Chronicles of the Accursed One: Fatal Ties

~Angelus~

Night befell the castle grounds and nothing stirred nor murmured within it‘s thick heavy stone walls. I looked beside me at my open window out into the garden. I could see the full moon in it’s mighty luminance as I felt almost melancholic at the sight of it. I sit up, then walk to the giant window with unsteady legs that ached from the long days running, swimming, and work in the gardens just before the light of day had faded below the horizon. My shutters moved gently to and fro without much noise thankfully or I would not had been able to remain sane due to the fact that the others within my household would have woken me up saying, “Fix your damn window! We got a days full of work to do and we won‘t function without sleep! Fix it!” I silently laugh at the thought of it.

This silence that seemed to envelope the night and made me feel uneasy in a way made my eyes examine every inch of what was visible to me. It was almost an ominous feeling. I couldn’t help but feel as if something were to happen tonight. I put on some clothes and left my little cottage. The buds were asleep, as they should be during a peaceful night such as this where no cloud interrupted the stars glimmer and the moons radiance, lighting the way before me so that I would not stumble and fall upon something that could have been possibly misplaced by the others.

I walked slowly around the gardens center, watching carefully around each hedge bush corner vigilantly with an open mind and alert ears. I felt as if I were being watched closely by some unknown force or being. I couldn’t tell from where, but it felt like a killing intent was surrounding me like a dense fog that you couldn‘t see more than 3 feet around you. I looked up towards the eastern tower that resided next to the living quarters, which was located directly behind the main castle. From what I could see, no lights flickered gently through the marble open windows that were spaced evenly with the winding staircase to it’s peak indicating it remained vacant as it had been when I last checked it before entering my bedchambers at the end of my work day.

What caught my eyes the most was a single light that was on in the living quarters. It was the princess’ room. The way I knew was because she was the only one who had curtains that were a vibrant shade of blue. All others were white. I stopped in the courtyard between the fountain and the roses to my right and watched her shadow move back forth across the window. I could tell she was pacing, but for what reason? I haven‘t a clue. Possibly plotting a few pranks to play on a cardinal or two. I chuckle to myself with a smile, saying aloud, “I wonder what she could be doing at this time of night.”

“Lost in thought, I suppose.” I jump a little and closed my eyes out of irritation at myself for allowing the chef to have surprised me so effortlessly. “Much like yourself I see,” he said through his quiet laughter.

“Real funny, Agnius.” I groan deeply out of disappointment.

“Eh, don’t beat yourself up for it, boy. Things happen.” He pat me on my shoulder with one of his massive hands as he walked from beside me to in front of me. He was a lofty man standing at approximately 7 feet tall. His muscles were well tuned and rather large. He had spiked red hair and blue eyes to show two sides of him. Red for the swift anger that could be easily summoned to deal a punishing blow towards those who cause injustice and blue for the sweet and calm nature that he shows to all those who are innocent and cause no mischief. Once upon a time he was a master swordsman, but he gave up that lifestyle for a simpler one where he would take care of the household that housed the royalty he served for many long years.

“I think by now I should be able to sense when a person is behind me.” I crossed my arms and watch her room very circumspectly. I felt something amiss but being a servant I couldn’t just barge into her room or even sneak in just because of a feeling. She is of royal blood and I would be doing something very dishonorable to the princess if anyone were to see me enter her room at such an hour as this. Imagine the conspiracies that would form. I could not bare the thought of it.

“It’s hard for anybody, pro or not, to sense someone with zero killing intent.” He tossed a wooden sword at me and took up a fighting stance with one hand. “Care to let out some of that energy, laddy?”

I gaze at him and smile, saying, “Thought you would never ask.” That said, I came in for the first attack with an over head strike aiming for a slanted blow for his left shoulder that would cross and end at his right hip. He blocked it, of course, but I was ready with a follow-up attack to counter his block. I slid the sword down off of his and brought it back up as fast as I could to catch him off guard. He stepped back unprepared to block my upward slash and I lunged forward with a stab to the chest with the blunt tip of the wooden blade. Agnius stumbled back a bit, rubbing his chest and chuckling at me out of sheer amazement.

“You’ve been practicing.” He regained his posture and stuck the wooden sword into the ground using it to lean on.

“Why wouldn’t I?” I replied. “I need the strength to protect the princess from all kinds of danger. I can’t rely on what I already know.”

I analyze Agnius carefully and observe the many scars that covered his semi covered upper torso. I remember asking him one day when I began to feel comfortable around him why he had so many. His response? Very simple. He said, “They’re constant reminders of the men who died beside me in the glory of battle, of all the times I’ve near escaped death, and reminds me of the fact that throughout all my ordeals I was among the chosen few who have lived through them and has the chance to live a free full life.”

