Arthur's Point of View

Dwardew Ruins

Ventari was smart enough to let me enter alone, but not without a small warning. Apparently, they’d thrown together some runes to keep the prisoners in place. Specifically, the Elf. Following the directions given to me, I moved to the basement that was being guarded by the Dwarven General himself. I guess with Royalty present, he felt the need to be there.

As soon as I opened the door at the bottom of the far longer staircase than I expected, multiple heads snapped up to me. Their masks were still on, and the only light came from the runes decorating the room. The white glow could only illuminate so much, so I was thankful for my eyes in this scenario. There were four cells in total, with your standard bars separating them.

Three of them had prisoners who quickly backed away once they realized it was me. My eyes drifted to the one who lay prone on the floor. He, or she, was out like a light. Showed no signs of being aware of anything. If it was a trap, it’d be funny to see how they reacted when they realized it was me, but I was confident they were truly unconscious.

Walking around the room and pausing in front of each cell as I examined the prisoners for a moment, each one shied away from me. As much as they could anyway. Once I was done with that, I moved to the center of the room and created a stump of stone to sit on. Every prisoner tried to stay as far away from me as possible.

“Do you know me?” I asked after I sat down in the middle of the room.

“…” No answer, which wasn’t a big surprise.

“Every one of you were hesitant to fight me when I first arrived. Even when your Wraith disappeared and multiple Ghouls I’ve run into before now, all of you seem to know who I am.” I stated in a calm tone. “Why is that?”

Looking between the cells, a female voice suddenly picked up. “We know who you are.” My eyes quickly turned to the female Elf who spoke, and I could practically feel the hate. “You’re a legend where we come from and the one responsible for everything.”

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Nodding at that in agreement, I replied. “Someone has to be responsible enough to stop a Demon invasion.” Then I shrugged. “I didn’t know I was some manner of legend, though.”

Taking off her mask, she held a glare as she looked at me. “Is this funny to you?”

I shook my head. “Not at all.”

“Do you even know what we had to go through because of you?” She asked in a low tone. “We’re only here,” Standing, she gestured to me angrily. “Because of you. None of us want to be here! None of us wanted to do this! Why would we want to lie in wait for months just to move at the whim of someone else?!”

“Then why did you?”

She scoffed at my question. “You asked if we knew who you were…” Tilting her to the side with an angry smirk, she stared me in the eyes. “Let me ask you the same. Do you know who we are?”

I quirked a brow at that as she gave me a sadistic smile. “Should I? Traitors come in all shapes and forms.”

Moving to the bars, she rested against them with a smile on her face. “We’re the sons and daughters of the people who were kidnapped thousands of years ago.” My eyes narrowed at that as she giggled hollowly. “Specifically, we’re a part of the breeders program, where we’re forced to reproduce as often as possible. We’re your people who you never rescued.”

Stopped by the implications of what she was saying, a chuckle rang out from another cell. “What’s the problem, your majesty?” A man asked as I stared at them. “Surprised?”

The Elf continued. “Our ancestors waited for you.” She informed me. “They believed in you, and look where it got them?” Her smirk quickly faded as she began to seethe. “We’re nothing more than slaves with one purpose. To be nothing more than mere cannon fodder when needed.” A weak laugh escaped her lips as she gestured to me weakly. “After all, what could we ever hope to do against the legendary Mordred himself? The man who injured the Queen and destroyed her armies of old.”

Her companion in the cell next to her stood as well. “They waited for you. There are some who still believe you’re coming to rescue them.” He said behind his mask. “I wonder what they would say when they find out you massacred us.”

“Those Ghouls you fought, and killed, were just like us. They were just selected to undergo the Queen’s treatment. Refusal means death.” I don’t know what kind of expression I wore, but it made the Elf giggle. “How does it feel knowing you killed the very same people you were trying to protect?”

Moving to her cell, she backed off slightly as she gave me a wary look. “I’m sorry.” I let out. “I didn’t know…” Bobbing my head, I quickly added, “I knew they were doing something that most likely involved the Ghouls, but I really didn’t know.”

Slamming into the bars as she rushed forward, her arms reached through them as she grabbed me. “I don’t want your apology,” She screeched. “I don’t want anything from you! You abandoned us! We needed you, and you weren’t there!” The Elf spat. “You were off playing at being a Knight!” Shaking me, a few tears came to her eyes as she glared at me. “I don’t want to see your body! I don’t want to see your face! I don’t want to see your eyes!” I felt her hands trembling as she shook me. “I don’t want to see a single trace of you!”

“I-“ She quickly cut me off.

“You’ve only proved what I knew all along.” She said softly as she stopped shaking me as she looked down. “You’re nothing more than a liar.”