The King's Remorse

Hey, No Hard Feelings, Alright?

Please no, please no, please no. No, don't let this happen. I don't want the snake to take over. I don't want any more blood on my hands.

Reality flickers. Scarlet runs in rivulets down my palms and red seeps from my veins. My stomach churns as I see the droplets drip down my forearms. The blood fades in and out of focus as I teeter on the line between this world and the alternate reality. I hear the voices of the Guard and Soldiers the snake killed when it had control over my body. I watch them crumble into dust and fade into nothingness.

I silently plead that they'll stop, that they won't attack. But if anyone heard my plea, they didn't bother to listen. Not that I thought they would.

And then they attack. 1st it's a Guard who lunges, closing the few feet between us in a couple of short strides and then swinging his dagger in a violent arc. I take several steps back. My fingers begin to curl and harness the power of the soil around me. The once light breeze accelerates into a howling wind that sends dust flying all around us. A clump of soil crashes into a Soldier's head and he crumples to the ground. The side of his face begins to crumble, soon followed by the rest of his body.

A dagger carving a shallow wound on my cheek snaps be from my trance as the last of the Soldier vanishes. I react quickly, fingers latching onto the Guard's arm and twisting it until I hear a dry snap. A quick jab from the hilt of his sword knocks the Guard out cold. It'll give him a nasty concussion, but at least he'll be alive.

In a quick movement, I rip my sword from its sheath and lash out at a Soldier who'd been coming up on my side. He ducks, stumbling back. But before I can move on to the next attacker, the sword is knocked from my grip.

The snake hisses and snarls, making every attempt to take full control and annihilate the attackers, saying it'll do it better, that they deserve to die since they called the Dust Devil a traitor. But I hold it back, telling it that I can't let it take full control. It protests, saying that it can destroy them in a heartbeat. That's the problem, snake.

I sidestep, avoiding an attack from a Guard's dagger. Please, just stop it. I don't want to fight.

A rock ends the fight, at least temporarily. A Soldier lands a punch to the side of my face and I stagger back. My bad ankle twists when I step on the rock and I fall to the ground. And before I can get up, 1 of the Guard pins me to the ground, keeping my hands open. The rough rock digs into my cheek, and I exhale sharply through my teeth. His knee digs into my back. "Got 'im," he snickers. "Little traitor's helpless now. Poor him." Not so fast. I bring a leg up, and, in a quick movement, rotate my body so I'm facing the Guard. I'd always hated how the training schedules focused heavily on fighting with weapons, but now it came in handy. The Guard curses, regaining his balance and lunging. A wave of dust rips from the ground and catches the Guard in the throat. He collapses to the ground, gasping for the air that was knocked from his chest.

The snake forces its way into the forefront of my mind, despite my attempts to keep it at bay. The Guard tried to restrain us, and now it's out for blood. The snake rears up, curving its body into an S and opening its mouth to reveal its fangs. Its chain body is tensed, locked in place.

The Guard and Soldiers have frozen, sensing the change.

"How dare you attack the Dust Devil," the snake hisses, tail rattling. It was the first time I've seen the snake do such a thing. Practically its whole body was vibrating, although only its tail moved.

"W-we're sorry. What happened? I could've sworn you said you didn't want to capture the pewter pendant, but perhaps I heard you wrong."

"You heard right, but there is no reason you should be attacking your superior. Trust they have a plan. What do you have to say in your defense?" The snake's eyes burn in a vibrant purple.

"Our deepest apologies, Dust Devil. We have no excuse for attacking you. It was our fault. We will accept any punishment you deem fit." Each of their gazes fall to the ground, and their heads fall to the side.

"I believe you know the punishment for attacking a member of the King of Ragdon's army." The Guard and Soldiers know better than to reply and instead remain silent.

The snake snorts before continuing to speak through my vocal cords. "I thought you all were smart."

"Luke! What are you still doing here?" The snake immediately relinquishes control to me at the sound of the voice. I whirl around and become rooted to the spot when I see Freedom.

"I'm sorry, Freedom. I was try-." I'm cut off when a Soldier's arm wraps around my neck. His other hand wraps around his opposite wrist to try to crush my throat. My breathing is cut off.

Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it! Please comment on your thoughts, and consider a vote!

Oof. That's unfortunate. A Soldier's got Luke in a headlock and is keeping him from breathing. What's gonna happen with that?

What's going to happen now that Luke has told some of the Guard and Soldiers that he doesn't want to be a Soldier or the Dust Devil? And that Luke has stopped them, at least for now, from going after the pewter pendant?

Freedom has found out that Luke did not leave. She seems angry. What's she going to do?

I hope you are having a wonderful day, wherever you are!

-Werewolf14-