In Between

Chapter: IV

 The big announcement was made, the kingdom was safe, Aden was finally dead, it followed with a small celebration at the castle pushing Frederick out as the center of attention.  Making there way through the dark woods towards Frederick's home, Thunder roared above them lighting up the purple clouded sky, warning them of the rain storm that slowly approached, each individual carried a torch as they made their way over to burn the corpse of the most respected knight for the last decade. The torches held by the knights lit up the dark forest that evening as they marched in pride and fearlessness.   

arriving at the house, Frederick commanded his fellow knights to stop and wait in front of his home. This was his victory, one that had taken quite to long to reach, but here it was finally, the moment had arrived, he got his win and he was unwilling to share such glory with any other knight, not even the king.  Anxious and full of excitement Frederick rushed into the his home, he ran over to the room where Aden's body was tossed, unlocking the bolts as fast as possible, pushing the door wide open. His green greedy eyes gazed into the blank darkness of the room, unable to see Aden's body, he flew down a small flight of stairs, skipping as many steps as possible.

Once he reached the bottom of the staircase lighting up a lantern, his light green eyes stared in confusion into the small room, he was greeted with an empty room full of junk, old forged corroded weapons that had been unused for ages, swords, shields axes.  where was Aden's body?  The room started to spin he stood still trying to focus and catch balance.  He couldn't understand. Could it be true? Could Aden have escaped? Was he really dead? So many questions piled inside his mind like a stack of books unbalanced and begging to tip over and tumble down.  His eyes fixed on a trail of fresh blood that raced back up the small flight of stairs. He raced  back up the stairs, once his right foot met the top it slipped, he held onto the hall walls to avoid falling. Gazing at the floor his eyes followed a streak of blood that led all the way back to the living room where it came to a stop. Frederick slowly followed the streak of blood, his eyes and ears noticing things they hadn't when first entering his home. Someone had lit the fireplace, a pot of tea screamed from inside the kitchen, the hallway and living room were lit up by oil lamps and candles that he never lit, he was so anxious to get to Aden's body that he didn't even notice how he was'n't welcomed by a room of empty darkness, when entering his home.  He exhaled calmly trying to release the bit of fear that coursed through his veins as he entered the living room, shocked he stood finding Aden right before his eyes, calm and seriously staring back at him with his body covered in dried blood as he sat Aden on a wooden stool.

Frederick searched for wounds in disbelief, but there were none to be found, nothing, not one scratch. From inch-to-inch his body was in perfect condition, just like the king had mentioned. The only evidence of their battle were the tears on his clothes. "Well, I guess you won't have to wait so long for that second fight you wanted," Aden grinned.

The tension outside grew as anxious knights stood outside wondering what took so long. They knew what had happened back at the castle, not one of them felt safe, they had truly no idea what Aden was, but he wasn't the same knight that fought beside them on the battlefield, he had become something else.  A loud sound suddenly shot off, Frederick's body crashed through the front door, knocking the thick brown wooden door off its hinges, as his body hit the ground sliding across the wet green grass. A few knights helped him get back on two feet. Aden exited the doorless entrance catching the attention of everyone surrounding it, he stabbed his sword into the wet soil while inhaling it's earthy scent.  His eyes glowed like lit-up pumpkins on Halloween, slowly staring over the various knights that stood beside Frederick.  

He gave his one and only warning: "THIS IS A WARNING. THE FUTURE FOR WHOEVER STANDS BEFORE ME IS DEATH. I'M GIVING YOU ALL ONE CHANCE TO LEAVE, TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT. IT WILL NOT BE OFFERED AGAIN!" Curving a smile, he yanked his sword from the soil, walking over to one of the knights whom stood stiff frozen.  Aden gently ripped the sword from within the knights hand, there was no fight from the knight nor hesitation, Aden's impaling eyes kept him as stiff as a board, tossing the sword across the field landing just inches away from Frederick's feet. The sword-less knight quickly mounted his horse and took off without looking back, it just took a fraction of a second for all the other knights to follow his steps.