A Prince's Love

Life or Death

The full moon was the only light illuminating the dark woods as Francis steered the horse. The galloping hooves, as well as the sounds of kings shouting into the night, were all Francis could hear.
"Kill the witch! The children die! Let Arthur live!" King James shouted not far behind the fleeing couple. Francis growled taking a sharp right towards the beach. The kings' voices died away boosting Francis' confidence. Meanwhile, Arthur held onto the twins and Francis as they made their way to the only chance of escape. Arthur could faintly see the ocean and hear the gentle sounds of water crashing against the beach. He looked around keeping lookout for his father or King Feargach. Unexpectedly, the sound of hooves against the ground multiplied once more. Arthur looked over his shoulder to see the others were closing in. He saw an arrow zip passed his head hitting a tree ahead of them. The kings had every intention to murder that night without hesitation.
"Shit! They found-" The horse skidded to a stop on the sandy beach nearly stumbling. Arthur hastily climbed off of the horse following Francis across the shoreline. He carried the twins fearing they would be snatched away if he let go. He heard the horses whine as they were yanked to a stop on the uneven sand. Their hooves sank into the wet sediment making them stumble and back away.
"There they are!" Agatha shouted making Arthur curse once again. Francis stopped in front of large bushes and fallen tree branches. While Francis dug out the boat, Arthur put the twins behind him. Now, he stood before two angered kings and a princess. Three against one. Arthur drew a loaded pistol pointing it at his father then to King Feargach. He switched between them stepping back to hide the children under his cloak.
"Arthur, put the gun down. Now." His father ordered. The prince growled pointing it at his father. All the rage and resentment that had built up inside Arthur began to show. His emerald eyes were glossed over with hatred.
"Like hell!" Arthur heard a sword being drawn, which switched his attention to the Scottish King. He climbed off the horse leaving Agatha's side. King Feargach stepped closer wielding his sword as the metal reflected in the moonlight. Arthur put his finger to the trigger ready to fire at the king. He wouldn't back down. Not after everything he had gone through to stand where he is now.
"Enough of this! Give us the witch and children!" The rest got off their stallions inching towards Arthur. Agatha, with shaky hands, held out her gun unsure of herself. Arthur took a few steps back along with the twins. Alfred glared at the kings and princess, for he wouldn't let them take anyone away. He had stolen a dirk from the castle, and had it hidden behind his back for protection.
"No! I won't let you take them!" King Feargach suddenly ran over raising his sword high. Alfred slipped between Arthur's legs as he fired the gun scraping the king's shoulder. While the king was distracted, Alfred stabbed his thigh burying it to the hilt. King Feargach screamed in agony glaring down at Alfred who had retrieved the knife from the wound. As they fought, Francis readied the boat pushing it into the water.
"You foul little-!" King Feargach grabbed Alfred's arm throwing him to the ground. The dirk fell out of Alfred's hand from the fall landing elsewhere in the sand. Arthur raised his gun pointing it at the king's head.
"Don't hurt him!" He was going to step closer when the king put the sword to Alfred's neck. Arthur instantly froze in fear as he began to relive the nightmares. The world around him would switch from dream to reality making Arthur panic. He lost sight of what was true and what was in his head. His gun violently shook in his unsteady hands.
"One more step, and I'll cut his head off!" Arthur began panting keeping Matthew behind his legs. Everyone stood in silence waiting to see who would make the first move. Alfred's eyes widened as he stared at his brother in a silent plea for help. Matthew trembled fearing one move would kill them all.
"Agatha," King Feargach called not breaking eye contact with Arthur.
"Take your pick. Shoot one of those creatures." Arthur ground his teeth as the princess lifelessly approached. She was nothing more than a puppet to the king. She raised the gun aiming for Matthew at first, but then she noticed Francis sitting in the boat. The Frenchman gasped seeing Agatha point the pistol at him. A stray tear slipped from his eyes knowing what was to come. This was it. Nowhere to run or hide. Agatha placed her finger on the trigger taking aim for Francis' chest, but her hesitation was costly. Out of thin air, an arrow similar to the one Arthur saw before pierced Agatha's skull. Her eyes widened as two words only she would ever hear slipped from her.
"I'm sorry." Agatha instantly felt her body grow heavy as she died still standing. She dropped the gun falling onto the beach with a loud thud. Her blood stained the white sediment a dark red as the retreating waters pulled it out to sea.
"No!" King Feargach shouted pulling away from Alfred to run to his daughter. Her glossy eyes stared into the water as her pupils dilated. He ripped the arrow out of her head clinging to her already chilling body. Her hair turned matted and sticky as the blood on it slowly dried. Alfred took that chance to run to the boat with the others. They each got in pushing off the shoreline hurrying into the channel. The kings were in too much grief to fire at any of them. They mourned the dead princess not even having the will to search for the murderer.

