Ashes of Revenge

Standing with the horses, Raven ran her hand on Herbert’s nose and sighed.

The sun was barely adding colors to the sky, and most of the village was still asleep.

Upon Richard’s request and order, he and Colt had gone back inside to make sure they hadn’t left any of their belongings.

“Today’s the day, my dear.” Death said as he sat on top of Colt’s horse. Raven only nodded. “Scared?” He opened one of Colt’s bags and dropped a few things in it, completing his task.

“No, not anymore,” Raven said. “They won’t see tha items until they reach tha border village?”

“Correct,” he assured.

Looking away from Death, she saw Colt and Richard walking to her.

“Yeh sure yeh won’t come with us?” Colt asked.

Raven nodded. “Yeah, I’m positive.”

“We’ll see yeh soon,” Richard said.

“Be safe,” Raven said.

“We will be. Don’t do anythin’ stupid,” Richard commented.

“I’ll try not to.”

At once, they all bowed to one another. Raven had one arm across her chest, and the other pushed against the small of her back: the Mundus bow. Colt had both of his arms crossed over his chest, forming an X: the Shifter bow. Richard had one hand over his stomach and the other across his chest: the Farian bow. They rose together.

The formality of the group broke up when Colt embraced Raven in a tight hug. She returned the favor, closing her eyes and breathing in deeply as she did so. The second they tensed, they pulled away and smiled at one another. She turned her attention to Richard. At once, they embraced.

“Be safe, yeh hear?” Richard asked, holding her tense, shaking body against him.

Raven nodded into his chest. “I promise.” Her words shook with the forced contact. After a few more seconds, they pulled away. “Yeh guys should go before tha village wakes up.”

They both reluctantly climbed onto the horses, put their cloaks on, and looked down at her.

She faintly smiled.

Richard and Colt slapped the reigns against their horses, and they left.

Raven watched as they crossed over the drawbridge and disappeared soon after. She wrapped her arms around Herbert’s neck, and he leaned into her touch. In around a minute, she had lost the only real family she had. Not to mention, she was about to meet the King.

“When will tha King get here?” Raven asked.

“He’s ahead of schedule, so in around thirty minutes,” Death informed.

Raven pushed herself away from Herbert and walked back into the Castle.

She had to prepare.

***

Colt and Richard sat in silence, they had been on the road for around half an hour, and Colt, of course, was bored. Richard, however, was content to sit in peace.

Colt reached into his bag for the food and alcohol he had stolen from the Castle, but his fingers brushed against an item he didn’t recognize. Furrowing his eyebrows together, he pulled it out. It was a box.

He opened it, and his face became one of horror when he saw it was the box Raven had taken from the room with the jewelry in it. He placed the box on his lap and reached into his bag once more, hoping it was an accident. His fingers froze when they landed on two rings. Pulling them out, he saw it was the Farian and Monstro Official rings.

Death had said border village but never specified which border or which village.

“Richard,” Colt said.

Richard turned and looked at Colt’s pale face before his gaze fell upon the items.

Richard began to search his bags, and he frantically pulled out Raven’s beloved board game. He saw an object wrapped in cloth beneath the bag that had somehow been overlooked. Grabbing the item, he threw off the fabric and saw it was none other than her sword. There was only one other thing that she could give away, and if he had it, then something was seriously wrong. He pulled up the item.

They both saw clear as day that it was her main ring, the blue jewel making itself known.

“Richard. . . ?” Colt said again.

They shoved the items into their bags and quickly turned their horses around. Slapping the reins against them, they made their horses move faster than they thought possible.

They were heading back to the Castle.

***

The King stepped down from his carriage and was greeted by Fernando and the Officials, who were bowing as low as possible. The multitudes of servants and Knights in the yard bowed as well.

“My Court can go home; we will discuss matters later,” the King said to the Officials. They rose and left.

The Captain rose. “Welcome back, my King,” Fernando said.

“Thank you, Captain.” His voice was worn, deep, and tired. “How are Dara and Victor?”

“They are well, my King. But I must inform you of something that has come up-”

“Does it involve the Kingdoms?”

