A Prince Has Got to Slay

Chapter One: Coast Stained Red

🥀Edited :)🥀

Fifteen thousand troops stood at his back. His red cape flickered in the salty sea breeze. Roman gripped the handle of his katana in his hand. He wore his overly confident grin, but it was fake. It hid the racing pulse and cold blood trying to make him drop a sweat. To his left was Joan and to his right was Valerie. The second things take a turn for the worse, he ordered the two to run far away on horseback and report back to the castle in Capitol Muse. The first ship of the fleet seemed to be the largest. He could see a figure standing on the bow, cape of their own whipping in the wind. They had their sword extended out. The blade seemed to be... green. Surely it must be the trick on his eyes.

It wasn't long before the first ship hit land, yet it wasn't on dock. The person from the bow jumped down, not bothering to set up proper unboarding safety protections beforehand. Half of their face was deformed and... reptilian? They had this smirk on their face and the blade of their sword was legitimately green. A shining, polished green.  Roman tried to get Joan and Valerie to stand behind him, but Valeire wouldn't budge,  she just gripped a knife in her hand as if she was ready to fight. Roman stepped forward and cleared his throat, trying his best to be confident. He eyes the fleet. If he had to guess, on these ships alone were twenty thousand five hundred troops. The odds were not in his favor. However his troops might be able to throw them off. They have skill. Quality over Quanity. Roman shook it off and tried his best to charm this foriegner.

"Hello and Welcome to Rome! 'Tis I, Crown Prince Roman Of Rome! Might I ask why you have so many troops with you? We do not wish to engage."

The mysterious traditionally masculine figure chuckled in a deep suave voice. They then took their green sword and pointed it towards his throat. Roman unseethed his katana quickly and blocked it, already having his hands on the handle helped with his reflexes. Valerie growled and pointed her knife towards them. The entire army all got their weapons out, ready to battle. The enemy was clearly not pleased. They extended their other hand and snapped. Suddenly more and more troops began flooding out of the boats with strange weapons. They weren't swords, nor were they axes lances bows or knives. They were long with barrels on them. Whatever they were, they left Roman uneasy. They looked familiar, but he couldn't tell from where. They looked long range, so the archers will have to battle them or weaken them or distract them for the swordsmen, lancers, and axemen to fight their way through. 

"Oh you poor unfortunate soul. You must be blissfully ignorant. I am the Monarch of Dolus. I am the ruler of the entire world. This small little continent, Orbis, is no exception. Stand down, surrender your Kingdom, and nobody gets hurt~

Why did their voice sound so... familiar? It highly unsettled him. Give up his Kingdom?! Joan was right. Roman turned his head towards Joan and Valerie. They need to get out of here and report to Father ASAP. The King needs to send reinforcements to Broadway. In the distance, more ships were ariving. A whole second fleet that would double their forces. Even with skill and aptitude Roman knew his chances were infinitesimal. His men, women, and non-binary warriors will die if they try to take them on! And with those unknown weapons who knows what is going to happen. Hopefully Joan will learn to obey Roman if they want to save their life. Valerie knows the way back to th castle. Maybe if they retreat Roman can hold them off.... but at what cost? How does one be a prince in this scenario!? He can't just give up his entire kingdom! Roman noticed the single handed grip on his sword was weak, so he tried to disarm him. Maybe if he can get the upper hand, this conqueror will back off. Conqueror from Dolus.

Upward strike at an angle with power and then twist. Roman guided his hands, which in turn guided the sword. However the Conqueror caught on to his trick and added their second hand to the handle of his blade, witholding his ground. The snake of a human let out a hearty laugh. In a panic, Roman looked behind him. Why the hell were Joan and Valerie still here!? They need to go! Wait a second, Joan was gone. Maybe they finally had some sense to do what he's told for once in their life. Hold on a Second... where was Valerie's knife?! Roman felt the color drain from his face when he saw his little Non-Binary pal about to stab the enemy in the neck. Tyrant Snake Person must have followed his eyes, because they whipped around and slashed Joan across the chest. Roman instantly tried to flock to the poor person's side while the villain of the story laughed without a single twinge of remorse.

"My my, I had no idea your people were so violent. That's a decree of war if I've seen one anywhere. Now that I have my war, I can take your kingdom without any guilt. FIRE AT WILL!!!"

Like that, they pointed their sword in the sky before they began walking away. They laughed in such a way that flamboyantly showed off the Dolan ethnicity. Why was their accent so familiar? The soldiers began lifting their weapons and aiming them. They were long distance weapons! They could pick off his fifteen thousand soldiers one by one! Little explosions fired everywhere, it was frightening and beyond all of Roman's experiences. Roman was panicking, but he couldn't let the people see him weak. They have to have a strong, confident leader to lead them through triumph! But what does he do? Attack? Retreat? Hold ground? He was running for out of time. Everything felt as though it was slowing down. Joan was bleeding out and Valerie was desperate to cover the wound. He needed to get them out of there. Why did he bring the only two people precious to him out upon the battleground!? He was nothing but incompetent and benevolent. He had no time. He ordered everyone to do what any adrenlinine-driven teenager would do in command.

"CHARGE!!!"

The swordsmen, axemen, And lancers charged the army, ready to hike their ground. They've been conditioned to die for their cause, but Roman wanted none to die. Nobody deserved to die. They have to fend them off from the townspeople as best they could. Who knew if these beasts from the east would harm innocent villagefolk. Then there was Joan. Valerie knew first aid, but she had no stitched or banadages to tend the wound. She needed to leave him and get Joan to the hospital in Central Broadway. Roman knew what he had to do. He took his sword and protected them for now.

"Valerie, take Joan to the hospital. THAT'S AN ORDER!!!"

He screamed out the command before she could protest. She looked down at the poor crippled non-binary pal and nodded. She picked them up bridal style and ran out of there as fast as she could, kicking off the heels that came with her maid's outfit. It was only then did Roman realize what these weapons could do. Loud bangs And explosions rang in his ear as soldiers toppled to the ground and spewed our blood for seemingly no good reason. It was some level of sorcery. It was an evil magik from hell. Screams of agony and pain came from the Romanian soldiers as they crippled to the ground, not even reaching the vanguard of the fleet to put up a fight. They haven't even reached the vanguard of the fleet. Purposefully, they were aiming around Roman. The magic explosions didn't hit him. He felt tears sting his face. He whipped around, helplessly carrying his sword as if he was going to fight, watching his entire army fall to witchcraft. He then turned to see that sleazy dictator standing only three feet from him. Roman felt like he was going to faint. They were doing this on purpose. They were making him miserable on purpose. They refused to kill him.

"What's wrong, Princey? Never seen a gun before. Ha! Better run to your castle while you can. Soon enough they'll be no casket or kingdom left. Or... even better. I can just take you, can't I?  You'll be my prisoner. However, I do enjoy a good game of checkers. How about this? I'll give you a few hours of a Head start, then our game of Hide and Seek can begin~ How does that sound, Prince Roman Of Rome?"

How did they know about him!? Roman's knees felt weak. He was a forward. Tears stung behind his eyes. Everyone was dead. Everyone fell all around him. Nobody was left and the deafening noise of war fell. Silence filled the salty, humid air. Roman breathed heavily, doing his best to keep himself standing. The merciless smirk of the Monarch of Dolus stared at him like that magenta cat from his favorite childhood story. This was a nightmare. This was a bad dream. Roman had no other choice. He turned his back, tail between his legs, and he ran away. He needed to find Valerie and Joan, he needs to get help from Father, he needs- he needs-

He needs a hero.

1581 Words

~Eva