The Union

William was in tears. The sensation of killing on of his own men was harrowing. The crunch of the blade burying through flesh sent tingles down his spine.

"Sorry" he whispered to the man he killed as he laid him to the ground.

He remembered the lad to be a cheerful youth he would always scold for making obscene jokes. And now William just killed the lad with his own hands.

He knew that they meant him no harm. They just wanted to capture him. But he cannot let himself be captured.

Wasp growled beside him. The dog"s mouth was already b.l.o.o.d.y. William again searched for an opponent. He rushed towards another enemy. Gripping both his sword and his dagger, he let out a cry.

**********

The sewer was disgusting. Arthur"s boots were wet with whatever liquid he was stepping in.The smell was also horrid. It smells like rotten egg mixed with decaying flesh. He cupped his palm over his nose.

A few moments of waddling in the sewer and he found them. The merchants, n.o.bles and their lot looked miserable.

"Prince Arthur" The Silk merchant"s tone was surprised "Why are you here?"

"There is a problem. The Queen found out about our plan. She blocked our pa.s.sage from the sewer to the palace. We need to take the other route"

There was a murmur among them. The silk merchant raised his palm to demand silence.

"And why should we trust you? Trust is a commodity not easy to trade. There is too little supply you see"

"I swear I"m telling the truth! Our comrades in the navy and the mercenaries are successful. But the Queen has realized the attack from the sewers so she blocked our pa.s.sage. We can"t waste time. Let"s go!"

The silk merchant stared at him for a while, not even blinking.

"I"ve met hundreds of swindlers and liars all my life boy. I know a lie when I see it. He"s lying. Get him!"

Arthur took a step back. He shivered from fear. His deceit had failed.

"Help!" He he screamed as he ran away. They followed him behind. He was being chased.

"Help! Abraham help me!" Arthur again cried.

He regretted going into the sewers. It was foolish. Lucia had warned him that it will be dangerous. She said that he could die.

But Arthur wanted to prove that he was not useless. He wanted to prove to himself that he could at least be of use.

Now he was running with enemies bent on killing him just behind. Somebody grabbed his clothes. He fell and rolled in the muddy and disgusting sewer water. The fall was bad. He coughed in pain.

He looked to the side and was relieved when he Abraham and the other royal guards rushing towards him. They slammed against the enemies. A clashing of swords and the parrying of spears followed. Abraham took on the bear while the rest of the royal guards battled the others.

It was chaotic. It was grim. There were deaths everywhere. Arthur then saw a royal guard pinned by two enemies. The man was holding for dear life, evading strikes left and right. A dagger pierced the guard"s arm. The guard did not even flinch. He just defended from further attacks.

But it was over for him. With a wounded arm the guard couldn"t defend against multiple opponents for long. Arthur was afraid. He was shaking from fear. But he was useless. He had always been useless and he wanted to prove that he could at least save a single life.

Aunt Anna told him to both use his mind and his heart. Well now both pointed him to this dangerous decision. He rose with the sewer water still dripping from his body. He presented his sword.

Arthur rushed to the pinned guard, screaming loudly. He thrust his sword towards an enemy but the man"s armor caught it.

The enemy looked at Arthur and stabbed his dagger to his face. Arthur blocked his face with both hands. The dagger penetrated his hand. The tip of the dagger was still able to bury into his left eye. There was a surge of pain as he screamed and staggered.

The guard he saved was able to finish the two enemies. Arthur was successful. He wasn"t useless. He felt happy that he was able to do something.

But his left eye was bleeding and his vision was halved.

**********

He knew them all by name. He knew their faces- their quirks. They were his friends, his family.

But he was killing them. William was slashing and stabbing and bleeding the men of Silverback. His hand was shaking and there were tears in his eyes. He doesn"t want to do this. He detested what he was doing. He built Silverback with his own two hands. It was his dream- to travel the world as a leader of a mercenary company. It wasn"t a good dream- he knew. But he really loved the men of Silverback.

But his hands were wet with their blood- dripping even. With every slash of his sword, with every stab of his dagger, he was killing his dream. He was destroying what he built for years. His honorable stance in things- his promise to himself to never lie and cheat- he had become a kind person he detested the most.

This was for Timothy, he thought. He endured killing his comrades and breaking his honor for Timothy. His love for his brother trumped everything else- including his dream.

William"s face was now bloodied. Hundreds lay dead on the snow. Silverback was broken. There was a momentary respite to the fighting. The two sides just stared at each other. Beside William were just a few dozen of his remaining loyalists.

The neighing of horses then sounded. Both sides were surrounded by trees and everybody was looking around to find the hors.e.m.e.n. And soon a new force arrived- a contingent of a few hundred cavalry. Unlike the mercenaries and unlike the serfs, the cavalry wore full armor. They were Castonians.

"Thank whatever is above!" The person riding at the front exclaimed. His voice was familiar. A few steps later and William realized that it was Erik.

"You are surrounded. Drop your weapons and step away from the Prince!"

Instead of following Erik, the men of Silverback tightened their grip on their weapons.