“No, my King, but-”

“I’ve been dealing with pressing matters all week, and the meeting with King Leroux didn’t go as wanted. I wish to relax and spend time with my wife and son. Surely what you have to tell me can wait.” It wasn’t a question, and Fernando knew it.

The doors to the Castle opened, revealing Dara and Victor. They were both dressed up for the King’s arrival, and their crowns were placed perfectly on their heads. The King’s crown was similar to Victor’s: gold with emeralds; the only real difference was the size and number of jewels.

The King grabbed Dara’s hand and softly kissed it. Though he was gentle, his stubble scratched her.

“Welcome home,” Dara said as she curtsied. The King continued to hold her hand, and he turned to Victor, who bowed.

“How was Victor?” the King asked.

“He was excellent, my King,” Fernando responded.

A servant appeared from the stairs and looked at the King. She nervously bowed lowly and rose. “My King, an um girl is sitting on your throne.”

The King looked at everyone; no one seemed to know anything about this. Fernando had a guess, but he hoped Raven wasn’t this stupid.

The King began to walk upstairs, and everyone followed.

Walking into the room, the King froze when his eyes landed on a girl sitting sideways on his throne. The girl was reading a book: THE BLUE FLOWER. Her eyes left the pages, and she looked at the King.

“My King, this was what I was trying to tell you-” Fernando was cut off by a loud bang when Raven tossed the book onto the ground.

“Hello, Arthur,” she cooed. The King grew mad and yet confused by this girl using his name. She should be kneeling on the ground at his feet, begging for mercy.

She leaned back in the chair, arching her back over the arm. A faint smile crossed over her. “Excuse me,” she said before she sat up again. “Hello, dad.”

The King’s face dropped as he stared at her. He refused to believe she was Elizabeth.

“What?” Raven asked as she moved to where she was regularly sitting. The smile fell from her face, and she stared daggers at him.

His hair was a fine mixture of grey and brown, and his face was more worn than Raven remembered - he somewhat looked exhausted. She would make full use of it.

Death was sitting in the Queen’s chair, closely watching Raven.

Raven stood up from the throne and hopped down from the step. “Do yeh find it so hard to believe I’m alive because yeh thought yer plan worked?” Her head cocked to the side. “I mean it olmost did.” She gestured to her burned skin. “I got this little number so, congrats.”

The King stepped forward ever so slowly, not sure what he was seeing or hearing.

Raven stared down at his hand and sword. On his shaking hand was the Mundus Kingdom ring; a big green jewel was on the top, while black and blue gems were on one side of it, and the red and purple one was on the opposite. The same jewels were on the sword, the green being the biggest and the others circling it.

“You can’t be Elizabeth,” the King breathed out.

Raven twitched at the name.

“It’s Raven now, actually.” She sat down on the arm of the chair. “An’ let’s see. . . .” Raven trailed off as she slumped against the back of it. “For my birthday, yeh got me a horse because yeh thought I would annoy yeh less if I had somethin’ to distract me. I named him Herbert. When yeh sent me an’ Eliza to tha Farian Kingdom, yeh allowed me to take him. I guess yeh didn’t want any remembrance of me.” A side smile fell on her face, and her eyes looked at a confused and horrified Dara and Victor.

Victor didn’t want to think his stepfather was involved. He didn’t want to believe it.

Dara was horrified by the fact her husband might’ve been the one who caused Raven’s pain and suffering.

Raven looked away from Dara and Victor, she knew exactly what they were thinking, and she resented the fact that she was doing this to them, especially to Dara. Dara had been nothing but kind to her and the group, and this is how Raven chose to repay her. As for Victor, he had already lost his birth father, and now Raven was making his stepfather a monster.

As much as she hated to do this to them, she had to continue: “They don’t know?” Raven asked. The King turned around and faced his wife and son. “Yeh haven’t told them anythin’?”

The King turned back around to face Raven. “They have nothing to do with anything.”

Raven raised an eyebrow.

“Captain, arrest her!” the King demanded.

