Come morning, Danish awoke in a slight daze. Both he and Gregor tangled in blankets on the floor. Surrounded by the bones of fowls and empty tankards.
The two had won many rounds of Sigils the night previous. Multiplying what little silver their father had given them greatly. And as two youths with a sudden wealth, they indulged in what finery they could find in a place such as this town they never even learned the name of.
While his brother continued to sleep, Danish made his way to the attached wash room. Using the chilled water within the wall mounted basin to wash his face clean. Plus, the sudden chill helped push back the remaining sleep lingering in him. Forcing him to a more woken state. When he reached for the towel hanging by the door, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His hair a mess. “What did we even do?”
Gregor had begun to stir from his sleep. Danish was thankful he was not going to have to try and wake his brother, seeing as Gregor was one who struggled to hold his tongue if someone woke him before he was ready. Many servants back at the castle had learned that lesson the hard way. “Water,” the blood prince croaked.
As he downed the last drop, Gregor let out a satisfied sound. “Oh, I don’t think I’m cut out for the life of a commoner. My head is ready to burst.”
“We my have overdone it,” Danish laughed. Looking around the room, he noticed the bottles of ale half empty strew around the room. Each one bone dry. “We certainly overdid it. Father will not be pleased with us.”
Dante laughed as a serving woman would placed pints of juice and plates of roasted lamb before the family. “Well, that settles that. You’re no different than any other boys your age.”
Even Queen Ariya, who was usually strict about everything the boys did, had no objections to what the boys had done. She just calmly ate her meal.
“About Keep Ankaa,” Dante continued. “I managed to hear a few rumors about it last night. It seems the Keep has fallen under the possession of the rangers. I highly advise we stay away from it for now. We can mount an attack on them once we regroup back at the castle. I don’t want to put either of you boys at risk.”
Danish hugged the orb he carried tight to his stomach. He’d come so close, but had not managed to make it home. His father’s fears were warranted. Everyone in the kingdom knew the dangers of the rangers. They were never to be trusted. Always spewing lies to lower the guard of weak-minded people, allowing them the chance to strike them down with a cutthroat’s delight. How anyone could be vile enough to join with them was beyond Danish’s comprehension.
“Cursed rangers,” Gregor spat. “Ruining a perfectly good trip.”
“It wasn’t all bad, now was it?” King Dante directed the question to Danish. “You learned something on this trip, and now you know where your parents rest. Once we can liberate Ankaa from those scoundrels, why the Keep should become yours. Would you like to be one of the lords of the land? Once you’re of age that is.”
Me? A lord? Danish had never considered that he could become one of the lords of Caembra. There was a time that duty would have fallen to his eldest brother, but with them no longer alive, it made sense for the duty to pass down to Danish. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I don’t know the first thing about ruling over subject, or what would be needed of me as a lord.”
“You have plenty of time to learn,” Ariya reminded him. “You are only ten, Danish. You need to wait at least five more years before you would be fit to rule as lord.”
“I suppose I could learn,” he relented. “But I don’t know if I would want to be lord.”
“Give it some thought,” urged Dante. “Now, hurry and eat. We have a long trip back home. I’m sure Aeric will be pleased to return to teaching you the blade.”
Obeying the king’s orders, Danish and Gregor feasted as quickly as they could. Neither one of them fully prepared for the journey ahead. Watching his brother, Danish could see that Gregor fought with the idea of returning to his normal life so quickly. Despite saying he did not believe the life of a commoner was meant for him, he certainly wished to explore of what it meant to be born outside of royalty. Not that Danish could find fault in such a thing. For once in their lives, they had been treated as just people. No one going out of their way to please them, no special treatment. They were just allowed to live. And soon that privilege would be gone.
As they left the restaurant, Gregor caught the attention of their parents. “They’re putting on a show,” he exclaimed, pointing toward a crowd gathering at an outside theater. “Can we stay and watch? The last show was so much fun.”
“What do you think?” Dante turned to his wife.
The queen gave a faint smile. “I don’t believe I have ever seen your son interested in the arts before?”
“My son?” Dante asked incredulously. “He may not share your blood, but you’ve raised him just as much as I.”
