by Jamie Gandy
“What he thinks is irrelevant,” he remarks, trying hard to keep the fear from leaking out of his voice. He crosses over to the basin on his nightstand to wash his hands. “Sir Aeron wishes he was the King, yet he does not have the vision to rule a Kingdom,” he states, emotionlessly.
“Esther marrying a Prince of Steelborn is not part of the plan,” I remark quietly
“What are you talking about? What plan?” he demands.
“Do you seriously plan an alliance with Steelborn, or is there something else you wish to gain from all of this?” I give my head a single shake. “You are a fool! What are you thinking trying to ally with those Kingdoms? They will only weaken Kallai!” The darkness begins seeping from the blade onto the floor, moving with me as I walk over to my father. “I cannot let you ruin this Kingdom any longer. I was trying to be patient, waiting for the reign as King to make a change for the better of Kallai. I cannot let you damage things any longer! It is time for a new King to rise!” I arch back my arm and before he realizes what is about to happen, I plunge the blade into his chest. “Kage… no...no… what are you doing?”
Hearing the sound of Esther’s panicked voice draws my attention to her to see the tears spilling from her eyes. The sword soaks in my father’s blood, gaining strength from every ounce of his life it absorbs.
“Father!!” I watch as Esther runs over to his side and takes his hand. “Father, I will get help, please do not die!!” she cries out. “Guards, guards, anyone help!” There is no one to hear her, no one to save our father. Her eyes desperately find me. “Why...why would you do this, brother?”
“I would hope you of all people would understand. That our Kingdom is in need of a strong King to rule. One that is willing and able to make the Kingdom of Kallai invincible. Unite with me, sister. Let us build our Kingdom up!”
“What… what are you talking about?” I can easily see her body violently shaking well the blood of our father soaks into her long purple gown.
“If you do not stand with me, you are against me. I am sorry sister, but I cannot let you ruin this.” Her terror filled eyes stare at the Hell’s DragonBlade as the darkness emits from the center of the blade, growing stronger with the blood of the King. “Oh, I guess I never showed you my new sword, it is an ancient weapon crafted thousands of years ago. It is said that satan himself created this blade in the very fire of hell. It is said that it feeds on the blood of humans. That the one that kills with it has the ability to summon creatures that only hell can bring to life.” My smile is twisted into so many kinds of evil fragments. “This power will make the nations bow to us!!”
“You… you are mad!” She trembles as the radiating evil seeps out, stretching towards her. The dark haze begins surrounding the sword until a figure begins to emerge from within the blade. Esther stumbles to her feet and begins backing away towards the opened door as a large black Knight, completely armored, appears from the haze.
“Kill her, we cannot let her live to tell anyone about this. I will be King, sister, you cannot stop that.” I watch as she turns to take off running out of our father’s chamber and down the hall. I watch as the Knight starts to follow after Esther. “Come forth, my hellhounds!” Five massive black furious hounds appear before me. They trot at my side as I head down the halls. When I eventually reach the balcony, I step to the edge to see Esther now with Gideon, Adir, two other men in the courtyard below. Her gaze instantly finds me, followed by Gideon lifting his gaze to look up. The hellhounds glowing red eyes notice their prey and begin gnashing their fangs at them in hunger.
“He… he killed...he killed father.” As Adir and the other Knight’s gaze lifts to me my Black Knight takes that split second of distraction and plunges his weapon into the man’s chest.
“Sir Locksfire, no!!!” The younger man screams out. He jumps off the horse he is mounted on, but before he has a chance to withdraw his sword, Gideon stops him.
“Get back on your horse, now!” Gideon’s command is stern.
“Gideon get the Princesses out of here. NOW!” Adir orders.
I watch as Gideon grabs my sister’s hand and leads her over to the boy and his horse. Quickly he lifts her up into the back of the saddle. “Run, do not look back! I will catch up!” He smacks the romp of the horse, and the creature gallups off.
