The Kingdom of Noitcif

Chapter Thirty-Six - The Traitor and the Loyal One

  It felt like ages since Espen had reminisced about the words the four silhouettes told him in the fortress of Ytreop; but in the brief time of warping through the portal, his mind had put together all the pieces of what their seemingly disorganized prose meant.

  "Through air-like streams and crystal bends

  The cloud of darkness will not stray.

  Unless, of course, the messenger heeds

  To the words his friends have to say."

  He decided that would be referring to how the darkness of Ytilaer had the upper hand on Noitcif; since Noitcif had no idea when, or if, the enemy would attack. Then, when Tarquin went to the empire as a spy, the kingdom was kept informed about when the attack would come.

  "An enemy-friend will be helping,

  The double winter the cause of her pain.

  She will discover an essential truth

  However, it may seem in vain."

  That verse had to be about Rosalind, he thought. Yes, he had considered her to be both an enemy and a friend for quite some time before she came to Noitcif. The double winter would be referring to Jax and Griffith - as their last name was Winter - and the essential truth had to be that she was not a child of Engres after all. And although it seemed somewhat non-essential - in vain - perhaps there was more to her story. The king smiled as he thought of the last three verses, for now, they also made perfect sense.

  "The cloud will still grow darker,

  And the stone will show it's flash.

  And one traitorous king will steal from another,

  Making both kingdoms clash.

  "Noitcif will be in peril,

  The kingdom in solar eclipse.

  But if the young king dares to refuse the helm,

  Rays of light in the dew that drips.

  "Stand tall, my king! And don't give in!

  Just like your duke did do.

  This is the tale of the future,

  Although the ending is up to you."

  With a relaxed frame of mind, Espen walked out of the portal, only to fall smack into yet another battle. As he looked out over the cliff face, the remaining Ytialer planes were being forced back through the sky portal by the griffin-riding knights, but there were still battles on the ground at the Noitcif castle. The king's attention was captured by Fabula – who hadn't moved since her owner had left – whinnying in fear and excitement.

  "Come on, Fabula," Espen breathed, mounting his noble steed, "we have to get back to Wesley. He's probably worried sick by now."

  Dawn was giving way to day now in the Kingdom of Noitcif, and the newly acquired light allowed the king to assess the exact status of the battle before he landed. A second plane had landed beside Engres' personal one, and from it, a throng of warriors had issued. Luckily, Noitcif was on top of things - as there appeared to be more of Espen's knights than Engres' warriors - but that didn't stop a raging battle to continue on, due to the sophistication of the Ytilaer weapons. Espen debated about where to land Fabula to position himself in a strategic location when he saw a Ytilaer warrior about to ambush Wesley, who was engaged in a sword battle in front of the stables. Whipping out his own sword, the king leaped off of Fabula before she touched the ground, landed in a squat to both cushion his drop and stay low, and gave his unisus a smack on the rump to send her into the stables – out of harm's way.