Righteous Ambitions: A King's Journey

Prologue: Rodrigo's Dream

Seraphina:

Freedom, this promise drove Seraphina day and night for the last week. Even as her feet blistered and belly grumbled, kept running, imagining her life free of chains and collars. She would suffer no more beatings and, perhaps, just maybe, a family. The little girl's lungs contracted, and her legs seized up from fatigue. Seraphina stared across the vast rolling hills of green broken by small islands of forest leading toward a low mountain pass. Beyond it lay the Kingdom of Tierrero and her hope for a new life, so close but now a world away.

Tears streamed down from the little girl's reddish-brown eyes, soaking her pale skin, matted black hair, and ragged brown top and skirt that hung over her thin body. Seraphina covered her eyes and broke down, falling to her knees and sobbing.

"I wanna be free!"

She tried to shut herself off from the world around her, but a foul smell overtook the little girl's senses. Despite her six years of age, she knew the stench all too well. Opening her eyes, Seraphina looked at her would-be rescuers in the aftermath of a battle with their pursuers. Over a hundred men lay dead or dying beside their horses. Arrows and spear tips stuck through their gambesons. Among them, a dozen knights languished beside their massive, gray-skinned creatures with a horse's frame but tougher hairless skin and a bulkier body, equoferri, likewise rested in eternal peace or suffered slow passing. However, their bodies did not remain undisturbed.

Seraphina gasped when the soldiers of her masters fell upon them like vultures. Horsemen archers wearing quilted tunics and turban helmets alongside armored riders on equoferri scrawnier than the knights'. One by one, they stripped their defeated foes of anything valuable: weapons, coins, and armor.

"Sığır," one armored rider said, unable to hide his scorn behind a metal face-shaped mask. The knight would have towered over him had he stood upright, yet wounded and on the ground, he was all but helpless.

 "Your family, will they pay your ransom?" the armored rider asked the knight.

"Not to you, puta." The knight raised his visor and spat back.

In response, the small man bashed his head and, with the help of a comrade, dragged the unconscious knight onto his mount. Why was this happening? These men broke them out of their masters' estates and promised to take them to freedom two days earlier. Now, her rescuers lay dead or dying, unable to bring her to freedom once more of the masters arrived. Seraphina sobbed harder and wailed.

"Delilah, you promised!"

The masters appeared too busy with plunder to notice Seraphina run away from the others. A hundred or so meters behind her, dozens of men, women, and children were not so fortunate. Each was draped in the same shabby clothes with chafe marks along their wrists and necks. The slaves wailed or sobbed as the warriors dragged them off back into captivity. Unable to escape the masters, many broke down, hands clasped together, and pleaded while looking up at the sky. Others did the same while holding crudely carved christogram crosses until they, too, were dragged away. Their crosses were spat on and discarded by the warriors.

One of the thrown-away christograms landed near Seraphina. The little girl stared at it and thought back to the only real memories she had of her mother. Despite all the hardships and beatings the masters put upon her, every night, she held it and smiled, promising Seraphina she was loved and one day things would change. Choking on her tears, the little girl picked up the wooden Christogram and held it so tight they turned white.

"Please, I don't wanna go back. Father, please!"

"Si, I did promise you, didn't I?" A soft voice came down and warmed Seraphina as if she sat beside a roaring fireplace. She could not remember her own mother providing her with such a sense of happiness and hope. Two gentle hands rested on Seraphina's shoulders before one wiped her tears away with soothing water. Looking up, she met two glittering blue eyes. A young woman knelt before the little girl.

She was draped in a dark green cloak and a tunic that concealed most of her body. Overlaying the shirt rested leather sections around his vital areas like armor and a silver christogram around her neck, bejeweled with a gleaming gemstone. The longer Seraphina stared, the more her dread faded. The woman's fair skin glowed in the sunlight, and her flowing brown hair extended past her shoulders. In every way, her beauty came off as unnatural.

"It's not over yet, Seraphina," Delilah spoke again.

"Oh, Delilah. A true lumen to the end," a deeper voice said.

