by Billy Wong
"Oh right, I forgot, he's gagged. Don't feel like doing the work to undo all these ropes to fix that, though. Anyway, we know you had King Matthew kidnapped."
"No, I did not. You tortured Carl. You can torture anything out of anyone—that doesn't make it true."
Alicia smiled. "Are you sure? Matthew is at Weith, resting in the care of his mother. We could help you get what you want."
Victor swept his gaze over his men. "None of you will ever mention what is said in here starting now. Or, neither you nor your dearest kin shall live another year." From the visible shudders and swallowing, Rose knew they believed him. It made her dislike him all the more, but she'd control herself to see this through to the end.
"Well, my lesser in battle? I deliver the boy, and you'll make me... Queen of Kayland."
The prince stared at Alicia and mumbled, "You want me to marry your fat, ugly—eh, anyway, I won't be king. I'll only be regent."
"Then make me... regentess, or whatever for now. I can be queen after you dispose of King Matthew."
"You'll just be called Princess. I'm sure you knew that. Anyway, I won't kill Matthew. By the time he's grown, he'll know better than to defy anything I wish. But perhaps I will send him off somewhere, and keep the crown for myself. Safer to be called King than Regent." He looked to Rose and Finn. "And you two? I wouldn't have expected you to want to help me."
"We've had our problems with Lawrence," Finn said. "Besides, the country deserves a better warrior to lead it than him."
"Ah, for all that my brother has some training and interest in the arts of war, he is weak and soft compared to me. A man with inadequate steel in his heart should not decide the course of a nation."
"I've heard enough," Carl said in a stern voice, stepping forward.
Victor regarded the bag-covered man in confusion. "Huh? What are you saying?"
Alicia stuck her dagger through the ropes around "Carl," cut them, and yanked the sack off. "Surprise!" she said as Victor stared at Prince Lawrence revealed before him.
"No, you charlatans!"
Finn put a thick finger to his temple. "We might have big muscles, but that doesn't mean we don't have brains to go with it!"
"We eat lots of meat to fuel our brain power," Alicia added.
Victor clenched his fist, shaking with rage. "That doesn't even make sense, you, you... imbeciles..." Rose smiled at the anger Finn and Alicia's deception evoked in him. She probably wouldn't have been able to keep up such an act without slipping up, so she felt glad again for their help.
"As acting Regent of Kayland," Lawrence proclaimed, "I hereby strip you of all titles and banish you from the land." Victor's hand drifted towards his sword, but stopped as he considered the opposition that stood against him. Without another word, he headed for the door.
"Banishment, that's it?" Alicia asked. "I wanted to fight him."
Wanting to heighten the prince's frustration some more, Rose patted her shoulder and said, "We already know you're better, friend." Victor stopped for a moment, and tension filled the room. Then, he kept walking.
Just before he exited, Lawrence addressed him. "Before you go, brother, if I may ask, what made you want so badly to rule the kingdom? You had a fine life before this."
"I was quite satisfied with my province of Jugeld, yes. But I just don't trust that boy to grow up to be a decent monarch when he's crowned, and I hate to imagine a whelp leading the nation astray. Better for one with experience such as myself to rule properly until I die, by which time my son Jared should be more than ready to take my place."
It sounded like he had been motivated by a mix of desire for the good of the nation and more selfish ambitions for his offspring and himself. She could kind of understand him not trusting a teenager to run the country once he turned of age. But Finn said, "You're wrong that one can't do an important job well at a young age. Hell, look at Rose—she'd already saved a couple kingdoms by the age of twenty!" She gave a bashful smile tinged with sadness beside him. Yes she'd achieved a lot early on, but also suffered so much. Years were only one way to age.
"Your wife did her great deeds in combat, not in politics. She didn't have to make the difficult decisions even I still have trouble with, after all these years in government."
