They say in the face of death, you see your life flash by.
River thought about his father, the man who had never spared him a kind glance. River thought back to the night of banquet, the way Lucian Verlice tried to say something to him. He saw Mireya Huxley and her narrow dark eyes. They were filled with contempt and disgust whenever they were turned on him.
River thought of his memorial tablet at Arcton ancestral hall.
River saw Valour, his stupid face and stupid smile. Their childhood, the golden days of his life .He thought of Ayla and the soul crushing sadness that seemed to eternally haunt her hazel eyes. He saw Azize , her soft plump cheeks and tiny hands.
River couldnt hold her at the banquet.
He thought of Aithan. The kind ,giant of a man who would constantly nag him to eat more. He thought of LouLou , tried to imagine his head rolling off from the chopping block.
River thought of Raven Alistair .
It had been a very short, miserable life . There was not much to remember.
His unrestrained descent to death was interrupted when a hand tightened an iron grip around his forearm. River heard the pop as his arm snapped in two, tearing a gutteral scream from his mouth. Stinging agony surged through it ,knocking him out of breath.
Though it happened excruciatingly slowly, River felt himself being raised. He tried very hard not to cast his gaze down at the watery damnation over his ruined shoulder. Raven Alistair's twisted visage eventually caught his attention from over the pit's edge.
"Your other hand!"
River strained his barely conscious body and fiercely reached out his other arm to Raven, who grabbed it with a monstrous amount of strength . He let out another cry as agony seeped up both of his legs.
"Fuck ! Fuck! Fuck !Fuck!" Cursing, Raven hauled him up over the edge . "Roll over ! Your legs are on fire!"
River had already realized this after experiencing dizzying anguish and the scent of burning flesh. He rolled around violently, trying to extinguish the flames on his long robes.
After a few minutes of frenzied rolling, the flames subsided. Fire had licked his legs up to his knees, leaving them in a condition River really did not want to see just now.
"What the fuck! " Raven grimaced at the sight of his cooked legs. "The fuck!"
River had not realized he was crying until he tried to speak but only managed to choke out a sad sob .
"Im alive" he sobbed, turned to the side and threw up his dinner .
"You are , you are" Raven held his disheveled hair back ,which had likewise burnt at the ends. He gently rubbed his back so River wouldnt choke on his own sick.
"My apologies " River wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "That was unslightly"
"I dont give a fuck " Raven deadpanned. "Can you get up ?"
He tried pulling on River's hand to help him up and jumped back when he screamed.
"Its broken , dont touch it"
Raven ran a trembling hand through his hair.
"You have the worst fucking luck Ive ever seen" he commented. " one of the boxes were closer to the edge than the other two"
"This was indeed an error on my part" River replied "Thank you for saving my life"
"I wouldnt even have your fucking debris to give you a decent funeral if you fell " he peeped down at the omnious pit of glimmering lava. "Im starting think god fucking hates you"
Graduated from School Of Obvious Statements ,didnt ya?
The pit glowed in the dark of the dungeon , casting eerie shaped silhouettes on the walls. River took in his surroundings and found all types of wooden boxes strewn across the floor, abandoned after emptying the gold they carried in to the pit.
River bit through his pains and inched towards the brink, ignoring protests from the Southern King. The hot air smacked him in the face as he peeked down at what seemed to be a recreation of an abyss ,straight out of hell.
The pit was irregular shaped, was about twenty yards deep and quite wide . The liquid gold filled up about four parts of it. River broke out in gooseflesh as he watched the precious metal churnning and swirling in the inferno,realizing how close he was to being cremated alive.
"It's being fired by the power of devine essence " Raven muttered.
"Well spotted ,My Lord" River couldnt hold back.
"Shut the fuck up" Raven rolled his eyes. "How are we going to take it out ?"
River found himself going speechless " If Im being completely honest , I really did not predict this ,My Lord"
"I guessed " Raven scratched his chin in thought. "Wouldnt it be melted too ?"
That was a possiblity.
"You said that fucker was going to take it to West?" Raven reminded "You think he can take it out?"
"Hmm..."River hummed "Im not sure "
"By the way ,how do you know about his plans ?" Raven asked.
River felt a shameful blush creeping up his neck .
"I may have done something rather ..dishonorable to obtain that information " he confessed.
Raven visibly blanched . He slowly turned to him ,eye wide in shock and mouth hanging slightly open .
"What have ..you done "
Get your mind out of the gutter first.
"I planted a spying device on his person " River said flatly.
Raven Alistair sighed, his shoulders relaxing ."Your bar for dishonor is quite low"
"He extended his friendship to me and I decieved him"
"No ..Im pretty sure he was just trying to get in your pants" Raven said bitterly "old creep"
He is younger than you.
The screech of metal grating against stone rang through the chamber.
"Someone is here !" River hissed "Hide, My Lord"
Raven gathered him in his arms and they both silently scurried to a dark corner of the chamber ,taking cover behind a stack of large wooden boxes.
For a few tense moments no sound came. River held his breath , his heart pounding in his chest in anticipation. Soon the sound of footfall on stone closed in.
There were two people , judging by the sounds. One set of footsteps were light and quick while the other was heavy and pompous.
"Huh, Is this the hell hole Solina spawned from?" Wolfram's majestic frame came to view "I expected nothing less"
The pit painted him in a soft golden glow,adding to his already dream like charm. His was vigorously fanning himself ,the movement nearly a blur.
River nudged closer to the Southern King trying to steal a better look at what's happening . He could not see who the second person was .
"Now is probably a bad time to say this"Raven whispered.
"Then dont , My Lord"
"But you smell fucking good " He sniffed the top of River's head "Is that cologne?"
"We call that the foul odour of charred flesh and vomit in where I come from, My Lord" River rolled his eyes in the dark "Who is that?"
A petite figure emerged in their field of view. It was hard to see who it was.They wore a heavy red cloark ,obscurring their face.
"The Queen?"
"Queen is taller than that" Raven shook his head.
The figure stepped closer to Wolfram and loosened the clasp that held the cloark together.
The heavy fabric fell around them in a soft thud.
River grabbed Raven's arm .
"Is that?"
Author has something to say
We are leaving at a cliff hanger againnnnnn!!!!
Please lemme know your ideasss and predictions for the storyyyy.
Vote and commennt
Thank youuuu
Raven - on a scale of one to ten ,how bad do you think-
River - At least a twenty, shut up.
Addressing author's comma situation .
Author is very insecure about her commas. But author loves commas.
Because Author loves writting very,very ,very lengthy sentences . It makes Author feel important. Dont judge.
Author found she is not alone. Author is happy.