Seraphina almost jumped when she saw him still alive. A young man in his early twenties loomed over them both. Standing nearly seven feet tall with broad shoulders, he should have been like a monster to Seraphina. But she just gazed in awe, even after seeing him before this. A firm but handsome face smiled down at her despite his scars. Sweat dripped from thick black hair and flowed past his blue eyes onto the glittering cyan suit of armor over him. The armor almost resembled a dragon, and he wore a matching trimmed jacket complete with golden shoulder epaulets draped over him like a cape.

"We never despair, Ferdinand. I thought you'd know that by now," Delilah giggled despite their predicament.

Before Seraphina could speak up, a warm but scaley snout pressed against her cheek, washing away the last of her despair with several licks from a large tongue. She giggled and hugged the enormous cyan dragon's head as he whined like a dog.

"Thank you, Quake," Seraphina said.

The orca-sized dragon wagged his massive tail and kept licking the little girl despite his severed left wing. Delilah touched the christogram around her neck, or rather its gemstone, and guided illuminated water from the stone onto a deep cut across Ferdinand's face and onto a few of Quake's injuries.

"Gracias. Now then, what to do? We certainly can't fly out of here," Ferdinand said in an even tone, stroking his chin.

"You won't leave Quake, will you," Delilah said rather than asking.

Seraphina's smile vanished when she saw a tear escape Delilah's beautiful face. Ferdinand held his dragon's snout in his arms and shook his head. Despite his grin, he, too, started to tear up with Quake.

"No. There is no escape for me and the others. But that doesn't mean this child can't have freedom."

Seraphina caught her breath and shivered. Could it be true? The little girl imagined herself running through a field of flowers in the bright sun and leaped into the arms of her new mother and father. A life free of bondage, a life that belonged to her. Could she still have it?

"Saint Petronas will help us protect you, Seraphina. Delilah will take you to my home. When you see my father, King Sancho, tell him I'm sorry."

Ferdinand's eyes met Delilah's. "Delilah, these last few years, fighting the Invadores together. I-I," he stuttered as he stared into her gleaming eyes.

"We will not see each other again, will we, Ferdinand." Delilah's warm voice from before waivered, as did the glow on her face.

"Not in this world," he muttered, but she nodded.

"Then I will not regret this." Without warning, Delilah put her hands behind Ferdinand's head and kissed him. Seraphina turned a little red but then giggled. Prince Ferdinand and Delilah's faces both beamed bright scarlet.

"Well, what about your vows?" Ferdinand's deep blue eyes glistened in delight, and even Quake panted in ecstasy, his tongue out and tail wagging. Delilah looked like she wanted to giggle but picked up Seraphina in her arms.

"Saint Petronas, watch over him," Delilah prayed out loud as she turned away, and Ferdinand faced the approaching soldiers. This was it, dozens of armor-clad warriors on foot and horseback against him and Quake. Seraphina wanted to cover her eyes but continued watching even as Delilah carried her off.

"They don't stand a chance!" Ferdinand donned his dragon-like helmet. He then drew a sword of the same color and material and the deep blue epaulet jacket he wore like a cape flowing in the wind behind him. He did not flinch even as several horse archers rode straight for them, wide grins across their malevolent faces.

"That reward is mine!" one shouted before others cut in.

"Never, I shall collect!"

"Stay out of my way-" The riders' argument ended when Ferdinand stomped the ground, and seismic waves reverberated across the land. To his immense satisfaction, Ferindand's magic caught them off-guard. He unleashed his fury upon the enemy soldiers. One by one, the horses fell over or reared and fled in panic.

Seraphina's eyes lit up in awe, and she almost shook in delight. Quake let out a thunderous snarl and joined in the magical attack, slamming both front paws down. Even from afar, Seraphina felt the effect conjure nothing short of an earthquake that sent dozens of men off their feet and scattered more horses. A few mounted archers shot arrows at them from afar, but Ferdinand did not react as they bounced off his armor or Quake's scales without leaving so much as a scratch.

"He's wearing Magicae armor, you idiot! That would not have penetrated if it were a scorpio!" the enemy captain scolded his men with fiery eyes and jagged teeth.

