Chronicles Of Yositania: Of Demons And Men

Chapter 5: Loss and Resolution

"Are you sure that you will be okay, my lord?" asked Winda; the teenaged, black-haired maid hesitantly.
"Yes, absolutely," Wun replied with a polite smile.
"If that is your wish, my lord; then I will be more than happy to comply. But are you sure that you don't need anything?"
"No, nothing."
"Very well; I shall leave you to your devices then," she replied with a stiff bow, and promptly exited through the door.
With a sigh, he looked at the wheelchair beside his bed. And almost instinctively; he tried to move his legs for what must have been the umpteenth time, and he failed to move even a single inch of either leg for the umpteenth time.
He still couldn't quite believe that he had lost his legs for the rest of his life. It all felt like a bad nightmare; from which he was dying to awaken. But the last 48 hours had proven to him quite clearly that this- was certainly not a dream. It was cold, hard reality; and one with which he must learn to live.
And....... he was not quite sure how he was going to do that.
Becoming "The Greatest King That This Kingdom Has Ever Seen" was a goal that he had cherished for quite some time now. This dream was  his sole purpose for living; and this dream was the sole driving force that had pushed him into entering the Trial of the Worthy as just a 9 year old. It was this dream that had pushed him through the trial and allowed him to complete it.
To him, it was not just a dream; but something more. It was the manifestation of the bond that he had shared with Aldora; the manifestation of their friendship and the manifestation of her memory. It was the component that made him who he was.
And without his legs, he had as much of a chance at succeeding in that dream as a naked baby had at defeating a fully armored and cold-blooded knight. As, how could a cripple  exceed the combat capabilities of Arman the Strong, Aemyn the Fast and Cornelia the Great?
The Greatest King must at least possess the strength to protect his kingdom from all sorts of threats. And without his legs; he just didn't have that strength. Without them, he wasn't qualified to become the Greatest King; to fullfil his dream and objective for living.
Thus, without his legs....... he didn't even have a reason to live. 
So what was stopping him from breaking off a sharp piece of wood from the headboard of his bed; and ending this life? Was it cowardice? Or was it just the very human desire to survive kicking in? Or perhaps it was just a faint glimmer of hope; hope for the non-existent possiblity that somehow, just somehow- his legs could be cured?
For some reason, he didn't really care. He didn't really care if he lived or died; because from his perspective- both seemed exactly the same.
"I am in quite a pickle, aren't I, Aldora?" he asked with an exhausted chuckle; looking up. Just what...... was he supposed to do?
Suddenly, the door to his room burst open, and with a jolt of shocking surprise; he instantly looked over at the intruding party. It consisted of Cronos, who was at the front; Claudia, who was directly behind him; and Ryu, who stood behind her.
"Oh hey guys; is something wrong?" Wun asked in a flusteredly polite tone; as they stepped into his room.
"Wun, we need to talk to you about something," said Cronos in a tone completely different from his usual one; a deep and serious tone.
"Yeah sure. What is it?" Wun asked in a slightly surprised tone.
"Its about your dream, Wun," replied Ryu from behind; and Wun felt his expression go rigid immediately.
"What about it?" he asked in an unnecessarily stern voice; and immediately regretted doing so.
However, none of the three flinched or showed any signs of fear at this sudden sternness; and instead, they looked at him with an even greater determination.
"I am sorry for saying this Wun; but you cannot achieve it without your legs," said Cronos in a tone which expressed his deep remorse perfectly; but one which also contained his previous determination along with it.
"I.... know that," replied Wun with a little difficulty. He knew this very well; but that still didn't make it any less mortifying. However, he still couldn't see where they were going with all this.
"Which is why, we  want to be your legs, Wun."
It took him a second to register just what Cronos had declared. Just what...... was he talking about?
"We want to carry your burden and your dream. We want to help you become the greatest king that this kingdom has ever seen. We want to help you establish a rule far better than anyone has ever established in these lands," he paused for a second, " even our father."
And before his astonished eyes; all three of them knelt before him, with their right hands placed on their chests- the official gesture of respect for the king.
"So please, allow us to help you, our King!" shouted all three in unison.
He........ had been so stupid. How could he even think about taking his life...... when he had such subjects? How could he even consider the probability of giving up; when subjects like them are willing to serve him, aid him and fight for his dream?
"All of you, raise your heads," Wun commanded in a tone brimming with energy; and all of them obeyed immediately. Yes, he didn't have his legs; but that didn't give him a free pass to just give up. "Very well, I accept your service."
"We-" began Cronos in a very grateful tone; but was interrupted by Wun, who hadn't finished speaking, "However, I am not a king yet. So I cannot accept your service..... right now. But, " he cracked a warm and cheerful grin, "when I do become king; I will rely on you- all of you. And so," he extended his curled right arm," let's make this kingdom a better place when we grow up."
With incredibly serious looks on their faces; both Ryu and Cronos approached his fist, and bumped  fists with him at the same time.
