Year 2: The Battle of Rhodes - Chapter 8

“A maid’s work is never done.”

Yvonne used to make that joke whenever Princess Aeila thought she’d asked too much of her maid.

It wasn’t funny, but it made Aeila smile.

Even in her old years as she became a young woman, and even when the foundations of the Great Disaster were being laid, Yvonne never changed her tune.

She hadn’t, however, said it in quite some time.

Since the princess’s abduction, Yvonne had been working extra hard for Prince Julius and Prince Augustus.

Even now, as guests partied and mingled at the banquet, Yvonne was working, tidying Augustus’s bedroom and organising his work for tomorrow.

Then, she’d heard a stifled scream from the next room.

Memories of the Sack of Themis flooded her mind.

Instinct took over and she hid beneath the bed and just in time.

Heavy metal boots came through the bedroom doors and prowled around the room.

In the dark, Yvonne could see little of the figure except for the wet glistening liquid dripping from the monster’s sword.

Twice the intruder came close to the bed and Yvonne held her breath.

One mistake would get her killed.

Her teeth rattled at the thought, so she clamped her mouth shut with both hands.

***

Augustus’s mind had cleared very quickly when he saw the scene of slaughter.

As he ran like a lunatic through the palace halls, calling for aid and sounding the alarm, he had, by chance, run into his brother.

“Julius! My room! Everyone…they’re…they killed-!”

“Breathe, Augustus.” Julius gripped his brother’s shoulder firmly. “We are under siege and I know now where we could enlist aid. By staying together, we stand a better chance and might find some survivors yet.”

The two moved back to Augustus’s quarters and Julius cursed at the sight of the carnage.

“Savages! Unarmed innocents and for what? They didn’t-!”

“Your highness!” Yvonne ran out from her hiding place, tears streaming down her face. “I thought-!”

“Look out!”

Augustus moved.

He pulled Yvonne away just as the sword strike came from above.

The black steel blade cut through the air and sliced Augustus from collarbone to naval.

Time seemingly stopped as blood spurted from his brother’s body.

Julius drew his longsword from its sheathe and lunged forward, locking blades with the assailant.

“Prince Augustus!” Yvonne caught the falling body of the second prince and retreated a few metres, as Prince Julius held back the intruder. “Prince Julius, he’s losing-!”

“I know! Get him out of here, Yvonne!” Julius roared and pushed his opponent back, slashing at their face.

He struck the figure’s full-face helm and, with a clean strike, cut it into two even pieces.

When they fell to the ground, all three survivors of the Holy Empire of Themis stared in disbelief at the intruder’s face.

“…Dame…Chelsea?” Yvonne whispered, dropping to her knees.

The former knight of Princess Aeila smiled warmly at the maid.

Her beauty remained unchanged - her skin was paler and her armour had been blackened, just like the Divine Paladin’s had been.

She was the woman they knew, but reborn.

“Awoken…” Julius ground his teeth together. “What happened, Chelsea? Why are you one of them?!”

Chelsea’s smile took on a sadder look. “Because we were foolish, Julius.”

“What?”

“Aeila…the princess risked everything to try and defeat the Demon Emperor before hundreds of thousands died, and she failed. To save Aeila, I stepped forward and offered to undergo the Awakening Process to keep Aeila safe.” Dame Chelsea laughed. “That was the best decision the old me ever made.”

“…You…you really fell…into-?”

Dame Chelsea blinked and her eyes changed to the deep purple colour that they all knew identified the Awoken.

“…Even someone as strong as you-”

“It’s because I was strong that I survived, Julius,” Chelsea said; then, she winced a little. “There’s no need to look so sad. This is a good thing - I’ve learnt the truth of this world and can serve Aangapea’s true master. There is nothing more wonderful than that.”

“…Ju…Julis,” Augustus coughed through vomiting fits of blood. “…A…Aeila…she’s…safe…Chelsea…we can’t…save…”

“I know.” Julius shifted into an aggressive stance. “I’ll do it. So, just-”

“Prince Julius!”

Yvonne’s desperate cry saved the prince’s life as Dame Chelsea’s sword thrust at his heart without hesitation.

He moved at the last moment and the blade skimmed his armour, but didn’t break it. He then blocked her follow-up slash, then countered her jab at his right side. Julius parried her sword away and swung with great force at her neck, but Chelsea bent her back to avoid the thrust, then landed a kick on the prince’s chin, disorientating him and sending him stumbling back.

Chelsea didn’t let the opportunity slip past and struck again, slashing at his neck, but Julius blocked the blade, though the force of the impact sent his sword flying out of his hands and towards Yvonne and Augustus.

Julius drew his dagger but Chelsea disarmed him off that too.

“Prince Julius!”

Yvonne, carrying his blade in both arms, ran at him.

“Yvonne, don’t-!”

Chelsea disengaged from Julius and thrust her sword into Yvonne’s heart.

The maid, however, smiled and, with the last of her strength, threw the sword to Prince Julius.

***

Sadly, Yvonne’s sacrifice had been in vain.

Prince Julius’s body fell beside the maid’s as Chelsea turned to greet Duncan, Feng Li, Brenda and Blake.

“Good evening, Duncan.”

“…Dame Chelsea.”

