The palace was stunning, with halls of white and turquoise, leafed in silver and gold. Everything seemed to be draped in white fabrics that filled with a warm sea breeze. Every window was situated to let as much light in as possible, even the ceilings were filled with round portals that opened up to the sky. Out of all the castles I have been to this one was the most beautiful.
We approach golden doors engraved with a mermaid holding a trident on each. Vance reaches for the door handle, but stops. He turns to me with fear in his eyes and places a hand on my cheek brushing it with his thumb.
"Bri, the king's son, can be..."
I interrupt him.
"Vance, don't worry, he won't get near me, have faith in my heart."
He smiles at me. "Ok." He replies and reaches for the doors. He pushes them open letting me walk in first.
I walk along oceanic scenes, pirates, the Kraken, mermaids, and storms. Who ever painted these has a unique talent for realistic and intricate art. Even the ceiling had small paintings of angels and gods in it. I stood for a moment in awe, looking around, before my eyes situated on a white throne and the largest man I have ever seen with his son beside him, equal in stature.
"Lady Brianne, what an honor it be to finally meet you. We'ave heard so much about you." The king says with a hearty smile. His accent was interesting and a little hard to understand.
"Thank you King Galen, it is an honor as well." I reply stopping in front of him. Vance stands beside me one hand on the hilt of his secondary weapon and the other hand on my lower back. He is subconsciously protecting me but I need to show some independence here, I turn to him and smile, letting him read my expression to give me room. He gets the point and moves a foot to the right.
"Brianna, you already know me name, this be me son Ryker." He waves his hand towards him to the right. Rudy walks towards me with a smug look on his face.
He was a big man, strong and tall, but not only built with muscle he clearly had a love for drinking as his belly was covered with a thick layer of fat. He had black long wavy hair pulled back, and a long thick beard braided down the middle. He wore silver pauldrons and boots, a turquoise sleeveless tunic with a sigil of a mermaid printed down the front, white pants and a white cape that came to the floor. He towered over me as he approached.
He circles me, making sure to take his time staring at everything he shouldn't.
"A treasure you be." He says as he begins to run the back of his hand down my chest, stopping at the stone. I kindly remove his hand and stare up into his eyes.
"I don't like to be touched." I say quietly.
He glares at me, then glances at Vance who looks ready to stab him in the heart.
"Ryker! Come sit!." The king snaps. He backs away from me then takes his seat by his father's side in his own throne. I let out a long breath I have been holding since I walked into the room and my nerves start to settle. I am still not used to meeting royalty, especially the kind that try to undress you with their eyes.
"King Galen, I would like to thank you for taking care of me and my crew. You have been a welcoming host, I thank you for the flowers sent to my room." I bow slightly.
"Anything for Vance and his lady." He replies. "You be welcome here, as long as you need."
"I apologize for the short visit, but we have matters to tend to and will be leaving in the morning, before dawn." I reply, and the King leans forward, his welcome smile fading.
"You should stay." He says coldly. His eyes stare blankly and he does not blink. "...we like you to stay longer, the common folk would like to meet you and we be hosting the gladiator tournys, starting this Eve."
I glance at Vance, who is gripping that hilt tighter with concern written all over his face. I was right, something is off here.
"Please Brianna, it be an honor to'ave you there."
"Alright we will stay tonight and into the day tomorrow. But we must leave tomorrow evening, we have a pledge to make. Don't we Vance."
He smiles at me."That's right."
"Yes, the pledge, so unfortunate of your last mage Vance. Let's hope it don't happen to Brianna." Says the King, as him and his son share a laugh together. And that tipped the barrel, Vance stares at the floor fists clenched and shaking. I can hear him grit his teeth.
"Thank you, my King." I reply.
As I say the last words "my King", I make a promise to mysef, that this man and his son will bow to me, they will bend the knee and give up their realm and after that I will feed them to the beasts in the ocean.
"Great, the tourny starts in an hour. We see you there." He replies and waves his hand.
I turn to Vance who is vibrating with anger. We need to leave this room before he makes some very big mistakes.
"Vance?" His eyes finally blink and he snaps out of his rage.
"Let's go." I take his arm and we leave the throne room saying nothing to each other.
-------------------------
"I felt it, an evil presence, the minute we docked. I feel they have plans for you Brianna, we must be on guard at all times." Revish says.
I sit on the window sill looking over the starry sky and the torch lights of Emeriss city. The city seemed more alive at night than it does during the day. I can hear music and festivities in the distance. I should be excited about the new sights and celebrations, but a I very aware that our lives are in danger here. Nothing I do is easy...I sit and listen to my "council", as I call them now, discussing a plan of action.
