Traitor | Mini Series |

KOLT

Something inside of me felt... wrong. I couldn't leave Fione. Not again. As I ran, I prayed that Vimrose, or anyone, would keep her safe. I ran out of the castle, towards the line of men waiting their command. This was it, this was my chance to fix everything.

"It's prince Kolt!" A soldier shouted.

"Men!" I yelled, "Hold your ground!"

The leading man, Arthur's father Gregor, approached me. He bowed his head before he spoke, "Kolt, what is the meaning of this? No one is fighting back. All we are doing is setting fire to the kingdom and waiting." I stared at him, trying to ignore the sting of tears in my eyes. I couldn't tell him what happened to Arthur... it was too hard. I couldn't bare to see Gregor's reaction. Gregor always knew something was wrong, though. He could read me better than anyone I knew.

"Kolt, what happened?" He whispered. A tear escaped me, "He's gone, Gregor. He died a hero." Gregor's face changed, as if the words had smacked him in the face. He bowed his head, staring at the ground. He brought a hand to his face, covering his mouth. His shoulder began to shake as he sobbed for his son. I placed a hand on his back, expecting to me pushed away. Instead, he pulled me into a fatherly embrace.

"If he died a hero then I praise God for that." He stated quietly, "Twenty years is not enough." He pulled away, observing me expectantly for answers, "What do we do, your majesty?"

"Sir, we follow orders from the king." A knight said from behind him. Gregor spun to face him, "Where is your king?" The knight kept his stance, then joined the others behind him watching Gregor and I. I bravely turned to them all, addressing them in the loudest voice I could muster.

"I am second in command. Your king has abandoned you for his own pleasure. He brought you here to attack and plunder an innocent kingdom." I sucked in a breath, letting it out shakily, "He killed one of our best men, injured the princess of Jestan." With that, the knights murmured to each other but kept their eyes on me. I stood up straighter, "You obey me now. I know better than my father. My father is a mad man and he must be stopped." Gregor stood beside me to address his men too. He was my father's second hand man.

"Half of you, out out the fires." He ordered, "Now!" Men scrambled away, following his orders. They disappeared behind the castle towards the castle gardens. My father and Gregor must have been planning this attack for months if they already knew where everything was.

"Now you," He bellowed, pointing at a small group of his men, "go help every villager in sight who needs help. If you see a small fire, help them out it out. Bring the injured to the nurses in the throne room and clean up the castle while you're at it." A few men grumbled as they parted. I pointed at the remaining men, "Search for my father. I want him alive." They nodded and sped off.

"May I see my son?" Gregor pleaded quietly when no one was around, his blue eyes welling with tears. I nodded, "Yes." I led him to the castle, spotting soldiers using large buckets to put out the fires. I managed a small smile as I passed a little girl being helped by a soldier. Her hand was cut, he must have been leading her to the throne room.

As I suspected, he was. We silently entered the throne room. Nurses ran to the little girl and began treating her hand.

"Where is Arthur?" I asked a nurse. She winced at his name, "Are you sure you want to-"

"Yes." I snapped. She quickly nodded, "This way, your majesty." She led us to the corner of the room that they had blocked off with a curtain. When she opened the curtain, the sight made me almost fall to my knees. Gregor slung his arm around me. I wasn't sure if he was helping me keep my balance or if he needed help keeping his.