"We will attack. Don"t test my patience. I am Marquis Erik Connel. Obey my words!" Erik added.

"We just want our Captain back" Said William"s second-in-command "We will fight until our last breaths. You cannot threaten us!"

The situation was getting sour. The men under William"s second-in-command were agitated. If a battle was to ensue, it would be b.l.o.o.d.y. He cannot stand seeing more men of Silverback fall.

"Wait!" William shouted "You and I Marco. Let"s have a duel. If I win, all of you will drop your weapons and surrender to the Marquis. If I lose, I will come with you. We will leave this place and go east. We will not meddle in Castonian affairs anymore. We will forget this b.l.o.o.d.y event and continue with our business like nothing happened"

"A dishonorable thing Silver" Marco, his second-in-command said with a disappointed tone "You just need to kill me while I need to capture you. It"s not a fair duel. I never thought I would hear you say this"

"Aye. Dishonorable. But this is better than having more of our brothers fall. Just you and me Marco. Let"s end this. No armors, just swords"

"Or I could just trample them in one charge. You don"t have to do this William" said Erik

"Shut your mouth Marquis Erik. I am Prince William Castonia. I command you to witness this duel and do nothing"

"Do nothing?!" Erik"s voice was raging "Timothy is waiting for you. He wants you to come home. If you lose you can never go home"

William didn"t pay attention to the Marquis. He stepped forward, slowly removing his armor one by one. Marco also did the same. They approached each other.

With a last thud, his mail doublet fell in the snow. He looked Marco in the eye and then turned his head to Erik. He smiled.

"If I lose, give my brother my regards"

**********

"Go!" Abraham shouted to the royal guards as soon as he heard Prince Arthur"s cry for help.

They emerged from hiding and struck their enemies. Most of these people are just serfs. Some were personal guards of the n.o.bles and merchants. But the greatest threat is that hairy man.

Abraham made sure to isolate Bear. He slammed his body against the hairy man. It staggered backward. The other royal guards surrounded the isolated Bear.

"Get back!" Abraham shouted "Leave him to me. He"s mine"

The royal guards looked at Abraham with confusion.

"Help the Prince. If he dies, your heads will roll!"

They stared at him and then gave a single nod. They backed away and went to fight the others.

The Bear was shaking. His hairy arm was trembling. Soon his laughter boomed.

"As expected from a great warrior! You are what I expected you to be. I have long dreamed of meeting you King Timothy!"

Abraham"s grip on his sword and shield laxed for a second.

"Did you just call me King Timothy?"

"Enough talk. Let"s fight!"

Bear lunged at him. His arm turned into that of a bear"s. He swiped towards Abraham.

Abraham blocked the swipe with his shield. He ducked a little and slammed the boss of his shield to his opponent"s chest.

"Strong!" Bear said with glee while clutching his chest. "You really are a true King!"

"I am..." Abraham slammed his shield towards Bear"s chin "Not His Majesty!"

Bear ignored his strike and just swiped blindly while laughing. "Stop lying. You are King Timothy. A giant that can change into a huge lion! Oh I have long dreamt of fighting you"

Abraham blocked each swipe with his now tattered shield. The Bear was strong. It was deadly. One wrong move and he will die. But the Bear lacked patience, technique and proper training. Like what King Timothy once told him- Strength is not everything. Abraham saw many openings in the Bear"s attack.

He thrust his sword and impaled Bear"s arm. The Bear grabbed his shoulder, the claws sinking deep into his flesh. Abraham then slammed his shield against Bear"s face repeatedly. He slammed it hard and fast. Each slam shook the Bear"s head. After a while the Bear"s hold on his shoulder weakened. Abraham"s opponent fell.

"Fool" he said, gasping for breath "You don"t even deserve to see him personally"

Behind him the royal guards were victorious. The foolish people were either dead or begging for their lives.

But then he noticed the Prince. His left eye was bleeding. His hand was also wounded.

Abraham paled. He didn"t know how to explain Arthur"s injury to Queen Lucia. It was his fault.

"Take the prince back!" he shouted in fear.

*********

William"s sword was buried in Marco"s side. He hit the heart. His friend grimaced and cupped the wound.

The duel was over after just a while. Marco was holding back while he was going for the kill.

Marco had been his best friend. What Erik was to Timothy, Marco was to him. He had shared countless joys and hardships with this man. He bled and fought with him. He would have given his life for Marco.

But now he was the one who ended Marco"s life. The look on Marco"s eyes were that of a person betrayed. There was hate, disappointment, surprise, sadness and a little bit of pity.

William retracted his sword and Marco fell on him. Marco"s breathing became disjointed. He laid his friend on the snow.

"You are not..." Marco still looked at him with the same eyes "Silver"

Marco closed his eyes and his breathing stopped.

Everybody was silent. Not a voice echoed in the vast darkness. Even the Marquis didn"t say anything. William killed his friend in a dishonorable duel. What Marco said was true. He is not Silver anymore.

"Drop your weapons" William said to the watching men of Silverback. He steeled his voice and firmed his heart. "Let"s go and see the King"