Original Stories Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction / Realism Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness Eternal ❯ Prologue ( Chapter 1 )

Prologue

Red. Endless red. It was everywhere; coating the walls; staining my clothes; slicking my skin. The death of my first royal and I feel nothing but a detached sense of betrayal.

It is done, its over, my dazed mind finally registers in the ringing silence.

I flicked the blood from my fingers as I continued to stare at what had once been my royal. In the silence one of the nobles nervously turned to his neighbor to say something, his jade green robe rustling slightly. He froze beneath my cool gaze, terror written upon his face.

No one speaks, no one moves, no one breathes. They know this is the price and yet the fools had dared to hope that I would overlook my royal's cruelty, that I would not notice whom had twisted him and led him down this path. My gaze sweeps over the court, taking in each tense, frightened face that stares back, the stench of their fear. Fools, the lot of them.

I spin on my heel and stride from the magnificent throne room, ignoring the guards that scramble to throw the doors open for me. I pause long enough to order the new general to dispatch his troops to take care of the fire that rages in the city. He meets my gaze and does not flinch away like the others. Not quite a man, not quite a youth, but enough strength to command the royal troops while the king, my…old…royal, went mad and began his murderous rage. He alone remained steadfast in his loyalty to me, a loyalty that cost him dearly and a debt I will never be able to pay.

My eyes follow after him for a moment, lingering the dark hair that fell to his shoulders. He will be good for my next royal, will guide them properly, if I can ever gather the courage to choose the next ruler for my country. I know it is my duty as Dragon Riagenkai to choose a fitful ruler, but if the last is an indication of the future then I no longer want the responsibility.

I look up, slightly surprised to see the door that leads to my personal chambers. Intertwining dragons adorn the cold wood; their sinewy wings spread to the full extent; their ruby, angry eyes staring back. I scowl back at them for a moment before I push through them and collapse onto my bed, barely registering the man that stands tensely by the balcony door.

“Quite the…ah…show tonight, Lord Farin,” the man murmurs quietly.

Show? Show? Is that what they think of the execution of my ruler, an entertainment? But, no, this particular noble is smarter than that. He's just nervous and fumbling for the right words to say what he came here to; still, I'm tired and pissed and his presence is deterring me from getting the sleep I so desperately need to begin the healing.

“What do you want, Kiragashi?” I ask, my voice unintentionally sharp.

I know the man means me no harm just as I know he was not part of the ring that turned my royal, but that didn't quell the hate I felt; irrational and unprovoked. As though he can sense my rage he takes a step back and lowers his gaze from mine. To say that the man was plain would be an unfair, but accurate description of him. The only feature that he possessed that made him stand out was his silver eyes. An uncommon eye color to be sure of, but nothing unheard of, especially when they were the customary color for the head of his family.

“What do you want?” I ask again, my voice softer this time.

“The ministers have called an emergency meeting,” he said without meeting my gaze. “I'm positive that they are going to challenge you for the right to rule.”

“I know. They did the same to my predecessor before she disappeared,” I said, a note of bitterness tainting my voice before I can stop it.

Kiragashi finally looked up at me, his eyes blazing with an odd intensity that unsettles even me. “Then you know, too, that they will tear this country apart and the nobles remaining will hoard every ounce of their wealth and drive their people mercilessly until there is nothing to be left of the land,” he paused to study me for a moment, “I wish my at least my daughters to escape the hell that will consume us and continue until you find a proper ruler.”

His words stung, but there was no way to refute what was true. Instead of engaging him in a fight, as my body was so willing to do at the moment, I said, “Then take a few horses and flee. I will make your excuses for you when the court makes an inquiry.”

Kiragashi looked away from me for a moment, his fists clenching and unclenching in an unconscious beat to his thoughts. “Kokutoma and Riana have been rulerless for some time now, Jesira's courts are corrupt, and I can't even remember the last time Adair's queen admitted refugees from other countries. No, there will be no fleeing to those countries.”

