Breaking Free (Mavin)

Chapter Eighteen: The Wither

I gazed up at the woman feeling my heart pound harder inside my chest. She was alive. She was alive!
"Mom," I croaked out.
The woman looked down at me and her eyes widened in surprise. She crouched down next to me and held my face in her hands, looking at me intently, searching.
"Michael?" She whispered out, pushing my hood fully down so it laid on my shoulders.
I nodded quickly, reaching up and laying my hands on her shoulders, momentarily forgetting about my pain. She pushed back my hair and gazed into my eyes.
"My son," She whispered, pulling me into her quickly.
She held onto me and sobbed. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her, feeling that she was mostly muscle. Tears began to drip from my eyes as I realized that my mother was actually alive and hugging me right now.
"Um, guys, I hate to break up the reunion but we're still being chased," I heard Gavin's voice say through my mother and my's sobs.
I pulled away from my mother and looked, noticing that Gavin was correct. More of The Wither's army were coming, and they brought some extra help this time.
"I can't walk," Was all I said when I noticed we had a problem.
"We'll carry you," My mom said, looking at Gavin. Gavin nodded, stepping closer and crouching down to pick me up.
I wrapped my arms around their shoulders while they assisted me to the next part of the kingdom. It was incredibly painful and I felt as though I was going to pass out more than once.
Finally, we made it to the next part and Gavin and my mother let me slouch against the wall. My mother blocked the entrance so the army wouldn't follow us. She searched up and down the hallways to make sure they were clear, and when they were she returned to me.
Gavin sat against the wall with me, grabbing my hand and holding it. I gripped it back, letting my head fall against his shoulder. I tried to slow my breathing but I couldn't due to the constant waves of pain in my ankle.
My mother sat in front of me, pointing to my backpack. I removed it, handing it to her and letting her sift through it while she pulled out bottles of potions.
"So, Michael, how old are you now?" She said. I couldn't help but wonder why she chose to ask that question out of all the questions she could've asked me.
"Eighteen. Why?" I asked her.
"I don't know how long I've been here. The time is a little screwed up here. So, I've been missing for fifteen years. Wow," She whispered, pushing two bottles of potions towards me.
"Drink those. It'll help your ankle and recover your strength. You too," She said to Gavin and I. "I never did catch your name."
"Gavin. I'm the Prince of Belmoor," Gavin introduced himself. I smiled at the title he used for himself.
"Belmoor? Wasn't Belmoor destroyed?" My mother asked me.
"Yes, but they still reside in secrecy," Gavin told her, smiling at his newfound knowledge.
"Really. This is very interesting news," My mother said, smirking.
Gavin nodded as well and smiled. I clutched his hand a bit more as I finished my potions and handed him the rest of the strength potion. He gulped it down, grimacing at the taste. I smiled and laughed a little at him, making him elbow me.
"How did you two meet? Belmoor isn't very close to Achievement Kingdom," My mother asked.
"I lived with the former King of Achievement Kingdom after the destruction of Belmoor. He took care of me for my parents and taught me how to hunt," Gavin started.
"The first time I saw him was when he pulled a little heist to steal medicine from the Kingdom. A short while after that we met again when I accused him of murdering King Ryan... I mean, Dad," I said. I watched my mother's face contort to confusion and grief.
"Ryan's dead?" She asked.
"No. I thought he was but Gavin was with Dad when he was taken by the Wither. So now, here we are, rescuing Dad," I told her.
My mother nodded. I watched as her eyes lit up with passion and determination. She grabbed her sword and ushered us up.
"Come on, we have to rescue your father, now don't we?" She told us, leading us down the hallways.
Gavin smirked at me and grabbed my hand, following my mother. I held my sword tightly as we ventured deeper and deeper into the kingdom. We went through hallway after hallway, walked up stairs, and sprinted past mobs that lurked in other hallways.
"Mom, how do you know all this? Or all this, this well?" I asked her. She turned to me and smirked, holding up her sword.
"I spent a lot of time here. I've had plenty of experience walking down these hallways. However, once we get closer to the actual Wither, I'm afraid I won't be much more use than you two," She told us, gripping her sword tighter.
"How much farther until then?" Gavin asked her.
"Just a few more hallways and one more flight of stairs," She told us, whirling around and continuing her leading.
