The Day of Reckoning: Part 2

Quil watched with disgust as the princess and his friend, Tum, held each other lovingly. The battle had been fierce, yesterday, leaving many dead, and a lot more injured. The royal families had been slaughtered, remaining those who fled and the one before him.

"I will never you again, Tum," Meredith said.

"I'm sorry I had to lie to you."

They were entangled in a passionate embrace inside a room in one of the royal houses that the peasants had commandeered. Quil watched them from the doorway. T

he princess was supposed to be in chains, waiting for such a time as the peasants would have mercy on her to send her to the afterlife. She was his loot. He was to have knowledge of her first, then any man could come and do as they liked.

"Tum, get out," Quil said.

Tum bristled, turning towards Quil. "Why?"

"She is my prisoner."

"She is no one's prisoner."

"Have you taken leave of your senses, boy? Have you forgotten who saved you from getting executed?"

"She did."

"Get out of my way now. There is no union between the corrupt ruling class and us peasants. I might as well send her to the afterlife."

"You will do no such thing," Tum insisted.

"Then you will die with her!"

Quil pulled his sword from its sheath and dashed towards Tum. Swiftly, Tum moved out of his way and Quil landed heavily on his side.

"You cannot have him," Tum said, expecting Quil to get up and lunge at him. But the man remained on the ground.

"Quil," Tum called. "Quil."

He looked closely. The man had his own sword running through his head. He must have tripped and fallen when Tum slipped out of the way.

"He's dead," Meredith said, breathless.

"Come. We have to run away."

**

Captain Aris stood at the tower that protected the palace and stared out at the approaching herd. The forest seemed to be moving towards the city.

The city had fallen. The remaining soldiers had managed to push back the peasants, stopping them from taking control of the palace, but there was no king now, and the advisor had disappeared.

"Bonnie," Aris said.

She knew the girl was coming for the palace. The soldiers were already wasted and thinned down. If they fought again, the kingdom would be without soldiers.

"I have to talk to her," she muttered.

Before the trolls laid siege to the palace, the captain walked down from her position and let herself through the palace gates.

"Lock the gates," she told the soldiers. "If anything happens, do not open it. Defend the palace with your life."

Outside, she took a deep breath as the trolls gathered around her. The only human with them was on top of a very large eagle hovering over the palace.

"I seek to exchange words," Aris cried.

"There is nothing to talk about," Bonnie replied. "Where is the king? Where is Sheer?"

"The king is dead."

"I don't believe you."

Behind the trolls, the peasants were beginning to swell again, coming out from houses that they had taken as theirs, waiting for the assault on the palace to begin.

"I know who you seek," Aris continued. "Sheer, the advisor. He sent the men that killed your brother."

"You know nothing about my brother," Bonnie snarled. "Kill her!" she commanded the trolls.

"Wait!" Aris screamed as the trolls closed in on her. "I know where Sheer might be."

Bonnie glared at her. She looked different, but Aris could feel the mutual hate for Sheer coming off her body.

"Where?"

**

"My lord," one of the soldiers called, dashing into the advisor's tent. "The trolls approach."

Sheer had a grin on his face as he followed the soldier out of the tent. The tent pitched outside the city of Mora was a temporary thing. He knew he would be back in the palace in no time. He was certain of it. The girl, Bonnie, must still have an iota of feeling left in her.

He walked towards the place where the sun darkened.

"Get the prisoners out," he said.

The prisoner was unchained from the tree where they both had been chained together and dragged forward. Each of them had chains on their hands.

"The kingdom's disastrous couple," Sheer said, looking at Tum and Meredith. His men had caught them running away from the city. "Bats. You belong nowhere. Not to the night, not to the day."

As the trolls invaded the camp, Sheer put a knife to Tum's throat and motioned a soldier over to Meredith. The campground shook with the sound of an approaching army that was still some distance away. The birds flew in, giant birds half the size of a man. They flew over the camp threateningly till the eagle alighted bearing Bonnie and the female warrior.

"I see you two have finally bonded," Sheer said, chuckling.

"You killed my brother," Bonnie said. The sword in her hand glinted. It drew Sheer. He could feel the raw power oozing from it.

"The crystal sword," he gasped. "Come any further and I will kill the last friend you have."

The advisor pressed the knife deeper into Tum's throat.

"You couldn't if your life depended on it," Bonnie said.

"Give me the sword, or I swear I will end both their lives."

In response, Bonnie threw her sword up in the air. Sheer's eyes followed. He did not realize his hand had gotten loose around Tum's neck. Tum pushed his head backward catching the advisor on his face. The advisor staggered backward. Meredith followed Tum's lead and they were free except for the chains on the hands.

The guard lunged at Meredith. It was a costly mistake that cost him his hand as Aris swung into action. Bonnie faced off the remaining guards, and Sheer turned towards Tum.

"You destroy everything!" he wailed and thrust.

Even with the chains binding his hands, Tum was too fast for the advisor who quickly drew his sword. With moves borne of fights in the streets of Mora, he dodged and deflected all of Sheer's thrusts until the latter hit out with his leg, sending Tum crashing to the ground. 

Tim saw the swing of a glittering sword coming towards him and placed the chain in its ways. The sound of a click announced that his chain had been cut. Before Sheer could thrust his sword into his stomach, Tum rolled off the ground, picking up the sword of a fallen soldier. When he swirled towards the advisor, he found the man pulling his sword from the soil. The swinging of the sword came with the same motion as Tum's turning, sending the advisor's severed head into the air.