I tensed, thinking of the last place he had not mentioned; the dragons keep is a safe haven to only dragons now and any human that dares approach it is dealt a punishment far worse then death. “You are not thinking of fleeing to the Trestri Mountains, are you?” I ask, studying his calm reaction to my words.

He gave a jerky nod but shrugged. “I had thought of it, but I do not believe the dragons would be so inclined as to help my family,” he said, his voice becoming even the more time passed and I showed no outward signs of aggression.

“You're right,” I said, my voice soft and dangerous with just a hint of the old bitterness. “There's no way in hell that they would ever help a human like you even if I were to ask them to provide it.” I raise myself into a sitting position as I try to catch his eye. “You would be better off in Kokutoma than fleeing to that hellhole. Now, what are you really here for? If it is to ask my permission to flee, you never needed it.”

Kiragashi's eyes snapped to mine, the silver within them swirling in an odd dance. “No, I didn't come to ask permission. I came to ask your help in opening a Durnaturn.”

I choked in surprise and fumbled for the right words. Dragon's hell, the man is insane if wants to travel through the portal and take his children with him. “I refuse. I will not be the death of your family.”

“You mean that you will not have their blood on your hands,” Kiragashi said coolly. He studied me for a moment and then sighed in defeat. “Will you at least meet my daughters? I had promised that much, but if you aren't up to it then I will make the excuse when they ask tonight.”

I can feel the heat rising to my face. Stubborn ass, turning my words back on me like that with just enough sarcasm to be insulting, but controlled enough that I couldn't say he was being directly rude. Fine.

“I will do that much, but no more,” I said quietly. “When?”

“Tonight, perhaps.”

“Now?”

A flicker of surprise flashed through across his face. “Yes, Riagenkai,” he said with a small bow. As he turned to go he hesitated, his eyes raking over my blood stained clothes and matted hair. “Will you-”

“Go and get them,” I said rather harshly.

Once he was gone I leaned forward and cradled my head in my hands. Dragon's hell. Just what I didn't need, a reminder that his blood still stains my skin.

I swallow hard as my memory presents me with exquisite detail of how many pieces I left him in. They'll remove the body from the throne room and will have to clear the blood out before it's even usable. Damn, that still won't clear the smell out. They'll have to light those frivolous candles to mask the scent. The remnants of the body will be burnt tonight and his name will go down in that book where the other royal names have been recorded. The blood will probably tinge the floors for a while and they'll have their work cut out for them, but it is nothing that will take more than the night. We will hold court tomorrow as though nothing has changed. The candles will make my nose burn, but they will mask that horrendous scent. Maybe they won't get the blood out as thoroughly as I would like and I might insist that we hold court in the gardens for the morning. No, they would protest that.

My stomach gives an unpleasant lurch as my thoughts chase one another, going absolutely nowhere as I desperately try to avoid the one subject I don't want to think about. The floor rolls under me and I realize I am on my feet. Allowing a haze to settle over me I strip the bloodied clothes from my body, revealing my bronze skin to be stained with the same crimson.

I snatch the cloth from the basin that stands on my chest of drawers and start scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing. I scrub the blood away until my skin is red and raw. No reason to leave the scent of the betrayal behind, no reason to remember him. My throat burns suddenly and I blink back a blurriness that doesn't make sense as I drop the cloth into the red water.

It seems time has decided to play tricks on me, because I remember turning to my closet but I can't remember walking into the damned thing or pulling out the plain clothes or pulling them on. Before long there is a light knock on my door and I star at it, wondering who in dragons hell would come calling after I have just executed the former royal. Then I remember Kiragashi.

“Grent,” I said hoarsely and my Kingen appears next to me.

The black wolf familiar says nothing, merely gives me a quizzical look, and heaves a heavy sigh. I sway on the spot as his soft footfalls fill the air for a moment before the door swings open to admit Kiragashi and his girls and disappears until I next call him.

