CHAPTER 11 - I - THE AMARANTHINE CIVIL WAR

 

Thick smoke and dust obscured my vision, as I tried to make sense of what’s happening around me.  People were running around, screams were flying and the terrible sounds of battle resumed.  I immediately looked at Maddie and noticed that she had a light wound on her forehead.

 

“Maddie?” I gently shook her.  When she barely responded, I put my ear near her heart to make sure she’s fine.

 

“D-Don’t worry, Kuro.  I could still move.” I heard her say.

 

“Aaaarrrrggghhh!”

 

“!!!”

 

Amidst the smoke, the Ban of Kistral suddenly appeared, with his sword and wand drawn, ready to thrust it to Maddie’s neck.  The instinct to protect her took over me, and I put my body over her to shield her from the Ban’s attack.  I quickly grabbed the blade of his sword, wounding my hand.  But I took a handful of sand and threw it in his eyes.

 

“Gaaah!” the Ban temporarily retreated to clear his vision.  I wanted to come after him, but I had to protect Maddie.

 

However, he continued his attempt to kill her, “You’re an evil saint, Madelaine Rubinforth!  Die!”  The Ban randomly swung his sword, nearly slashing my arm.

 

“What the hell’s wrong with you, douchebag?” I blurted out.  I could my entire body shaking, not because of fear, but out of sheer anger.  He just tried to assassinate Maddie, and as her fiancée and guard, I won’t let that happen!

 

“Madelaine Rubinforth should die!” was the only answer he could give me, “And I’ll kill you as well; Eris is mine and mine alone!”

 

Well, will you look at that?  All this time, this lolicon is with Eris…

 

His eyes must’ve stung when I threw those sand particles on his face, however, it’s still dangerous to face the Ban.  He blindly swung his sword and fired his magic spells in different directions.  I wanted to subdue him, but I couldn’t get in range…

 

…until now.

 

Seeing that he was just doing random movements, I quickly kicked his crotch and sent the Ban to the ground, writhing in pain.  By this time, he had inadvertently dropped his sword, and he was weakened.

 

“You…damned commoner!” the Ban kept on cursing me, “I’ll make sure you’ll suffer in the afterlife!”

 

“Well, please, you fucker!” Enraged at his attempt to kill Maddie, I never hesitated to pick his sword, “I’ll send you there immediately, so prepare for my arrival!”  And then I buried its blade deep into his neck.

 

Blood splattered on my clothes as the Ban drowned on his own fluid.  And then, as if cursing me to his death, he fixed his glare at me as he departed.

 

“…” I felt no remorse.  Anyone who’d try to harm the girl I love would end up dead by my hands…

 

However, there’s something strange that happened after that.  Once the Ban was dead, a small red medallion came off from his neck and fell on the ground.

 

I don’t know if it came from inside his body, or was he wearing it on his body, but anyway, I picked it up and hid it in my pocket.

 

 

I quickly returned to Maddie—with the Ban’s sword in my hand, to protect her from further assassination attempts.  The battle was a confusing one, without a clear definition in which side stood, and the Saint was still stunned at the sudden turn of events.

 

“Maddie!” it was Lily’s voice.  Then a few moments later, she appeared through the dust, “Are you okay?”

 

“Yes…Lily?  What happened?” Maddie’s conscious, but she’s still in a daze.

 

“Something exploded, and the armies of the royalty and nobility were now fighting.” the head maid, who had a bloodied sword in her hand, told us, “We have to get out of here.”

 

“Lily!  Check Maddie’s head!” I cried out to her, “The Ban of Kistral cast a magic spell that targeted her!”

 

“Ah yes!  Where’s that villain?”

 

I pointed to his corpse, which lay near our spot.

 

“Did you do that?” Lily was surprised.

 

“There’s no time to explain, Lily!  Let’s move Maddie away from here!” I told her.

 

“Okay!  Give me that sword; I’ll protect you and Maddie.  You carry her!”

 

“Got it!”