“Well if that’s the case then, lets go again.” He lunged forward at me with a leg swipe. I jumped and began a full out aerial assault. The weight of his blows were much more vigorous than mine were, keeping me suspended in mid-air with the utmost of ease. With each block and attack a new memory entered my mind filling me with emotions. I observe each memory, scrutinizing each one and dissecting them trying to find something within them, the root cause for their sudden appearance. Why am I reminiscing so much today? Is their something my mind is trying to understand? Something that I might have forgotten? I feel as if each hard knock of wood against wood resonated within the empty chambers of my heart and called forth the ghosts of my past. Empty? How could I possibly be empty?

I am knocked back by a heavy cross blow and land several meters away from Agnius. I regained my posture and smiled at him. My hands calloused hands shook and my grip tightened. The excitement of having such a strong opponent always drove him to fight on. He took up a fighting stance and returned the smile with a battle hardened smile. He and I lunge forward and continue our onslaught of attack and defend with almost super human agility and endurance. The training I endured from this man who took care of me was plain out visible with how I could finally be on par with him, but a disciple I was and still remain. A heavy blow to the stomach knocks my wind clean out of me. The pain subsided and my mind clouded up for a split second. Then suddenly the cloud lifted and a simple memory to came to me.

The princess lay within the sea of flowers we had discovered a bit deeper within the forest just west of the hot spring falls. I lay beside her separated by a tall wall of thick lavender. After seeing a bird fly above me, it was apparent that this was 10 years ago: the day of her mothers death. Things had gone so well for us that day. We were laughing, enjoying the blue skies and sunshine as the butterflies flew by us in flocks of beautiful rainbow colors. She had a book with her that she used to teach me to read the language of Izol, Zeian. With the soft curve and flow to it’s letters I found it difficult to understand how one word could mean several different things and can be used in several different ways simply by changing how it was said. In time I began to memorize the language more than anything else so that I could recite it in my mind without having to look at the book ever again. I simply learned the parts of the written language that was necessary, the common words that were used in everyday speaking to be more precise, so that way I could understand what the rest of the paragraph meant and piece together the storyline.

“Now could you tell me what this paragraph says?” she asked in her soft amiable voice. It held a princess’ authority all the same.

I nod my head, holding the pages down to keep them from moving wildly with the cool strong wind and read, “The prince walked up to the princess at a snail’s pace and asketh the fair maiden, ‘Why dost thou cry, my lady?’ She did not look at him nor did she want to. She simply turned her cheek away from the young prince, ignoring him, and feigning ignorance to his existence. ‘Such a beauty as thee to distort thy countenance with such sadness is blasphemy in mine eyes that doth see this world in purest form. Please, fair maiden, I asketh of thee once more: why dost thou cry?’

“The princess stared at the young prince with much prudence before finally answering, ‘My father is an evil man. He dost taketh from me more than he should and aims to displease me in all ways. He is a bitter man that doth not know what he has. Even the world is not enough for him so his unhappiness is mine. I have none to comfort me in this sorrow and loneliness but the bare walls that make up my bed chambers.’ She wiped her tears away turned to the young prince holding her elegant form by sitting upright with her hands upon her lap. In her heart she had known the prince for so long, but he not once showed such kindness as he had now.

“The prince fell to one knee, took her hand in his and said, ‘Then come with me to my kingdom, fair maiden, and I will show thee a world of freedom far beyond the bars of a pirate father. A world where joy and freedom prosper with the selfless acts of its people. A world where thou and I may live together in blissful harmony, for your beauty hath mine heart captive and I would surrender to thee within a second of its beating rhythm.’

“His offer being far too tempting to refuse, moved her heart and brought joy to her soul. Not a day passed that she hath not thought of the young prince whisking her away and there she stood seeing it happen before her. Without a moment to spare, she stood and said. ‘Then I am in your care, kind prince.’”

I peeked at the princess from behind my book and saw that she was staring off into the distance with a deep smile on her face, blushing all the while. What thoughts could possibly be running through her mind? Is their some fantasy she could be dreaming of? Is it possible she too knew of a prince that did not notice her and wished to be whisked away? “Is their something the matter, my lady?”

She looked at me with a wide smile and bright eyes, saying, “No. Nothing at all. Just a nice daydream.”

Her eyes then widened in surprise. I looked in the general direction she was looking and saw the queens personal chamber maid. She beckoned for the princess to come to the castle. Our enjoyment was short lived. Once we entered the castle, she was greeted by an entourage of maids and butlers each trying their best not to show their faces. The princess was hurried along but as I strayed behind I noticed the reddened faces of the saddened servants as they allowed their faux façade to break and show their true colors without the princess knowing it. I could tell by examining their faces that their eyes burned and their hearts were heavy with grief.