Rose shook her head. "No, Victor, I had to make many hard decisions. Maybe if I didn't care about my comrades, it would have been different, and all I had to do would've been to fight my best. But I did, and always had to think hard about how to protect them as best I could, in addition to staying alive myself. And I didn't always make the right choices-"
Victor put in, "Yes, exactly, and that's why the young-"
"Let me finish," she snapped. "But I pulled through better than I should have dared to hoped, and while I admit my share of failings that will always haunt me, I don't think my age made me unqualified to make those choices. People of all ages make mistakes, and if you don't let those younger than you face adulthood head on when it comes, then how do you know they'll even be ready to face it when they have to, or ever?"
"So you would put the heaviest decisions on the shoulders of a child?"
"Matthew won't be a child when he takes the throne. It's his rightful place to rule, and if he is to rule, like I said, he'll have to start learning sooner or later. Better sooner when the mind is still young and quick to learn, I figure."
Victor shrugged. "That's a valid argument, I suppose. It's a matter of opinion. Either way, I must congratulate you on a game well played. You've won, this round."
"What do you mean by that?" Finn shouted after him, but he gave no answer as his broad back shrank into the distance.
Rose touched his hand and smiled. "Whatever it is, we'll be ready for it."
#
Alicia hurried home, being rushed by Lawrence to bring King Matthew back. Rose and Finn decided to stay for a bit in the dining room of Victor's former manor, where they enjoyed large cuts of fine meat that had been reserved for the prince.
"I'm just glad he didn't kill Matthew," Rose said near the end of their meal. "He was at least good enough to not do that."
Finn spat out a piece of bone directly on the tablecloth, making Rose grin. "Didn't he need him alive to declare him regent?"
"Yeah, but he said he wouldn't have killed him later either... supposedly."
"Who knows if he would've changed his mind? The man's still a bastard, keeping the poor boy in a bag like that."
"That made me want to rip his jaw off."
He tilted his head. "Rip his jaw off? You still on that maiming and mutilating thing? You really have gotten harder."
"I just thought about it, I didn't actually try to do it." She patted her stomach, tears coming to her eyes. "But it'd have been hard not to get harder. So who do you think will be Lord of the South now, if there is one?"
"Alicia?"
"Serious answer, please."
"Hell if I know. Some stuffy noble we'd care little for, probably. That was a nice speech you gave about letting the young mature. Think you'll take it to heart when it comes to our kids?"
Or be a hypocrite, otherwise. "It'll probably be hard for me as a parent to let them navigate the perils of the world on their own. But I know firsthand that being independent helps you grow. I'll try not to be too controlling"—she rolled her eyes—"like Victor."
"You sound so wise, you lovely young old lady. One more deposed evil ruler to add to the legend, eh?"
"Yeah... one more. Let's go home and celebrate."
"What about Alicia?"
She shrugged. "She can just come and visit us if she wants. It should be easy enough to find out where we've gone."
Having finished eating, Finn stood up. He stepped over to her chair and lifted her out of it into his arms, carrying her from the room while she continued to eat the last chunk of beef still in her hand. Guards and servants stared blankly at them as they passed. "Then let's have a grand party for the downfall of Prince Loser!"
#
&nb
sp; Wiping away sweat as it poured down his brow, Justin squinted across the mile-long, agonizingly hot underground chamber at his teacher. He cast a firewave spell which turned a fifty foot spread of the ground before him into lava, and in throwing his arm out to do so noticed again the change coming over him. "Gods, I'm turning into a monster here. Can't you stop it, Rexxon?" His skin had begun turning hard and blue over the course of the time he'd spent with the gargantuan dragon, and he didn't want to live the rest of his life as a freak.
It is inevitable, for that is the price of having within you the demonic power which grants your extraordinary magical ability. But do not despair—with such prowess, you will be able to make everyone pay you homage, whatever your appearance.
"Homage? I don't want homage, just my life!"
You will have a life, greater than you ever could have imagined. Under my tutelage, you will bring about a great golden age!
Doubtful of the grandiose words, Justin asked, "Why have you focused so much on offensive magic in your teachings? Is there something you'd like to tell me about what you plan to do with me?"
Destruction comes naturally to the essence of the demon. But with my guidance, you will be able to direct that inclination towards what best warrants it.
"Destruction? But you promised you'd save me from the prophecy..."
I will. You won't have to destroy what you love, if you just destroy what I tell you.
