More Than Legend

Fons Viribus

Arthur was the fourth child of Lord Allan Kirkland and Lady Ciara. He had the means to gain anything he wanted. His parents loved and cared about him and his siblings. His brothers never stopped teaching him and his sister how to fight.

Cenric Frazier, the leader of their village, was a fortnight older than Arthur. Thirteen summers ago, when Arthur was six, Cenric, with all the conviction of a child, had declared that they would spend the rest of their lives together. After the declaration, the people decided to keep Arthur away from the influence of demons. 

“Hey, get back here you little-!” 

“If you don't want the boss to stick you in a cage with those…”

“… then don't call his lover degrading names!”

“You don't think I know that?!”

Arthur ignored the voices and the words being exchanged. He gave a quiet sigh, not wanting them to know where he was. He certainly did not need protection. Kirkland hunters were capable of fending for themselves, thank you very much! So he stayed there, crouched behind one of the many crates in their supply tent, until the voices stopped and he heard the sound of feet walking away. 

He counted to ten before very slowly peeking out, green eyes looking around for signs of anyone. Once he was sure there was no one around, he stood up, brushing the dust off of his brown pants. He held his companion closer to his chest, not minding how his light green tunic had folds due to his actions. 

“Well, Hilde. Let's go see the demon, shall we?” He asked the blue eyed white rabbit in his arms. The animal licked the fingers petting her head, a silent agreement to her human's question.

He had found her in the woods roughly one summer ago. She was so small and injured, caught in a jagged trap for demons. He had taken her home and cared for her, firmly ignoring his parents and siblings who seemed to think she was a demon . It was such a silly idea, really. He had checked before even getting her out of the trap. 

‘Just how naive do they think I am? Really.’ he had thought at the time. He wondered sometimes, though, if his family was right about Hilde. He swore she could understand him. He just didn't know how…

Arthur moved, skillfully and quietly, through the tents and cottages in their village until he reached the caverns on the northern border. It housed demons that the hunters had captured. ‘Now, if we could just find out how to keep them dead for good…’ he thought before stepping inside. 

The caverns were designed as any dungeon would be. However, since the demons had magic, the walls and bars were layered with a lot of anti-magic charms.

A supposedly powerful demon had been caught two days ago, and Arthur wanted to see if he could get it to fight for them. He was prepared to see a creature of such hideousness it might cause nightmares, so he placed Hilde on the ground, by the entrance, and gestured for her to stay. The rabbit tilted her head a bit. Arthur took it as a sign of agreement and nodded, himself, before continuing into the caverns.

Twenty more steps later, he stood facing the cell of the powerful demon. Suddenly, doubts and fears clouded his mind. ‘What if this demon lies, as any demon does? What if he harms my family? What if he eats Hilde?’ He breathed in a gulp of air, feeling like he was drowning, even for just a second. He shook his head, strands of blond hair following the motion, before glaring at the cell.

“Hey! I wish to have a word with you!” He shouted, aware that other demons could hear him and that this demon might very well not answer. “I know you can hear and understand me!” He turned around after two minutes of shouting, feeling exasperated. Hilde was giving him a look that seemed to ask 'are you done yet?’