<b> No tickling here, sorry, just plot.
Next chapter’s the finale! Thanks for reading this far!
-Ash</b>
A fist slammed against the bedroom doorframe.
David froze, one hand on the bedpost. The door crashed open, revealing a harried Aldien. Elana groaned in her sleep, unaware.
The man locked eyes with David. “Highness! What kind of sword do you use?”
“S-sword?”
“Blade, sir, what length blade?” Blood leaked from Aldien’s hairline.
“Er, a short sword, about two feet?”
“Brilliant.” He unhooked the sheathe at his side and tossed it to David. “Wake the princess. You’re in danger.” He slammed the door shut once more.
David stared. It still felt odd, Aldien acknowledging his title as Prince of Cerces. But the guard had just given him his favorite type of blade in Elana’s bedchamber. With her sleeping beside him. Not long ago the man had been throwing him against walls.
David stepped backward, brought one foot under the bed, and drew out the treasure he had hidden the night before: the razor blade Elana had used to shave him. She’d left it out, and he had grabbed it. He hadn’t been sure what to use it on— definitely not Elana, and even by then Aldien was more ally than enemy. His one shot would be at Taria, Elana’s stepmother, the next time she intruded on them.
Taria.
David let the sword crash to the ground and kicked it and the razor under the bed. The clatter of metal on wood roused Elana. “David? What’s happening?”
“It’s starting, Princess.” David grabbed her hands and tried to pull her off the bed. “You need to get up.”
“I— give me a moment.” She swung her legs free of the comforter.
Something clanked outside. David stepped back, fumbling with the clasp of his necklace. “I don’t think we have a moment.”
The wood door splintered, then gave way. Aldien landed hard on the polished floor, bracing a dagger with one hand. Another guard straddled his chest, bearing down on him with a saber.
David dropped the necklace and key, instead rushing the guards and slamming a fist into the swordsman’s cheek. David staggered, at the end of his chain’s radius, as Aldien rolled over. “Thank you.” He nursed a bleeding palm, but crawled over to the key David had abandoned.
David let him unlock the shackle around his left ankle. “No. Thank you.” He drew up the sword from under the bed, stringing it through the belt loop of his pants. “What’s happening out there?”
“Her Highness’ father. He passed this morning.” Aldien’s voice broke. “Taria has declared herself heir apparent.” He wiped his mouth. “Cerces, too. The rebellion’s reached the walls of the capital.”
Despite himself, David couldn’t hold back a wild grin.
“It’s not that simple,”Aldien continued. “General Cilen… she’s trying to prove Elana’s birthright, but there are people who are blaming her for Taria’s charge.”
“Because it’s her fault.” The guard who’d attacked Aldien rolled over, spitting blood. “I lost a sister there. Taria’s fresh. She can change things.”
“Do you know who your queen is?” Elana stood. “She threatened Cilen. She threatened me. She threatened my<i> father. </i>She could be responsible for his death, for all we know.” She wiped her cheeks dry. “All this because she wanted to be the hero who destroyed Cerces. She thought it would be her chance to earn the throne instead of stealing it from me.” David stared as Elana puffed up. She could be threatening if she wanted to. “This is her fault. Not Cilen’s. And she’s not the rightful heir.”
“But my friends are still lost. And Queen Taria says the same thing about you.” The guard rubbed spit off his face. “I’m supposed to kill you.” He groaned and collapsed.
Elana tugged on her boots. “Kill me?” She clapped hands with David. “No, because I’m the rightful heir. And not when I have a rebel at my side.”
David paused, stunned, then glanced at the blade in his hands. Maybe she was right. “Princess, when you said the kingdom was ours to have… what did you mean?”
“Cerces and Cilen.” She turned. “This is a coup and rebellion at the same time.”
“So…”
“Cilen’s going to help Cerces. I don’t know how much of the army will follow her, but I hope at least some of it. Will you accept the help?”
“Hell yeah we will,” David blurted, then considered the thought. “But I’m here and Sam’s out there. He doesn’t know about any of this.” He bit his hand. “He probably thinks I’m dead.”
“Please,” Elana scoffed. “How long has he known you? I can count the days we’ve spent together and I’ll believe you’re dead when I see your cold, limp body.”
He paled. “Well, don’t jinx me.”
“I trust you.” She kissed him.
“Right. Thank you.” David straightened. “We’re going to get outside the castle walls.”
“I…” Elana hesitated.
Aldien took the words from her. “She’s not trained in anything, and will only slow you down. I’ll lead her out. You get to Cerces as quickly as possible.”
“I don’t…” David reached for Elana’s hand, ready to tug her along despite it all, but Aldien served a point. Instead he pressed his lips to her fingers. “I’ll see you soon, Princess.”
“Don’t disappoint me, rebel,” she smiled. “Now go. There have to be more soldiers on their way.”
