Lowered Blade

Chapter 2: Bearing the News

Rena and Boro walked along the long corridor leading to the throne room. Their steps were muffled by the thick red carpet underneath their feet.

If they're not careful, carpets like these may lead to the death of one of the royals in this country.

Rena's musing was stopped when they arrived at the door of throne room. The guards on both sides were fully equipped. Their wariness of the visitors can be felt in the air.

Good to see that they are not senseless as I thought.

Their names were announced by the castle's crier and the door of the throne room was opened for them to pass. Rena expected to see a room where the riches of this country might be put on show. She was then suprised to see that the room was furnished modestly. She observed that even the throne of the king itself was adorned with simple design upon their approach. There were also doors on both sides of the room. She guessed that warriors of great strength and skill would burst from these doors if the king or the royal family were to be in danger. What was magnificent, in Rena's opinion, was the length of the room. She and Boro had to take numerous steps in order to kneel in front of the king face to face.

No wonder their king has reigned for decades. His assasins would have to run at length just to reach him.

'Greetings King Lyrus and Queen Miria. I am Boro and my companion is Rena. We are the warriors from the south who have asked to be in your presence a fortnight ago', Boro said in a clear voice.

'Welcome warriors. I have been informed of what has been happening in your tribe. Do not hesitate to tell what kind of assistance you may need of us. Your chief has been a good friend of the queen and I when we were still young. However, I must ask, where is he? I was looking forward to speaking to him personally,' replied the smiling King Lyrus.

'Forgive us, your highness, but Chief Gato will not be able to fulfil your wishes as he is... indisposed.'

'Whatever do you mean, warrior?', the confused king asked.

'Before we were scheduled to meet with the king, our camp was ambushed by unknown men. All of our comrades were slaughtered, including Chief Gato, when the two of us arrived. We do not know the name of the men of who killed them but we have clues that would lead us to them. We plan to pursue them after we have discussed what we initially came here for.'

'This is... sad news.', King Lyrus said haltingly. The kings countenance was that of deep sadness; a tear slid down of the queen's left cheek. No one spoke after the king's words.

The silence was broken by the announcement that the prince of the country have arrived. The prince entered the vast throne room with unhurried steps, the elder prince at the rear.

'Forgive us for interrupting your meeting, Father , Mother. I did not expect that you would be meeting with anyone at this time of the day.', the older prince said.

'Do not worry. You did not interrupt us. We had just heared disheartning news of our old friend, Gato. He has been murdered in our land.', said the king.

'That is the reason why I am here at this moment. My men and I spotted a small camp in the border of the forest. Their fires were hours old, from what we've seen.'

Rena clenched her fists tightly. 'Those bastards!', she said scathingly. Hearing her exclamation, the prince focused his attention on her. His eyes narrowed with recognition but he did not mention anything in front of the king.

'Reign in your temper, Rena. You must not swear in front of the king.', Boro told her quietly. Rena clamped her jaw shut to prevent herself from abusing with words the people who killed the chief and her comrades.

'Your highness, Chief Gato wanted to ask for your military assistance in our country. Since our tribe is small and our warriors few, a number of groups have continuously attacked us in these past months. We have spoken to other neigboring tribes but our pleas has come to naught. They are afraid that they will be targeted if they helped us. In place of Chief Gato, we sincerely ask for help regarding this matter.', Boro continued.

'I understand. I will make preparations as to what help I can give you. My Son, Tono, will assist me. For the mean time, rest in our castle for as long as you wish.', was the king's reply.

'Forgive my impertinence, your Highness. May I ask for an ertna, a resting place for the chief and our comrades?', Rena asked.

'Of course. The land where they have been murdered may be used as their ertna. I will have someone make a monument for them there as a sign of respect to our dear friend. If you have other needs, do inform me. Please excuse me, for I wish to be alone with my wife for a while.'

'Thank you, your Highness. We will now take our leave.', Boro said while both He and Rena bowed to the King, the Queen and the Prince before leaving the room.

___________end of chapter___________

I know, i know, I keep on typing the same thing over and over again. But I still want to post this:

I edit everything that I post every now and then. I do this if I feel that my story is too rushed or if it feels like it is lacking something. I'd like to receive your comments or suggestions. However, I would really appreciate it if your comments are to be said nicely. Just to remind you, this is my first time writing a story, so bear with me. :) Thank you again, and see you on the next chapter! :)

:3