"What do you mean this will help things, Edovin?!" My mother screamed, slamming her hands down on the table in our hall. "How does this help?" I listened as I just sat there in ignorant embarrassment. "This will bring our kingdoms together Alaine, this may be our only chance for a lasting peace!" He screamed back at her, getting in our face.
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He turned around and stepped away but my mother wasn't done. "You know damn well how Hellineans look at outsiders. It's kept us strong since the beginning. The moment Elson marries that girl it will make us look weak, like we are catering to the Braserians. Is that how his reign should begin?!" She yelled. "Thirty years ago thousands of our warriors gave their lives for your father to keep Braserians out of our lands. By weakening our sons claim to the throne you spit on their graves."
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"WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO?!" He exploded. "Have you seen the battlefield? Have you seen the bodies piled up? Have you felt the warmth of blood on your skin as you rip and hack through men in front of you? I know what war is." He continued. "By swallowing our pride now we could save thousands in the years to come. No good can come without sacrifice Alaine. I want our son to rule in peace." He said as he calmed down finally. He looked at her in a pleading way but it didn't work.
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She stared at him for a moment. Expressionless. Soon it changed to disappointment. He saw it too. His face changed from pleading to shame. Not shame in his reasoning but in what his wife now saw in him. "Nearly all my life I've been married to you... and in all of those years I've never seen this from you." She said quietly. Quietly but relentlessly, ruthlessly. "You aren't the Edovin I know. The Edovin I fell in love with would never have let anyone make us look weak. No matter the cost. Swallow our pride? Hah." She scoffed. "Pride is what built this home. It's what built these walls and this country. Elson didn't choose this, you did." She shot at him, wounding him. She was right. I didn't want to admit it but I knew in my heart this isn't what I wanted. "Pray that our people and your son don't have to suffer for your weakness." She said to him as she turned and walked out of the room.
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My father just stood there staring at where she'd been standing. I'd never seen her speak or act like that. I was as dumbfounded as he was. But part of me agreed with her, everything I'd been taught was founded on strength, pride, and loyalty. Outsiders weren't to be trusted over family and countrymen. Helline was always to come before anything and anyone else and now it was like my father had thrown that out the window. Thinking about it now, it never occurred to me that over the years he could become so malleable, so changeable.
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He turned to look at me but I averted his gaze. I didn't know what to think about him or my mother. This all felt wrong to me even if he didn't make me choose. I chose to marry because I thought it would impress him. All I'd ever wanted was to impress my father and prove that I could do something worthwhile for our family. That had pressured me. It wasn't his fault or anyone else's fault but my own. So I couldn't look him in the eyes.
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"Elson.." He began. He stopped as my name hung in the silent air. I didn't want to respond. I just wanted to be left alone. Tomorrow everything would change. I stood and walked away out of the room with tears welling in my eyes. This was what this life had to offer. Now I had to live with my decision and whatever consequences lay ahead.
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The next morning I once again clothed myself in my ceremonial armor. The same warm furs draped over my body. The same Helline Flame holding everything together. But this time I didn't feel proud. I felt out of place. Like an imposter. I didn't deserve this armor or this symbol or the people it represented. Yet here I was.
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I walked through the corridors and hallways of my home admiring the pelts and tapestries adorning the floors and walls. Perhaps things would remain the same after my wife-to-be made this her home as well. Part of me knew that wouldn't happen. I knew this would change things but maybe my mother was wrong. Maybe, just maybe, this would be better than what we had now. Stronger than what we have now.
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I neared the set of huge double oak doors that led to the courtyard beyond the main hall. I looked back at the table which I'd spent so many years of my life at. Hundreds of family feasts and thousands of nights with my parents at that table. I didn't want any of that to change but I knew deep down nothing would be the same after today. I stood there silently, remembering my mother's words from the days previous, remember who we are, who you are. I took her words to heart and stepped outside into the cool northern air.