David leapt over the fallen guard and rushed down the side passage into the main hall.
Barefoot and without a lick of armor, he had plunged headlong into a battlefield. Palace guards clashed against themselves and others in cobbled armor.
Something flashed in the corner of his eye. David dropped to his knees and drew his sword as the blade sliced overhead. He parried, gripping the flat of his blade with his free hand as the guard took another swing. It was bad; they were matched and David was caught under her.
Another sword swept over his adversary’s shoulder and sank deep into her arm. The palace guard screamed and fell back, and David’s savior cut her down.
“There we go.” The woman straightened her mismatched armor and offered him a hand up. “Haven’t seen you in a while, David. People were saying you were dead.”
“Pretty close,” he mumbled. “Thanks, Yesmir.”
She grinned, crashing into another palace guard. “Anything for his Highness!”
“Do you know where Sam is?” he called, but she was already gone.
Highness. It still sounded strange, but he flourished his sword. Prince of Cerces, on the front line where he belonged.
He broke a parry, sweeping the legs of a palace guard out from under him. The rebel he’d helped lit up at the sight of him. David lurched along, driving his sword under a guard’s armor as he rushed toward a member of the Cerces army.
Two palace guards grappled with one another. One noticed David, kicked the other back and lunged for him. David planted a solid punch across his face and sent his head ringing in his helmet.
The other guard pounced, bringing the guard down with a dagger to the back of the neck. “Thanks. You’re the prince, right? David?”
David nodded.
“Be careful. They’re looking for you.” He pivoted and rushed another guard.
David blinked, then kept going down the hallway. He needed to get outside somehow, or at least find Samuel.
He hopped over a fallen guard and bound down a stairwell. It had gone quiet; the fighting either hadn’t reached here or had passed through. Judging from the blood and abandoned bodies, it was the latter. David paused over fallen members of his army. He recognized quite a few, but none were Sam.
And if the fighting had passed through the stairwell, it meant an exit wasn’t far off. David broke off into a sprint.
Someone burst out of a side passage and tackled him to the tile.
A guard grinned, gripping the side of his head. “Got you, you son of a bitch.”
His sword skittered out of his grip, but David fumbled with his waistband, drawing out the flat blade Elana had used to shave him a few days before. He swept it up, aiming for the guard’s throat, but only caught his cheek.
The guard growled and swatted it out of David’s hands. “Brat.” He grabbed David’s hair and slammed his head against the tile.
Next chapter’s the finale! Thanks for reading this far!
-Ash</b>
A fist slammed against the bedroom doorframe.
David froze, one hand on the bedpost. The door crashed open, revealing a harried Aldien. Elana groaned in her sleep, unaware.
The man locked eyes with David. “Highness! What kind of sword do you use?”
“S-sword?”
“Blade, sir, what length blade?” Blood leaked from Aldien’s hairline.
“Er, a short sword, about two feet?”
“Brilliant.” He unhooked the sheathe at his side and tossed it to David. “Wake the princess. You’re in danger.” He slammed the door shut once more.
David stared. It still felt odd, Aldien acknowledging his title as Prince of Cerces. But the guard had just given him his favorite type of blade in Elana’s bedchamber. With her sleeping beside him. Not long ago the man had been throwing him against walls.
David stepped backward, brought one foot under the bed, and drew out the treasure he had hidden the night before: the razor blade Elana had used to shave him. She’d left it out, and he had grabbed it. He hadn’t been sure what to use it on— definitely not Elana, and even by then Aldien was more ally than enemy. His one shot would be at Taria, Elana’s stepmother, the next time she intruded on them.
Taria.
David let the sword crash to the ground and kicked it and the razor under the bed. The clatter of metal on wood roused Elana. “David? What’s happening?”
“It’s starting, Princess.” David grabbed her hands and tried to pull her off the bed. “You need to get up.”
“I— give me a moment.” She swung her legs free of the comforter.
Something clanked outside. David stepped back, fumbling with the clasp of his necklace. “I don’t think we have a moment.”
The wood door splintered, then gave way. Aldien landed hard on the polished floor, bracing a dagger with one hand. Another guard straddled his chest, bearing down on him with a saber.
David dropped the necklace and key, instead rushing the guards and slamming a fist into the swordsman’s cheek. David staggered, at the end of his chain’s radius, as Aldien rolled over. “Thank you.” He nursed a bleeding palm, but crawled over to the key David had abandoned.
David let him unlock the shackle around his left ankle. “No. Thank you.” He drew up the sword from under the bed, stringing it through the belt loop of his pants. “What’s happening out there?”
“Her Highness’ father. He passed this morning.” Aldien’s voice broke. “Taria has declared herself heir apparent.” He wiped his mouth. “Cerces, too. The rebellion’s reached the walls of the capital.”