I watch them as they exchange words, some I catch and others that are so quietly spoken that I stop trying to decipher it. They lunge out at the Dark Knight, trying to find an opening, or weak spot, in his armor, but they eventually give up. Gideon takes off running towards the stables while Adir remains behind to distract his opponent.
“Get him,” I command the hell hounds. Two effortlessly leap over the edge of the balcony and land a few feet away from Adir. The first one lunges forward, jaws wide open to clamp around Adir’s arm. However, before the fangs can make contact with his skin, Adir scorches the beast so bad that even my pet cannot withstand the flames. The other hound gnashes out at Adir, while the Dark Knight slammed his giant sword down against Adir’s blazing sword. ‘You continue to impress me with your strength, Adir.’ I smile at the sight of the battle playing out in front of me, until Gideon rides out of the stables on the back of his large black horse, Canicus. The horse rears up, a crimson blade emanates throughout Gideon’s arm and through the reins in his hand, all the way down to his steeds crest to his legs and hooves. As his hooves come crashing down on the back of the hellhound the sound of breaking bones echo in the courtyard. A piercing loud howl echoes in the night sky as the animal becomes engulfed in fire.
“Well done, Knights.” I congratulate them. “However, no matter how many of them you kill I have the ability to bring another one into creation.” I lift the blade, as soon as I do the dark haze begins to surround me. A smirk inches up along my lips as Adir mounts up behind Gideon, who gives his horse all the rein possible to allow him to run as fast as he can.
“Run, Canicus, run!”
“After them,” I order the remaining beasts, who eagerly take chase out of the Castle gates, following close behind my Knights. Regardless of who they are, I cannot allow them to stop me. I have been waiting far too long for this day to arrive. I feel no empathy or regret for the path I have chosen. ‘From this day forward, you three are now my enemy... I will not let any of you get in my way!’
THE END
Acknowledgements:
First off, thank You to my Sovereign Lord for the very breath that You have given me, and for blessing me with the ability to write the pages of ‘This is our Legend’. I am truly honored to be the Ghostwriter, yet again, to one of Your novels. Thank You for choosing me to write!
Thank you, Jonathan Gandy, my brother, for doing the edits of this novel. You really help make my sometimes-incoherent thoughts make a little more sense, lol. Thank you for always bearing with me! I love you so much, bro!
Thank you, Mauri Gandy, my dear mama, for always encouraging me to write, especially during National Novel Writing Month in November! You continuously prompting me to finish each book is such a driving light to completing my novels! I am so blessed to have you on my side!
I love you so very much, to the moon and beyond!
Thank you to my best friend, Chelsea Lowe, for doing the incredible cover for ‘This is our Legend’. Yet again, it is a true work of art and I am SO honored to have it as the cover of my book. You are such a talented illustrator!
Authors Note:
If you finished reading ‘This is our Legend’ I sincerely want to thank you for taking this journey with me. If you enjoyed it you might want to consider reading ‘The Legend of the Sacred Warriors.’ I wrote it back in 2016, and once ‘The Legend of the Sacred Warriors’ was finished I was talking to my dear friend, Kandi Wyatt, about writing a short story about Prince Kage and the things that lead him to becoming evil. As I started writing, the story kept getting bigger, more characters kept making appearances that played big roles in his life. Characters that were never mentioned in ‘The Legend of
the Sacred Warriors.’ If I was going to link the two books together, I had to explain why Esther, Gideon, Adir didn’t mention Hector, Catherine or Sebastian at all in the future. It ended up being one of the trickiest parts of writing the ending to ‘This is our Legend’ and tying everything together to make sense to the reader before they start reading the next book (or if the reader read the other book first.) I put serious thought into making Kage kill Hector, Catherine and Sebastian, and he did come close to committing the crime, but in the end I/he just couldn’t do it. He cared too much to be the one to kill them. So instead they left the Kingdom, never to be heard of again (or maybe not?)
Kage becoming evil in ‘The Legend of the Sacred Warriors’ was easy because I had no connection to the character, it was set in my mind that he was that way, and that was that. However, writing ‘This is our Legend’ completely changed my mind about him. I loved stepping into his character in more detail and finally understanding his mindset. He had his jerky moments (haha) but he also had a good heart that he didn’t often let others see. Ultimately this is what led to him accepting the darkness.
