Blood for the Blood Gods: A Skepnoblade Fanfic (ON HIATUS)

Chapter Eight

Dave lay awake in bed, unable to sleep. Had Zak made it back alright? Had Adamantem fallen to waste? What if he'd never see the prince, or by now king, again?

A horse's neigh sent him bolting out of his room in his rumpled bed clothes, his hair askew and eyes wild. "Are you alright?" He yelled out to no one in particular.

"Gee, never thought the king would care about us," a young-sounding voice said. It wasn't Zak's high pitched, almost screaming voice, but it was deeper-pitched, with a hint of the monotone of the Porcuses. He couldn't be one of his kind, however, for he still had a bit of a human-like tone in his voice.

Finn and Darryl came into view, a hood obscuring Finn's face. Dave realized he never actually saw the boy's face, for that same hood had been on him the day he had escorted Zak. He really neglected the people who fought and cared for him. What kind of king was he?

As they came closer, he saw the same horse from his stables carrying the men. He knew it was the Porcus steed for it didn't have diamond armor, but the gold armor mined from the hellish depths of Porcus.

Finn held a cupped hand over his face. "What happened?" The pig demanded, stalking up to the older boy, Darryl.

Darryl rolled his emerald-green eyes. Judging by his dirty-blonde hair and human-like features, he was from Everdalia, like Hanna. He couldn't see what species Finn was, but he expected the same as the other. "The potato over here bashed his head on a rock when we dropped off the prince. No one attacked us, except maybe this muffinhead horse when he nearly tossed us into a river. I named it Roberto!"

Dave couldn't help but be confused at the man's vocabulary. He looked a few years older than him, maybe in his 20's, but he talked like a 7-year-old. He shrugged it off, helping his warriors dismount the horse.

Finn removed his hood, revealing lucious locks the color of chocolate and plump lips. If he hadn't heard his voice first, Dave would've assumed he was female.

"What?" Finn asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dave cleared his throat. "N-nothing. Go rest."

Darryl snickered and Finn just looked confused. They went back to the barracks, and Dave took the horse and brought it back to the stables.

Walking back into the castle, he creaked open the door to his mother's room, saddened that she was sleeping, clutching a toy in her hands. At closer view, he saw it was his sister's wooden horse. What was she doing with it? And where were his siblings?

He picked up the toy gently. He sprinted down the hall, opening the door to the nursery. It was empty. He ran wildly down the hallway, looking in all rooms until finding his sisters and brother in a room with light blue walls, shaggy pink carpet, and white cribs. A guest nursery.

The only thing ruining the cute and happy room was the lifeless bodies of his siblings.

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He collapsed, grabbing his brother. His eyes matched too well with the blood trickling from his forehead, his eyes too happy to be glazed over in death. He let out a strangled cry, burying his head in the small boy's chest.

His gaze traveled to his sister's, whose pale skin was webbed with black tendrils. He growled. Sword of Shadow poison! But who could've snuck in? The castle was too well fortified for a Finisver to infiltrate it.

Warriors burst through the door, taking in the scene. He recognized Darryl amongst them, hood pulled up.

"We heard your yells!" One said. His face dropped as he saw the bodies of the children. He then cursed loudly, earning a "Language!" From the green-eyed man. "Shadow poison. Who could've-"

"Done this?" Another asked. "A Finisver, you dolt."

The first man sighed, rubbing his temples. "Would you like us to take the bodies?"

The pig king stared at his siblings for the last time, eyes watering. He squeezed them shut, not wanting to show the older men his pain. Nodding, he heaved himself up and grasped the toy horse in his calloused hands. The person...no, not a person. The monster who did this will not leave the castle alive.

He pushed past the warriors without a word, bursting into his mother's room. She jolted awake, feeling around for the toy. Dave held it out, a tear slipping from his dark red irises. "They're gone." He said softly, grabbing his mother's hands. "Finisver."

She cried out, collapsing into her son's arms and weeping. "I should've know," she hiccuped. "I-I found the horse in the hallway...I just wanted something your father made..."

He nodded. "I know...I'm sorry."

He whipped around as Finn burst into the room.

"It's Vincent!" He yelled out, hair obscuring his eyes. "He's escaped and taken a Sword of Shadows from the treasure room!"