Game of the Gods

Chapter 4

"Thank you so much Mark!" Apollonia runs up and hugs me, her pale arms wrapping around my neck. I staggered backwards a bit, nearly knocking the bow off its stand as Apollonia cried into my chest plate. She must've stayed like that for more minutes than what was expected, but, hey, she's happy she found a protector. I, awkwardly, held her as she let out tears, patting her back and trying to fight down the blush in my cheeks. Not even my fiancé cried like that. Well, I've never seen her cry, but... Never mind.
"Well," Apollonia said. Her voice still shook and her eyes were slightly pink, but she looked so delighted she brightened the room even more. "Now, it's time for you to go back to your own world," She sniffles and pulls back some fabric from her wrist, and snaps her fingers. We waited only a half-beat, and a portal opened up. Apollonia looked at me with sincere care, her face melting into admiration and gratefullnes. "Be careful out there."
"Thank you, Apollonia, I will." I step into the portal. I feel feathery and light as I push the rest of my body through, looking back to see Apollonia waving excitedly before the image dissolved into stardust and glitter. I'm getting warped back to my home. I feel strange, not just by the portal, but like my stomach is being flipped. How will they react when they see me back from the dead? Will the time of day change? Will I have to explain everything to Gunter? How will the staff take it?
I breath deeply, preparing myself as the familiar smell of dust and flowers comes into focus. I'm home. I'm home and I'm safe and alive and---
Everything is in shambles. Gunter is passed out on the floor, some debris on him. The painting on the wall is torn. Dad is...dead on the floor. Of course. He's still dead. Apollonia couldn't save him, so what was I hoping for? I walk over to his body, collapse, and begin to cry. Weeping like this is still a surprise to me, and in a way it is. My dad looks worse now, sprawled and bloody, his eyes half-open and his mouth trickling drying blood.
"Dad...no." I hear something move behind me, I turn my head to see Gunter getting up. I stand and run over to him, hovering my hands above him as he tries to gain footing. "Gunter! Are you okay?!"
"Ugh...No time for crying, Milord." He says. He's about to collapse but I run up and catch him. He looks up at me, regaining his posture and trying to mask an expression of bizarre confusion and shock. He looks at my father's corpse, biting back bile before turning his head to me. "You have work to do." I collapse onto the ground, exhausted, unable to process anything anymore.

****

I hear a muffled voice, "Milord! Milord! Wake up," Gunter says, shaking me awake.
"Ugh...I'm up, what's wrong?" I get up and ask, dazed. Gunter snaps me back immediately.
"Um...I don't know, a random intruder attacked everyone in this household and killed your father! We need to move, now. Stay low, milord, we can't let him see you."
Wait. No, wait, this doesn't feel right.
"Wow, Gunter, calm down!" I put my hand on Gunter's shoulder. He swipes my hand off his shoulder, looking at me in a strange sort of way before trying to drag me out the... My-- my bedroom.
This just happened. This just happened, it doesn't make any sense.
"Why are you so calm about this?! The house is in shambles! The staff came immediately after your... Your father screamed. Felicia was cut on her neck!" He shouts.
Felicia was another servant in the mansion, she was really good in a fight and very dependable, but she was very clumsy. Sure, she was a klutz, but she could handle herself with a weapon, so why did she die? And if the servants and maids came immediately after my dad was struck, I would've seen it, right? I was there, with him, dying seconds after.
I put my hand on my side almost unconsciously, feeling nothing. Not a bruise, a scar, no wet blood.
"Is she okay?!" I ask, panicked. I'm panicking, I'm confused and panicking. I'm not hurt, my dad's dead, I'm living some twisted change in the past, our best servant is dead, and my home is destroyed.
Gunter grabs my arm and escorts me into the kitchen. He and I take a look around, possibly eying a movement or sign of consciousness. The entire kitchen staff are passed out on the floor.
This never had happened when I was stabbed. The house didn't break. The staff didn't arrive as if by magic.
Apollonia did something.
"Felicia was the only one who fought back." Gunter panted. He bent down to check a chef's pulse, releasing a breath of relief before moving to a seamstress. "She got hurt real bad. As you-- you can see..." Gunter walks up to Felicia and crouches next to her. He puts his hand on her cheek, whispering and closing her eyes. "Poor thing, she really put up a brave fight.... More would've been hurt if she hadn't grabbed that bloody poker from the fire. She... She put up a good fight. A good, good fight."