✔️Retribution |Book 1

Part One: The Lost Bird and the Stone Wall| I

I slip on the mossy gray rocks near the river. My head hits the largest one and tremendous pain explodes along my upper body. My vision flashes white as my head comes into contact with the rock and my body fails to respond to the shock. I fall into the cold water with a sharp splash, unable to move my limbs to keep myself from certain doom. The river's icy fingers tear at my hair and clothes as the current roars past. I'm going to drown. The true weight of those words slammed into my chest and I released the last mouthful of air I had in my body. My mind reeled in panic. I tried to get my body to move in vain. A large branch pierces my arm as it flies past in the water and I watch as my red blood floats out like clouds in the water. My vision begins to fade as my throat burns for air. I don't want to die, at least not this way.

The river, strong as a god, bore my limp useless body down the swollen river. Trees passed over me, covering my watery world of death in shadow. Then the sun hit the surface of the water in a blinding flash of white and I forced my unwilling eyes to close, waiting for the hand to reach down and pull my body upwards and out the water. Seconds passed feeling like hours. The hand, it is coming. It has to be coming. Why isn't it coming? Why am I still stuck in the cold cruel grasp of the river when I should be on the grass coughing up the water I swallowed? Isn't someone coming to save me?

My throat cried out for air as tears leaked from my unresponsive eyes. I need help. I need a savior, but no one is coming. The hand is not pulling me out of the water. I'm going to die in this cold dark river. I opened my eyes just in time to see the light of the sun disappear off the surface of the river and my hope with it. I wished for the sun to reappear, at least then I would not die in darkness. I was denied my wish and my unresponsive body sunk further down into the river until I could see nothing.

~

I gasped as I woke up trying to get air, as if I was really drowning. I got a mouthful of my sheets and I choked on the expensive fabric. The sheets were wrapped around my head almost as if a bag had been forced upon my head with the loose ends tied with rope. I desperately clutched at the fabric with my fingers trying to get it off my face so I could get some much-needed air. My fingers slipped on the fabric unable to gain purchase on its sleek surface. I started to laugh at the situation inside my head most likely caused by my lack of air, I had started to find it funny. Look at me, the Prince of Alas dying in my inside my own bed.

In my rush to remove my sheets from my head, I ripped them off and flailed off the bed. I hit my head against the side of my bedside table and the flash of pain reminded me of my nightmare and the day that had inspired the nightmare. I could see black spots in the corners of my vision and my mind moved sluggishly from the pain and lack of air. I took in deep breaths of the dusty air which filled my room. My throat felt dry as if someone had poured sand down it while I slept. I curled up on the floor covering my throbbing head with my hands, suppressing the pathetic sob bubling up in my throat as I did so.

The thick wooden door to my room opened and orange warm torchlight from the hallway shone through the crack. My bodyguard, named Vus, stuck his unnaturally tall figure in the doorway. The Vurussian stooped as he walked inside to avoid hitting his head on the frame of the door. His tall height is a trait of his kind. Never once has a short adult Vurussian been seen by human eyes. Not much is known about his species or the kingdom he came from. In most cases, Vurussians spotted on human lands are killed on sight. Vus was an exception, he had saved my life.

His normally serious expression was gone and replaced with a smirk I had grown fond of when he saw me lying upon the floor. He began to tease me as he strode over to my side with his long legs, "Do you love the floor so much you decided to sleep on it sire?"

He was not phased by the sight of me laying on the floor. Throughout the days of my life, I can be found on the floor at least once. I'm as clumsy as a foal who just began to walk. Vus loves to tease me about my clumsiness and he does so often enough for it to become a routine. Asking me if I love the floor had become a joke between the two of us. Vus  is my only friend and the only person I have come to trust. His teasing knows no bounds just like his loyalty. Although many others will scold him if they caught him asking me in public, Vus gets away with his endless teasing as much as he gets away with anything else. Most of the royal court, save for the oldest members, are afraid of crossing him.

I grunted in response which only caused his smirk to grow wider. "I apologize your highness. Have I disrupted your quality time with the floor?" he asked unable to suppress his urge to tease me in the prime moment as he  crouched down beside me. Even crouching, he is huge. His presence fills the room despite its large size. His blue eyes took on a lighter shade of blue despite the darkness of the room as he looked down at me. His smirk didn't fool me I could see the worry in his eyes.

I pressed the palm of my hand against his nose and pushed his face away half-heartedly."Give it a rest Vus, "I grumbled and the worry disappeared from his blue eyes as I proved to him I only suffered a minor injury. I saw the smirk on his face for a little longer until he, with a small bit of effort, schooled his mouth into a serious line.

"Do you need me to call the physician sire?" Vus asked in a serious tone as he helped me up off the floor.

I waved a hand nonchalantly." No. I just fell off the bed. I'm fine." The sharp pain in my head faded into a dull throb. I sat down on the bed as I rubbed the tender spot on my head. With hope, only a bruise would form instead of a bump. I would like to avoid another conversation about my tendency to injure myself with my father.

Vus poked my bony chest with a finger, "You had a nightmare, didn't you Sire? I can tell. Your complexion is worse than normal and the bags beneath your eyes are more prominent."

I sighed. I knew his question was more of a statement than anything else. He would only stick around in my room for so long if he thought there was something wrong with me. When we were younger, the royal court had no problems with him staying in my room throughout the night but now that we were older, they thought differently. Rumors would spread among the members especially since my lack of interest in women is evident. Vus and I are friends and nothing more. If I thought of him romantically it would be a one-sided love.

I could still remember what he said to me so many years ago, "Love is a hard emotion for Vurussians. Some can love and some cannot. I am unsure where I fall when faced with the emotion."

I brushed away my irrelevant thoughts and moved them to focus on what he had just asked me. I had no reason to lie to him and I had no one else to tell. My twin sister stopped listening to me years ago whenever I would mention a dream I had. 'Oh brother,' she would say, ' don't dwell on dreams. They are unreal.'

Vus raised an eyebrow at my momentary silence and I took a deep breath before I spoke. "I had a dream about the day we met... "I muttered as I looked at him in the eyes to see his reaction. Those words would normally bring happiness to both people involved or even romance into the air but for us, it is like discussing the death of a person. On that day, I could have died but Vus saved me. He has been my bodyguard ever since. Vus waited for me to finish," In the dream, you didn't come to save me. I drowned and died Vus."

Surprise and panic flashed in Vus' eyes, but he was quick to hide it. "Don't worry sire. As long as I am by your side, you will be fine. It was just a dream after all." I appreciated his attempt to comfort me and I gave him a smile for his sake. Vus rose with a clink from his metal armor, "Sire I think you should go back to sleep. You have guests from the Empire of Ezorlath tomorrow. You need to have a clear mind in the morning."

"You're right, like always Vus," I murmured as leaned back in my disorderly bed. I bumped the tender area of my head against the headboard and winced.

Vus bowed and muttered to himself, "I hope so." I stared at his back as he walked out into the hallway. He closed the wooden door with a soft thunk and the orange light from the torches were blocked out completely. My eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness as I thought of what he said. I wanted to take his words into consideration and sleep but I knew that I wouldn't sleep tonight, at least not for a long time.