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As soon as I stepped into the familiar pale light of our sun I met my fathers gaze as he smiled meagerly. I wondered to my self how much he was regretting doing this because it was written all over his face. It was too late now. So I smiled back brightly which seemed to ease his emotional state. He was surrounded by the other lords and vassals of his court so he couldn't afford to look weak in front of them. They all saw me as well but instead of the normal hugging and handshakes they normally gave I was instead greeted with blank stares and expectant gazed. I felt like an outsider. I looked around for my mother, hoping to find comfort in her company but she wasn't there. She was supposed to be here. I tried not to think about it, I would find her later.
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The courtyard itself was large. Made of cobblestone paths and surrounded by tall stone walls with a large portcullis as it's entrance. The arrival of the princess was awaited by a sea of Hellinean nobles and lords amassed to see this surprise sudden wedding. A wedding they would surely not welcome. "Thank you Elson." My father said as he startled me away from my thoughts. "I know this isn't easy. Maybe your mother is right. Maybe this is wrong. But we have to try or the world will never grow, never recover." He said longingly. "Look around at your people, they deserve a peaceful home and a good king. A better king." I looked at him to see relief in his eyes. "You're a good man, Elson. You'll make a great king. I'm proud to have raised you and called you my own."
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I didn't know what to say back to him. Something was different inside of him and I could feel it let alone see it. My pause of mind was soon interrupted as the clopping of hooves filled the air. A carriage was approaching. After a moment longer the same mounted Braserians that greeted us at their camp rode into our courtyard in neat linear formations. They began to circle as the carriage they guarded came through the portcullis gateway slowly. It was well crafted out of spruce and maple, made for long journeys and for a strong team of horses. It was driven by the same officer that had brought us to Vyncis' tent the day previous.
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The officer reigned the team of horses in as the guard of horsemen stopped and faced outwards against the crowd. Two of the soldiers dismounted and stood by the side of the carriage, awaiting instruction. The officer stepped down from the carriage seat and strode in front of us. "My lords." He began with a deep bow. I watched as his sword dipped from his belt as he bowed, making me grow weary. "It is an honor to be here today in your presence. It is my pleasure to present to you the princess of Braseras." He announced as the two soldiers opened a door on the side of the carriage.
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From the carriage out stepped a figure cloaked in a deep blue dress, her face completely cloaked in a shawl of the same color so deep and thick you couldn't see her face. To guide her the soldiers had to walk her towards us holding her arms. Perhaps this was a joke of sorts, maybe Vyncis thought his daughter was ugly and didn't want me to see her face until after we were wed.
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The guards let go of the masked person and slowly stepped away back toward their steeds. With both hands she held a bouquet of black roses. I had always found the deep blue oddly depressing and the black roses only made that feeling stronger. My father stepped down to meet the princess, an old tradition in Helline in which the patriarch of any household would hand off the bride to his own son as a motion of faith and unity.
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"Princess, it is our honor to have you here." My father said to her in as kind a tone as possible. But she didn't speak. It made my father uneasy but perhaps she was nervous. Maybe she didn't want this just like me. "Is something wrong?" My father asked the officer. "I hope I've given no offense." He said assuringly. The officer remained silent. Something was wrong and my father could feel it too. "There is nothing wrong at all." Said the voice of the old king. "You're right where I want you." The strangest part was that it sounded like it had come from the princess. But soon everything began to change.
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Right in front of my eyes the person we thought was the princess began to change. The deep blue dress began to melt into a different shape entirely. A shape of metal armor, surrounding the entire body of its wearer. The shawl changed with it flowing together and apart to make a sharp and contorted helm which revealed the person underneath. King Vyncis. His eyes flared with the same scowl that was on his face yesterday but now it was different. I could see the stone calmness of success in his eyes. I was never getting married today. This was his plan all along.