 

“Your Holiness!”  Fortunately, the Marquise of Monfort also came in time and surrounded us with her paladins, “Protect the Saint at all costs!”

 

The paladins began a fighting retreat as the chaos spread around us.  Maddie was out of herself, and we had the difficulty of moving her away, while the fight raged.

 

Lily and I helped Maddie back on her feet.  It was confusing, with the armies of the opposing sides finally letting loose their hatred on one another.  Someone shouted that we’re under attack, and some were pleading for the fighting to stop.  Limbs, heads, and blood were all flying around, and the dust and smoke didn’t help in our plight.

 

Once she regained herself, Maddie was indignant.  She took her wand out and began chanting a spell…

 

“Paralyze with fear, feel the great pain…Strike my enemy and let suffering rain!”  

 

Oh my god…that spell…it’s—

 

“Black Death!”

 

I inadvertently closed my eyes, for I could still remember well what happened to the Imperial soldiers back at the Battle of Hagena Castle.  It’s a traumatic experience for me…

 

“What’s happening?” I heard Maddie’s panicked voice, “Why isn’t my power working?”

 

“Come on, Maddie!” Lily grabbed her friend and pulled her out of the battlefield, “We need to regroup!  Let’s escape from here!”

 

“Teleport!” Maddie attempted another try at her magic.  But it didn’t materialize, much to her, and our, horror.  Frustrated, she threw her wand, “Why is my magic not working?”

 

In all the chaos and blood of the battlefield, a black carriage appeared and cut through the soldiers who were too busy fighting, trampling some of them.  It’s an ugly sight, but it stopped in front of us and a child appeared to greet us.

 

“Your Holiness!  Quick, come inside!” it was Eris, and beside her helping us, was her mother, Lady Hanna.

 

“There’s space enough inside for eight more paladins!” the lady shouted, “The rest of the paladins, grab the carriage handles!”

 

Without a second thought, we quickly let ourselves in.  The paladins shed off their armor to fit themselves, while the others took hold of the carriage’s handles to get away from the battlefield.  The Marquise of Monfort took charge of the driving, and she sped off to the nearest route that remained open.

 

 

Now that everything’s quite settled down, this was the first time I could make out of the passengers of the carriage, which was owned by the Duke of Braunhauer.

 

“So Duchess Eris is here, Lady Hanna, His Excellency the Duke of Braunhauer…” I noted them, just to be sure, “Also, His Highness the Crown Prince David…who else?”

 

“Eight paladins inside, 24 paladins hanging outside, you, Maddie, and I,” Lily added.

 

“Great.  No wonder why we’re too heavy to move.”

 

“I guess the horses were almost spent.” We heard the Marquise of Monfort called out from the outside, “But anyway, I think we’re almost near the capital city.”

 

The expression on the Duke’s face was grim.  His wife, Lady Hanna, and Eris had anxious looks on their faces.  Perhaps they realized that we’re heading towards his enemy’s territory.

 

“Don’t worry, Your Excellency.” it was Maddie who said that, “I won’t let anything happen to you at the Amaranthine capital.”

 

The crown prince then spoke, “Your Excellency, I suppose this is a good time we set aside our differences and work together?  I don’t plan to have you arrested for leading the rebellion against my father.”

 

“Your Highness…” the Duke calmly said, “I may be old now compared to you, so I’m ready to die anytime for the cause I took up.  However, may I request on your honor that you take care of my family?”

 

“No one’s asking about our stand on this certain issue, Your Excellency.” the prince reiterated, “I’m humbly asking for your cooperation in making this kingdom peaceful once again, and then we can settle our differences and proceed with our plans.”

 

Whoa!  What can I say?  The prince going on with his usual assertive tactics.  I hope he’d convinced the Duke.  After all, this wasn’t a good time to be divided.

 

The Duke was silent for quite a long time.  I could tell Lady Hanna’s worried for her husband, and her anxiety could be felt by their daughter, Eris.

