Blood Rose

#7

"Hurry, there's no time!" Herakles screamed.
"We'll be out-numbered, brother. Mausa's army is enormous." Oreste said.
"We have courage, Oreste." Herakles said and smiled and looked at me, "And we have the man with wings. Any army is weak without their commander."
I smiled back and walked a bit away. Little did they know what was going inside my head. That army had all my brothers, the men I'd trained. To them, I was the betrayer.

I'd never fought for anyone but Mausa. I'd grown up fighting for Mausa. It wasn't just Idylla fighting against her family. I was too. Maybe there was a way to solve this?

An idea came to my mind. I removed my armour, dressed in a black cloak and quietly left the castle. Mausa's men had reached the shore. They saw me and raised their swords. I took off my cloak. Maurice, my second in command said, "Halt! It's Sir Adonis."

Estevan noticed me and said, "So you betrayed us, huh? You're fighting for them."
"Because they're right Estevan. And you're wrong." I said.
Estevan got off his horse that they'd brought along with the many other horses on the ship and walked to me. He said, "Adonis, I've always considered you a brother. I've provided you with food and shelter for years. Now you choose to betray me?"

"Idylla doesn't wish to return to Mausa. She'll pay visits. Please, stop this war. She loves her family. Both her families."
"I can't, Adonis. She's my sister. I have to take her back."
"This is madness, Estevan. She's going to hate you before she's even met you."

"Nonsense! Brother, stop wasting time." Philip screamed.
"So you're at war too, Philip?" I mocked. Damn, how much I hated that man. Estevan sighed, came forward and hugged me and said, "I don't want to fight the people who kept her safe either, Adonis. It's just that they've imprisoned my sister. Philip told me that she isn't happy. I don't know what you've seen, but she's unhappy. I'm going to rescue her. Only if they'd have let her go, this could be undone. I'll see you at the battlefield. Leave before I have to raise my sword at you."

I quietly turned around and started walking towards the castle. This couldn't be undone. Philip had poisoned Estevan's mind again, and successfully. "Sir Adonis!" Maurice screamed and came running after me. He gestured to ask for my blessings before war like he always did. I gave him my blessings. All the men raised their hands at once, gesturing to ask for blessings. When I'd finished giving it to all of them, I had tears in my eyes.

"It'd be an honour to fight opposite to you, sir." Maurice said.
"You too, Maurice." I smiled, "And don't hesitate if you come across me in the battlefield."
"I won't." He smiled back, his eyes tearing up.
I turned and started walking and I didn't look back, not once. I didn't want them to see my tears. I reached the castle and put on my armour again. I rushed to Idylla. She was practicing her sword. I said, "This can't be stopped. They think you're imprisoned here."
"What? Why would they think that?"
"Philip poisoned Estevan's mind."
"Philip? My brother?"
"Yes."
"Should I go talk to them?"

"Not safe. They'll think the Cryprians are blackmailing you."
"This doesn't make sense."
"Nothing does."
We smiled at each other and I turned back and ran to the armory. Cyprus's army was taking weapons in lines. It was nearly one-third of Mausa's army. I heard the trumpet. War had begun. I rushed to the top of the wall of Cyprus where Oreste and Herakles stood alongside the archers.

"Fire!" Screamed Herakles and the canons shot out fireballs. The archers shot arrows. The archers hardly hit any men, I'd taught them defence. They were way too good with their shields. The canons did make an impact, though. The men were nearing the gate, with a large log of wood. It would be a matter of hardly 30 minutes before the gate broke.

All of a sudden, someone tapped my shoulder. I turned around, "The princess wants to see you, sire."
"Right now?" I asked.
"Yes, she says it's urgent." The man said. I sighed and followed him. She was standing at the back gate that faced the town of Cyprus. She smiled at me and said, "If this is one of the last days you'll be at Cyprus, you need to see something. There's no time to waste. Follow me."

I got confused but followed her. She was still in her armour. We galloped through town. News of war had spread, the shutters of all the shops were down, gates of houses and huts closed. We kept going till we reached close to the forest, where a small hut stood. Snow covered its top. It was fresh snow, I realised. Being inside the palace, I'd not realised when the weather got so cold. She got off her horse and knocked on the door. A middle-aged woman opened it, wrinkles starting to appear on her face. Beside her stood a thin boy of around 15. Idylla signalled me to come close. I walked to them, and that's when I noticed, the boy's face was familiar. So much familiar. I'd seen that face before, that face filled with innocent valour and pride.

That's when it struck me.

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