Vance, Revish, Kit, and Gogo. They are all equally skilled in unique ways, each with their own reasons to follow me. But it all comes down to the same things, love and respect. There is nothing stronger than that and they would follow me to the underworld and back...so they say.
"I can't believe this, how could they do this to my family? My father?" Vance rages as he slams his fist on the vanity table, splintering the leg from the top down. That attracts the attention of everyone, I've noticed a change in him recently, as we get closer to each other his power gets stronger. There is something about him, a power I didn't see before, a gift he is noticeably unaware of . He gathers more strength everyday using energies around us, including mine. And it wasn't until I took the stone into myself, where I could feel all sources of magic around me. Revish being one of the strongest, but he is a familiar and fueled by myself, where as Vance is fueled by the same magic as mine was before Andai was in the picture. It fills me with wonder, and if he weren't a knight already I would have assumed he was a mage or sage.
"I am shocked too Vance, I mean I trained with these men for years!."Says Kit. "Seraphis is going to be furious."
"This tournament of Gladiators. What does it entail?" Revish asks.
Vance pulls out the chair from the vanity and sits down. "Men and women from all over the realms come to battle with each other. To see who is the best fighter. The winner receives his or her own house to rule, or their freedom if they are a slave. The beginning battles are fought by mages. Then it's Gladiators. I used to enjoy watching it with my father and King Galen. We will be seated by their side tonight, as usual."
"Let's just get through this and leave in the morning as planned. We don't need to tell them. We can sneak out under the palace. I know the way." Kit says nodding at Vance.
"We can make our way to Ashura as quickly as possible and tell my father what is happening." Vance replies.
How am I supposed to just leave this realm without destroying the evil in it? I can't leave the people here to suffer, they need us, we are their only hope!
"No." I snap and everyone looks at me. "I won't leave this realm in the hands of this evil. I am taking his throne before we leave this realm!"
"Brianna, that is impossible, King Galen has a strong army. He will kill us before we even get close to him, there is only five of us here, and a small crew on the ship." Vance replies.
"You're right, we need more men...Revish, I want you to seek out the rebels. Find their location! Then come back to me before dawn, we will join forces with them and conquer Emeriss!."
He puts his fist to his chest and bows.
"Yes, my Queen." He replies and transforms back into his familiar form perching on the window beside me.
"God speed." I say and he flies off.
"Brianna! I....am not sure about your plan. The rebels are hard to persuade." Kit replies carefully not to overstep.
"I don't need to persuade them, we already fight for the same cause. I will lead them eventually. Just like everyone else in this realm and the next."
"Brianna, please, I think we should hold off. This is too risky." Vance pleads.
"Listen to me, I am your Queen, you have pledged your lives to me and will follow me through anything. Now is the time to put your faith in me, now is the time to trust my judgement. We have conquered a fleet of pirates, killed a legendary beast, and destroyed an entire gang of bandits, it is time to gather our army. There is no better time than now, we will be successful, for it is not power that drives us, it is freedom and that makes us stronger than any opponent we face!"
Kit and Vance exchange looks, as wild grins form on their faces.
"A true Queen you are." Kit says putting his fist to his chest. "You have my sword."
I nod and look to Vance, he is hesitant but understanding.
"You always have my lance, Bri." He says and puts his fist to chest.
"I got nothing else to do, you have my daggers." Gogo replies putting her fist to chest.
"It's settled, let's get this tournament over with so I can get my army and free this realm of evil! I will see you all there, be wary of your surroundings!"
Everyone makes their way out of the room to get prepared.
"Vance, thank you for bringing me some armor, We may need it."
"You're welcome my queen, do you need any help getting dressed?"
I giggle. "If you help me, I guarantee we will miss the tournament, it's best we get "ourselves" ready."
"You're probably right." He replies. "I'll come get you when we are ready." he says and gives me a quick kiss before leaving the room.
I begin with a new gown, one made of turquoise silks, I had made sure slots were cut down the sides as usual, but the corset that came with it was once again restricting. Made of silver chain mail and actual coral, it pricked me under the arms and sides, and was tight enough I could barely breathe. I sigh as I attempt to sit at the vanity in it. I let loose my hair and it flows down in waves to my lower back. Then I begin to lace up my new armored boots. Once I had strapped the armor on I realized that this wouldn't be enough still. There was barely any coverage but it was all Vance could get his hands on for my small stature. This may be a problem later. But nothing I can do about it now.
I look at myself, glamoured up from head to toe, and I can't help but feel strange. Something isn't right in my mind, it could be the fear and anticipation of what is to come. But I am usually level headed and strong , but at this time I feel weak and vulnerable. As if the world was against me, or plotting against me. In the back of my mind I know who to trust, but something is slowly poisoning my thoughts, making me doubt everything. I need to stay strong, I need to move forward with my path, even if I have to sacrifice what means the most to me...
