History of Kingdom

History of Kingdom: Arthur

It was bad. It was really bad. Arthur never expected anything like this. Yes, he knew it was a possibility, he had many enemies, but this... army of demons wasn't one of them. He had never seen anything like this before. He knew they would ask for war soon. He had to do something, go find allies.

"I really need your help, I can't fight on my own. My army isn't strong enough," Arthur told Dann, his closest friend and the king of the nearest kingdom. He could always count on Dann in his most desperate times.

"I will send you help, send you my army as soon as I can. Have you talked to the other kings?" Dann asked, looking up at the sky and frowning. Something wasn't right. It felt off.

"Only king Jahan. The other kings haven't answered my papers. King Jahan assured me he would send help as soon as he could," Arthur replied, frowning at the sight of the look on Dann's face.

Dann only nodded, looking back at Arthur. "We have to go, something's off," Dann spoke, speed walking back to the city of Arthur's kingdom. They had met in the canyon to make sure nobody could hear their worries. The last thing Arthur wanted is for his people to panic just yet. Arthur followed the other king without another word.

They couldn't get very far, an explosion was heard behind them, making both kings jump and turn around to see where the explosion happened. Were they mines, or bombs? All Arthur knew was that the demon army was here. They were attacking already.

More explosions were heard, and their question was quickly answered when they saw small objects flying down towards them. They were getting bombarded. Dann and Arthur started running, trying as best as they could to dodge the incoming bombs falling from the sky.

"We'll never make it!" Arthur said in between pants, when a bomb exploded right in front of them.

"Keep running!" Dann said, desperate to get back to the city in order to get reinforcements.

They both ran as fast as they could, fearing the time they would get hit by a bomb. They made it to Arthur's kingdom safely though, running through the unusually empty streets to the castle. Just as they were about to step in the castle to get help, three demon knights ran up to them. More were seen behind them, attacking people and entering houses. Buildings were set ablaze as the knights closed in on the pair: they were being ambushed.

Arthur could feel the adrenaline pumping as he pulled out the Excalibur, he'd be damned if Dann got hurt trying to help defend a kingdom that wasn't his. Dann flexed his bow, waiting for a call to action. Screams could be heard in the surrounding city as Arthur gave the green light to attack. Both kings fought against the demon knights, Arthur made it his mission to keep the demons away as Dann sent a call for help. He dodged incoming attacks while swinging Excalibur and killing demons.

Dann was standing further in the back, his dragon arrow soaring the sky, sending a message to king Jahan, desperate for help. He flexed his bow one more time and sent an arrow flying directly in an enemy's head, killing him immediately.

They fought on and on, defending each other while trying to save as many people as possible, though the task was strenuous as they were only two against a full army. They could see other citizens fighting against the enemy clan, but they could also see blood spattering across the streets littered with bodies. It made Arthur seethe in anger, almost succumbing to anguish, seeing the people of his kingdom dead from the ambush.

They fought and fought, and Arthur was getting increasingly exhausted. He had been slashing his sword left and right for at least half an hour, he'd lost track of time. His arm was bleeding profusely from a stab wound. He didn't care though, he had to make sure both Dann and his kingdom would come out of this battle all right.

Arthur stood still; confusion written on his face as the enemy clan retreated. Why were they suddenly leaving? Did they give up? Arthur didn't know.

"They're retreating," Dann pointed out, jogging over to stand next to Arthur and looking as confused as him. Everything was burning around them. There was a lot of blood and dead bodies, making Arthur frown in worry. He could hear a few screams in the far distance and the crackling sound of the fire mingling into a morbid symphony.

"Everybody can't be dead," Arthur said, his heart beating fast as he ran through the burning streets, trying to find anyone still alive. Just one person. He couldn't find any sign of life; even the horses were slaughtered. Nothing was left in his kingdom, just him. He failed as a king to protect his people. He'd failed, he couldn't save anyone.

"Arthur," Dann spoke, panting as he caught up to him. Arthur didn't hear him. He could only hear the crackle of the fire, could only smell the smoke and see his fallen kingdom.

"There's nothing left," Arthur's voice cracked, a singular tear rolling down his cheek. "They're all dead."

"Arthur," Dann spoke again, feeling his heart break for his friend. "I'm sorry," he said, putting a hand on the other king's shoulder.

"I have nothing else, I lost everything," Arthur said, letting his tears fall as he broke down. He walked further down the streets, Dann watching him with sadness and guilt as he held back his own tears. He watched as Arthur stopped and stood still, almost able to feel exactly what Arthur felt. He couldn't imagine how devastated someone could be after losing his kingdom.

He watched as Arthur suddenly lifted up his sword, the Excalibur stabbing and piercing through his body.

"ARTHUR NO!" Dann screamed, running over to him and catching Arthur's already weakened body before it fell to the ground. He couldn't hold back his tears anymore as he looked down at Arthur.

"Why would you do this? Why..." Dann trailed off, his voice strained as he held back a sob. He could see the life straining from Arthur's eyes quickly; he was dying.

"No... No, no, no," Dann shook his head, sniffling as he lightly shook his friend. It might have been a dream, he didn't know, he hoped it was, though. This was the second person to ever die in his arms. Another one of the closest people in his life. "Arthur, wake up," he sobbed, shaking him once again.

He wept, looking down at his dead friend lying in his arms. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." he sobbed.

He didn't know how long he stayed there, but it felt like hours. He turned his head to look at the Excalibur sticking out of Arthur's body, pulling it out with shaky hands and took it with him, standing up while holding onto his friend tightly. He couldn't leave him there, he had to take Arthur with him.

Dann walked down the streets of the city set aflame, his tears pooling down onto his dear friend's body. He walked until he was no longer in the fallen kingdom, his arms in pain but he didn't want to let go of Arthur.

Footsteps... a lot of footsteps were heard coming in front of him; he didn't want to look up. He kept his gaze down, not even trying to keep his sobs away. He was too devastated.

"Dann, I-" a voice spoke, and the footsteps stopped. Dann recognized that voice; it was king Jahan's. He looked up, meeting Jahan's horrified gaze that was looking down at Arthur's limp body. "We're too late," Jahan stated, his voice trembling. He didn't arrive in time to save his friend.

Dann could see that Jahan had brought his army along with him, he could see they were ready to fight, but the battle was over.

"He can't... how did he?.." Jahan tried to speak, but the words were stuck in his throat.

"...He said... he said he didn't have anything left. He said he... didn't have anything else to live for," Dann spoke, holding back from letting back another sob and sighing shakily. He looked up, the sky darkening from the grey clouds covering it. It started raining. It made sense, Arthur was the king of rain after all.

Maybe the rain was expressing its sadness for the loss of its king.