Blood & Cinders- Choose your Own Adventure Story

19.B

"Go Isabelle. Run!" Deja vu hit her with a familiar intensity that had her body responding before her brain as her legs carried her down the hall.

The last thing she saw were two figures colliding in a fury of black and brown. Snarls echoing down the vast halls.

What if the king killed him? Isabelle paused at the top of the stairs. Should she get help? Should she run back to help?

Perhaps, the guards could break up the fight? She thought back to Maurice, his gutted scaly flesh ripped open on the floor and her stomach flipped. She paused, vomiting in the stairwell before continuing her descent to the throne room where she was sure Horace still remained.

"Please. Help!" she cried out, her voice bouncing off the grand foyer.

Horace and another guard ran up to her from out of the greenhouse.

"Please. You must stop them. It's the king-" Isabelle paused, bending over to catch her breath. "The king and the prince," She paused for another breath, "the third floor."

The guards exchanged an uneasy look before dashing up the stairs, and Isabelle took a moment to calm the burning in her labored lungs before making the climb back up.

She prayed, silent and sweat covered, as she climbed the spiral stairs that Adam would be okay. He had to be okay.

When she reached the top the guards were already in between the two. One holding a spear to Adams face the other pleading the king to calm his fury. The king's shoulders heaved heavy breaths as he backed up on his hind legs, examining a gash on his arm that Adam had no doubt given him.

Adam was equally out of breath but alive, and Isabelle's heart released a sigh of relief. That is, until she saw the amount of blood pooling at his feet.

A large pawed hand clutched at his abdomen as blood seeped in between his fingers, dripping into a puddle pooling in between his feet. Deep, large claw marks ran across his chest down to his stomach where he held it. Several more gashes covered his arms. He swayed on his feet, reaching one hand to the wall to steady himself leaving a bloodied paw print.

"Adam!" Isabelle spoke before she could stop herself and all eyes turned on her.

Fury ignited the storms of blue as Henry's gaze trained on her, edges bleeding red once more.

"Isabelle. I told you to run." Adam wheezed through labored breaths. He was in bad shape.

"He needs a doctor!" Isabelle's plea fell on deaf ears. The king's eyes slid to his brother only for a moment before turning back on his prey.

"Get that filth out of my sight," he ordered Horace, spitting a bit of blood on the floor before wiping his mouth. That's when Isabelle noticed that Adam must have gotten in a few good blows too. The king was missing one of his teeth and gashes ran down his left shoulder and arms, though not nearly as deep.

"You've saved me the trouble of hunting you down," The king grinned through his missing tooth, which somehow made him look even more frightful than before.

"Brother, please," Adam begged as Horace prodded his spear towards Adam's chest, driving him back like cattle toward his chamber.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill her..." the king waved a paw, then winced as his shoulder squeezed fresh blood. "That little mouse would chatter my ear off. Still..." His stare holding a cold calculation. "She needs to be punished. I shall give you a chance to earn your freedom."

"No! She is my blood maid you can not have her," Adam roared, the tip of the spear digging into his chest as he pushed back with a grunt.

"You will participate in the Sabbot."