I Refuse to be a Named Character

Part 7

"There, now it's quieter." The king smiled warmly, the expression completely at odds with the violent scene in front of him. "I think we'll end the party early tonight so that this mess can be cleaned up." He looked around at his sons. "Five keys have already been given, four keys are still not claimed. One of you has the lead..." His eyes stayed on Luke for a few moments. "So the rest of you will have to work even harder to get the remaining keys." With that he walked away, never looking back at the body of the woman who once called him husband.

I felt dizzy, staring down at the now dead Lady Lindel.

I had been so happy being at Luke's side that I had forgotten.

My hands were shaking at my side. I clenched them tightly.

I had forgotten how much I hated this world, that kills people terribly, violently without reason or warning.

I closed my eyes slowly, blocking the disturbing sight from view, but the look of terror on the woman's face was engraved in my memories.

This is the fate of anyone important enough to the story that meddles in the plot.

"Are you okay?" The gentle question brought me out of my silent panic, but as I opened my eyes it was not the person that I expected to see.

"Leave me alone, Graham."

The hero's face was a perfect look of concern and affection, something that would be sure to stir any woman's heart...

If not for the blood drops splattered on his cheek.

Or the still-warm body of his mother on the floor.

"Don't worry, Dearest." He never looked down even once, his gaze focused on me. "She can't hurt you anymore. No one is standing in our way now!"

"She told you 'no' Graham." Luke stepped in between us, allowing me to let out a sigh of relief as he broke his brother's line of sight.

"Stay out of this, brother. She gave you back your token. She'll be mine."

"She's no one's. And if you try to force her, I'm happy to let you join your mother in the afterlife." The threat in Luke's voice wasn't forced. He seemed ready to pull out a weapon at any moment.

"This from the prince who's terrified of getting his hands dirty?" Graham laughed. "I'm terrified."

Remind me again who is the hero and who is the villain of this story?

"Fine. I will wait until tomorrow night, and claim my throne and my wife together."

With these words he turned away, leaving his mother's corpse on the ground behind him.

"Luke?" I called out quietly, grabbing onto his hand as if it were a lifeline while taking a few slow deep breaths. The old terror, the fear that had gripped me from the moment I had entered this world slowly faded. I wasn't the same helpless girl that had first arrived. I had changed. I had grown strong.

In response to my anxious call, Luke's hand tightened on my own. His gaze was stuck to Graham's retreating back, an air of barely restrained anger and violence hovering around him.

"Let's go."

We walked away hand in hand, an uncomfortable silence between us as we both wrestled with our own thoughts.

___________________________

Knock. Knock.

I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of someone knocking on my window. Lifting my head off my pillow, I looked around my darkened room, trying to get a sense of my surroundings. I was in a small but luxurious room, my strewn belongings on the floor a mismatch for the graceful décor. I was on the ground floor, with the single window facing a rear garden. The courtyard should be protected by patrols of guards, but that didn't mean it would be impossible for an intruder to reach my window.