Justin glared at the enormous creature. "I am not your slave."
A hint of surprise flickered through an eye larger than a man. Slave? I never thought of you as my slave. You are my pupil, my subject. I offer you my millennia of wisdom and knowledge. If you do not listen, you only do yourself a great disservice.
One part stood out to him. "Subject? What do you mean?"
It may not have occurred to your small mind thus far, but realize now that I am the rightful king of the world—the King of Kings.
Did the dragon hold delusions of grandeur? Considering its size and power, though, he wasn't sure what could stop it from realizing them. "And what gives you that right, Rexxon?"
The justification it gave proved better than expected, and made Justin aware its prattling about "millennia" was not mere hyperbole. I, Justin, am the first dragon.
First dragon, as in the first mage ever to attain enough magical prowess to transcend human form?! No wonder it was so many times larger than any dragon he had heard of before—apparently, it might also be that much more powerful. But it hadn't been able to defeat the demon lord alone, and Justin imagined perhaps he too could surpass it someday. Not that he'd want that, if he was destined to use such power to destroy...
If things continued as they were, someday the prophecy of doom would be fulfilled and all of humanity would suffer. Knowing even the mightiest of mages could not or would not rid him of the demon within, he was forced now to make a choice between the lives of Rose's children and his own. To save the world from destruction at his own hands, would he destroy himself, or the ones who would trigger that dreadful outcome? Though the decision hurt for the children's current innocence, it wasn't really all that hard when it came down to it. He chose to save himself.
"All right, Rexxon. Mold me into your warrior, so that I may save this world from the grim future threatened by myself."
#
Months passed. When Rose and Finn learned reading the mail together that Golden Knight Sierra of Palion had been named Lady Lord of the South, he found her looking surprisingly displeased. "What's wrong? It's not every decade you see a woman elevated to such a high position in Kayland. I thought you'd be happy to see the world is changing."
"I don't know," she said softly. "It's not her being a woman or not I care most about, but that she's a warrior first and foremost. After talking to Victor, I've been feeling like the opposite of what he said—that maybe it shouldn't be warriors who govern, but folks less quick to violence."
"It's not like Sierra is... Prince Victor. I hear she spared the life of the archer who put out her eye after he surrendered. That's a decent feat of compassion and forgiveness in my estimation."
Rose shrugged. "It's not about her personally. I don't know her well even if we have fought in tourney before, although what you said is a little reassuring. But warriors like us are so used to taking life, we jump to it more quickly than perhaps a ruler should. Maybe instead of people in charge who can make the 'hard' decisions that readily, we'd better off with ones who think more carefully beforehand."
"The world we live in says different. We need to be able to respond promptly to and with aggression, because if we can't, those who can will step all over us."
"You're probably right. I hope the world can change then, so the capacity to shed blood will become less and less important."
Finn played with her ear, trying to cheer her up. "You know, Sierra did also pluck the arrow right out of her eye and use it to stab an enemy through the visor. Whatever you think of her promotion, that is impressive."
Rose stared at him. "That's just plain nasty is what it is! But yeah, it is impressive. I suppose the reality is, warriors will always be needed as long as evil exists. Some of the killing we did really was deserved, like that of The Lost."
"Speaking of which, do you think they've really broken up?" There'd been no word of The Lost since Irv's death, and Lise had against her daughter's advice returned home. Finn hoped dearly that this choice didn't lead to more heartbreak for Rose.
"I'd be glad if they have. Although with some of their members being alive, that would still leave some crazed men in the world."
"There are always crazed people out there. Better they work alone than in a group for some perverse cause."
She nodded. "That's true enough."
Just weeks later, they got much more alarming news. Someone had taken over Prince Victor's former province of Jugeld in the southeast, apparently through intimidation as they had shown off apparently vast magical power and were rumored to be a monster in the guise of a man. He had announced himself as the servant of a mysterious so-called "King of Kings" rather than claiming the territory for his own, and Rose and Finn feared he might merely be the precursor to a larger invasion. So when they heard Lady Sierra was preparing a force to go south and investigate the matter, they decided to meet her in Coeb and offer their aid.