“Yes, Captain, arrest me.” Raven smiled at Fernando, and though he had been ordered to do something, he couldn’t bring himself to move. “Yeh know how I said it was tha King’s fault? I didn’t mean about not allowin’ yeh to come an’ get us. I meant it was his fault that we were even in that situation to begin with.”

“Elizabeth, be quiet!”

“Or what?! Yeh will kill me?! Yeh tried that olready an’ look how well that worked out for yeh!” Everyone flinched at her tone. “Tha King was tha one that sent me an’ Eliza to tha Farian Kingdom knowin’ what awaited us!”

“I thought you said it was a failed collaboration to marry the Farian Prince?” Victor finally spoke, his voice barely reaching Raven.

“It was. But somethin’ had to be done about tha Princess who refused to marry a Prince an’ unite tha Kingdoms, isn’t that right dad?” Her teeth were pressed so firmly together that her jaw was aching. The King remained silent. “Yeh know tha old Farian King loved to talk an’ he told me everythin’.”

The King took a step forward.

“He told me how he said tha only way he would sign another Treaty with yeh was if he was able to take out tha problem: me. Yeh agreed to it because tha Kingdom couldn’t fall into war. I was supposed to go there by myself, but dear old Eliza wanted to come too.” Her eyes burned into the King’s face. “Isn’t that right?”

“No!” the King exclaimed. “She’s lying!”

“I took great pleasure in killin’ yer friend.” The King’s face fell, and he stepped forward once more. “What? Yeh think it’s a coincidence that tha King was killed in a fire an’ three-fourths of my body is burned?”

“How dare you!”

“How dare I?! What exactly did I do to deserve this?! Refuse to marry at an age where I couldn’t comprehend tha severe state tha Kingdoms were in! A state that yeh made them! Eliza's blood is on yer hands!”

“Your sole purpose was to marry! That was your birthright, and you refused to do that one simple thing!”

“An’ your birthright was to rule over this Kingdom - protect its people, help it flourish! An’ yet with tha slightest threat from any other King, yeh do what they ask as yeh crawl away on all fours like tha coward of a bitch yeh are!”

“Elizabeth-”

“That’s not my name!” Raven yelled, cutting off Dara before she could attempt to calm anyone down.

“Don’t talk to my wife like that!”

“Yer wife?” Raven stood up from tha throne. “Yer, wife?! Surely yer not talkin’ about tha whore yeh decided to marry?! But she fulfilled her one sole purpose. She completed her birthright!”

The King walked up to Raven, and they stared into each other’s eyes.

“I’m warning you.” His teeth were pressed together.

Death stood up from his throne and walked behind the King, his black eyes staring directly at him.

“About what?! Yeh killed Eliza! Destroyed my life! Married a whore! An’ yer son might be tha most pathetic Prince I’ve ever seen!”

“Don’t disrespect my family like that!”

“I’m yer family!”

Raven used her sleight of hand to pull out a dagger. On impulse, the King drew his sword. The doors to the room were opened at that exact moment. Everyone turned to them, except for Raven.

Colt and Richard stood in the room, out of breath and more than concerned. The King’s arms were grabbed, and he was faintly jerked.

Colt’s and Richard’s eyes widened in horror. Colt screamed as he tried to rush forward, but Richard wrapped his arms around him and pulled him back. Everyone turned back to see what had upset them so badly, and their faces immediately mimicked the other species’.

Raven was standing on her toes with her hands tightly grasping onto the King’s arms, dagger still in hand. The King’s sword was going through her chest, freshly coated in her blood. Her teeth were tightly pressed together, and she was staring into the King’s eyes.

The color slowly began to drain from her face, and her eyes became bloodshot. A small stream of blood pushed its way through her teeth and descended onto her chin.

Everything had happened so fast that no one, not even the King, knew if he had stabbed her or if Raven had impaled herself.

Raven’s eyes left the King’s for a split second to look at Death’s serious face. He held up his hand, looking as if he was about to snap his fingers. She used her last bit of strength to shove herself away, limply falling into the King’s throne. Death snapped. The noise echoed into her ears before everything stopped.