Ariya rolled her eyes. “One show, but then we must be returning to our lives proper.”
Unlike the last show they watched, they managed to get seats near the front. Since they had gone through the effort to built a stage, it was likely to be a play rather than just an acrobat this time around. If so, then they would be there for some time. Letting the boys have their fill of life as a commoner one last time.
A scrawny man dressed in bright blues and pinks—outfit much like that of a court jester—stepped onto stage. “Lovely folks, gather around. Let me spin you a tale. One old as time. A legend many say might be true.” He paused to let the crowd gasp and cheer. Once they had settled back, he went on. “Our story starts like any other. With a simple boy living far from the city. Whose life is miraculously changed as he uncovers an ancient mystery, as well as something thought to only be myth.”
As the man walked from the stage many actors took his place. Others in the troupe carried set pieces onto stage to set the mood for the play.
It all began with a pair of twin siblings training outside their family farm. One a swordsman, the other a mage. It quickly changed to the pair traveling to an ancient church. Along the way, the swordsman found an odd necklace in the river.
Audience members let out cries of worry as the pair were then attacked by some actors dressed as monsters. It was hard to tell if they were supposed to resemble boars or bears, but they were clearly meant to not be human. More cries erupted from the crowd as the twins fought off the horde and hurried along to their destination.
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New set pieces were put up as they arrived at the church. Only to discover the necklace was the lost heirloom of a faerie prince and that it was up to the twins to get it back to where it belonged.
They traveled to many places, fighting various monsters and criminals. Helping anyone they could along the way. Ending with the pair finding not a fae prince, but a dragon at the heart of the enchanted forest.
As the siblings worked together to slay the dragon, the crowd exploded into applause. Gregor and the queen even joined in cheering on the actors.
Dante and Danish were impressed, but not to the same degree.
“Is that story actually real?” the blood prince asked his father. “Is there really a faerie prince? And those monsters, are they real?”
“Of course not,” Dante replied. “They only say it could be real to excite the crowd. If things like that were real, the king’s of the past would have known about it all.”
Disappointment fell over the young prince’s face. “Are you sure that they aren’t real? Maybe they’ve just been forgotten about. Maybe I’ll find them one day and can return them to public knowledge.” His attention then turned to Danish. “You’ll help me find them, right?”
“Of course I will,” Danish told his brother. The two shook on the promise. When Gregor became king, then Danish would help him with anything he needed. After all, the two were brothers. And the king and his family had done so much for Danish ever since his own family had perished. He could never turn his back on them.
Hours passed and the sun was starting to fall below the horizon. There was still miles before they would reach the next town to find a place to rest. They had to hope the dwindling light would linger long enough for them to reach that place.
Horses reared as arrows sliced through the air. Narrowly missing the beasts and throwing them into a frenzy. Dante tried best as he could to settle them back down, but a second volley only started the process over. Ending only when a spear skewered through them both.
From out the shadows of roadside ditches, a group of men dressed in emerald cloaks appeared. From their hips hung the pronged chains of the rangers.
“Well, what have we here?” one of the rangers spoke. Voice deep and scratchy, as though his lungs were damaged by smoke. “It’s the brats who beat our employer at Sigils.” His piercing gray eyes reflected the dying oranges of day. Giving off the impression of a truly burning gaze.
“Sigils?” spoke Dante. “We’ve never played such a game.”
“You might not have,” the ranger spoke up. Pointing to Danish and Gregor. “But these lads have. And our boss wasn’t too happy about losing his life savings to a pair of brats. So, he sent us to collect it all back.”
“That’s dishonest,” Gregor argued. “We won what he bet fairly. Why should we have to pay it back?”
“Gregor!” Queen Ariya scolded her son. The danger of their current situation lost to her. The fact her son had participated in gambling upset her more than the risk to her life.
“We can do this easy, or you can be difficult,” a new ranger spoke up. A woman with hair white as snow. “You can hand over the two-hundred silver, or pay with blood.”
“We don’t have the silver,” Danish said. “We spent it all spoiling ourselves. We’re not even sure how.”
“Plus, it’s ours fairly,” chimed in Gregor. Not helping the situation.
