Into the Dark

Chapter Two - Death

      At the sound of his death warrant, my father came alive, fighting, cursing, yelling, spitting.

      "Get your filthy hands off of me! I am a king, the rightful ruler of an entire kingdom. I will not be executed like some commoner by a creature that shouldn't rightly exist!" He roared, struggling to his fight. A wave of Anqa's hand sent the Shengori soldiers backing away from my father. 

      "I am nothing if not fair. You will not be executed. You will fight for your life. Pick up your sword, Majesty, and face me in combat." Anqa murmured, drawing his own blade. It was a delicate, beautifully crafted blade that seemed out of place in all of the carnage of the throne room. Reluctantly, my father bent down and picked up his ornate weapon. He held it awkwardly in his palm so that it scraped against the carpeted floor. My father was a monarch, not a warrior. He stood no chance, he knew that, I knew that, the demon knew that. 

     "A king is allowed a champion, to duel in his stead." My king said, his voice faltering as he pompously straightened the tarnished crown that sat crookedly on his head. 

     "You would pass the responsibility to fight for the freedom of your king to someone else? What kind of king isn't brave enough to duel to save his people?" Anqa mocked, slicing intricate patterns in the air with the tip of his sword, "Then choose this Champion. One of your men, perhaps? Like the soldiers in red that lie dead at my feet? The man you choose to fight for you, will die for you. So who's it to be? Whose life do you value the least? I must warn you however -- I will not concede until I have been beaten. How many lives I will take today, I do not know. That number is up to you, Your Majesty." 

    "This- this  is ridiculous." My father puffed, red-faced with indignation, "My people need me, this kingdom needs me. I am what's best for the world. My death would be tragedy sung throughout the world for centuries to come."

       "Do not over-exaggerate your importance. You are simply a king, a man who has done more harm to Norshire than good. Today I will relieve the suppressed by ending your life. Choose a Champion, or face me, coward!" Anqa spat, pointing his sword at my father's throat. Even though I didn't know what to say, I interrupted.

       "Anqa, my father and I see how devoted you are to your cause, and how determined you are to duel. However, the royal Penluna family of Norshire submits to your strength. Let us treat with Salvadore, the Shengori's chief, in order to negotiate the terms of our surrender." I said diplomatically, stepping between my father and the demon in a moment of bravery. 

       "Princess, today I have one task. To infiltrate Kington, the capital of Norshire, and to kill the king. The city has fallen, and death is next on my agenda. My attempt at courtesy has been ill-received, so I must change my demeanor to that of brutality and viciousness. Gilios, if you could please escort the lady from the room. She does not need to witness this." Anqa ordered, gesturing to the man who had thrown me to the floor. 

      "Do not dare manhandle me, soldier, or you will suffer for it," I warned as an attempt to sound threatening, "If this is to be the last moments of my father's life, I will not abandon him to die alone." I declared as I hid my trembling hands in the folds of my dress.

      "Your wish is my command, my lady. Gilios, guard the lady. She must not come to any harm." Anqa ordered, lowering himself into a fighting stance. My father clumsily mirrored him. Gilios roughly dragged me closer to the flames that continued to dance around the walls. 

      Steel clashed, warriors began to chant the Shengorian death chant, and my vision went black. The last thing I remember was falling into the flames, and seeing my father desperately defend himself as my vision faded. I woke from my fainting spell to a terrible smell. Gilios's body odor. He knelt beside me, stamping the fire out from my singed cape.