"Tsk. I save you from that bitch, and you don't thank me? Some brother our father made you." A man with vibrant red hair muttered from the trees he hid in. He took a drag of his cigar before blowing out the toxic fumes. Another man, who sat a few branches across him, scoffed watching the four cross the channel.
"Can you blame him? I doubt that asshole even told the kid who we are. Oh, well. Little brother will be in for quite the surprise when we do tell him." He ruffled his shaggy brown hair trying to get leaves out of it. He glared at the younger man above him that held a pile of leaves in his hands. The ginger giggled adding more leaves to the messy hair.
"Fuck off Liam!" Liam laughed tossing them all onto his brother before jumping to the redhead's tree. He sat above the smoker fanning away the intolerable odor. He couldn't understand how his older brother handled breathing in smoke nearly everyday.
"Alister! Do you think Dylan is stupid? I think he's really stupid." Dylan growled ripping a stick off the tree and chucking it at Liam. It smacked him in the face making Dylan laugh quietly. Alister sighed finishing his cigar before letting it fall to the ground. He took a glove off tucking it in his pocket so it wouldn't fall out of his hand. He smacked Liam before going over to Dylan and hitting him as well. The two rubbed the spots they were hit in as Alister put his glove back on.
"Shut up. Both of you. Let's go home so I can eat my haggis." Dylan rolled his eyes jumping through the trees to be hidden from sight. He heard his brother's follow him, for he was the oldest. They saw the hills that kept their home hidden from any outsiders.
"You better not have gotten it from one of my sheep." Alister snickered suddenly taking the lead. He landed on the ground running towards the herd of sheep in the backyard.
"I am now!" Dylan shrieked racing after Alister to protect the herd. He ran faster than ever before in his life. His sheep meant more than the world to him.
"Don't you dare! Leave my sheep alone!" He tackled Alister to the ground beginning a wrestling match. The two punched, kicked, and slammed one another to the dirt. Dylan put Alister in a choke hold, but Alister let his weight pin Dylan down. The two laughed as they fought not taking anything serious. Each punch was laughed at and each kick was filled with humor. Once they were too tired to continue fighting, they called a draw.
"Until next time." Alister panted out of breath. Dylan nodded brushing away his sweaty hair to keep it out of his face.
"Like always." They stood and went to the house seeing Liam had let himself inside. Alister tried the door handle, but it had been locked. He glanced at Dylan before trying once more only to get the same result.
"What the hell?" He jiggled the knob, but it wouldn't budge. They ran to the back of the house walking through the pen of noisy sheep to reach the backdoor. It too had been locked by none other than Liam. The youngest went to the window waving at his brothers eating their food. He giggled showing off what was on his plate before walking away.
"My fucking haggis?! Liam, I will kill you!" Alister kicked the door rapidly jiggling the doorknob. It would have broken off if Dylan hadn't shoved him out of the way. Alister was about to yell when Dylan silenced him. He pointed to an unlocked window near the kitchen sink. They climbed out of the pen sneaking over to the window Liam forgot to lock. Dylan opened it hearing his younger brother curse and race out of the kitchen to hide. Alister groaned climbing through the window to get inside.
"You want to act like a fucking bitch; you will die a fucking bitch. For fuck's sake, Liam! How many times have I told you to leave my shit alone? Making me fucking climb through a damn window to get my food. I swear on me mum if you ate the lamb one-!" Alister grunted as he landed in the kitchen. He searched the house while Dylan struggled to get inside through the small window.