The Tale of a Mad King

Chapter 7

A few hours after Leah confronted Alexander and made up with him Alexander had to leave. There had been some tension between Halella and a kingdom in the east for some time now. The kingdom's name was Kodora. The kingdom of Kodora was ruled by an intriguing man named Kaius. Kaius was a short man with practically no hair. He had gray eyes and was very thin. The man looked like he couldn't even lift a stick let alone rule a kingdom. Still don't underestimate anyone Alexander reminded himself. You never know what trickery someone might have up their sleeve. No matter how harmless they looked. Leah looked very disappointed when he told her he had to leave. He promised to make it up to her once he got back. Leah accepted it on the condition that he bring Aiden with him. She reminded him that she wasn't the only one Alexander had to apologize to. Aiden also suffered. Alexander wholeheartedly agreed. He just hoped Aiden would be able to forgive him.

Aiden agreed to go with Alexander when he asked which made Alexander sigh in relief. They were expected to be back in time for Victoria's birthday. Victoria made Alexander promise that he and Aiden would be at the party. He's had to make a lot of promises today Alexander thinks. He was determined to keep all of them too. Leaving for the kingdom of Kodora Alexander kisses both his kids and his wife then sets off. The trip there was easy, not many interruptions. Alexander apologized to Aiden for everything he put Leah and him through. The kingdom of Kodora was the complete opposite of Halella. It was sunny all the time and never cold. There were cherry blossom and crab apple trees everywhere. The grass was green and full of life. It was a beautiful place but it was way too hot for Alexander. It took a few days to settle the problem but everything seemed to turn out fine. The only thing that went wrong was when they were coming home some bandits attacked them. They had to fight them off which took way more time than expected. They were going to be late for Victoria's party. She's not going to like that. 

As soon as they got back Alexander and Aiden knew something was wrong. The air was too still. The night was still young, the party should still be going on. "Somethings wrong. I'll take some men and go check the east side, you check the north." Aiden says drawing his sword from his sheath. Alexander nods and starts heading towards the great hall. Slowly sneaking through the halls he doesn't like how quiet it is. Finally, he gets to the great hall and gently pushes open the door. Looking inside his eyes widen in horror. The entire hall is covered in blood and bodies are everywhere. Panic spreads through his entire body. Quickly checking to see if there's any danger he rushes into the hall and checks for any survivors. Seeing none Alexander panics even more. He goes on a rampage desperately searching for Leah and his children. Running through the castle he hears someone yelling for him. It was Aiden running to meet him. "Hey, did you see anything. I found Vicky and Cole hiding in a closet in the east wing. They refuse to tell me anything that happened." Poking out from behind Aiden are the heads of his two precious children. Who upon seeing their dad run and jump into his arms. Alexander holds them tightly to him.

"Where's your mother?" Alexander asks the shaking children. "I-I don't know. She sent us a-away when the bad men started to attack." Cole stutters pressing his head to his father's shoulder. "The bad men? What do you mean Cole?" Aiden leans down placing his hand gently on the back of Victoria's head. "The bad men- they came during the party. They started shouting things and pushing people. I was so scared- mommy told us to go hide when the fighting started. She-she-" Victoria was interrupted by the sob that left her mouth. Alexander and Aiden look at each other concerned. Who would want to attack the palace? "We need to search the palace. Leah could be anywhere. Here you take the children and I'll get the guards and search." Alexander says handing over the children to Aiden. Aiden takes the kids rushes off while Alexander and the guards scoured the castle. They search for hours with no trace of Leah to be found. Alexander was starting to get frantic. Where could she be? Did the men that attacked the castle take her? Or did they- Alexander shakes the thought out of his head. No, she couldn't be dead. He refused to believe it.