"Qué ocurre, Invadores? Is a barbarian making a fool out of you civilized men?" Ferdinand laughed and punched the ground, sending another seismic wave into them. A few armored warriors on equoferri charged with maces and lances in hand. The beasts were far larger than horses at just over seven feet at the head, with thick skin that protruded out in areas like armor. The equoferri endured Ferdinand's seismic waves, but their courage faded when Quake lashed out and sent one flying back dozens of yards with his tail. The other reared and tried to flee but to no avail. His rider let out one final terrified scream before Quake snatched him in his immense jaws, tearing through armor, flesh, and bone with each bite.

"Oh no, whatever will I do?" Ferdinand laughed when the third rider evaded Quake and raised his mace. With his right gauntlet raised, Ferdinand punched the gray horse-like creature. He let out a horrible cry as seismic waves reverberated through his body and carried him through the air. The armored rider fell down beside Ferdinand and struggled to his feet, his body trembling. However, the prince stood as tall as the gray creature, at six and a half feet with broad shoulders, and towered over the horseman.

"Help!" the Invadores sipahi, heavy horseman, staggered backward and raised his mace but to no avail. Ferdinand bashed through his armor with a bone-crushing punch, then stabbed through the opening. Blood splattered across his armor plates when he pulled his sword free of the man's limp body. A squad of foot soldiers rushed in, and Ferdinand smiled back.

"Don't trip over yourselves!" he laughed as his foot hit the ground. Seraphina almost beamed in anticipation. She wanted to watch him go on forever and imagined the warrior prince beating up her old masters. However, the little girl's heart raced when she realized nothing hit the soldiers.

"¿Qué?" Ferdinand muttered. His eyes darted through the crowd with Seraphina's, even as Delilah carried her away until they saw him. Mixed in among the short soldiers stood another armored man wearing a sun-shaped pendant with a glowing red gemstone embedded in the center. He grinned and held his hands over the stone, which illuminated into a tiny sun before him. Quake roared and tried to add his magic, but it vanished before the sun, and the red stone's light shined far brighter.

"Temple minister, I should have known. Oh well, looks like it's fighting man to man or man to dragon!" Ferdinand's laughter could not compete with Quake's roar and a wide grin of sinister delight. The dragon sent five men flying in bloody pieces with blows from his front paws and tail, then snatched another two in his jaws. While a few soldiers got through, it gave Ferdinand enough breathing room to face those who remained.

Sword drawn, the prince knocked aside the end of a polearm and swung at him, then bashed his armored shoulder into another man, knocking him aside. Without breaking stride, Ferdinand whirled around and kicked through a third soldier's polearm shaft and sent him sprawling onto his back. The fourth man came from behind, but Ferdinand's sword stabbed alongside his polearm's spear tip and continued through the eyehole of his metal mask.

The man let out a final grunt, and his body almost dragged the sword from Ferdinand's grip. However, with a mighty jerk, he pulled his blade free and spun around in time to block two blows from different directions. With an earthquake's might, Ferdinand shoved both men back and then broke them down with a series of precise yet brutal blows. He gripped his sword by the blade, then bashed through their armor with the pommel until both collapsed. The fourth man struggled to his feet but fled when Ferdinand seized the polearm from his hand and hurled it like a javelin. The temple minister's smile vanished, and he turned to flee.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Ferdinand all but forced him to look back and proved the prince correct. For if the man had not, the polearm would have impaled him. Instead, it hit his pendant and shattered the gemstone. Ferdinand's wide grin almost became visible through his helmet, and he raised a fist toward the air.

"We'll make your heathen earth goddess feel this one!" Ferdinand and Quake slammed the ground together and knocked every Invadores off their feet. Adrenaline surged through the prince's body, and he let loose more tremors with Quake. Without anyone to absorb their magic, the Invadores scattered, and Ferdinand roared.

