The Kingdom of Noitcif

Chapter Thirty-Three - Through the Portal

  "Good heavens, what are you doing here?!" Fleet exclaimed, a mix of shock and chastisement in his voice.

  Espen and Wesley felt the same as they evaluated Tarquin's unfortunate timing and choice of location.

  "Oh look, gentlemen," the emperor spoke up, "how convenient. Another pathetic Noitcif citizen to torment."

  "Dad, it's Tarquin, the scumbag messenger," Jax added enthusiastically. "He's the one that ambushed us in the woods. Ready to even the score?" he sneered in the direction of the messenger.

  "Tsk, tsk, Jax," Engres clucked with mock sympathy as he strode about, "can't you see this poor man has already experienced enough trauma today?" he questioned as he motioned to the messenger's appearance. "However, perhaps he's a good candidate for a little practice..."

  As Jax and Lysander nodded in Tarquin's direction, knowing what was about to transpire, Espen could no longer contain himself. Everything happened at once. The king launched himself out from behind the rock, sword extended at his uncle; Wesley followed a split second behind, engaging the stunned Jax in a sword duel; Fleet managed to lurch and kick Lysander, throwing him off balance. Tarquin, meanwhile, disabled Lysander with a blow to the head and proceeded to hack at the chains binding Fleet's wrists and ankles. Once he was released, Fleet was then able to unsheath his sword and assist Wesley. As Tarquin turned to help Espen, he saw - to his dismay - that the king was running in the direction of the stables, just as Engres' form was swallowed up in the gloom of the large double door opening - the faint purple glow of the Stone of Potenza lighting up his hand.

  The king followed the sound of the emperor's thudding footsteps and labored breathing winding deeper inside the dim stables. Suddenly, the king heard no sound; so he cautiously rounded the next corner. Engres had stopped to catch his breath right near Fabula's stall, oblivious to the fact that he was still being pursued. Seeing this, the king chose this opportune time to tackle him to the ground.

  Engres was taken by surprise, and in the ensuing tumble, loosened his grip on the Stone of Potenza that was still off his neck, which skittered across the hay strewn floor into Fabula's stall. For a split second, the tussle halted as uncle and nephew stared in the direction of the necklace, evaluated each other, and leaped up to climb into Fabula's stall. The king - being younger and more agile - was almost over the gate when he jolted to a stop.

  "Well, well, well," Engres hissed as he hung onto Espen's leg, "the little king is trying to take back what's rightfully his."

  "You, Uncle, shouldn't even be here," Espen growled as he kicked and struggled to break free.

  "Oh, I shouldn't? Actually, I believe I have every right to be here. This is my native kingdom, after all."

  "Yeah, well you became a traitor when you ran off to go rule that rubbish empire of yours!" Espen snapped as he managed to free himself and tumble into the stall.

  "Ahem," the emperor scoffed from the other side of the gate, "I was banished."

  Espen had just bent down and retrieved the stone when the full force of Engres toppled down on him, causing the king to buckle to the floor. Luckily, the emperor's frame was even more slightly-built than the teen, so the king was able to writhe around and get a head-lock on his uncle with one arm while gripping the necklace with his free hand. They wrestled under Fabula for a moment, who whinnied and tossed her head in response to all the commotion. As they emerged on the other side of Espen's unisus, the king was able to land an elbow into Engres' diaphragm, knocking the wind out of him.

  As the emperor coughed and sputtered on the floor, Espen leaped onto Fabula's bare back and grabbed her bridle-less mane. With a command from her master, the majestic steed reared and kicked her gate, which jostled open. As Espen and Fabula turned to wind their way out, Engres forced himself over the boards into the next stall, opened the gate, and mounted Tectum; a large black pegasus with a wild look in his eyes - somewhat sparked by the ensuing chaos. Still hunched over, he pursued his nephew out of the stables.

  As Espen exited, he looked around in vain for a place in the ensuing battle where he could go to keep the stone safe. The first thing that caught his eye was the distant cliff where the portal was located.

  "It will have to do," he sighed as he heard the tell-tale flapping of wings behind him.

  Espen leaned down further on Fabula's back so his nose was in her silvery mane and flew as fast as he could past the raging plane and griffin battle – around fighters, islands, and the Vastuta Tower itself – in his pursuit to get to the cliff. All this time, he could hear Tectum drawing closer and closer; his wing beats barely audible in the midst of the conflict, but evoking a feeling more tense and ominous than anything else. He had always known that Fabula was fast – in fact, he considered her to be the fastest steed in Noitcif – but Tectum was Lysander's old horse, and he wouldn't have selected a dud.

  As the cliff stretched out before him, Espen pulled his steed into a downward spiral and squinted his eyes as the chilly wind sliced his face - the landscape below them getting ever larger. Finally, Fabula stretched out her legs and gracefully cantered atop the surface, looking quizzically about. Espen had just managed to break her into a gallop towards the portal when he felt something yank his hair. The band holding his ponytail together slipped as he was jerked backwards off of his steed, and it was all the king could to do keep the stone in his grasp as he lurched off of his horse and landed with a painful thud onto the grass below.

  Fabula whinnied and began heading back in his direction, but Espen was fully engaged, tumbling through the grass as Engres tried to wrestle the necklace out of his hand. By now, his uncle's glasses were hanging at an angle and his robotic eye had been revealed. It must have glitched out along the way, but made him look more menacing than ever as his fingers gripped tightly around Espen's throat.

  "Give. That. Stone. To. Me," he snarled, pushing Espen up against the side of the cliff, right next to the spinning portal.

  The king's eyes darted towards the rainbow colors right beside him, and, in one quick motion, jerked to the side. He fell into the swirling mass, taking his uncle with him.

  The rainbow colors surrounding Espen grew rapidly vivid, but he was still able to clearly see the form of his uncle right beside him as they tumbled head over heels. The king drew his diamond encrusted sword from its sheath, causing Engres to unsheathe a large blade of his own.

  "Where would you like to travel?"

  Espen glanced around, wondering who had spoken, but then he realized that the portal itself had asked him the question.

  Engres began to answer: "To Ytil-"

  "To Meadow Brook!" the king interrupted at the top of his voice, stating the first place that came to mind. "To Meadow Brook library!"

  "The library?" Engres inquired, exasperated, the rainbow colors blotting out both of their vision.

 "Oh, yes," his nephew replied, wondering if he should have chosen a better location. "The library."