Here are some fun facts about this book (same as with The Legend of the Sacred Warriors) the main characters are based on my animals, besides for Kage. However, I did name a foster cat after him, lol. Gideon is my oldest dog, Esther is my brother’s dog, Catherine is my cat, Happy (Faline means cat like) Hector is my brother’s cat and Sebastian is based off my cat, Obi (I even named Sebastian’s horse after him, lol). Also, Seren (who plays a large role in the next book) is based off my oldest cat, Star. Adir is based off one of my childhood cats, Hope. He was my best friend growing up.
Throughout the book I even added in random characters based off of some of my foster cats and kittens. Darla, Ava Grace, baby Adir, Annabella, Athena, Victor (aka Valentino), Valeria, Valerio, Sally (aka Sally Cinnamon) Pearl (aka Sangria) Danny (aka Sail Away) Dylan (aka Super Sonic) and Viorel (aka Bluebell).
If you enjoyed reading ‘This is our Legend’, please take a moment to write a review on Amazon. I love feedback (even if it isn’t all positive).
Thank you, my dear reader, for walking this path with Kage and his companions!
Turn the next page for a sneak peek of:
⚔ ’The Legend of the Sacred Warriors’ ⚔
The Legend continues!
The Legend of the Sacred Warriors
Chapter One:
♕ Princess Esther: ♕
I sit absolutely still as my maid servant skillfully braids my long flowing black hair into a perfect spiral along my back. She then showers me with fragrance and paints my face with makeup. I stare at my reflection in the envy mirror and smile at myself in pleasure.
“You are truly a vision, Your Highness.” the girl, who is only a year younger than my seventeen years, says softly from my side. I meet her gaze through the glass, and nod at her. “Thank you, Sandra. I appreciate you helping me get ready for the Ball.” Not that she really has an option. As my maid servant it is her job to do everything I need of her. In-spite of it being her job, I do always try to make her feel important. I look back at myself and take a steady breath, “This is going to be a very important night, Sandra.”
“Your Highness is going to meet with potential suitors from neighboring countries, correct?”
At her inquiry I nod my head in response. “Yes. The King is looking to ally with our neighboring countries, through Kage and I marrying. If all goes well tonight I will meet my future husband,” I explain quietly.
“You are so very brave, Your Highness. Marrying for duty over love would be terrifying for me. I am sorry to speak so bluntly, Your Highness.” She bows her head in her attempt to apologize as I rise from the chair I was sitting in.
“No need to apologize, Sandra.” I turn to face the girl and pat her gently on the shoulder. “It is such a small sacrifice for the sake of my Kingdom’s growth. In any case, please help me with the gown.” Obediently she rushes over to the wardrobe to pull out a beautiful purple silk dress with radiant purple gemstones stitched to the front breasts. Carefully she helps me discard my current clothing and change into the specially made dress. The slim strap that slides up both of my shoulders are covered by a see-through piece of purple fabric to give my golden skin an even softer look to it. The bottom of my dress pops out a little, and dazzling gems dance across the midsection of the dress. I inhale a deep breath of air as Sandra zips up the back to fit it snugly against my slim body.
“You are radiating, Your Highness.” she compliments affectionately.
As I twirl around to look back into the envy mirror I beam at myself once again. “Father will be pleased,” I boast joyfully.
“You will indeed find a suitable husband with your captivating beauty, Your Highness.”
I admire myself for a moment longer before I hear a knock on the outside door. I do not take my eyes off myself as Sandra walks across the room to the door. “Good evening, Sir Gideon,” she greets as soon as she opens the door. “Yes, she is dressed and ready,” she pauses to glance over her shoulder to look at me for approval. “Your Highness, can Sir Gideon enter your chambers?”
