Hope After All

As I asked what they were doing they spun around, they seemed to be worried, and as they took the hood down I began to see who it was. My father, with tears in his eyes, collapsed to the floor in front of me.

"Stavn, forgive me... I have to make sure he survives." His voice cracking as he broke into tears, he was begging at my feet and all I could do was fell pity. What had he done to become something like this.

"Come on, get up. I won't ever forgive you for what you've done to me in the past. So get up, don't apologies to me." I slowly bent down, going to pick him up to his feet, he was completely broken, I dragged him inside and sat him down in the kitchen beside me. He was a bubbling mess, barely able to get a word out.

"I failed you in the past... I mistreated you then.. and now I've failed everyone." He straightened up, wiping his tears from his eyes. "I've decided I want to survive Stavn and I want my son to survive."

I looked at the table blankly, slowly piecing together the parts of the puzzle, and then he said it.

"I surrendered the castle, all I have to do is give the order to let them through." As soon as he finished saying it, he grabbed the back of my head and slowly whispered "I'm sorry." before slamming it into the table. Knocking me out cold, he then proceeded to move through the castle, and gave the order to raise the gates and let the enemy capture the castle. All my planning, for nothing. I awoke the next morning, in shackles the screams of certain lords could be heard throughout the camp. They were being tortured. In front of me, lay Lillia, she was stripped of her clothes, and shackled onto a wall.

I simply stared at her, unable to do anything, "Lillia... hey... Lillia, wake up." I muttered, hoping she would reply. As I started to speak a guard walked in and began to beat me, and then turned and proceeded to beat her as well. He turned back to me then proceeded to grab me by the neck his voice was quiet and quaint.

"You're the one." he unshackled me and dragged me through the camp and threw me at the feet of their leader. He had white hair that fell down all the way to his chest, his eyes were putrid red, his skin was sickly.

"So you're the one that this one was speaking about." the mage I met in the woods stepped in, his attire was different, he looked more polished and noble. He crouched down beside me and began laughing.

"This is him!" he moved and stood beside the white haired man, "My brother that's the one, he's the one, yes." he began cackling before the white haired man snapped his fingers and he shut up.

"Jone leave you fucking moron! I will talk to him alooone." the mage left the room with a jaunty little hop.

"So you're the knight from the capital. I'm going to keep this short... tell me how to get in without making any noise." he slunk back onto a throne that had been brought with him.

"Like hell I would! Why don't you ask one of your assassins you sent in the first place?" I began to stare him in the eye trying to show no fear in my voice.

He leaned forwards, his eyes felt like they were piercing my flesh and into my soul, "What assassins?"

"The assassins your leaders sent to kill the Emperor and his heir." he began to sit back in his throne again, crossing his arms.

"Our leaders? I don't recall ever sending assassins, we just attack due to them being dead." he crossed his legs over and began to sigh.

"Anyways, you'll end up telling us soon enough how to get in. Then your people will pay for what they did to Drelvor." I was then dragged out of the tent, and flung back into the cage and shackled next to Lillia, who still remained unconscious. Slowly I began to pass out and as I did my father was let free with his family, they escaped the country and headed into Drelvor. I awoke in the middle of the night, to Lillia coughing up blood, she was badly hurt, bruising forming around her chest and face.

"Oi, Lillia..." I tried to mutter softly, "What happened?" she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said nothing. All I could do was stare, my mind began to race through a million thoughts in that moment, my eyes widening, becoming furious with myself for finally believing in him, misplacing my trust. Then passing out again. I sat in that cage with her for a fortnight, constantly being beaten and pulverised. Then being dragged off and questioned. They would hold my head under water and start drowning me, they would use red hot pokers and prod my skin with it. The pain lasting an eternity, and all this time all I could think of was my hate for my father, and the need to save the one person left on my side.

One night, I was sat half awake as some guards came and took Lillia outside of the cage, they began to wrestle with her as she struggled, they pinned her to the floor. I began to hyperventilate, panicking, "Do something!" I screamed in my head. "You're useless." a reply echoing back from the far reaches of it. Then after a quick blink I saw a knife she grabbed whilst struggling, and watched her quickly slash the captor across the face, the cut went from the top of his left eye all the way down across to the right side of his chin.

Then nearly as quickly as she had sliced him, he drew out his mace, and slowly he caved in her skull, and continuously beat her corpse, her brains oozed out from her skull. All I could do, was feel the pain of someone I truly cared about dying, my heart sank deep within me, tears rolled from my eyes. My eyes widening, the green in them flickered changing to a sparkled blue and purple, "My pain, my hate, my betrayal everything at my disposal you are mine to use!" I screamed inside my head, everything I hated springing to mind. Then a soon as I thought those things, everything around me became clearer, the flames on the torches had slowed to the point I could see the movement and catch it if I wanted to. Then in a split instant, I fell through nothing.

Through this nothing I saw my life, through my life I saw my death, through my death I saw my rebirth. Where was I? Was I going crazy? Then I snapped back to reality. I was in the cage, being moved and I could hear from the trees behind me the sound of horns and trumpets. Then a thunderous roar and the sound of hooves, flattening the land.