My nostrils flare as I catch a whiff of lavender, rosemary, and ocean. An odd scent and yet distinctly familiar. I blink and I see the two Kiragashi heirs standing before me, each clinging to their father's hand.

Their hair was a deep crimson-a gift from their mothers-their eyes a darker shade of silver than their sires. They might have been twins except for the inch difference in their height and the roundness of the five-year-olds face. My eyes shift to the seven-year-olds face and as our eyes meet lightning shoots through me, wood splinters, and the mirror shatters. For just one moment, one long moment, flames illuminated her body giving her an almost demonic look.

My head felt fuzzy, like the air around me is deprived of oxygen. I swallow convulsively as those intent silver eyes continue to bore into me. I feel the heat drain from my limbs as the realization sinks in.

Muncura. No, no. A child, this child, as my ruler. There has to have been a mistake, has to have been an error somewhere. Barely two hours after I have executed my last ruler the new ruler, my queen, is chosen. There has to have been a mistake. Everything Karu ever taught me goes against a ruler so young and, besides, I am not ready to accept a new master or have another strangle hold placed around my neck, not even by this child.

Even as my mind tries to rebel against it my body moves forward and I drop to my knees before her, my fingers closing around her face and lifting her eyes to mine. By this time Kiragashi has pulled back out into the hall, his younger daughter still clinging to him tighter than before, both clearly frightened and bewildered by what had just happened. None of this matters as she continues to hold my gaze, her silver eyes dancing with keen interest and amusement.

My queen.

My master.

There is no denying what is held in those eyes and I feel a fierce desire to protect her welling up in my chest even as the desire to be free once more wars with it. A soft snarl fills the air and I realize that it issuing from my throat. Clamping my teeth around the sound I study her for a moment longer before I release her and stand, shifting my gaze to Kiragashi.

No words. Only a nod.

I turn from the three and retreated into my room, closing the door quietly behind me where I gave into the tremors and sank to the floor against the cool wood. My head returned to my hands as I rocked back and forward a little and tried to decide what was going to happen. Muncura, this is a mess.

The weariness of the day begins to weigh on my body and I can suddenly feel the three hundred years I have lived, each painstaking year. Now this. If the ministers hear of her they're likely to try and kill her, especially with the way Morion has been hinting that my next ruler should be one of them since before I killed my first royal. I'm not stupid, I know that all he really wants is a puppet so that he can pull the strings and control the country without really controlling. And that's what she would be, a toy.

My body feels as though lead has been introduced to my system, toxic but enough to slow my reactions. I need sleep, desperately, otherwise tomorrow will be hellish when the ministers formally challenge me for a claim to the throne, not realizing that they have a ruler. Of course I'll deny and they'll protest and that will escalate into a clash of their guards and the royal guard and become something that I will have to personally crush like the first time I became Riagenkai little over fifty years ago.

Screams float in through my open balcony door, alerting me to how much the fire has spread in the last hour. Screw sleep, I need to help them down there before there's nothing left to salvage. I am on my feet and feel the cool air on my face before I'm even really conscious of moving.

My fingers curl around the balcony railing as I stare down at the inferno that is consuming anything and everything in its path. This will make for a long night, I muse as I launch myself from the balcony and transform mid-air and beat my wings a few times to get air under them to descend on the capital city belong, a really long night. Perfect to distract for the time being.

 

Morion's jaw is tight as I reiterate my refusal. I can see a vein ticking in his forehead as I continue to speak. Well, if he doesn't like hearing no then the bastard can go jump off a mountain and save everyone a headache. Dragon's hell, why did I choose him to serve as one of my ministers and advisor to the king? I knew of his ambitions and nature before I accepted him; perhaps I was foolish enough to hope that the years would change him. Foolish, very foolish.

Well, I won't make that same mistake with my next royal. The thought makes me stumble over my next words and I can see the sudden light in his eyes, an indication that he has a newly forming plan.

