My Children

Chapter 10 – My Children

                “You, beautiful faerie, are going to lead my children into battle.” The King smiled hungrily, showing sharp canines. I felt my body freeze as the weight of his words came down on me. There was no way he meant what I thought he was saying. I felt my lungs screaming for air, but I didn’t dare take a breath and unhinge this mad King anymore than he already was.

                “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND FATHER!?” A deep and loud growl radiated through the throne room. The guards stiffened next to me, and the blade held to my throat was pushed tighter against the soft skin. I felt a prick, and then a warm trickle of blood slid down the side of my neck. The King, though, stood unaffected; still smiling as he stood up straight to look at his son.

                “Ah, Devin, I see you finally made it to our trial.” The King stated nonchalantly, seemly ignoring his son’s outburst as Devin took long strides from the door to meet his father at the front of the room. Dressed again in sweatpants and a t-shirt, his biceps rippled under the thin fabric as he clenched his fists in anger. His blond hair was tousled in every direction, and a thin sheen of sweat was shining on his forehead as if he had run a mile to get here. While his face was red, and pure fury radiated off of him, he still looked like a Greek god incarnated onto the earth.

                “Finally made it to the trial, are you insane?” The prince spat at his father, “She’s better off buried in the ground, not leading an army of monsters!” A shiver ran up my spine at his words, I was right, the king intended for me to walk right into the demon’s nest. How would he expect me to control one of those mutants, let alone hundreds of them? The king continued to smile though, moving a hand to place it firmly on his son’s shoulder.

                “If what you’ve been telling me is true, then she is the greatest asset this kingdom has seen in years. We cannot control them, and they rot away in those rusty iron cages, but if they had a beast of their own to lead them. Well, don’t you think they may just behave properly?” The glint was back in the kings’ eyes. Determination in his steeled gaze, but behind it all, greed. The thought of an army of beasts finally under his control to rip apart whatever was in his path was like a drug to him. Devin pushed his fathers hand off his shoulder, and took a step back from his father, looking back at him like he was the mad man screaming on the corner of the street.

                “Do what you want, I will have no part of it.” Devin shook his head, and turned to walk away.

                “But you will, she needs someone to watch and train her, and I think you’re best suited for the job.” The king said with another laugh. Devin froze, wide eyed, with a look of terror plastered on his face that I was sure matched mine. There was no way I was going to let this boy anywhere near me, let alone train me to do anything. He would sooner push a dagger into my heart than step one foot into a training room with me.

                “Absolutely not!” The words ripped from my throat before I could control them, and two matching sets of eyes turned to look at me. “I will not be forced into being a toy for anyone, just kill me and end this.” I growled, and the guards that held me squeezed my arms tighter causing me to hiss in pain.

                “I actually agree with the faerie.” Devin said, his eyes still trained me, curiosity burning behind the colors.  He was probably wondering why I didn’t seize the opportunity to save my own life while I had a chance. Of course, he would agree with me, he wanted nothing more than to see my head on a spike in his courtyard.

“My decision is final. You will do as your told Devin, or do you need a reminder of who runs this kingdom?” The king said, seemingly bored now with the circling conversation. Devin ripped his gaze away from me, and looked at his father, anger obvious in his eyes. Then, to my surprise, he lowered his head to the ground; and clenched his fists again, submitting to his father.

“I will not.” I shot back at the king. The prince may have given in, but I have nothing left to lose. With no family to come home to, I was alone in this world, and I would not bow to this human to try and spare my own life.

“Oh, no? Well, that is a shame.” The king said quietly. “I was expecting more from you really, at least some sort of self-preservation. Well, it can’t be helped then. Guards, if you could take her back to the cells, we will have her execution tomorrow morning.” I sighed, I never thought I would feel so relieved from knowing I would be killed the next day. The guards moved in unison, and turned to take me from the throne room, half dragging me. “Oh, Simon.” The king started, “Please come back here when you’re done. I will need you be ready for tonight when we release the children into the village.” I felt my heart stop beating in my chest and I dug my heels into the ground to stop the guards from pulling me to the large wooden doors.

“You’re going to release those things onto the faerie village?” I screeched at the King, and the guards continued to pull me towards the door.

“Yes, I am little faerie. They have no master to listen to, and they are nothing but chaos. They scream every night for blood, and it’s about time I give them what they want.” The King shrugged as if he were talking about the weather, and not killing an entire species. There were so many families there, families with children who didn’t deserve to be slaughtered at the hands of a mad king.

“Y-you, you evil bastard!” I screamed, “you can’t do that! You promised safety for them if they met the rules of the treaty!” I fought back against the guards, trying to rip my arms from their grasp to get to the king. It was useless though; I was half their size and with the iron controlling my magic I could do nothing but struggle. Devin lifted his head to watch me fight, his expression blank as I lashed back at his men.

“With you being the last faerie who can meet the requirements of the treaty; that means they are no good to me anymore.” The King turned away from me. With his decision made, he was done with the conversation. Pure fury blurred my vision, and I dropped all my weight to the ground, catching the soldiers off guard and causing them to stumble. I landed on my knees, and felt a tear roll down my cheek as I looked at the King walking away.

“I-I’ll do it.” A sob wracked my body as I gave in, and I watched the king turn to look at me, a smirk playing across his face. “I’ll do whatever you want, please don’t hurt my people.”  The king waved his hands, and the guards dropped my arms; causing me to completely collapse onto the floor on my hands and knees. Fat tears fell from my face, landing on the marble floor, as the king walked towards me. He knelt down slowly in front of me, and placed a finger under my chin, pushing my face up so my eyes met his.

“It seems like you do, in fact, have something to lose. Ms. Aspen Briar.” The king said softly to me, using my name for the first time. He kisses me on the forehead softly, and pulls away licking his lips like he just tasted the most delicious thing in the world. Making me feel disgusting as he grins down at me.

“You will meet Devin tomorrow afternoon on the training field. There is a room here in the castle for you, and you will be taken there now to rest for the night.” The King turned around as the guards lifted me back to my feet to escort me out. “Oh, and Aspen.” The king turned to look at me, a smug smile spread across his evil face. “Please remember, you’re our guest, let me know if anything is not up your standards.” The king waved at the guards, and I was quickly pulled through the doors. They slammed behind us, and I was pushed forward again by the guards down the long hallway. I stumbled with every step, as my body shook in terror.

I was a pawn in the king’s game, and tomorrow was the first roll of the dice.