As I entered the queens bedchambers I found myself staring at a sight that had been so foreign to me, I didn’t know how to react. The queen lay upon her ornate bed as still and pale as a perfectly carved statue. The king was upon one knee holding on to his daughter with a few tears streaking his countenance. The most hurtful sight of all was seeing the princess cry uncontrollably. She loved her mother with all her heart and to see her soulless body lay before her broke her into pieces and shattered those pieces into dust. She bawled, kicked and scratched at her fathers bulky body, but he held her all the while enduring the physical pain that was representative of his dearest daughters torn heart.

I had felt pain all my life. The pain of hunger, of being alone, of broken bones and being disappointed and betrayed but nothing was compared to the pain I felt at that moment when the princess, the only person that ever truly cared about me was falling apart before my very own eyes. I stood a few feet from the door way when I heard a maid whisper to another, “I heard that Reynaldo put in a form of resignation to the king yesterday.”

My ears tuned in to their conversation instinctively. “Really? I remember seeing him down the hall earlier this morning.” It clicked inside my mind after my body reacted intuitively. Before I understood what I was doing, I was already down the hall asking for this butler named Reynaldo. I searched everywhere; the kitchen, the dining hall, the ball room, even within the ornate fore-castle, but found nothing. I awaited at the only gate that led through the living quarters, into the courtyard that separated the fore-castle and living quarters, and through another gate that led through the fore-castle and out into the country of Izol. I sat their, alone with all sorts of murderous thoughts that did nothing but hold my anger in its place for a few moments at a time.

By nightfall, I found him trying to leave from the castle gardens. He had hidden himself amongst the rose bushes. A clever form of concealment but I was not as impressed as I was infuriated at this disgusting man. He murdered the Queen, destroyed the Princess’ heart altogether with the Kings’ as well. I wanted nothing more than this man to suffer a fate worse than death.

Upon seeing him walk by the fountain I walked up to him at a slow pace. Once I was almost 15 feet from him I yelled his name out. He stopped and stared at me with an awestricken face. “You…killed her…. You brought about this sadness upon the princess!!” I yelled. He tried to shush me and give me all these excuses of how it couldn‘t have been him. ‘I was in the courtyard when it happened!’ ‘I‘m innocent I swear! I did not see her the whole day!’ ‘I loved her majesty! I couldn‘t fathom the courage to even attempt such a thing to her.’ I wouldn’t hear any of it. From my belt loop I pulled out a simple kitchen knife and gripped it’s handle until my knuckles were white. “You’re dead!!”

I rushed him ready to plunge the knife deep into his chest. All my anger and frustration blinded me so badly I was almost able to see his blood pouring from his chest like the river of death. I was not thinking about anything but killing this despicable man. With much ease he parried my sad attempt at a stab, saying, “Listen, child. I’ve no time to waste with you. Just calm down and go away and nothing will happen.”

I didn’t listen. I got up and yelled aloud as I continued to try to stab him but failed each time. “Just die…JUST FUCKING DIE!!” I cried out, tears streaming my face. Reynaldo disarmed me without a moment to spare then used the knife to stab me deep into my upper arm. It penetrated so far that the blade pierced through to the other side through the bone and muscle like tissue paper. I felt my bone splintered then split apart. He tossed me aside with little difficulty and my head slammed into the corner of the fountain that was located to the right of the rose bushes he hid in.

I could not tell what was happening. All around me, the scenery blurred to be one portrait of abstract art. I attempted to stand but I fell face first in utter failure. I heard a loud roar of a man with a deep voice and the shrill cry of another who was scared out of their mind. I allowed myself to pass out. I was sure the man was being punished justly. The only regret I had was that it wasn’t me who would deliver the justified blow.

I stumble back a bit catching my breath and trying to keep my eye on Agnius. He moved side to side with precision and speed completely unlike anything I had ever seen. It was causing multiple versions of him to appear where he had just moved from. With such endure and agility it was difficult to keep track of him. “Do you remember that day, Angelus?” He spoke softly and yet it resounded around me like an echo in a dark empty room. “The day I saved your life?”

I stumble a bit to put my right foot forward and hold my stance. “Yeah…I-I do.”

He began to pace around me in fast sharp movements. “You made a promise to yourself that day. You declared it!” He began to run around me in circles, doppelgangers forming in a near complete state. “What was your promise, Angelus?”

“You know…what it is…,” I struggled to say. I felt the remains of my late supper coming up. Things began to spin uncontrollably around me. That blow he dealt was far more powerful than the others he had ever dealt. “Why?”

“Say it, boy. Declare it like you once did!” He yelled leaping forward with all his power and striking me at my side. Once he landed, he dashed around and within a split second of landing he was to my right lunging forward at me dealing another blow. He repeated this, one after another, over and over he struck my sides and arms with hits of medium power.