“The mouth on this one,” the silver-eyed ranger laughed. “I think he wants to pay in blood.”
“I agree,” replied the white-haired ranger.
“There will be no need of bloodshed,” the king spoke. Throwing in as much authority as he could. “Firstly, as my son has stated, they won the game fairly. Second, your recklessness has maimed our horses. Blood has been shed, but most importantly, you and your employer now owe us for these damages. Now, we can pretend none of this happened. You leave now, and tell your boss the job is done.”
“Not that easy,” the silver-eyed man laughed. Drawing the short sword at his hip.
Dante shuffled both boys and the queen behind himself. “You don’t have to kill anyone today. As I said, you can leave now and this will all be over.”
“Oh, it’s already over,” the white-haired ranger nocked an arrow. “Choose your favorite son, because the other is ours.”
“Father,” Danish cried just above a whisper. His legs trembled as he clung to the queen’s leg. “We’re going to be fine, right?”
“Of course, Danish,” the king spoke with confidence.
Including the two with weapons at the ready, there were ten rangers in total. All lined up only a few paces away. Attempting to attack any of them would only prompt the others to retaliate. If they were to get out of the situation, they would all need to be dealt with at the same time.
“Last warning,” Dante took a step forth. “You can all get out of here alive. Just promise to leave me and my family alone.”
The silver-eyed ranger scoffed. “Yeah? And what are you going to do to stop us if we don’t comply?” As the question left his lips, so too did a trickle of blood. Protruding from his chest was the end of a cutlass; wispy and made from smoke and ash.
Soon all the rangers were choking on their blood. Betrayed by their own shadows as they rose from the earth.
Both sons looked on wide-eyed. Neither one of them had known that the king—the man that they called father—was capable of using magic. But here he was, controlling the shadows of the rangers like puppets.
It wasn’t enough for the rangers to have been run through with those cursed spectral weapons, Taking hold of their victims, the shadows began to pull the rangers into the earth. Into themselves. Leaving behind no trace of what had just transpired.
Once the rangers had been devoured, Dante made his way to the felled steeds. Hands rose from the earth to consume them as well. And from the earth rose unholy mirrors of the now dead beasts.
“Father …” Gregor choked out.
“No need to worry,” Ariya placed a hand atop both boys’ heads. Gently combing through their hair. “The king has done this many times before. Though never to so many at once. He will need to rest as we return home, so be sure to be quiet.”
It was not hard to be quiet on the trip back. Danish looked over the unconscious form of the king. Surprised that the illusions of their felled steeds that he summoned could remain while he slept.
Gregor was pale as a ghost. Shivering not from the cold of the approaching night, but in fear of what he had seen. And Danish could not blame him for such a reaction. Even if they did reach a place to rest that night, he was sure neither him or his brother would get much sleep. Maybe not even for a few nights. Even if what happened had been quick, something about it lingered. Something about it felt wrong. As though their father should not do that type of thing.
Gregor silently agreed as they met eyes. The man they knew as their father had left a stain upon their image of him. One that would not so easily be forgotten.
“It’s a lovely night,” the queen said from the driver’s seat. She had been so quiet, the boys had forgotten she accompanied them. “I might just drive on through the night. By sunrise your father should be awake, and then I may take my rest. You boys should be sure to sleep as well. You must be traumatized by the threats against your lives. And Gregor.”
The blood prince snapped to attention. Sweat beaded on his brow and his lip quivered. The words to answer her call trapped in his throat. Almost as if he were worried she were planning to do to him what Dante had done to the rangers.
Her voice was scornful. “Don’t ever let me hear about you gambling again. It is a nasty habit. One not befitting the son of the crown. When we get home, I’ll be sure to have your father speak with you about the evils of such an act.”
“Yes mother,” Gregor finally got out.
“And Danish,” she continued. “Don’t think this rule doesn’t apply to you.”
“He didn’t play,” Gregor got out. “He only watched. It was all my choice, and I was the only one to do so.”
“That may be,” Ariya’s voice seemed to grow softer. “He should have known not to allow you to do these things. At all times, the two of you represent the crown. Even if you do not wear your crown.”
“Yes mother,” the boys said simultaneously.” That was the last word spoken as the last light of day died.