 

“Your Excellency…” it was Maddie’s turn to speak, “I know you have your own convictions.  But I’d like to appeal to your fatherly side.  Look at your daughter, Duchess Eris; she’s too young to be left without a father to guide her.”

 

“And I guess you’d also want to see your elder daughter achieve her dreams.” I added, “Those are not simple dreams, after all.”

 

The Duke then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  And then, he said… “Well, if His Majesty the King needs my service once again, I’d gladly oblige.”

 

With that, the faces of Duke’s family lit up, and the atmosphere inside the carriage had considerably lightened.

 

“But what about the other paladins?  Will we leave them at the Braunhauer estate?” I raised that question, concerned at the other girls who I believed were left at the Braunhauer estate.

 

“Hm?  I told you I already arranged for an advanced party to secure the Red Diamond palace to prepare for our return, so there’s no one among our group that was left at the duchy.” Maddie revealed, “It’s just that, I didn’t expect this would turn out this way…”

 

An awkward silence then floated inside the carriage, especially the Duke and the Crown Prince.  They were both awfully quiet.

 

“So, Your Highness Prince David, and Your Excellency the Duke of Braunhauer, care to explain what happened?” Maddie asked them.

 

“We don’t know as well, Your Holiness.” the Crown Prince answered her, “I thought everything’s over, and yet, an explosion happened.  Sir Kuro was telling me it came from the Ban of Kistral.  I tried to stop my men from attacking the nobility’s army, but they would never listen.”

 

“So do I, Your Holiness.  I was also at a loss when Sir Stefan suddenly began chanting magic and then attacked you.” the Duke explained, “I never knew what came into his mind, but I attempted to take control of the situation.  My subordinates wouldn’t stop ‘till they fought their enemies to death, though.”

 

“Oh dear…this is a disaster.” Maddie could only shake her head.

 

“Now that we know who’s double-crossing us…” the Prince then proposed, “If my godfather the Duke will swear an oath of fealty to my father once again, then I could give him command of a contingent of the royal guards.  Again, it’s my father’s, not mine, and I still recognize His Excellency’s military prowess to command.”

 

“Your Highness, I’m not looking for a position in the government.” the Duke reiterated, “However, I would not turn down my king’s request to help our kingdom in its time of need.  Let it be known here, with the Holy Saint as our witness, that I intend to return the command of the royal guard contingent to you once this crisis is over.”

 

“Well, it’s good.  And I hope you two would keep your promises.” Maddie told them, “Because there will come a time of reckoning if you don’t.”

 

“As you wish, Your Holiness.”

 

“Heh.  If you only settled your differences this way, then this wouldn’t have had to happen…”

 

 

We reached the Amaranthine capital soon after the Duke and his godson, the Crown Prince of Nerfes, set aside their differences.  By then, the horses we had were completely spent, and they collapsed just as our carriage passed the gates.

 

“Surround the carriage, quick!  Arrest those traitors!”

 

The Amaranth town militia wasted no time in making sure we won’t escape since our carriage bore the coat-of-arms of the Duke of Braunhauer.  But it will not happen, anyway.  The Crown Prince expected this event, and so, he’s the first one to alight the carriage to placate his loyal soldiers.

 

“My loyal subjects!  Please put down your weapons, for it isn’t needed.  Here with me, is my godfather, the Duke of Braunhauer, a well-known leader of the rebellious nobility but has since turned from his ways to support my father the King.  Be at ease.”

 

With that and a few confused looks, the town militia let us pass.  However, the Prince was taking precautions too.

 

“Quick, seal that gate and prepare for war.” he ordered his men once we arrived at the royal castle, “The conflict with the nobility has begun officially.”

 

At once, the soldiers of the royal family obeyed.  They never wanted to be caught off-guard once the dreaded army of the nobles arrived at the city gates.  Several town criers were sent around the entire city proper, calling out to its citizens to prepare for the struggle.  

 

A moment later, and the town bell was rung.