“Well, Riagenkai,” he said smoothly. “Since you are so tired, why don't we run through court without you for the day?”

Ah, that old ruse. Try and exclude the dragon from the proceedings and pass laws that will restrict my movements. I fell for it once and I won't fall for it again. I take a step closer to Morion and bring us almost nose to nose. “I am quite well, thank you,” I said, my voice deceptively soft.

I smile as I see the color drain from his face and I can see in his eyes that he has realized that I may just be unstable from the execution, which has been known to happen. I allow him to carefully step away from me and drop to one knee in a show of submission that I know is just a way of buying himself time. As court proceeds I glance at the empty throne and force down the emotions that it brings. A symbol of the past and foreboding of the future, it feels me with unease.

It wasn't until around noon that their guards struck with such precision that the general's men were taken out before they could raise the alarm. My eyes met Morion's and I knew that it was going to take all my remaining strength to subjugate them and the rest of their men.

 

By the time I am through with them, the throne room and the halls beyond are a gory mess. The stench of their fear permeates the air. Every inch of my skin of slicked with their blood, my silver hair now darker than the Kiragashi heirs. Morion escaped the bloodbath, slipped away to a safe place outside my notice.

Pity, I would have loved to have sunk my claws into him and ripped his flesh apart, but laws are laws and I cannot touch him outside of the battlefield.

My eyes scan through the carnage, regret twanging at my conscience, as I remember the faces of the men I had killed. The fear engrained on their faces as I kill burned into my memory now, faces that are added to the long list of those I have killed before. They were good men only fallowing orders, good men that had families that will now starve because their breadwinners died by my hand. Those children will never know their fathers, their wives will mourn their husbands, they…

No, I firmly tell myself, I can't go down that road of thought, not again. It was necessary to kill those men. If I hadn't, they would have risen up again under their minister's order and right now, that is the last thing that I need. They can hate me if they want, but as long as they remain at court they will not starve to death and their children will not lack an education. I will see to that much for those that have nowhere and no one else to turn to.

Shaking my head in a rueful manner I leave the throne room and pick my way through the bodies, being careful not to desecrate them any further. Then it occurs to me that it is oddly silent and that the general was absent from sending men to back me up, unless…

I throw the window to my left open and am met with the sight that confirms my suspicions. The men in the throne room had just been a diversion to keep me from coming to Coran's aid in the courtyard below.

A ringing of metal on metal draws my attention and I realize that I have badly miscalculated. My ministers were stronger than I had thought, had bribed or forced more men into their services that I would have ever allowed. My blood ran cold. They have been planning this from the beginning, from the moment they came together to turn my old royal. So carefully thought out, so meticulously done to keep me blindsided knowing that I can't take on the entire palace even with Coran's strength and aid.

Straining my hearing to the breaking point I can hear the sounds of battle coming from the nobles corridor. So, it has begun. Just like last time, the resistance will be wiped out early on and then the ministers will tell the Dragon Officials that it was a terrible rebellion they crushed and took up the throne to “protect the people and the land until the true ruler comes.”

A low, threatening growl rumbles from deep in my throat as I feel the cold begin to sink into me. Not this time, never again. Damn the laws to hell. If I have to rip out every last one of their throats, I will make sure that my country is protected and cared for even if I have to rule myself.

Raising a hand I allow my magic to channel itself and take careful aim. I begin firing mechanically. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Every strike hits home and drops an enemy. I turn my head and see one man about to strike Coran down and I move without thinking. The man explodes, splattering the young general with blood and gore.

Coran dives through the mess without hesitation and hacks away at another man that was bearing down on one of his men. His sword flashed in the high sun, never pausing, never resting, a deadly dance to those within his reach. I continued blasting, never allowing them for a moment to think that I had forgotten them.