“Hehe, you made the exact same face Julius did when he saw me. Were you surprised to see me here? Well, I imagine you must have been.” Chelsea relaxed her grip on her sword’s hilt. I didn’t expect to be sent here tonight either, but his majesty insisted I had to end the rest of the Gaius bloodline to crush any hope of reviving the Holy Empire of Themis, which I’ve just finished.

“So, my objective has been complete. Honestly.” Her smile turned downwards slightly. “I’d rather not have to kill you. If you just surrender now, I can ask his majesty to let you all become Awoken like me. That way-”

“Feng, take Brenda and Blake and help Yve.”

“…Are you sure, Brother Duncan?”

Duncan nodded firmly and raised Angurvadal up. “Once you’ve helped them, head back and help Hailey. I’ll join you when I can.”

“Duncan, you don’t have to do this.”

“I do, Brenda.” He turned to them with a stern expression. “Please.”

The other three looked at one another, then wordlessly left Duncan behind.

“…I really didn’t want to have to do this,” Chelsea said dejectedly.

“Neither do I, but…but!” Duncan bit his lip. “You’re not her…you’re…you’re!” Duncan activated his first rune, Uruz, for courage and then his second, Raidho, for instant movement. “I’m so sorry, Chelsea!”

The two ran forward and steel clashed.

Not wanting to draw the fight out for long, Duncan immediately used Raidho for a second time, aiming his blade at her heart, but he froze at the last second.

Flashes of the nights he’d spent talking to her beneath the moonlight flashed through his mind.

“I, Duncan Wilson, vow to you, Dame Chelsea, that I’ll… defeat the Demon Emperor.”

I’ll save you!

The promise he made to save her, to be left forever unfulfilled.

You can’t save an Awoken…that’s what we’ve been told, but what…what if we could?

Chelsea elbowed him in the stomach, then smacked his temple with the butt of her hilt, then roundhouse kicked him in the cheek, launching Duncan flying across the room and into a door.

Startled and winded, Duncan went to rise, but Chelsea shot across the room. She swung at his left arm, but Duncan rolled out of the way. She slashed after his back, but Duncan blocked with his sword then used Thurisaz to heal his injuries. He then blocked her follow-up thrust and countered with his own.

“You forgot, Duncan.” Chelsea caught the blade between her armpit and her chest plate. “I taught you all of the basics myself!”

She headbutted him, injuring herself more than him, then ripped his Divine Artifact from his hands. Chelsea then used her own sword to strike at Duncan, but he swerved his body out of the way, then kicked her in the back of her leg, dropping her to one knee. He then grabbed her in a headlock and dove onto her, pinning her beneath him.

Their weapons went tumbling onto the ground as Duncan attempted to force Chelsea into a chokehold. However, she was resisting and her strength was almost the same as his without Duncan being able to use his runes.

I need to get Angurvadal back or else I can’t win! Chelsea threw two punches at his face which bounced off his armour, then another at his neck. She managed to dent the armour a little, but that was it. Pass out, Chelsea! Pass out!

The angle was awkward and not a proper hold, but Duncan hoped it’d be enough.

Sensing that she couldn’t break free barehanded, Chelsea reached out for Prince Julius’s nearby dagger and grabbed it.

Viciously, she drove it into Duncan’s leg, right where there was a gap in the plates, and he howled in pain.

The blade stabbed right through the chain mail and pierced his skin.

The pain had made him reflexively release her, giving Chelsea precious moments to escape his hold. She swiftly removed the dagger from him, eliciting even more pain in the young boy, then went to stab his arm.

Duncan caught her closed fist with his hand, then with his other when Chelsea started using both her hands to drive the blade down towards him.

She wasn’t aiming for his vitals; she was looking to cripple him.

Even if she does, as long as I can get back my Divine Artifact, I can heal this up, but! He winced and groaned as the pain grew more intense, and as his struggle against Chelsea became a deadlock. How do I do this?!

Chelsea threw an elbow at Duncan’s face, but it didn’t do more than make him blink.

She clicked her tongue and tried kneeing him between the legs, but she was at a bad angle and couldn’t reach.

Her actions, however, gave Duncan an idea.

One of his legs was too injured to move, but he could bend the other around and push Chelsea off him.

He put his boot onto her stomach and pushed with all the strength he could muster, knocking Chelsea off and sending her rolling away, dagger still in hand. Duncan wasted no time recovering Angurvadal; then, using Uruz to increase his strength, he stomped on her sword and broke it in two, rendering it useless.

Seemingly impressed, Chelsea smiled as she rose to her feet, keeping the dagger close at hand.

Duncan, on his unsteady legs, started using Thurisaz to heal himself and to create a small defensive barrier over his skin.

She knows all the best places to strike. Thankfully, she only wants to wound me, but that doesn’t mean she’s holding back. Prince Julius’s sword is…still near his body, so she’ll probably try to go for that.

The two faced off.

Neither moved much, outside of readjusting their stances and watching the other’s footwork.

If Duncan took a step to the left, she took a step to the right.

If Chelsea shifted her centre of weight, Duncan did the same.

Her sword was broken in two, but that doesn’t mean she can’t use the fragments to fight. Duncan swallowed. Don’t underestimate her. She’s not a knight for nothing and, now that she’s been turned into an Awoken, she’s more dangerous than ever.