The Fourth Wall

Chapter 2 - In the Eyes of the Void

   The sky was brilliant blue, the harmony of the singing birds flying past calmed them down.

   Kog inhaled more than enough oxygen, and finally released his breath. It was something he normally do when he's angry, or sad, or whenever he feels bad about something. Today, he felt extremely bad. Trying to be enthusiastic is not helping him. Sure, he could totally carve a huge smile around his face, feel happy and scream out loud "I am totally depressed!" against the forest. But he was simply too tired.

   He turned at Phan, who seemed to be trying his best not the cry. "Where are we supposed to go?" He asked.

   "Anywhere." Phan responded. "We're off to be adventurers, Kog." He continued. "Like, tour the hell around the world."

   "How about your princess?" Kog asked. "She's waiting in a tower for you, somewhere."

   "There are plenty of princes out there, my dearest companion." Phan declared. "Sure enough she'll be found."

   "She'll rot in there! She's destined for you!" He replied. "You can't just break your destiny Penny. You can't."

   "Well, guess what?" The prince smiled. "We just did."

   The horses gained speed as whips cracked against their bodies. The forest seemed to zoom from their view, dust trailing behind their back. As they push deeper, running further away behind their past, further beyond the total extend of their barricade, they heard a long loud scream, followed by crows advancing into the sky.

   The horses Mandate and Federal stopped without any command. Kog tried talking and commanding them to continue, but the horses refused to do so. He tried whipping them, but blaring horses was all he got.

   "What the heck happened?" Phan wondered.

   "The horses stopped." Kog responded.

   "Yes, I know, grass is green also." Phan replied. "But why did they stop?"

   Before he could respond, a man emerged behind a tree, carrying a fine-crafted sword from which Kog admired. The man looked at the horses, then both of them, and finally grinned.

   "Who art thou and what can I do for thee?" The man asked, his accent sounded villainous, a bit rocky and strangely evil. No, not the solid dark evil, but more like Gargamel kind of evil. "Shalt I pronounce thy death or thou shalt pronounce the reason why art thou here?"

   "He's the villain." Phan whispered. "Like, the antagonist."

   "Why and how are you so sure?" Kog whispered back.

   "Look at him, Kog. Just look at him." Phan hissed. "You can see it by his eyes."

   Kog looked at the man's black eyes, and a certain presence, or aura, bothered him instantly. It's not just that, the man was wearing something he'd never seen before, and not just because that clothing was black, but the very existence of the man seemed unusual. From his white skin, young look, he seemed like . . . He was not supposed to be here.

   Kog heard Phan draw his sword with a cling. Before he could stop the prince, Phan jumped from his horse and but lost his balance immediately the time he landed because of his injured foot.

   He picked up Phan's sword "What the are you trying to do?"

   "Something you're not doing."

   "Don't be foolish. The man could help us possibly."

   "He's clearly evil."

    "Evil or not, me and my muscles can handle him." Kog boasted. "Just shut up and watch. Don't do anything stupid." he continued, as he turned and pointed the sword against the man. "Who are you?"

   "I asked thy question first." The man said, smashing his sword against Kog's. "Who art thou?"

   "I am Kog Blunt from Corde's Castle." He said. "Now tell me your name, young man."

   "Earl." He replied, as he unexpectedly lowered his sword. "Don't call me young, I'm far a lot older than your grandfather's father."

   Kog lowered his sword too, feeling safe with the man. He took a gaze a Phan, eyeing him and telling him a quick message of I told you so.

   "I am afraid you must leave very quickly." Earl declared. "I have a business to attend to."

   "We terribly freaking want to, but, our horses stopped here, and we can't get them moving." Phan joined the conversation. "It would appreciate if you may please gladly get them going.

   "Hmm," The man murmured, clicking one of his fingers unto his chin. With a quick movement, his hand grab Kog's hand, and his other hand reached his head. He felt thunder flowing through his veins and pain across his palm.

   Kog tried to fight back, but he was completely paralyzed. Unable to move, struggling, he watched Earl as he spoke some words of magic. He could hear Phan's voice shouting his name, but the sound completely faded after a short delay.

   "Look into my eyes." Earl commanded. This time, his voice sounded like thousands of people talking all together at once. His dialogue was written in italic in order to add more effect, via me the narrator.

  The tornado of crows passed through them, each chirp failed to send sonic waves inside his ear. He could hear nothing but the chanting, and he was seeing nothing but the man's flaming red eyes.

   But there's something more than the eye. . . There were images. Images of horror, Kog could not simply describe. He could feel his body trembling, his heart smashing, his pants are wet.

  "You broke the chains of your Fate." Earl said."Do you have any idea what have you done?"

___

   Uh, hey, guys, this is, uh, author speaking here. I want to acknowledge you for reaching this far, although it's not really that far, but at least you are currently beyond my first chapter— which means, so far, you are enjoying my dearest story.

   Yes, I know, I always end my chapters with a cliff-hanger, you know, to keep you interested about what's gonna happen. I'm sorry for the long delay of the chapters, as you see— I am a very busy person during school days. I have a newspaper to finish, projects to do, and tests to pass. So, please, if you don't mind, I'm very sorry.

   I hope it's not too late to tell you, but my book wil circle around three characters. Phan, Kog, and another character. They change clockwise contininously every chapter, so yeah, Phan would be two more chapters to come.

   And for those who didn't understand some of the words I used with Earl's character, these are the meanings:

   Thou – You

   Thy – You/Your

   Thee - Yours

   Shalt – Shall

   Art – Are

   These are words from old English, was called King James I think. So, yeah, so far, how was my book? Was it good? Bad? Worse? I would totally appreciate your comments, critiques, or reviews. I mean, critiques help me improve my story. Reviews/Comments help me fight against writer's block. But, if you think your appreciation must be explained more than words— I would really really really be very thankful for a vote.