I sigh heavily, and leave the room before I lose control of my emotions...
--------------------------
The Gladiators arena; an enormous coliseum, built from white stone and quartz. The entire area was lit with either torch light, or orbs of flame powered by mages. Its one hundred foot pillars encircle us in this pit of death and carnage. With crowds of people seated on different levels. The most wealthy sit in rows closest to the action, and the middle class sit in balconies above us. I have never seen this many people gathered in one area before, it was not something I was used to. The noise was what bothered me the most, so many people screaming and cheering for their heroes. It made my ears ring, I found myself covering them up with my hands as much as possible.
We have been here for a few hours already, I am told that this goes on through the night and into the morning, if the fights last that long. I hope this will be over soon, I would love some good sleep before we head out to find the rebels. I wonder how Revish is making out.
A slap on my right thigh jolts me out of thought, he continues to rub my leg and squeeze it as he hoots and hollers. His beer is seeping into his facial hair as he drunkenly gulps from his cup.
Vance leans his head back behind me on my left.
"RYKER! GET YOUR BLOODY HAND OFF MY MAGE OR I WILL CHOP IT OFF!" He yells.
Ryker removes his hand but not without running it up my dress, along my inner thigh,grinning at Vance. I have had enough of this, I take his hand lifting it up slowly. He takes another swig of beer and looks at me smirking, as if he were waiting for me to place it somewhere inappropriate. I hold it up between my face and his and before he can figure out what I'm about to do, I punch his hand hard causing him to slap himself in the face. He spits beer all over his wife on his right and everyone stops to look at me, Ryker is as shocked as ever. I lean in close to him.
"I would slap you myself Ryker, but I wouldn't want to get my hands dirty!" I bellow straight into his ear.
Everyone is still staring at us, waiting for a response from Ryker. He takes his wife dress in one hand and wipes his face with it. Then turns towards me and bursts out laughing.
"YOU HIT LIKE MEN! ...VANCE! THIS GIRL BE A KEEPER! WHY CANT YOU BE LIKE MORE LIKE THAT?" He asks his wife nudging her shoulder hard.
I lean back in my seat feeling my muscles relax and let out a breath. I can hear Kit and Gogo laughing hysterically beside Vance. Vance leans into me, close to my ear.
"I'm going to marry you." He whispers and my face flushes a deep red. I smile to myself.
Two waiters approach us, offering silver goblets of a foul smelling drink. We take our cups, and look at it. It was as thick, and as red as blood with sparks of black rising up out of it. I look to Vance and shake my head. This drink reeks of evil.
Vance, covers Kits cup with his hand before he takes a drink from it. He looks at Vance and me, then hands it to a man behind him a seat up.
"You don't want it?" He asks.
"No, I'm not much of a drinker." He replies. The man takes the drink and we all follow Kit, handing our cups of darkness to people behind us. This seems to catch the attention of the King as he watches us scowling. But he says nothing.
The announcer comes and stands before us, bowing to the King just as he has done the last several battles.
"A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR OUR NEXT TWO COMPETETORS, PLEASE WELCOME THE UNDEFEATED, MASTER OF DUAL WIELDING AND HAND TO HAND COMBAT, SIR JEDREK THE GREAT!" The announcer yells.
My heart stops beating, everything becomes still, I stare in disbelief of the name I just heard. He couldn't possibly have said my fathers name.
"What did he just say?" Vance asks.
And I watch, breathless as he walks out into the middle of the arena, two swords in each hand, wearing full chain mail and silver armor. He carries a gladiators helmet tucked under one arm. There are shackles attached to his wrists and around his neck. He has the same medium length blonde hair, although it hadn't been cleaned or brushed in what looks like years. His face is still the same but more aged and filthy. He looks tired and beaten. I hold my mouth closed with both hands trying not to call for him.
"Bri? Is that...is that your father?" Vance asks.
I nod as tears pour down my face.
"Shit!." Vance says. He pulls Kit towards him and begins to whisper something I can't hear. Kit stares at Jedrek then back at me.
The announcer speaks.
"PLEASE GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO HIS CHALLENGER, UNDEFEATED IN MACES AND HAMMERS, WELCOME SKULL CRUSHERRRRRR OF UNOILLA!!"
Everyone goes wild over this man, as he walks out into the arena. He was massive, wearing no armor only black pants and hand wraps. His head was shaved, baring all kinds of scars and marks. He had markings all over his upper body, symbols of skulls and weapons. He held a mace linked to a long chain which he had wrapped around one large fist. As he approaches my father, he screams and growls at him coaxing the crowd for more applause. He looked heinous and wicked, this will be a fight with no mercy.
