Arthur and the Invisibles 4: Defender of the Seven Kingdoms

Chapter 5: A New Adventure

Arthur almost screamed as he bolted upright, almost throwing off the dark green blanket. For a moment he simply sat there, gasping continuously to satisfy his parched lungs that were screaming for air. When the lack of air finally wasn't dominating his every thought, his mind reminded him of the reason why he woke up, and his head spun round, so fast it was almost subconscious, to face the other side of the bed. The room still held a reasonable amount of darkness, but to his ultimate relief, he could make out Selenia's spiky, but luscious red hair, and the pale outline of her body, that was slightly, but noticeably, rising and falling. Still breathing. Arthur sighed.

Somewhere within the dark crevices of his imagination, a horrifying nightmare had forced its way through his already shattered mind. He had been walking along the main chamber in front of the palace, which had, unlike now, been completely intact, with the smooth wooden floor, and the obelisk in the centre. Except there were corpses. Littering the floor. Sometimes so badly you couldn't even see the floor. Hundreds upon thousands of Minimoy corpses. But the centrepiece of this dark conjuration was the most horrifying thing Arthur had ever seen in his life, and when he first observed it in his subconscious state, it inflicted a feeling so unbearably horrible that it would have brought Maltazard to his knees. The sword of power still lay in the obelisk, as it did now. But its path to the obelisk was interrupted. By Selenia's perfect, pale skin. What Arthur saw was Selenia impaled onto the obelisk. Her gorgeous pink rose petal dress dominated by the corruptive stain of blood, her brown eyes locked open in a stare that would have scared the devil himself, and her mouth hanging lifelessly open, never to speak his name again.

Arthur removed the cover from his legs and swung them round to the side of the bed. Pausing a moment to try and regain the energy the dream had snatched from his body, he began to push himself to his feet. Then, one, weakened step at a time, he made his way to the front door, opening it with the highest level of gentleness, and exercising the same caution as he closed it when he was on the other side. If there was one thing he couldn't bear to do now, it was to wake her up.

He rounded the house and came to the small balcony, with its black metal railings that twisted into fantastical patterns. Observing his kingdom. Or what was left of it. Even now, no matter how hard or how long he stared at the unmeasurable crater in the centre of the village, he still couldn't comprehend that this was actually happening. And there was no doubt in his mind. It was all his fault.

Almost two years ago, Selenia kissed him for the first time. She was on the verge of facing the most dangerous creature in the Seven Kingdoms, and she didn't even hesitate. On that day, she had shown no fear, no cowardice, only the ever sparkling bravery and beauty that had attracted Arthur to her in the first place. She was certain that she would succeed, kill Maltazard, and meet him back there, having both of them completed their missions. She showed no doubt whatsoever. But in that second, she didn't hesitate. She had decided that if that insignificant chance of failure came to pass, then Arthur should be the one to take the throne. She trusted him, cared for him, loved him enough to trust her entire kingdom to him, less than two days after they had met. She had trusted him with her people. With her kingdom. And more important than anything, she had trusted him with her life. And as a king, where had Arthur taken them? To a time when the kingdom's inhabitants had been kidnapped and the kingdom lay in ruins. When Selenia had kissed him, Arthur had felt like the luckiest man in the world. Now, two years on, the only thing he felt was shame.

There was no sound but the silence of his thoughts, so he had no trouble hearing the creaking sound of the front door opening. He heard her footsteps behind him, but didn't know if he had the courage to turn around and face her, face the girl he felt he had let down on so many occasions. But he hadn't seen her face since the dream, and the lifeless stare of her corpse still haunted his mind. So he turned his head to look at her. And she was beautiful.