WORTH IT ALL (The Second Part to A Game of Mouse and Wolf)

CHAPTER THREE: Blood in the Halls

TW: Somewhat Graphic Details

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"Come on Indi...where are you?" Telemachus asked quietly as he walked through the palace halls.

It's only been about three minutes but to Telemachus it felt like it's been thirty. He didn't know if Iciro was hurt or lost...or worse. He tried not to think about it.

"Telemachus..."

Someone had called for him as he walked. He turned to look behind him hoping it was Iicro...but no one was there.

"Telemachus..."

There it was again.

"Who's there...if this is some prank then-"

"It's Hermes."

"Hermes? The Messenger God? Where are you...and why are you-"

"None of that matters right now. Look...Iciro is in danger."

"Danger!? What danger?!"

"Walk down the hall...I'll explain once you stop."

"Once I stop? Stop whe-?"

"You'll know once you see it."

"O-k?"

Confused...Telemachus walked down the palace halls until he saw...blood...smeared on the walls and a trail of it led down the hall.

"Hermes!! Whose blood is this?!"

"Iciro's...he fought Antinous-"

"WHY!?"

"Antinous threatened to kill you and hurt your mother...and Iciro got upset. The fight started in an empty room, but it escalated so they ended up fighting out here. He was trying to make his way to Eurycleia but-"

"WHERE IS HE?!"

"Go get Dimidius first...then I will lead you both there."

"Hermes!!"

"Trust me...go and find Dimidius."

Telemachus hesitated at first...but he eventually gathered his composure and ran back to his room to find Dimidius.

-FLASHBACK TO EARLIER-

"Is that all you got Little Mouse." Antinous taunted as he swung his sword at Iciro.

Thankfully Iciro was a very skilled swordsman so he could block his attack with ease. The fight was in the empty room they were in, but it got too heated, so they are now in the palace halls.

"You know what will happen if you kill me!!" Iciro shouted.

"And you know what will happen if you kill ME!!"

The clash of steel rang out as they engaged, Iciro's swift, calculated strikes meeting Antinous's brutal, forceful blows. Sparks flew with each collision, the air thick with tension. Iciro's agility allowed him to evade Antinous's powerful swings, his feet barely touching the ground as he danced around his opponent.

Antinous, growing frustrated, unleashed a flurry of attacks, each one more desperate than the last. Iciro parried and countered with fluid precision, his movements a blend of grace and lethal efficiency. The battle raged on, a deadly ballet of skill and strength, neither willing to yield.

In a final, decisive moment, Iciro saw an opening. With a swift, elegant maneuver, he disarmed Antinous, sending his sword clattering to the ground. Antinous stumbled, defeated, as Iciro stood tall, his blade poised for the finishing blow.

"You lost..." Iciro said sternly as he glared at Antinous.

"Heh...that's what you think."

Antinous quickly got up and grabbed his sword and before Iciro could even react...Antinous stabbed him right in the side. The stab was so deep that when he pulled the sword out blood came rushing out of Iciro's side causing him to fall to the ground.

"I told you Little Mouse..." Antinous said as he smirked. "I told you I would bring pain and suffering. You're about to die when all you had to do was help me."

Antinous began to walk away...

"Send a letter from the Underworld yeah? I'm sure the prince would love to read it."

Antinous gave one last smirk before leaving Iciro to bleed out.

"Eury...cleia." Iciro said weakly as he slowly got up.

He had to make it to Eurycleia. She would know what to do. He propped his bloody hand on the wall and used his free hand to cover the stabbed wound he had just gotten. As he began to walk amongst the palace walls a trail of blood followed behind him. His body began to feel more and more weak with each step, but he didn't care. He had to make it...he couldn't afford to die. Not now. He's come too far to die now. But...poor poor Iciro..never made it to Eurycleia. After about thirty seconds of walking...he collapsed on the floor and a pool of blood laid with him as he began to lose his vision. 

-End of Chapter-