I turn to my maid servant. “Yes, of course.” I watch as she opens the door wider for the Knight to step into the room. I smile at the sight of him dressed in formal clothing, looking more like a possible suitor than my assigned Guard. His ruggedly handsome features seem to stand out more than usual. His sandy blonde hair is smoothed back against his scalp, somehow it makes his fierce hazel-brown eyes seem even more intimidating. His well muscled body seems to be unnaturally restrained against his Knightly maroon attire. Slung over his clothing is a dark navy blue cloak.
Once our eyes meet I smile at him in greeting.
“You look beautiful, Princess,” he remarks calmly. He shifts his eyes down my body to take in the length of my flowing dress. “Purple is fitting for you, Princess.”
“Thank you, Gideon.” I walk over to him and size him up in return. “You look different in this attire, did Adir make you wear it?” I inquire curiously. I notice him shift a little uncomfortably.
“Yes, he did. I tried to refuse to wear it, but he told me I would not be able to escort you to the Ball if I did not dress the part.” helplessly he shrugs his strong shoulders. “The fool is too stubborn for his own good.”
Entwined within the teasing in Gideon’s tone, I can hear the overwhelming amount of affection and respect etched inside of it as well. I laugh softly. “You are one to speak, you are as stubborn as they come, Gideon,” I tease.
“Your Highness, I almost forgot…” Sandra, who I had temporarily forgotten about, moves over to my dresser to retrieve a beautiful amethyst necklace. When she returns to my side Gideon reaches out his hand.
“Allow me, miss.” My servant briefly looks at me for approval, and when she sees me nod my blessing she allows Gideon to take the precious jewelry. “I remember when the Queen gave you this on your thirteenth birthday,” he hesitates a few seconds as he steps closer to me, he waits while I turn around. Carefully he slides the stones around my neck, brushing my braided hair to the side so he can easily clasp the necklace together. “She would be happy to see you wearing them today.” He steps back and when I turn back around to face him, he bows to me, lower than usual. Tears gleam at the edges of my vision at the memory of my mother. Three months after my thirteenth birthday she grew gravely ill, and no physician or prophet could heal her. By the next month she was buried in the ground, leaving me, and my father heartbroken. Kage, my older brother however had no emotional relation to the death of our mother, I knew he allowed himself to grieve in solitude.
“I am sorry for bringing it up, Princess,” he apologizes.
“No, thank you for the kind words, Gideon.” I blink back the tears. “Come now, let us head to the Ballroom.” I command softly.
“She is in your care, Sir Gideon,” Sandra remarks gently.
“Thank you, miss.” Gideon guides the way out of my chambers an
d down the hall.
“Hey Gideon… can I confess something?” I question uncertainty.
“Of course, Princess. What is it?”
“I am kind of terrified about this Ball. I told Sandra that marrying someone from a neighboring Kingdom is a worthy sacrifice in order to strengthen the Kingdom of TigersKeep, but… I am scared of having to leave with a Prince I do not know.” I confess. Somehow, he keeps his strides in sync with my own steps.
“You have nothing to worry about, Princess. Even if you happen to meet one of these Princes and the King sees fit to marry the two of you, you will never make that journey alone. I will be your personal Guard regardless of what country you call your home. I vowed to protect you when I became a Knight, and until I draw my last breath, I will honor that vow.”
List of names and their meaning
Kage (Shadow) Tora (Tiger)
Esther- (Star/Princess) Tora (Tiger)
Gideon (Brave Warrior) Kaida ( Little Dragon)
Adir (Noble, Royal, Majestic) Ramiel (Thunder of God.)
Hector (To hold, to possess) Ari (Lion of God)
Sebastian (Venerable) Ari (Lion of God)
Catherine (Pure of heart) Faline (Cat-like)
Richard (Brave leader) Ari
Liraz (My secret) Ari
Elizabeth (God is my oath) Ari
Areon (God of war)
Alexander (Defender)
Isaac (He laughs)
Seren (Star) Sinopa (Fox)
Iris (Rainbow) Sinopa
Alois (Famous Warrior)
Campbell (Crooked Mouth)
Rigel (Foot)
