Rhapsodia Chronicles

Chapter I

Blood under the Moonlight

"Within the darkness, I see two faint glimmer of light, beckoning for me to reach it..."

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I could hear the hurried steps of a man clad in his full armor running away, as the roaring blazes of flames engulfed the kingdom behind him. The grand kingdom where most of the wisest kings came from; the kingdom that was once known as Arcadia, was suddenly attacked by an army of unknown beings. Led by a powerful, dreaded knight clad in ghoulish cape, they threw the kingdom into chaos and stormed the palace. The royal house of Arcadia crumbled beneath his blade, despite how powerful and skilled they were in battle. The 45th king, Sieghart Mihael Von Bielefelt, stayed behind with his army even when they were down to their smallest numbers and was clearly outnumbered.

The knight's footsteps echoed loudly, heavy and burdened. I could even hear his huffed breath as he tried to gasp for some air. It was dark, and only the faint light of the moon shrouded by the passing clouds served as the beacon within the darkness.

The knight soon came out and into the clearing where I was, he fell on his knees. His armor was all worn out, blood splattered all over that it mostly covered his full suit. He had injuries all over his body and I know that most people wouldn't last long with those kinds of injuries. The man was curled up a few steps away from me, positioned as if he was trying not to squish whatever it was that was beneath him. He slowly pulled himself off the ground before staggering once again. And just as when he was about to lose his ground, he swiftly planted his sword in front of him to keep himself up.

That was when I soon caught a glimpse of what it was that he was trying to protect not only from the weight of his body, but from whatever it was that was after them. In his arms, he held a newborn child, wrapped in the finest of Arcadian silk, albeit a few smudges of blood was apparent. It must have been blood from the injured knight.

It wasn't that long when the knight seemed to notice my presence. He slowly looked up to me, his left eye shut as blood dripped from his temple. "Please... I beg of you... save Prince Lucian," he pleaded.

A rustling sound soon came from the shadows and soon enough, monsters stepped out from the darkness and into the clearing. I looked around us, slowly scanning each one of what used to be docile forest dwellers, though the color of their eyes suggested that they had been corrupted by some force. Blood red eyes and with their fangs bared, we were surrounded by the monsters.

Mustering all what was left of his strength, the knight spun around and held his sword at the ready, while the newborn child rested on his free arm. The monsters crouched down as if readying to attack, all eyes set on the newborn child that the knight held. "You will not lay a hand on the prince," the injured man spoke sternly, albeit weak from his sustained injuries. "Even if it costs me my life, I will protect his highness."

Just as soon as he uttered those words, the monsters let out a growl before lunging at the knight. I didn't plan to get involved in all of those, though I wouldn't just let them devour a hapless child in front of me. Thus, with a stroke of my hand to the side, blades of wind formed and immediately hurled towards each of the monsters, sending them away from the knight with such force that they slammed into the trees. The other remaining monsters lunged behind me as they tried to catch me off guard. Shifting my body to the side, I held a hand forward as an invisible barrier blocked their claws and fangs. With another stroke of my hand, the monsters were hurled a few steps away from me before spears of light pierced through their body. I soon heard the last of the monsters whimpered before turning tail and ran off towards the opposite direction.

"Thank you..." the knight spoke as I slowly made my way towards him. His wounds have reopened from all his sudden movement and I could see his body started to tremble. He wouldn't last any longer and there was nothing more I could do to help him. When our eyes met, I could tell that he has already accepted his fate. He slowly but carefully held out the child to me, his eyes pleading for me to take the child as he did so. Although he was almost knocking on death's door, still I saw a glimmer of hope burning in his eyes. "Take care... of his highness..." he muttered under his breath. "One day... I am certain... that he will... come back and..." he was soon cut off his words as he fell to the ground, lifeless.

"I bless your soul as you journey back to the cradle of the gods..." I spoke softly, uttering a small prayer for the knight. Turning to the child that I held in my arms, I could sense something... different from him. He was human, yet something about him was different that I couldn't put a finger on. There was a faint trace of magic coming from the child... magic that felt oh so familiar. As I examined the child even further, I saw a familiar insignia on his right hand.

And that's when it hit me.

He was no ordinary child. A child of a royal blood but even more than that, though they might be just assumptions of mine at the moment. I almost instinctively knew what could the worst possible case that would follow if my assumptions were right, as fate brought the child to me.

"Well, well... who do we have here?" a familiar voice soon came that shattered my thoughts, sending a chill down my spine. How long has it been since I last heard of that voice? I heard him stopped on his tracks even whe I was unable to turn around to even look at him. I held the child close to me and more footsteps came close, probably from his servants. "It must be my lucky day. All I wanted was that child, but who knew that I would find you here... after all these years..."

I could see the sinister grin that formed on his lips even with my back turned against him. I know him too well. He hasn't changed a bit, even after all those years.... more than 700 years. That was a long time to remain unchanged.

I slowly turned around to face him, still holding the child close to me. Now I knew what it was that was different about him. There was only one reason why someone such as him would even go through all the troubles just to get the child.

He was one of them...

And I...

"We've finally found you... Helene Astrea."

- Chapter 1: End -