Death of a Monarch {CANON}
Saphir,I need your help. I’m stuck on the outskirts of the kingdom, do you remember the rumor of a rebellion I
mentioned in my last visit to the castle? It would seem that it was true, these savages refuse to let me
leave without you coming here.
Though I fear it may be dangerous for you, I will be unable to make it out alive otherwise. They say
to come alone, and it might be best you listen to them. I fear anyone else’s safety just as much as your
own. I need you to come to the outskirts of the forest, where the trees are as thick as a wall where we
used to practice casting spells as kids, before we became part of the Royal Knights at least.
Please, hurry.
– Zidanne
~~~
That was what the message brought to him had said. Worried for the safety of both his brother and the kingdom he had been brought to protect, the king complied without another word, leaving Kage to look after the kingdom. It would be in good hands, so that wasn’t too concerning to Saphir.
He had been waiting for quite some time at the meeting place, though; he had expected Zidanne to be there already along with his captors. Here, however…there was no human in sight. Just why was that? Was he already too late?
It was then that he realized what was going on, but far too late.
“…Brother.” he called out from over his shoulder to the trees behind him, “What exactly is going on here, Zidanne?”
Indeed, the red-eyed mage had been there the entire time, and soon surfaced from the cover of the trees. He didn’t seem in trouble at all, a smirk that he always had on his face still there, though twisted into an expression that was hard for Saphir to place.
“How nice, it seems my letter got to you. I’ll have to pay that messenger handsomely when I get back.” he says with a laugh that would haunt even the most skeptical of people, “However…this is where you will stay.”
“I don’t understand…” the dark-haired king answered. This was…unlike Zidanne. His brother was normally cheerful and glad to see him, and while it may appear so…it was different. This wasn’t like the other at all, hiding secrets; just what did Zidanne mean..? “…What are you planning, brother?!”
The fan Zidanne always carried to help with his casting unfolded, holding the object in front of his face as if to conceal it.
“My my, I thought you were smarter than this, Saphir. Think about it…” he says, “Don’t you remember what happened a few months ago? You got to keep your son alive, but my daughter wasn’t so privileged…”
“…That’s what this is about?” In all honesty, Saphir was trying oh-so much to forget that day, the day the young Estelle was turning into a Jotunn thanks to the curse on her. She had been too young, the curse would have made her suffer for eternity until she eventually was killed by someone…
“Zidanne, you know I had no choice! Your daughter would have suffered through the curse if I hadn’t killed her, it was too late for Spica to–”
“I don’t want to hear another word of this!” Zidanne’s voice raised, crimson flames flickering at his fingertips and increasing in hostility with each passing moment. “You killed my daughter, I would have gone after that accursed brat of your’s…but this is always the next best thing. As they say; ‘an eye for an eye’…”
“Brother, you need to calm down.” Saphir had also started up a spell of his own, only one he would use to deflect it if Zidanne had attacked him. “You aren’t thinking straight, you know I had no choice! I never wanted to harm her, nor did I want her to suffer…I refuse to fight you!”
“You refuse?” the mage clad in red repeated, though soon began to laugh, quiet chuckling moving on into cackling at his brother’s words. “Fight? No no…Not what I was meaning at all.”
Zidanne waved his hand, a large barrage of flames following, heading towards the king. Though he had managed to block the spell with that of his own…it didn’t help him. Crimson trickled down his chest, a blade having been run through his heart.
The spell was a distraction, Saphir realized, though too late to do anything about it. all he could do it wordlessly glare at his brother who had now become the cause of his likely fate, the same crimson liquid filling his mouth and dripping down his face with a cough.
“You were always so clumsy around weaponry, too bad that has become your downfall.” Zidanne said, soon ripping the iron sword out of the king’s chest. Saphir, could only stumble and fall to the ground, more of his blood staining the the grass and dirt under him.
It didn’t take long for the bloodied king’s body to cease moving, left there along with the blade that killed him.
“Now then, taking care of those three silver-haired monsters will be easy…”
Join Qfeast to read the entire story!
Sign In. It is absolutely free!