I sighed and followed her. The Wither's kingdom was like a maze, and once we got closer to him, it'd get more confusing and complicated. As in, the mobs would increase and the hallways would become longer.
Eventually we got to the point where my mother couldn't navigate perfectly anymore. I took the lead then, allowing my instincts to take over. Gavin followed closely behind me, stretching back his bow while I readied my sword as we turned the corner.
I jumped out along with Gavin and my mother. I gasped at the number of mobs that littered the hallways.
And all were targeted at us.
The Wither's skeletal minions raced down the hallway, clashing swords with my mother and I. We pushed them back and swiped out at them, hitting bones and knocking them away. Gavin shot arrows through the crowd, hitting mobs trying to push back against us.
My mother finished off her opponent a few seconds before I finished mine. We moved on, killing more of the Wither's army with a few swipes of a sword. I breathed out in triumph as the crowd lessened and the hallways cleared.
Once the last mob was slain, I looked back at Gavin, seeing him retrieving his arrows. I looked at my sword noticing the new chink in it, along with the other older ones from past fights. My mother patted my shoulder moving on.
"That couldn't have been the Wither's entire army, right?" I asked her.
"Of course not. Even the Wither isn't stupid enough to not have its throne heavily surrounded," My mother told me.
But as we turned the corner, we noticed the large empty room with four identical staircases that lead back out into the open. Once we made it to the top of the staircase, The Wither's throne would be right there, waiting for us. I looked at my mother in confusion and prodded her gently.
"Or... Maybe that was it," My mother said, my own confusion apparent on her face.
She shrugged and lead us up the stairs. I gripped my sword tightly and reached back for Gavin's hand, taking it and squeezing it gently. I locked eyes with him worriedly. Something was wrong. Horribly wrong.
Gavin noticed my worry and reflected it on his own face. He knew what I was feeling because he felt it too. Gavin mouthed 'I'm scared' to me and I nodded mouthing back 'Me too'. Gavin blinked in surprise, squeezing my hand more and giving me a gentle kiss on the cheek.
Once we made it to the top of the staircase, I looked forward to see The Wither itself sitting on a throne. To my surprise, The Wither didn't look much different from the other minions, other than the fact that it was larger. I had heard stories that The Wither was a floating creature with three heads, however this did not meet those standards at all. It had a staff sitting close to the throne, along with a sword and bow next to it as well. I scanned my surrounding quickly, tensing up and preparing to fight.
"Well, you made it this far, what a surprise," The Wither bellowed in a demonic, inhuman voice.
"Why wouldn't we?" My mother growled.
"Because I recall a time when you planned on slaying me, and what happened there? I trapped you here, for the rest of eternity," The Wither laughed. My mother closed her eyes for a moment, looking away.
"Look, this time we came for two things. The first being that you have kidnapped King Ryan, and we have to come to bring him back," I told the Wither stepping forward.
"Well, I'm afraid that won't be possible until you slay me. I have cast the same spell that I casted on your mother, on him. He won't be going anywhere for a long time," The Wither laughed again, standing up and towering over the three of us.
"I'd be happy to let you have a try of defeating me though. However, three against one doesn't seem too fair," The Wither growled.
Suddenly two more minions, much stronger and devious looking than the other minions raced up the steps and stood next to The Wither.
"There, now it's a fair fight," The Wither growled, looking to his new ally's.
"I supposed you two can choose who you want to fight. I'll take the one you don't choose," The Wither bellowed.
In a flash, fighting broke out. The two Wither minions jumped at my mother and Gavin, instantly fighting against them. The Wither looked at me in excitement and pleasure, a sword that glowed with fire appearing in its hands.
"Looks like it's you and me, Mogar," The Wither said.
I swallowed my fear and launched myself at the Wither.
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Author's Note:
Wow... Two more chapters guys.
This chapter honestly was kinda boring to me. Next chapter is gonna have tons of fighting and action so, yeah. I really hope you guys are enjoying. Please leave me feedback on how I can improve and stuff. Also, do you guys want a sequel? I have an idea for it but I won't write unless you'd like me too. I mentioned in the last chapter that I have other stories that could get written instead of a sequel to this so, it's completely up to you guys.
Thanks for reading!