Claudia, on the other hand; didn't move from her spot, and observed the whole exchange with utter confusion and absolute helplessness- quite like a deer who had walked into the den of a pack of feasting tigers, and didn't quite know how she got there.
And for a few seconds, both Ryu and Cronos stared at her in a heavily we-talked-about-this manner; while Wun tried his best to suppress his laughter. And then, he finally burst out laughing.
For a second, all three of them stared at their loudly and freely laughing elder brother; who made no effort to stop himself, and then; they too joined in.
The room became filled with the warm laughter of the four children; and the serious atmosphere of the room evaporated into that of a small, cozy house in a cold winter night.
As Wun laughed along with them; he felt grateful. Grateful for these little angels in the forms of three imps that he had been blessed with in the place of siblings.
Yes, with their help; he would definitely achieve his dreams. He had a promise after all.
-x-
"Selena, your strikes are getting sloppy!" scolded her father sternly.
"I.... will try harder!" she managed to shout back in the midst of her pantings; as several drops of sweat fell on the green grass of the forest.
She took a deep breath; calming her senses and breathing down. For some reason, she felt much more restless today. Was it because of Prince Wun?
No, she knew that it was because of Prince Wun.
He had been her primary goal; her reason to constantly train in order to get stronger- so that she could exact her revenge. And now, he had become a cripple; a helpless, defenceless cripple who couldn't even use his legs. How could she actually go against and fight a cripple? How could she kill a man who had lost his legs forever?
Ironically, the loss of Prince Wun's legs had resulted in the loss of the ambition that she had nurtured for years. She had no goal to work for; and no fight to look forward to. She was, in every sense of the word- lost.
She took a deep breath, in an attempt to calm herself down; and it only made her even more restless. She was frustrated and angry.
With her signature battle cry, she charged at her father recklessly; she didn't care anymore. Even though she knew that this reckless state of mind was anything but beneficial to her under the current situation; she just didn't care. All she wanted to do was to just charge at her father and get back in the flow; to momentarily forget about the mess that her life was in at the moment.
She threw two punches- a right straight followed by a left hook; both of which were pushed away by his right arm before they could make contact with their target. She then back-stepped away, sidestepped to her left, jumped up and tried to hit him with a mid-air  semi-roundhouse kick from the right; which he also blocked with his right arm. And from that position, she tried to knock him off-balance with an elbow strike directly to the head; which was promptly blocked by his left palm.
"They have gotten even sloppier!" he reprimanded roughly; as he simultaneously blew her away and made her fall on her back with a spontaneous push from both hands. "Something is certainly clouding your mind, Selena!"
"There is nothing....... clouding my mind," she panted gruffly; standing up. She expected a rough scolding or at least a stern reprimandation in return. However, the expression on his face softened into one of sincere concern instead.
And approaching her with a step; he knelt down, "Selena, I am your father. You can at least tell me about your problems."
She considered it for a second; looking into his concerned green eyes. Should she tell him? "Its..... Prince Wun," she replied hesitantly; still half-feeling that not talking about it would have been the better option.
"Is it about his legs?"
"Yes......... I-I just don't know what to do anymore."
"Well, you still have your dream to work towards."
"But.... how can I; without avenging mom?"
"Selena, I believe that that kid has got what was coming to him and then some. He can no longer accomplish his dream; and that is a very severe punishment. So, don't think about avenging your mother anymore. Think only about accomplishing your own dreams from now on!"
"But what if I end up serving under him?!"
"Then overshadow him with your  power! Become the true ruler of this kingdom!"
"Can I- can I do that?"
"Sure you can!" replied her father reassuringly; patting her on the shoulder. "So leave that obsession with assassination behind, and move forward."
"Yeah.... I-I will try," she said uncertainly; as she didn't really know if she could achieve that feat yet. But it was a start at least.
"So," her father began; standing up, "how about we head home now?"
"Yeah, let's do that."
"Oh and don't forget to pick up your bow!"
"I won't, dad."
-x-
That night, Wun went to sleep with hope, confidence and  anticipation in his heart- almost like an extinguished flame that had been rekindled and brought back to life. Selena, on the other hand; went to sleep with feelings of doubt, anxiety and hope in her heart- for she was still struggling with all the developments that had occured in the last few days.
But quite interestingly, they both had incredibly similar dreams. Wun saw an older version of himself- standing side-by-side with a very beautiful red-haired girl. They both had their arms around each other's necks and were grinning broadly; brandishing tankards of an unknown drink while a tavernful of drunk people merrily danced and sang behind them.
Selena witnessed almost the same dream- only in her case, an older version of herself was standing beside a very handsome black-haired youth. She saw them brandishing the same tankards; with the same group of drunk people dancing and singing behind them.
However, neither of them knew what it meant; nor was one aware of the other having the same dream.
And when they woke up in the next morning; both of them were left with a feeling of nostalgic warmth inside- like the feeling you get when you meet a very old friend after a very long time.
Though they were surprised and a bit confused; neither of them were unhappy with it.