Deaths. (Prologue)

His wife and children were reluctant to go outside with him, they didn't believe that he'll be able to protect them. Yeah, he was a good swordsman, but we are talking about two kingdoms combined here. He glanced at his household and uttered once again,

"You guys shouldn't be too scared, I'll protect you guys even if it means sacrificing my life. We have to leave this place now".

His words weren't comforting to, Hugo, at all, he knew that they'll most likely die today, he was still frightened...and so as his siblings. Their dad opened the door, glanced around to see if anyone was lurking. Things had gotten worst now, they were now hearing sounds of clashing swords, massacres, screams, and so on.

Seeing that no one was around, Hugo's dad strolled out of the house slowly while gripping his sword tightly. He beckoned his family to follow him from behind, and that's what they did. They walked slowly, it was just like they were tiptoeing, they were being careful. Walking some meters away from their house, they sighted a man and a woman on the floor with arrows pierced to their chests.

From the look of things, seems like they were a couple. Hugo and his siblings were getting more frightened, they just had the feeling that today was their end. They could still hear sounds of clashing swords, screams, and so on. Walking some meters again, they sighted more dead bodies on the floor...pools of blood on the floor.

Not too long after that, a man with sword ran out of a house and began running towards the village square, seems like he wanted to go fight. The people around this area had evacuated, many had died. It was evening getting very close to complete nighttime, the sky had darkened, and the massacre was still ongoing. Hugo's dad kept on reassuring them that he would protect them.

They had been strolling for some time now, they've sighted many lifeless bodies, both the bodies of the normal people and the knights. They hid when the need arises, and now, they were close to a forest. They planned on entering the forest and staying there in the meantime. But at this point, six knights of the Fleuran kingdom were walking towards them, they hadn't sighted them though.

Immediately, they ran into a certain house and took cover there, and what they saw in the house almost made them cry. A full nuclear family were lying dead on the ground, and the most painful part of it was that a baby was among them, the baby was slaughtered also. Hugo's mum barely managed not to cry, she knew what could happen if she give in to her tears, it could attract the knights of the Fleuran kingdom.

But she couldn't help but feel a mother's pain, see how an innocent baby was slaughtered. They stayed in the house for some minutes, then Hugo's dad opened the door gently, peeped outside, and told them that it was clear. His instruction was, run straight into the forest once we get outside, and that's what they did, the moment they stepped foot outside, they ran into the forest.

Even inside the forest, they still needed to be careful 'cause they could be dangerous animals here, and who knows? one of the Fleuran knights could be hiding here. Hugo's dad was still the one leading the way. They sauntered and sauntered until they arrived at a spot that was somehow free, it wasn't filled with much grass. According to Hugo's dad, they'll spend the night here, then they'll leave tomorrow using water transportation, they'll move to another kingdom.

Those essential stuff that Hugo's dad was putting into a bag was gonna be of use at this moment, the foodstuff. They ate, but they didn't finish all, they don't know how tomorrow would be, so it's better to keep some. They were supposed to make a fire, but they couldn't 'cause some of the Fleuran knights could still be lurking about, it would attract them.

Before they went to sleep, Hugo's father assured them once again, "I'll protect you all".

Even when his children and wife had gone to sleep, he didn't, he wanted to stay awake and look after them, he didn't want any harm to come to them. Hours had passed, and he hadn't still gone to sleep, he wasn't feeling sleepy either. Two hours to complete dawn, he dozed off for about 45 minutes, then he woke up and began waiting for the sky to clear up a little before he'll wake his wife and children.

Everywhere was already brightening up, it was close to complete dawn, it was time to wake his wife and children. He woke them up, then he uttered,

"It's time for us to move, we have to take a boat that would sail us to the neighboring kingdom".

They all got up, then they dusted the sands and leaves off their clothes, then they started sauntering. Hugo's father gripped his sword tightly as he sauntered, he was ready to fight if he come across any knight from the Fleuran kingdom. They sauntered until they were out of the forest. No one was around, everywhere was vacant, all they could see were dead bodies.

They planned to head straight to one of the main rivers of the Ivairis kingdom that led to another kingdom. They journeyed, and now, they were getting close to one of the main streams of the Ivairis kingdom. But before they'll get to that stream, they need to pass through a little forest. Right now, they were walking on rocky surfaces. As each of them was about to take a step, they heard a voice behind them say,

"Where are you guys heading to?".

They swiveled their heads immediately to see who made that statement, and it was one of the knights of the Fleuran kingdom...there were about six of them.

"I think they are running away, how pathetic".

One of the knights uttered as the six of them began laughing. Then another knight uttered,

"You guys can't run away, you'll meet your doom right now".

Hugo's dad stood in front of his family pointing his sword at the knights, then he said,

"You guys shouldn't come close to my family unless you want your heads to get ripped off".

"Ohh, we are so scared". One of the knights uttered.

The moment he made that statement, he voiced out once again, but this time, in an audible tone of voice,

"Attack them!".

Hugo's dad handed the bag of essential stuff over to his wife, then he said to her in an audible tone of voice,

"RUN! RUN WITH THE CHILDREN".

The knights were still running over to meet them, and Hugo's mum did as she was told, she held the hands of her 12 years old daughter and 14 years old son and began running. Hugo was old enough to know that he was supposed to run, but he couldn't help but stare at his father for some seconds before he took to his heels.

His father stood in front of the knights as they were running towards him, it's time to protect his family. One of the knights reached where he was standing and swung his sword to chop off his head, but with a little bend, he dodged it. Apart from the knights killing him, another of their aim was to chase after his family and slaughter them, but he wouldn't allow them achieve it easily.

One of the knights tried running past him to chase after his family, but he dragged him back and gave him a shadow kick. The knights were finding it hard to bring him down 'cause he was a really good swordsman. But that ended the moment an arrow pierce straight into his forehead, the chief of the knights fired an arrow from where he was standing.

Blood gushed out as he knelt on the ground, and before he could fall to the ground completely, one of the knights stabbed him. Now that they had brought him down, they chased after his family.

*******

Hugo, his mum, and siblings were still running through the forest, they aimed to get to the river. Hugo was taking the lead, he was in front. But suddenly, he felt a sharp pain pass through his back, it was so painful and abrupt, he wasn't expecting it. It dawn on him that an arrow had been fired to his back, he couldn't move anymore, the sharp pain of the arrow had weakened him.

He knelt, then fell to the ground. It was at this point that he saw his mum and siblings lying on the ground also, they were penetrated by arrows too. He then sighted the knights walking towards them, one of them was holding a bow in his hand. They reached where his mum and siblings were lying, then one of them drew out his sword. He watched as they stabbed them one by one, tears couldn't even come out of his eyes, he was crying internally.

Then another of the knights walked to the spot where he was lying, drew out his sword, and uttered,

"It's your turn".

Then he stabbed him in the stomach, and Hugo gave up the ghost immediately.