A Gift Unto the King

Widow's Wild

 A swift breeze rustled through the trees, as soft, golden sun rays trickled through the shuffling leaves, illuminating the forest floor. It had been nearly two weeks since Lucas and Remus embarked on their search of Widow's Wild, however, despite their best efforts, they were coming up dry. It was just as the man said. No blood, no bodies, no evidence. It was as if the woman and her child had simply vanished into thin air. That fact alone didn't bode well.

"Find anything?" Lucas called out to Remus.

"No." Remus replied, brushing some leaves aside with his foot. "This is a waste of time, you know that as well as I do."

"Maybe." Lucas confirmed, half-heartedly. Remus was right. It was becoming increasingly clearer to them that the victims were no longer in Valkevilla.

"We've trudged through these woods for days, Lucas. We aren't going to find them, because they aren't here." Remus complained.

"We don't know that." Lucas replied flatly, closely inspecting a nearby oak tree for any marks that might've indicated an animal attack. Nothing.

"Bullshit!" Remus spat, causing Lucas to jolt. "You and I both know those ghouls were taken by Honterran military. You have to at least admit that!" He was becoming increasingly more frustrated. His entire body now stood aggressively tensed, with brows furrowing over darkened eyes.

Two weeks was a long time to search a forest, especially when you knew it was futile. That, coupled with the limited amount of sleep the pair had been able to get, certainly had tensions running high. At least for Remus. Lucas, on the other hand, found himself a little more preoccupied with other things. Specifically, one very tiny thing that was becoming increasingly less tiny by the day.

"Fine," Lucas sighed, "I admit it." He pinched the bridge of his nose as he leaned against the large oak.

"So, why are we still wasting time?" Remus pressed, making his way over to Lucas. "Honterra is right there!" He forcefully gestured to the small hill dividing the two warring kingdoms.

"Yeah, and what of it?" Lucas crossed his arms. "You just want to storm enemy territory?"

"Why not?" Remus's voice held a tinge of excitement.

"Are you fucking serious?" Lucas retorted.

"Look," Remus gripped Lucas's shoulders tightly, "night will fall soon, all we gotta do is sneak across the border and do a little reconnaissance." He smirked. "We can make our way to Castle Honterra, take a look around, kick a few asses..."

"You've bloody lost it." Lucas shook his head.

"Come on, Lucas!" Remus gave Lucas a gentle shake. "You know we're wasting our time searching here."

"I'm not storming into enemy territory. We're outmanned." Lucas pushed Remus's hand off of his shoulder, becoming slightly irritated with his friend's reckless persistence.

"That never stopped you before."

"What do you think is going to happen here?" He interjected. "We cross over into Honterra, somehow manage to make it to the castle unseen, and then what? We storm the castle?"

"We find those ghouls!" Remus added.

"THEY'RE DEAD, REMUS!" Lucas snapped. Remus's eyes went wide at this abrupt shift in his companion's tone. Taking a few moments to calm himself, Lucas let out a frustrated sigh. "If they're in Honterra, they're dead."