Seraphina started to cry out, too. There still was hope. Perhaps the Father had intervened for them, and she would escape. Lost in their excitement, she soon remembered that he, who had severed Quake's wing, was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, Delilah came to an abrupt halt. The little girl looked up to see what was the matter when her heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

"No, no." Serephina's insides went ice cold, and the world stopped around her. Seraphina fell from Delilah's arms and trembled worse than the lumen. Delilah looked down at a beam of liquid metal impaled through her chest. Blood dripped from her mouth and matched the tears pouring from Seraphina's eyes. It could not be true, but reality lay before her.

An immense abra, a four-legged and winged serpentine monster, loomed over them. His Invadores rider retracted his hand and the liquid metal back around it, then stared at Delilah. His piercing green eyes were visible from behind the golden face mask.

"Delilah! Delilah!" Seraphina choked on the words and felt her legs give way. Delilah staggered for a moment and held the Christogram around her neck. There was no anger, sorrow, pain, or fear upon Delilah's face, just peace and trust. She smiled back at Ferdinand and then looked to the sky.

"It's time to go home." With these words, Delilah passed into the hands of the Father.

"Thief," the abra rider scorned and lifted his mask to spit on her corpse while Seraphina sobbed.

"Delilah!" the little girl bellowed and clutched at her body.

The woman who saved her from slavery promised her a new life and gave her hope. She was dead, and Seraphina was alone. The rider and his abra loomed over them, but Seraphina did not care. All she could do was sob over Delilah. Then, the ground shook once more. Opening her eyes, Seraphina gasped as Quake slammed into the abra, snarling like a feral beast. The blow knocked his rider off, and Ferdinand charged over, putting himself between Seraphina and the man.

Hissing, liquid metal shot like a striking serpent from the abra's jaws and tore through several scales along Quake's side. At the same time, liquid steel flew from the rider's hand and struck Ferdinand's armored bicep. Despite this, he pressed on.

"Gaaah!" Ferdinand and Quake lashed out, but the Abra slithered through the air over them. They could not turn in time before more liquid steel struck their backs.

"Stand and fight, Selim, you coward!" More tears flowed from Ferdinand's helmet, but he did not relent. A curved saber parried Ferdinand's sword with precision and finesse, countering the prince's feral rage. Quake found no success either, and both suffered more blows from liquid metal.

"You animals are all the same. You can think of no way to win other than with brute force. I shall have to teach you the same lesson I taught your wretched father." Selim's voice oozed with condescension and superiority, and Seraphina almost saw Ferdinand's eyes lit on fire as he ripped his helmet off.

He focused everything on his renewed assault until, at last, he and Quake landed explosive blows that scattered liquid metal in every direction. Selim and his abra both waivered, and Ferdinand landed another blow that sent the general to the ground. Quake snarled and pinned the abra down while Ferdinand loomed over Selim, sword raised. The general trembled, hands raised and sweat pouring down his face.

"Wait, wait!"

Seraphina scowled and shouted for Ferdinand to do it. She wanted to watch him cut his head off and make him pay for what he did to Delilah. Yet, as Ferdinand raised his sword, it trembled in his hand. Seraphina did not understand, but it was as if something spoke to the prince through his soul and commanded him to stop.

Ferdinand's eyes swelled with tears, and he no longer had the strength to hold his sword upright. Dragon and rider looked at each other one more time, then it ended. Seraphina wailed and fell onto her back. Liquid metal shot up through the abra's jaws and impaled Quake through his open jaws and out the back of his neck. The dragon's eyes lingered on Ferdinand for another moment, then he collapsed. The prince stomped the ground, but it only shivered in a faint echo of seismic activity.

"Filthy animal!" Selim jerked his hand up, and liquid metal slid through the gaps in Ferdinand's armor and stabbed him. Despite this, he said nothing.

The little girl had no tears left and went limp as a man seized her. Yet as Ferdinand watched Seraphina get dragged away, he smiled at her, almost like Delilah did.

"I'm sorry, Seraphina. I thought I might be the one to fulfill Rodrigo's dream. But just because I didn't doesn't mean someone else will. My nephew, Rodrigo. One day," Ferdinand clutched the christogram cross.

"Father, forgive me. Keep him safe. Make him the king Envidia has waited for. Let him fulfill Rodrigo's dream." Ferindand collapsed onto his back, arms outstretched, and entered into the hands of the Father.