Ruined Kingdom

Part 2

Emrys POV

It was half past midnight when I left the castle, my home. Its enormous walls looked grey and unwelcoming in the moonlight. I stared in front of me into the ocean and thought about what I was about to do. Pulling my black hood over my head, I started to walk towards the city. There were so many people there in the hours between midnight and two a.m. Some were drinking and dancing at the pubs while others were still working at the docs.

Tonight was different for me. Usually I'd just steal money or jewelry from the thieves in the inns and give it to the people who actually need it. Well, now I was about to kill a man. A powerful man who was getting on my nerves lately and had no mercy. He liked to kid around and joke about murdering the fellow citizens of this city, but when it came to it, he was very capable of sliding someone's throat.

Ten minutes later I found myself standing in front of the small fountain in the middle of a square in the east side of the town. Looking around, I didn't see anyone but that didn't mean they couldn't have seen me. I slowly pulled out the dagger I was hiding in my sleeve and pulled down my hood. Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me.

"So, we meet again I see. I was wondering actually if you'd make it in time." A smile made its way through his face. But a vicious one. I turned to him and tried not to look as terrified as I felt.

"No one likes to wait. And as I've heard, especially not you." He moves toward me and I make a couple of steps back.

He seems to enjoy our little chit-chat, but I've had it. As it seems to be, this man by the name Lukeenan, had made quite the appearence throught the years. Many killings and robberies were known to be his act though I did not believe he'd done all of them by himself.

"Well, young man, you've heard correctly. And I demand to know what exactly was the purpose of this meeting you insisted on. I can see you carry a dagger but I don't expect that you'd want to murder me here, am I right?" His ridiculous smile was driving me insane by the time he finished the sentence and I was about to stab him at this exact moment.

As I tried to clear my head, I suddenly heard footsteps. Turning to the direction they were coming from, I saw a shadow. Of a lady perhaps, judging by the outline of her dress. The thing was, when I turned back to see what my dear enemy was about to do, I found out that he had left. As unexpectedly as he showed up, I must add.

Oh, dear Jesus, what was I gonna do now? Well, I ran and hoped that the woman never even saw me.

I was making my way through dark alleys and corners, then eventually I climbed on the top of a building and jumped from roof to roof. At exactly three o'clock I was in front of the main entrance of the castle. Standing there, wandering what was I gonna be like if I was born in a normal, loving family. If I didn't have any meetings to attend the next morning, trying not to die from boredom, while my brother, the heir of the throne, was discussing important strategies with a dozen lords.

My dear father, god bless him, was still alive but his kind heart had almost stopped a few weeks back. Then my brother started to run the kingdom almost by himself. Of course, he had our aunt by his side, to help him with the important decisions. Our mother died when I was two. My brother was at the age of five, and my father decided it'd be best if he married her sister, the current queen of our kingdom.

Most days my family got that I had no intention in leading the country as I was not the actual heir to the throne, though I still attended important events. My love for weapons and combat was much bigger than the one for politics so maybe one day I was to become the captain of the guard. My future was very unclear and I had no idea what was about to happen after my father's death.