That Day

That was the nice part to remember, but there still were things about which I needed to hear another opinion.

“Rob, what do you think happened that day when Eric…” He looked at me so angrily so I silenced just to not make him want to kill me again for suggesting I was at fault. For a moment the healer's eyes judged me if I am trustworthy enough to hear that.

“Let's sum up the facts first. One: king Albertus was murdered. Two: Eric was first among all king's heroes, which already consisted of the best ones. Three: there must have been someone else.”

“How do you know?” I was surprised by the firm statement.

“I believe that it was all lie, so in my opinion the real murdered was also at the scene and fled the scene before king Ned got there, so he assumed what happened and tried to get rid of Eric without letting him explain or he there much later and just believed in the version the murdered or anyone who was there before him. I mean that could be a reasonable seeing dead king in Eric’s arms both covered in blood, but the reasoning,” Rob bridled. “I can’t believe that Eric killed the king, who treated him as son just because he didn't let him marry princess Madelaine. Don’t you think if such an obsession was within him, he wouldn’t try to lie his hands on the princess at least once, instead of hiding and… Well I hope he didn't die alone.”

I felt his eyes on me, like he was checking my reaction. I didn’t realise I was shaking for a while, I murmured something about suddenly getting sick and asked for him to leave me alone. Just step by step like I did then, to run away even when no one was chasing me yet, that was my punishment. My head felt dizzy and the trait was changing in the corridor and way back.

King Albertus gave me a special task back then, because more and more heroes were reporting that monsters were having all kinds of spells within them, to find out what was going on. It took me a long time but I got to the bottom of it. The elf's gerousia was looking for the source of mud, which is the base of monsters' bodies and I had evidence that they wanted to experiment with it. I have already reported that matter, but later accidentally I overheard the conversation and had to tell the king that one of the king's heroes was complicit in it.

The later king Ned, whose elfish name was Nedonebiskakocyt, was an excellent magician and my dearest friend. We were on a lot of missions together, fighting shoulder to shoulder, drinking and eating, sitting by the fire, laughing, sharing secrets, worries and happiness. He was there when I went into the king's chambers, I heard the last part of their conversation.

“And who would be better for your daughter?”

“Eric. I am trusting him more than you.”

King Albertus answered and that was the wrong answer. I couldn’t understand why he mentioned me, because we were discussing that matter earlier and I made myself clear that I won’t marry Maddie, and I would rather see her happy with someone she would choose on her own. I also mentioned that he already decided enough about my life, so I don’t want him to mess with it more. He could treat me like a son and I was always loyal, liked and respected him, but never saw him as my father. For me Maddie could never be something more than friends and she was thinking exactly the same. I felt squeamish, because I realized I have never actually cared about what happened with her after her father's death, and if she believed that I was the one who stabbed him in the back?

“Speak of the devil.” Ned smiled, spotted me going closer. “I assume that you came to tell the king about my part in a great plan, right?”

“Great plan?” The king turned in my direction.

“I guess that’s what the elves call it.” I answered, trying to understand what was going on.

“So let me explain, because I am done with behaving like I like you, when I hate you all.” Ned was playing with a knife in his hand and suddenly threw me and the king on the wall. “We elves of course are a better kind than all of you and we are done sharing everything. The great plan is simple: get rid of ogres and most of the humans and dwarfs but leave some of you to serve us.” I had never suspected I would see his kind face saying all these horrible things with a scary smile on his face. “I came here, stayed close to the king and befriended the greatest hero of all time. Tell me Eric how it is to be the best and first in every category, you who was supposed to be a poor fisherman would even get a beautiful princess? Mhm, why silence? No answer, because you know I am actually better.” He was going between me and the king, continuing his speech and keeping us pinned to walls. “Now I will tell you what’s going to happen, I will become the king, Maddie will marry me. Shh Albertus, don’t overreact you will be dead for a moment. As for you Eric, as I didn’t expect you here, but I quickly made a new role for you. The kingslayer. What do you think?”

I couldn’t move, Ned was the strongest magician I knew and the only one who could cast such a power with a small amount of glass in the form of an orb in his ring. He released the king from the spell and helped him stand up.

“How dare you?!” The anger wouldn’t make any change. If Ned was up to something there was nothing which would stop him.

“Oh well. I just do.” The elf shrugged his shoulders. “Back would be more dramatic right?”

That moment he stabbed him a few times on the back, I could just observe how life is taken from my king. That bastard even clenched my throat with the magic, so I couldn’t scream. Ned looked with disgust at the king's body which he dropped on the floor with thud. He let me move again, so I took my sword ready to get revenge but the anger overwhelmed me, and I was making mistake after mistake. Ned was having fun, when he dodged my every attack and left another wound on my body. For sure he didn't want to kill me, but he quickly got bored and threw me on the wall again.

“Tsk, tsk, Eric you were never good with emotions.” He came to me and filled the orb with my blood and then cast the spell, as I saw the colour of his pupils fading. “You see, pretending to be your friends was a nightmare, so to reward myself for all this effort I will do everything to destroy you and your name. You will live in misery without the possibility of dying or getting old. How do you like the idea of being in your prime and not being able to do anything?” He patted my cheek. “Be good and start running away. Catching you now won’t be any fun.”

Ned bundled me through the door. I knew I was done for. The corridor’s floor was getting decorated with my blood, all the anger changed into submission to my fate. I couldn’t think, I just followed once again the path someone created for me. Step by step, without the voice

“Eric the hero murdered the king!”