My father does not move or make a sound. He simply puts on his helmet, and twirls his blades in his hands and readies his footing. He kisses a blade then points it at him, his typical trademark move he does before every fight. I pretend to hold a blade mimicking his trademark move as the memories of training flood my mind.
"LADY BRIANNA! YOU KNOW ABOUT SIR JEDREK?" Ryker asks.
"Yes." I barely choke out.
"HE FIGHTS FOR HIS FREEDOM TODAY!"
I swallow my pain back holding in my tears. It's been five years, five years of thinking he was dead. Five years of living alone, eating alone, hunting alone...training...alone. And here he is, standing in front of me about to fight for his life. He won't die here I swear to it.
I sit forward clenching my fists, searching the area for some sort of weapon I can wield. We weren't allowed weapons in the stands, only the knights on guard we're armed, and lucky for me there were six standing near us. Three to my left and three to my right. My thoughts are interrupted by a strong hand on my shoulder.
"Don't do it Bri! I know what you're thinking and they will kill you for interfering. It's forbidden." Vance says gripping it firmly.
I stare at him, waiting for him to let me go. I look down at his hand on my shoulder then back at him.
He shakes his head." I won't let you go." He says.
I lower my eyes as they fill with tears.
"GLADIATORS! ..READY! ...BEGIN! The announcer says and raises a hand in the air.
My father and his opponent get ready squaring off in the middle of the ring, ten feet between each other. Skull crusher whips his mace around by it's chain circling my father. My father stands quietly watching, swords gripped in both hands.
Skull crusher runs towards him swinging his mace back and forth, it swipes at his head, my father dodges it, spins low to the right and stabs at his stomach. Skull crusher jumps just missing his blade. As his mace comes around he swings it upwards then back down at my father who steps to the side, just missing it as the ball of metal smashes into the ground.
My father steps on top of it before he can swing it again and hits him in the temple with the hilt of his sword. He is knocked to the side, but pulls on the mace suddenly and my father falls onto his back, he quickly springs to his feet and readies himself again.
This time my father leads, timing the right moment between crisscrossed swings, he charges forward weapons out to his sides. As the mace goes down he moves in for a quick strike horizontally at his neck. Skull crusher leans back, missing the strike but the tip of the blade just nicks his throat leaving a small cut behind. He slams his mace down to the ground and my father jumps back. They standoff.
A small trickle of blood seeps down skull crushers neck, he wipes it with one finger looking at it, then laughs hysterically at my father. The crowds erupt cheering for him.
"Crusher! Crusher! Crusher!" they all yell in unison.
But his laughter quickly turns into anger as he whips his mace around once again. My father lunges towards him, timing his movements well He ducks under a swing coming chest level, he is still as nimble as he has always been. He comes around behind skull crusher and slices into his right side. He cries out in pain holding the wound as he stumbles sideways. My father goes in for the kill, but is stopped suddenly by skull crushers fist. He hits him just as he was about to stab through his back. He was far more agile without his mace, and my father had underestimated him. A critical mistake. As his fist makes contact with my father's jaw he is thrown onto his back a few feet away not moving.
I have never seen anyone take down my father before. I have only done it once myself and everyone else in the crowd seems just as astonished as me.
He finally starts to move again, but skull crusher is already barreling towards him mace in hand swinging it back and forth. This was it, he was going to die, I have to stop this.
I quickly realize Vance has let my arm go, and I take the opportunity to leap out of my seat. I jump up onto the announcer's platform. I run to a guard, and punch him in the temple, knocking him out cold. Before he hits the ground I unsheathe his sword. It rings, echoing into the air as it's tip comes clear from it's casing. I steady my focus and watch skull crusher bring up his mace. Everything slows down in this moment, as if I had stopped time itself.
Breath...steady...now!
I throw the sword, just as I do with throwing knives, it spins in the air floating towards it's a target, the mace comes up in front of skull crusher and the sword makes contact, impaling his skull and he falls to the ground along with his chained weapon. Before anyone realizes what has just happened I have the other guard down with his sword in my hands.
I jump off the platform and run to my father as fast as I can, screaming for him.
"FATHER!"
He stands slowly staring at me through tear filled eyes.
"Brianna..?" He asks.
I drop the sword and leap into his arms, almost knocking him over. We hold each other, the first time in five years.
"I thought you were dead!" I cry.
"Breezie... I'm so sorry.." He whispers. I missed that nickname so much, it brought back everything I had tried to forget, all the pain and loneliness. He continues to squeeze me tightly and apologize as I cry into his shoulder.
----------------———