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My heart sank. Our guards stepped forward with drawn swords to try and protect my father but it was already too late and I knew it. Time seemed to slow as I watched everything unfold. I stood frozen in place as the black bouquet of roses in Vyncis' hands quickly melted from the disguised flowers into a long and ornate sword of black and silver steel. "Swords!" The officer screamed behind him as the mounted soldiers drew their own blades. I still remained frozen as I watched the chaos unfold in front of me. People began to scream as the horsemen began to cut everyone down. Men, women and children alike were hacked apart by the riders. But the center of my attention was my father.
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He saw what was coming. From behind him I could see the flames beginning to flare in his palms as he reacted to the nearing attack from the blue king. But it was too late. My heart that had already sank began to break. Slowly. Piece by piece. I wasn't stupid. I knew in this slowed state of time that my father was going to die. I watched as the old king grasped the black sword, now fully formed. The steel was so darkly polished that I could see my fathers enflamed eyes in its reflection. His last cry of defiance. His last breath spent being brave against the cold black steel of King Vyncis.
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Suddenly, as quick as light, Vyncis swung his horrid steel in a long and graceful arc. The blade seemed to know it's own path, guiding itself straight through my fathers neck. Taking his head clean off. Blood and fire spewed everywhere as his life was taken from him. From us. From me. Boiling blood sprayed all over my face. I remained there, not knowing what to think. Not wanting to accept that my father wouldn't be getting up. Everything was numb and mute. The screams of my people being hacked and slashed apart faded as I watched my fathers head roll down the steps of the our home only to stop and face me. The flames in his eyes fading along with his life, only to reveal his stark grey eyes now void of all life. His face caked in his own blood. Staring up at me with dead eyes.
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I just stared at him. Words ran rampant through my head. My parents words. You're a good man... I'm proud to call you my own... Those were his last words to me. I'd failed him. My mother was right. Her words filled my head. Remember who we are, who you are.
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Who you are.
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Those words were the only things that made sense in all of this loss. So I remembered. I looked up at the old king. The monster that had taken my father from me. Not a man. An abomination. I saw the aged scowl once more and I felt a different feeling fill my veins. A painful rage. I felt my heart explode in discomfort as I began to shake. I let everything go in that moment. Fire filled my vision and my hands along with the rage running through my body. I lifted my hands as Vyncis lifted his black sword and willed a jet of blood red fire into him.
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I was so angry that I didn't even notice as the officer too raised his hands and willed the earth to rise in front of his king. My flames blazed against the wall of stone that had erupted from the earth, protecting the king. I rushed forward to pursue Vyncis, scaling over the ragged wall of blackened earth to find that Vyncis was gone. I looked up to see him mounted on a horse galloping out through the portcullis followed by his guard. The officer was still there however and made a motion to use his powers against me again. This time controlling a large piece of the carriage, melting into a sharp piece of wood. The piece of the carriage shot at me with deadly force but I once again erupted with flames all around me, melting the wood in midair.
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I turned to meet the officer who was now backing away in fear. But it was too late for him. I made it to the cowering man and grabbed him by his neck. My hands squeezed on their own but the heat began to burn him immediately, melting the skin from his throat completely. He tried to scream but his neck had already collapsed on itself. I stood and walked out of the burning courtyard through the portcullis. Through the view of the city I could see the entourage of blue riders making their way towards the main gate of the city in the distance. I would never catch them in time.
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I began to run but almost as soon as I did I heard the blast of a horn over the horizon. Everything grew quiet among the cracking of the flames at my back and I began to hear yelling and howling in the distance. Another horn blast. At the edge of the horizon rose a wave of horses mounted by deep blue soldiers, rushing to meet their king. Rushing to attack my home. His plan had worked. What was meant to make peace now only meant war. This city only had its guards to defend it, not a standing army which meant that we had already lost. I knew inside my heart that almost everyone here would be dead by the days end. I had failed everyone.
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I watched as they reached the gate and began to flood the city. I fell to my knees with the only warmth that I could feel being my burning home behind me. My father was dead. My home was in flames. Everything was falling apart. The only thing I could think about was my mother's words as I witnessed thirty years of peace come to an end...
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Remember who we are, who you are....
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