#
Rose arrived just in time with Finn as Sierra and her force were about to move out, and spotting the lithe female knight at the head of a column of several hundred men she blinked in surprise. She had a missing eye, which an eyepatch thankfully covered, but that was not the worst recent damage visible on her face. A vivid red scar ran from her forehead down between her eyes and all the way to her chin, which Rose wondered if her blind eye had cost her.
"Rose and Finn," the golden-armored blonde knight greeted them, "good to see you. I'd been worried about facing dangerous magic, but you two have dealt with plenty of mages before, no?"
"Enough," said Rose. "This 'King of Kings' makes me feel uneasy, though. If his servant already has powerful magic, then what about him?"
Finn gave a dismissive wave. "We've taken down ancient mages before. How much stronger can this one be?"
You never knew, Rose thought. But considering she had stood up well enough alone to Deathend, one of the greatest mages of the Old World, and now had an army at her back, she figured their chances to be decent. "Are these men prepared? I imagine most of them haven't faced magic in the past."
A nervous frown played at Sierra's lips, but she said, "No, but they're some of the best in the land. I've crossed a lot of battlefields with these boys, so I trust them. If they can't do it, I'd wager no other soldiers can."
Rose nodded with a smile. "It's good you have faith in your men. We'll just do our best to help you, then."
"I'd hoped I could half retire and not fight so much anymore after becoming Lord of the South. But already another battle's on the horizon."
Hearing that increased Ros
e's empathy towards the other warrior, although she'd already begun to make a good impression. "Who knows, maybe it won't come to that. By the way, how long ago did you get that scar?"
"Close to a year. Why?"
"You ought to try some of the creams I use. My wounds are usually better healed than that after a year's passed." Saying so, she couldn't help self-consciously fingering the scars all over her plump face.
Sierra chuckled. "Facial creams, Rose? You sound like a wimpy girl."
"I am a girl," she said with a laugh, "just like you! Though people sometimes forget..."
"Sometimes I wish more of them would forget. It's hard." Being a female in politics, she obviously meant.
"You'll be alright, Sierra. You're too tough not to be."
The blonde clapped her shoulder. "That's a great compliment, coming from you." She looked to her men. "Let us be off, then!"
#
"The King of Kings... I wonder how powerful he is," Rose mused as she rode with Finn in the center of the column, Sierra's heavy cavalry all around them.
His own horse straining noticeably under his enormous armored bulk, Finn replied, "He might just be delusional. It wouldn't be the first time we met someone who thought themselves more than what they were."
"Yeah, but most of those people were pretty tough anyway, and this one had a minion take over a province, even if a currently leaderless one." She stopped, spotting a huge hole off the road which made it look like a tower had been plucked, base and all, from the ground by some unimaginable power. "What happened here?" she wondered with a shiver.
Her question was answered when a huge shadow fell over the army, and they looked up to behold something she never imagined she would ever see. A winged reptile many times larger than any living creature she'd encountered hovered over them, coated in gigantic scales in innumerable colors. Its impossible body rippled with muscles like those of a great cat, and tongues of red-hot flame licked out between teeth like jagged white tree stumps. Its tail was coiled around an entire stone tower over a hundred feet tall, which it now flung down at its shocked prey.
The air filled with panicked screams of veteran soldiers whose resolve still broke instantly before a foe like this. Knowing they couldn't evade in time, Rose and Finn struck at the same spot on the incoming tower wall, damaging it enough so that when it hit them, they broke through rather than being crushed flat. But from the shrieks and sounds of crunching bone and tearing flesh all around them, they knew dozens of others weren't so lucky. The tower shattered over them, burying them under tons of rock. Darkness blanketed Rose; her whole body was pain, and she could hardly move. Beneath her she felt the torn flesh of her dead horse, and smelled its blood. She reached out the little she could with her arm, searching for Finn. She touched his hand, which closed around hers. He was alive, and that gave her strength. The couple rallied their will, forced the rocks around them to shift enough to make some room, and dug up. Soon slivers of light touched their eyes and they pushed aside the last stones.