What was the big deal? Why does he want me to tell him the promise I made all those years ago in this very spot? Why is he so adamant on forcing me to uphold it!?

Agnius skids to a stop behind me then points his wooden sword at me. “Just as I thought…you’ve grown soft. You don’t got what it takes to be a servant of the beautiful Princess Calena Marcia Clair.”

I look at him, anger beginning to flourish within me, and attempt to stand using the sword as an aid. “What are you saying?”

Agnius smiled with a barely audible sigh and walked towards the fountain. Reaching into the water he pulled up a large item wrapped in cloth. Dropping the wooden sword in the water and sitting down upon the edge of the fountain, he unwraps the item revealing two swords; a traditional Izol Claymore and another with an awkward design that I did not know. He tossed the Claymore at me with one hand. It landed in front of me digging into the ground just enough to stand upright. “The Princess is a fair young maiden not wedded just yet. Her body is precious to the one who paid me to retrieve her when the time was right.” He unsheathed the sword and held it in a low guard. It was a one sided blade with a slight curve to it. The blade itself was approximately 4 feet long and the handle seemed wrapped in some kind of cloth. The hand guard was of a circular design unlike the Claymores hand guard that simply covered the two sides of the blade. “I am a mercenary, Angelus. One of the best.”

My eyes widened and my heart stopped for a second. I could not believe what I was hearing. “N-n…no…I can’t…I won’t believe that. You’re lying to me!”

His eyes closed and a deep set frown broke his everyday smile. What was this feeling welling up inside me?

“I trained you because I felt you had a lot of potential.”

“Stop lying to me!”

“I wanted to make this job interesting.”

“Enough!!”

“But in the end I found myself getting too attached.”

“I said enough of your lies!!!” I pulled out the Claymore from the ground and held it out pointing at him with one hand. “You want the princess…then you’re going to have to go through me.” Yeah, my legs were shaking, my mind was racing, blood is seeping out of my mouth and nose but I didn’t care. This feeling, this emotion that pulsed through my every being, it drove me. It empowered me to continue forward.

“I was hoping you would say that.” He held up the sword with both hands and said, “I want you to know one thing, Angelus.”

I look at him carefully, preparing movements that he would take and having counterattacks going through my head.

“Ten years ago, I did indeed save your life from a desperate man, but he was not the Queens killer.”

My heart beat loudly. I could tell where he was going with this, I didn’t want to hear it. “Stop! I don’t want to hear it!!”

“He was simply taking the Queens belongings. A thief. Trying to feed his family.”

“I said stop!”

“He saw something he wasn’t supposed to see. He saw the Queens killer slipping a needle coated in poison into her neck.”

“Why don’t you listen to me!?!”

“Because you need to know the truth!!”

“I don’t want to hear it!” I lunged forward swinging the giant blade struggling to keep it steady and in my control.

Without much effort he dodged my attacks and parried my sad attempt at a stab. Pushing me aside he said, “I was the Queens murderer!”

The memory flooded my mind. The days spent training with him. The laughter, the joy, the blood, sweat and tears shed to become stronger and stronger. I closed my eyes, stood up and sighed. “Who wants the princess?”

Agnius, tightened his grip on his sword holding it at the ready. “As a hired sword,
I am not allowed to say.”

I breath out slowly, opening my eyes and staring at him. I knew I wasn’t allowed to do this, but I had no choice. I wasn’t going to let him take away the one thing that made me happy, the only person to have cared for me. “Then I’m sorry, Agnius, but I made a promise a long time ago.”

I spread my legs, lowered my body, held the sword at shoulders length pointed forward at Agnius and took in a deep breath. “That promise was to protect the princess at all costs…because I love her more than this world that I was born into.“ He was my most treasured friend, one who taught me to be strong and courageous so that I may endure the impossible go forth doing what is necessary to fulfill my dreams. “I’m so sorry,” I said, biting my lower lip. I dashed forward and within a split second I was behind him pointing the sword downwards beside me. I straightened myself out turned my head and said, “Good bye…my friend.” He cried out in agony as suddenly blood splattered in every direction. I’m sure to him everything happened too fast to comprehend, but to me, it was like time stood still. I slashed him 13 times, the final strike being a horizontal slice across his stomach, cutting him in half.

I fell to my knees, tears streaking my face. Today held so much promise and two things happened. The princess needs to marry according to his Majesty, and I lost a precious friend. I knew what was to come, danger beyond all reckoning. I could tell that life from now on was going to be far more dangerous than any adventure Princess Calena and I had ever gone through. I just pray that I could help protect her in every way possible. I would never be able to bare with the loss of someone so important to me.