, her blood covering his clothes as it began to drench her yellow dress. 

"WHO DARE KILL THE QUEEN?! WHICH ONE OF YOU STUPID COWARDS ENDED THE QUEENS LIFE?!" Ronan yelled to the crowd as Celestia's ladies-in-waiting dragged her body away, leaving a trail of blood behind "I SHOULD HAVE EVERYONE EXECUTED FOR THIS IF NO ONE SPEAKS UP!" One Ronan turned away again to signal Arny's execution, another muffled, crunch-like sound could be heard behind Ronan. This time, the sound came from arrows piercing Bridgette, just like how they did to Celestia just moments before. Ronan's eyes widened as he quickly looked around for the person who had just killed both his wife and Bridgette. His eyes glanced up at the castle, hoping to see if the killer was inside the castle, only to be met with the silhouette of a woman behind the thin white curtain, holding a bow and arrow with a crown on top of her head. As Arny looked up to the same window that Ronan looked at, he could immediately tell that the silhouette of the woman was no other than the princess herself.

"Arrest her!" Ronan yelled as he commanded his guards to storm the castle to arrest the princess. The princess raised her arm as if also commanding her men and pointed towards the courtyard. Dozens of arrows then hurled towards all of Ronan's guards, piercing and killing them all. The princess had invaded the castle with her men, killing all those who swore allegiance to Ronan and rescuing those who sore allegiance to Arny. Once all of Ronan's men inside the courtyard were killed, Arny quickly broke free from the noose and ropes that bound him together, having enough time to escape before the rest of Ronan's army fled into the courtyard. Just as Arny was entering the castle Ronan began following Arny as he drew his sword out. He was determined to kill Arny one way or another.

Once inside, Arny quickly ran up to find the princess, running past her men who were racing down to battle Ronan's men. The princess rushed out of the room she was just in as Arny got to the top of the staircase. 

'My lady" Arny said as he quickly hugged the princess

"Your majesty" the princess said as she curtsied while Arny hugged her "We don't have much time. We need to quickly find a way to stop Ronan"

Yes of course" Arny quickly went inside his office to open a secret room behind the bookcase. Once inside, Arny drew his sharpest sword and dagger in preparation to kill Ronan. "I will search one part of the castle while you search the other. I believe he is somewhere near and will kill both of us if given the chance."

"We must act fast then. He could be anywhere" the princess said as both her and Arny walked back into the hallway, overlooking the destruction on the bottom floor

"Before we go..." Arny quickly kissed the princess and held her in his arms what could be the last time "I love you"

"I love you too" the princess said as she hugged Arny. Once letting go of each other, the princess went to search the top floor and Arny went to search the bottom floor.

Around every corner and every room checked seemed like a heart attack. The possibility of Ronan jumping out unexpectedly made Arny sick to his stomach. At any moment, Ronan could kill Arny quickly. Arny turned the corner and entered the hallway in which were Arny found his father dying. It wasn't too long ago that Arny last stepped foot in the hallway; the space always reminded him of his father's death. The silence and suspicion made Arny feel uneasy as he slowly walked down the hallway. 

As Arny stopped to listen, a sudden loud crash filled the room as Ronan charged at Arny form one of the rooms, pinning him against the wall. Arny quickly swung his sword, hitting Ronan's arm making a gaping wound, which sent Ronan onto the floor. Arny rushed to impale Ronan which was met with Ronan rolling out of the way, leaving a trail of blood on the floor. Ronan quickly rose to his feet and charged at Arny, beginning a sword fight between the two brothers. Within a matter of minutes, the hallway was covered in blood from Ronan's wound on his army. Arny's gift in sword fighting was finally paying off; at any moment Arny could kill Ronan with one swift motion.

Just as Arny was deliver the final blow, Ronan suddenly sprung forward and slashed open Arny's thigh, sending him to the floor in the exact same spot where their father laid dying months ago. Just as Ronan pinned Arny down with a knee pressing up against his neck, the princess ran around the corner and kicked Ronan in the head. The princess finally found the brothers and immediately ran to help her husband. Both Ronan and the princess swung their swords at each other, causing the sound of striking swords echo throughout the castle. Suddenly, Ronan's arm shot up causing the princess to fall on her back and scream, holding her face in pain. The blade Ronan held in his hand cut open the princess' cheek and brow bone, barely missing her eye. Ronan mounted on top of the princess and pinned her down to where she was unable to move as blood poured from her face. 

However, in one swift move, the princess stabbed Ronan with her sword. Her sword pierced cleanly through Ronan's abdomen as droplets of blood ran down to the sharp end of the sword. As Ronan struggled to stand up, Arny appeared behind him, dagger in hand. Arny let out a loud grunt and in one quick motion, Ronan's head was cut clean from his body. At last, Ronan was finally defeated. The pain and humiliation Ronan had caused upon both Arny, the princess, and the kingdom had came to an end. Arny helped the princess up and grabbed Ronan's headless body. A trail of blood followed the couple as they disposed Ronan's body, leaving the head on the balcony for all to see. Ronan's army had fallen under the brilliant leadership of the princess and, at last, the kingdom of Edessa was saved.