Raven’s head limply fell to the side, and a mixture of blood and spit continued to come out of her mouth, pooling onto her clothes. The knife fell from her limp fingers and echoed as it collided with the floor. However, her bloodshot eyes remained open.

Death smiled ear to ear. The torches in the room flickered, the air grew thick and cold. It was her turn to stare at the living.

Colt continued to try and reach Raven, but Richard only pulled him back more. Both had tears in their eyes, but Richard knew without Raven alive, there was no more protection for them. They were trespassing creatures in vicious territory.

Death leaned down to the slightly horrified and shocked King and whispered something into his ear.

Richard felt as someone placed their hand on both his shoulders and knew it was the Knights that had followed them in. The pair had been in such a hurry that Richard had flown past the guards, and Colt had nearly trampled them with his horse before he ran past them.

“Run!” Richard yelled in Colt’s ear, hoping to snap him out of his blind sadness and rage.

A flip switched in both Richard’s and Colt’s heads, and all the sadness and anger shot out of them.

Richard let go of Colt and spun around to face the Knights, drawing his sword as he did so. Colt’s knives extended, and he moved quickly.

Before anyone could comprehend anything, Richard and Colt ran out of the room, leaving behind a few dead and hurt Knights.

Death continued to whisper into the King’s ear, his smile as wide as it had ever been.

“Capture them,” the King said, dazed by Death. Fernando hesitated for a second before he ran out of the room.

Richard and Colt ran down the halls as fast as they could. Colt was naturally faster than Richard, but with so much adrenaline in him, the Farian managed to keep up.

Richard looked back and saw a few men about to shoot arrows at them. Both sharply turned down the small hallway that housed the main doors. The arrows landed on the ground right as they turned, the Knights aiming for their legs.

Colt jumped in the air and plunged his knife into a guard. The other guard began to draw his sword, but Richard hit him with a blow so hard the Knight struck the wall and fell to the floor.

They swung open the doors and ran out into the courtyard, Fernando and his men close behind them. Richard’s stomach dropped, and he felt as though the soldiers were retaking aim. He saw that the drawbridge had been closed, and since they were running in the courtyard, they had no cover.

Richard jumped up and expanded his wings, shooting himself forward and grabbing Colt.

Colt’s feet quickly left the ground, and he shot up into the air, flying over the wall. His stomach dropped as the pair descended faster than usual. The ground came closer at a frightening speed, and he braced himself for the impact. The two slammed into the ground, and he managed to roll through the crash and stop himself in the crouching position.

He quickly turned to face Richard and saw him on his hands and knees, breathing heavily. An arrow was pinning his left wing to his back, the tip coming out his shoulder. Colt stumbled to Richard and grabbed his arms, trying to pull him off the ground. Richard shoved him back and crumbled onto the ground once more.

Colt glanced up and heard as the Knights began to lower the drawbridge.

“C’mon Richard. We have to go!” He reached for Richard again, and again, he was shoved away.

The drawbridge was down halfway.

“Go!” Richard managed to shout in pain.

“I’m not leavin’ yeh!” He had just lost Raven; he wasn’t going to lose Richard as well. He looked up again and saw as the Knights began to advance. Colt aimed and fired his crossbow.

“Yeh can an’ yeh will.” Richard stumbled to his feet and pulled out his sword. His face was paler, and a fine layer of sweat coated his skin. Blood began to seep through his clothes. “Deliver a message! Now, go!”

Colt’s heart stopped when he realized there was no way he and Richard could fight all of them.

Richard harshly shoved Colt back and readied his sword, his eyes burning with rage.

Colt’s breathing picked up, and before he could stop himself, he ran.

In little to no time, he was shoving past the hoards of people, his eyes scanning for Bram and Mark before he quickly spotted them.

“Leave now!” Colt yelled as he ran out of the Market, the two following.

He broke through the tree line and ran even faster. Despite losing Raven and Richard only minutes apart, he ran.

He ran as fast as he could, trying to get away from the Kingdom that had taken his family.

Images of Raven being impaled on the sword forced its way into his head, and the almost sick face of Richard followed.

Death appeared on a new tree every few seconds, contently watching Colt, knowing what the boy was seeing.

Colt ran.

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