Chapter 12: Bad News

  Darius Reed Ishtar King of the Kingdom of Ishtar, was not happy. He awoke to a pounding on the door to his apartments. He sat up rubbing his eyes clearing them of sleep. He stared balefully at the door as he moved to the edge of his massive four postern bed. With a sigh he stood up arc his back until he felt it pop and he shivered in pleasure. He was relatively young for a king at only 38 but still his body never forgot to remind him he was not as young as he used to be.

  Another rapid knock at the door refocused his mind. The knocking sounded more than frantic almost desperate. No one would dare bang on his door like that. Not unless… He crossed the room an only a few large strides and opened the door. A group of his Royal guard Captains were outside their armor hastily strapped on. Despite the morning their steel breastplates gleamed freshly polished. All except one… The man in front his hand still raised to knock again.

  Captain Eryk, his armor rent and covered in dark stains stood on quivering legs. Darius took him in in one glance and moved into the hallway making the men back up. He closed the door to his bedroom. Whatever this was he didn’t want to wake his wife. But he knew a serious situation when he saw one, and there was only one situation that could’ve caused the captain’s disheveled state. He cleared his throat his mouth dry.

  “My son?” He asked his voice hoarse. The bedraggled Captain backed up and fell to one knee his eyes focused on the slate stone floor.

  The man seemed to muster his courage trying and failing several times to speak. Even before hearing his answer a cold dread reached up and grabbed his heart.

  “L…Lost Milord.” Darius cold only blink for several minutes. His mind whirled unable to comprehend the words he had just heard.

  At some point he had hit his knees and several of the Guard captains had grabbed his arm. He tried to muster himself, tried to stand up, But he couldn’t stop the torrent of recriminating thoughts that slammed into his mind. You lost him. He’s dead. You failed him. This and many other thoughts whirled around his mind.

  Like a ghost inhabiting his body, he watch as the guard helped him back into his room to a velvet couch that sat into the corner. His wife had woken up her fiery hair flying as she berated the men and demanded to know what was going on.

  Once again he tried to master himself but before he could do so, one of the guard saluted fist to chest and reported to their former commander. Darius watched as his wife’s proud back bent and her knees collapsed. He had to get up.

  Finally he collected his will, pushed away his grief and guilty conscience, and pulled himself out of the chair. He managed to straighten the blue cotton robes before he went to his wife. He leaned down and took her in his hands. She folded into him sobbing. He’d never seen her like this, not even when her mother had died.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Pain raged in his chest in sympathy but he needed to get the story. He had sent nearly half a company with his son. Against only one elf that should have been more than enough.

  “What happened?” he ground out, doing his best to manage his blooming anger. The bloodied Captain sank even lower, putting both his knees to the fur covered stone.

  “The elf brought help. Over a hundred assassin of the Fumi clan came with them. I sent the prince up the hill to signal the Calvary contingent while we dealt with the enemy but the elf slipped by us and met the Prince upon the mountain.” The man paused here some pain from his wounds surfacing. He swallowed before continuing.

  “We were in able to find the Prince but a significant amount of blood was found upon the peak as well as this.” The knight reached into his cloak and pulled out a small wrapped bundle. It was covered in a torn piece of an azure cloak now darkened with blood. He set it before Darius before bowing again. Still holding his sobbing wife with his offhand he reached down. Terror gripped him as he unwrapped it.

  Gasps tore through the chamber not a few guardsmen bristling with anger. His wife was the first to speak, her sobs had choked off upon seeing the bloody remnant. And Darius realized he wouldn’t be the only one losing a child tonight.

  “Oh no! Poor Altaya,” his wife’s voice was hoarse. A deep sadness he feared would never clear again in every word. In the small bundle nestled a slender severed arm, well muscled but pale from leaking blood. It was severed at the elbow.

  But there is some good news,” the bedraggled captain said.

  “What good could you possibly bring me,” Darius muttered darkly. Was it a bit unnecessary , maybe and then again he wasn’t in his right mind.

  The captain pulled two small daggers from his waist belt. And laid them on the ground in front of him. Unlike the contents of the last package, this one filled him with nervous excitement.

  Two silver blades around the size of his forearm sat in front of him. Another of the knights came forward and placed a longer blade next to two smaller ones. This one was three feet long and and curved. Both the knives and the long blade were made of a silvery metal and had white script carved into the metal near the hilt. The handles were wrapped in a green dyed leather and both had golden stylized leaves wrapping the hilt. Another jolt of excitement ran through him when he realized he recognized the script. It was elven.

  Darius’s eyes snapped up to meet the kneeling knight captain’s.

  “We did it?” He asked desperately. The man only nodded but internally Darius was rocking on a ship that was drifting upon a sea of excitement for what they had accomplished and a deep sadness for what it had cost him.

  “And you have more proof?” He was almost scared to hear the answer.

  The man nodded, “The body is down stairs with the wagons Your Grace.” The words took something out of my him, the sheer magnitude and what they could mean for his kingdom. He felt felt himself slumping for a moment, only for a moment however as a new weight settled upon his shoulders.

  “It was your son’s team,” the man continued. That bit of revelation sent his wife back into racking sobs. He absentmindedly stroked her hair his mind whirling. He needed to act fast, to capitalize on the situation. If the elves found out? But they couldn’t… they wouldn’t. But he could use this to unite his nobles to support his plans.

  Because for the first time in over 2000 years a human had managed to kill an elf in combat. Now he just had to make sure the sacrifice was worth it.