The quiet atmosphere was suddenly disturbed when three guards burst open the door and hurried inside. They all had a look of fear written across their faces as they stood before Ulric.
One of them stepped forward and bowed, "My prince, the king is very angry...Sir...and wants you back right away..."
Ulric sighed deeply, and looked at the guard, annoyance clearly written on his face.
The guard swallowed, "I apologize...my lord..."
"You may go." Ulric dismissed the guard.
"Sir...I was given orders by the king t-to..." The guard shook slightly at being mixed up in the royals' anger.
Ulric sensed the guard's discomfort and realized that he needed to calm himself down. Ulric smiled tiredly, "I'm sorry." He apologized for being rude, "What are the king's orders?" He asked calmly.
"To...bring you to him, Sir. Whether willingly or not..." The guard gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, causing his knuckles to turn white.
"Maybe you-" Xene trailed off and frowned. "I think if you don't need me any more, I will retire to my bedroom." She stood up from the bed, nodded to the guards, and started walking out of the room.
Ulric stood up faced the guard, "You plan to fight me?" He asked calmly.
The guard glanced nervously around the room and back at Ulric, "Sir, if you would just come willingly..." He took a shaky breathe, trying to remain steady.
Ulric barked a short laugh. "I would prefer not to come. Let's just say that."
"I have orders from your father..." The guard desperately tried to hold Ulric's stern and icy gaze.
"Yes, I heard that."
"So you will not come?"
"No."
The guard looked uncertainly at his companions. "The king said to bring you to him no matter what. I respect you, my prince, but I cannot disobey my king." He unsheathed his sword hesitantly and stepped closer to Ulric.
Ulric raised his sword in the ready position.
"Please, my lord. Just come with us. This is madness." The guard tried to reason in one final attempt to keep the peace.
"Hmm..." Ulric thought about it for a moment, "No."
A loud sigh escaped the guard. All three of them pulled out their swords, a look of fear passing through their eyes. Ulric smiled, embracing the challenge.
Without hesitating anymore, all three of the soldiers advanced. They struck at Ulric, trying to disarm him rather than injure. He was still their prince after all.
Ulric blocked them all easily, whirling around and taking the defensive position. He didn't want to injure them, and he was sure they didn't want to injure him. Ulric placed his back facing the door, still a few feet away.
One of the guards backed away from the fight and circled around behind Ulric. He stood between the prince and the door. Ulric was surrounded.
The guard that had been speaking, swung at Ulric. His strike was blocked, but as Ulric deflected his blow another guard smashed his blade upon Ulric's hand, trying to loosen the prince's grip.
Ulric's grip was slightly loosened, but he held onto the blade. He glanced around, noting the positions of the guards. So swiftly that the guard barely saw it coming, Ulric lunged at him. He swung the blunt side of the blade at the guard. The impact knocked the guard unconscious, and Ulric leaped towards the door, flinging it open and sprinting away. Surprised, the two guards left hastened after him.
Ulric got around a corner, hastily sheathed his sword, and continued running. He thought quickly for a place to hide. A place occurred to him, and he started running in that direction.
The guards didn't see him turn the corner and kept running right past the corridor. Ulric heard them stampede past the corridor and smiled to himself. He slowed his pace to a jog, and knocked on a door. "Xene?" He whispered.
"Come in." Was the reply. Ulric turned the knob and walked in. Xene was laying on the bed. She sat up when Ulric came in. "Hey," she smiled, masking the sadness in her face poorly.
"Keep your voice down." Ulric smiled awkwardly, "I may or may not be hiding from some guards, who were ordered to take me to my father willing or unwilling."
"Ah." She whispered. "Shut the door and come sit down." Ulric obeyed and closed the door quietly. He strode over to the bed and sat down. The prince ran his hands through his hair absently. "What's wrong?" She asked quietly.
Ulric threw his hands in the air, "Everything." He quickly amended the statement, "Well, not everything, but a good amount of things."
Xene smiled at him. "Well then, you might as well start telling me."
"To sum it up, the king wants me to witness the boy's torture as punishment for my 'disrespectful' attitude. I left the room and the king sent guards after me to bring me to him willing or unwilling. I fought briefly with the guards, and escaped the room. Then I came here." He explained briefly.
Xene frowned. "I just thought of something. I'm pretty sure that the king will suspect that you will come here when he can't find you."
Ulric frowned, "I suppose. But I'm gonna leave soon."
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are having a good near year so far! Please vote, comment, or follow!
Thanks, guys!
Ithildae, Aris, and Evara (BananaBam03 )
Writers:
Degore - Ithildae
Thea - Ithildae
Nikandros - Evara
Ulric - Evara
Xene - Aris
Fendrel - Ithildae
Guards - Ithildae and Evara
YOU ARE READING
Against all Odds {Middle-Earth fanfic}
Fanfiction"Nice fighting out there. You are finally getting better." She joked. He smiled and rolled his eyes, "Thanks." She grinned, "Yah, well soon you'll be good enough to challenge me." She baited. He laughed, "I would challenge you now, but I'm all tuc...