Despite himself, David couldn’t hold back a wild grin.
“It’s not that simple,”Aldien continued. “General Cilen… she’s trying to prove Elana’s birthright, but there are people who are blaming her for Taria’s charge.”
“Because it’s her fault.” The guard who’d attacked Aldien rolled over, spitting blood. “I lost a sister there. Taria’s fresh. She can change things.”
“Do you know who your queen is?” Elana stood. “She threatened Cilen. She threatened me. She threatened my<i> father. </i>She could be responsible for his death, for all we know.” She wiped her cheeks dry. “All this because she wanted to be the hero who destroyed Cerces. She thought it would be her chance to earn the throne instead of stealing it from me.” David stared as Elana puffed up. She could be threatening if she wanted to. “This is her fault. Not Cilen’s. And she’s not the rightful heir.”
“But my friends are still lost. And Queen Taria says the same thing about you.” The guard rubbed spit off his face. “I’m supposed to kill you.” He groaned and collapsed.
Elana tugged on her boots. “Kill me?” She clapped hands with David. “No, because I’m the rightful heir. And not when I have a rebel at my side.”
David paused, stunned, then glanced at the blade in his hands. Maybe she was right. “Princess, when you said the kingdom was ours to have… what did you mean?”
“Cerces and Cilen.” She turned. “This is a coup and rebellion at the same time.”
“So…”
“Cilen’s going to help Cerces. I don’t know how much of the army will follow her, but I hope at least some of it. Will you accept the help?”
“Hell yeah we will,” David blurted, then considered the thought. “But I’m here and Sam’s out there. He doesn’t know about any of this.” He bit his hand. “He probably thinks I’m dead.”
“Please,” Elana scoffed. “How long has he known you? I can count the days we’ve spent together and I’ll believe you’re dead when I see your cold, limp body.”
He paled. “Well, don’t jinx me.”
“I trust you.” She kissed him.
“Right. Thank you.” David straightened. “We’re going to get outside the castle walls.”
“I…” Elana hesitated.
Aldien took the words from her. “She’s not trained in anything, and will only slow you down. I’ll lead her out. You get to Cerces as quickly as possible.”
“I don’t…” David reached for Elana’s hand, ready to tug her along despite it all, but Aldien served a point. Instead he pressed his lips to her fingers. “I’ll see you soon, Princess.”
“Don’t disappoint me, rebel,” she smiled. “Now go. There have to be more soldiers on their way.”
David leapt over the fallen guard and rushed down the side passage into the main hall.
Barefoot and without a lick of armor, he had plunged headlong into a battlefield. Palace guards clashed against themselves and others in cobbled armor.
Something flashed in the corner of his eye. David dropped to his knees and drew his sword as the blade sliced overhead. He parried, gripping the flat of his blade with his free hand as the guard took another swing. It was bad; they were matched and David was caught under her.
Another sword swept over his adversary’s shoulder and sank deep into her arm. The palace guard screamed and fell back, and David’s savior cut her down.
“There we go.” The woman straightened her mismatched armor and offered him a hand up. “Haven’t seen you in a while, David. People were saying you were dead.”
“Pretty close,” he mumbled. “Thanks, Yesmir.”
She grinned, crashing into another palace guard. “Anything for his Highness!”
“Do you know where Sam is?” he called, but she was already gone.
Highness. It still sounded strange, but he flourished his sword. Prince of Cerces, on the front line where he belonged.
He broke a parry, sweeping the legs of a palace guard out from under him. The rebel he’d helped lit up at the sight of him. David lurched along, driving his sword under a guard’s armor as he rushed toward a member of the Cerces army.
Two palace guards grappled with one another. One noticed David, kicked the other back and lunged for him. David planted a solid punch across his face and sent his head ringing in his helmet.
The other guard pounced, bringing the guard down with a dagger to the back of the neck. “Thanks. You’re the prince, right? David?”
David nodded.
“Be careful. They’re looking for you.” He pivoted and rushed another guard.
David blinked, then kept going down the hallway. He needed to get outside somehow, or at least find Samuel.
He hopped over a fallen guard and bound down a stairwell. It had gone quiet; the fighting either hadn’t reached here or had passed through. Judging from the blood and abandoned bodies, it was the latter. David paused over fallen members of his army. He recognized quite a few, but none were Sam.
And if the fighting had passed through the stairwell, it meant an exit wasn’t far off. David broke off into a sprint.
Someone burst out of a side passage and tackled him to the tile.
A guard grinned, gripping the side of his head. “Got you, you son of a bitch.”
His sword skittered out of his grip, but David fumbled with his waistband, drawing out the flat blade Elana had used to shave him a few days before. He swept it up, aiming for the guard’s throat, but only caught his cheek.
The guard growled and swatted it out of David’s hands. “Brat.” He grabbed David’s hair and slammed his head against the tile.