A loud, high-pitched scream fills the air, making my hand stiffen and my attention divert for a moment. The small girl from last night is running from two pursuers intent on their kill; the only shield between her and them the young brown furred monkey Kingen. My right hand slashed through the air, cutting the two men in half and painting the hall with their blood. The girl barreled past me, her Kingen giving me no notice.

Silver eyes. I hesitate, unsure if I want to leave Coran and the royal guard to fend or themselves. Another scream decides me.

“Grent, look after the men,” I say as I dash down the hall. In no time at all the melee comes into view and it looks as though the entire palace staff have taken up arms against the nobles in the confined space of the hall. No time to think. No time to hesitate. Any in my way will die.

If they've hurt her, if they've done anything to her…so help me, they'll wish for death.

The edges of my vision turn red as I throw myself into the foray, my claws extended; slashing, scanning for that flash of crimson. Blood sprays my face, coats my clothes, slicks my skin, but I pay it no mind. She is my royal, my queen and no one will harm her, ever.

There!!!

I snarl viciously as two men get in my way. One swipe of my hand and they are chunks of meat and I have an almost clear path to her. A curse leaves my lips as ten men close around her and the woman she is standing over. Before I can raise my hand to slice them away an explosion fills the air, splattering the ten over the walls and knocking a dozen or so off their feet.

Those still standing shake their heads clear of the ringing and identify her as the most immediate threat, closing in on her. They fall where they stand as I cut through them. I've lost count and I don't care.

All that matters is her, protect her, keep her safe. I never should have let her leave me last night. No time to think, to time to regret. All I can do now is keep her safe. They press in on me, try to stay out of my reach, try to keep me distracted. Do they know?

Too many. Too fast. They keep coming. Muncura, how many can this damn place hold? If I don't reach her, it will be too late. Better for her to be beyond their reach and safe, than dead.

Without thinking, I raised my hand and allowed the power to leave my fingers. It passed through their bodies until it struck the wall. Dragon's hell, I can't see it, but I can hear the crackling and I know that the Durnaturn is unstable. If she goes through now, if she touches it…

I don't allow myself to think on the what ifs. I throw my strength into the spell I have cast and manage to safely stabilize it as I see those silver eyes and feel the piercing grip she has over me and knew in that moment that I would obey any order she gives me, no matter how gruesome, no matter how terrible, because it would be her will. This is the queen that I will never defy, no matter the price.

Then Kiragashi has her. Our eyes meet and I give him the briefest of nods. Relief floods through him, but I don't have to time wonder about that look as he and the girl's mother disappear into that gate into the world I have never seen.

Everything is frozen, still. Then pain like white hot knives slices through my ribs, staggering me, bringing me to my knees just before the gate explodes. Those that had ventured a little too closely to it are blasted apart or completely disfigured by the backlash of my power.

I turn inward and follow the pain to her. For just a moment, I can feel the course cloth against skin as she clings to her parents, can feel the tearing winds as they try to rip them apart. I allow the last of my strength flow around her, embrace her, protect her. With a bitter reminder that there is still a battle to be fought I allow her mind to slip away and return to myself. The fighting has begun again and I get swept into the melee; always slashing, always protecting.

She is still young, still open to corruption. If she had stayed and Morion had found out about her he wouldn't have hesitated in using force to snag her and use her against me. It is better this way, I try to console myself and though I do not entirely believe it, my heart is light, my blood burning for the first time in nearly a decade.

She lives.

That thought sends a wild happiness I cannot explain through me. She is young and unable to protect her land. She is still too young to have truly lived yet. I will be her strength and protect what she cannot until she is old enough to return, until she is strong enough to be accepted by those that will serve her.

Perhaps she will be a good ruler. Perhaps she will succeed where my first failed.

Perhaps.

I will let her live her life for a while, but I will eventually return to her. Even if she rejects the throne I will stay near her from that time on, even if she orders me to butcher the people I will stay near, I will protect her even should my hands become coated with the blood of innocents.

I will not fail again.