Shattered kingdom: Recompense

DISCLAIMER:

THE FOLLOWING IS A WORK OF FICTION, ALL RESEMBLANCE TO REAL-LIFE FIGURES, EVENTS AND PEOPLE ARE PURELY FICTIONAL. THE FOLLOWING MAY CONTAIN MATURE CONTENT. I.E. SLAVERY, RAPE, WAR CRIMES, ETC, I AM BY NO MEANS A SUPPORTER OR A FAN OF THOSE PRACTICES.

The sounds of crackling fire mixed with the cries of all the soldiers replaced the once silent and lonely night. The raging inferno through the kingdom illuminated the darkness and revealed the brutal fight taking place across the city. Steel clang against steel but the defenders were heavily outnumbered. They all fought for a child sleeping in her bedroom in the safety of the castle, Oblivious to the dangers that she would soon face.

Moonlight sliced through the windows of the royal castle, lighting up the face of a blond-haired child with baby blue eyes and cute freckles on her round face. Suddenly a cry for echoed through the hall jolting the poor girl awake.

Charlotte's eyes snapped open from the gut-churning scream and a few seconds later, the door to her royal room slammed open, Forcing her to sit up straight and look at the door where a man in blue leather armour stood with a wide grin on his face.

"I've found ye ya little runt!" The soldier barked out "Yer the key to all this mess,"

The soldier took a step forward but a sharp pain in his chest froze him in his tracks. he looked down in horror and saw a red, glowing sword sticking out of it before it was ripped out of him and his assailant kicked him away revealing a dark figure behind.

A knight stood at the entrance of the door, covered in dark, black armour with her shoulders pads shaped like leaves. She wore a Visored Barbute helm that hid her face.

The girl knew perfectly well what this female knight was capable of and knew that disobeying her orders would mean certain death for her.

The female Knight gripped the child's wrist and ran through the dark corridor that had been illuminated by the fire outside. “O-Ow!” The princess cried out at how tightly the knight had gripped her arm, But she didn't care how the princess was feeling.

The hallway was a nightmare-inducing sight with bodies littered all over the floor and blood spread through the floor. Each step that they took produced a sickening squelch as the thick blood stuck to their boots like glue.

“What happened here? As your princess, I demand that you tell me!” The blonde child said, choosing not to stare at the scene in front of her lest she hurl up her dinner but the knight refused to give her an answer.

They were quickly approaching a corridor and just as they reached the gates, the soldier kicked open the door in front of them and an abrupt light engulfed them both.

``` 2 years later```

It had been two years since the kingdom had been saved by the mighty knight. Two long bloody years of constant war until it reached its climax a few months ago. It was the year 1567. Ralston Empire defeated the Ugresha Kingdom and occupied all of their territories. Peace had been restored across the continent.

The knight who was hailed as a hero had been forgotten, Who they were was never revealed. What happened to them became stories or legends and the princess who they had saved vanished a few months ago as well.

It was a sunny day for you. You were an experimental mage, who had given up a part of your humanity so you could protect the kingdom. There wasn't a lot of your kind remaining and society decided they didn't need people like you anymore.

You sat in a cafe while soldiers walked about. You and your partner were the only ones who could absorb other conjures magics and nullify them enough for the soldiers to deliver the killing blow. Recently a lot of sorcerrers had been rising up against the king, and it wasn't surprising to you.

You could sympathize with them, After so much your kind had sacrificed, It wasn't fair how easily you were disposed of. Of how the people turned the other cheek to your sufferings but you rather serve the king as his mage than have your head on a pike.

You let out a heavy sigh and looked at the muffin in front of you along with the steaming cup of tea. At least the perks of being a mage were that some people would treat you to free things as a token of appreciation. Appreciation was a bold word. You could see the pity in their eyes, and how they looked down on you.

You observed your surroundings in order to drive away the thoughts lingering in your head. The café was built to remind you of home, with a warm air blowing from the kitchen, carrying the aroma of freshly baked goods and it was doing its job.

The people chatted around but they usually avoided you which annoyed you a bit but you didn't care. Your eyes went to the cat lounging at the window who soaked up the warmth from the sun and stretched which made you yawn as well.

You picked up the dark chocolate muffin and took a bite out of it. Chewing it and getting a good taste of the baked delicacy. Out of the corner of your eyes, You saw a hooded figure walk through the door. Upon closer inspection, you observe that the hooded figure was a girl who had fair skin with a heart-shaped face and sported red hair.

You smiled at how shy and timid the girl was and how she was getting anxious as the people looked at her. It was fun seeing someone who walked around as if it were a chore being around people with their shoulders slumped and brows furrowed.

Your eyes lowered and there was it! you could see the hilt of the sword with a leaf shaped pommel on her hip that was concealed under the hood and it suddenly put you on edge and you knew that this person was a mage.

"But that can't be. The information given to us was that the person who is causing the uproar is a guy” Your partner told you telepathically as he walked in through the door.

You immediately smiled at Max, your partner. He always had this ability to put you at ease but also had a bad habit of reading the minds of those around him and talking to them telepathically. Max was a tanned person with light stubble on his face and a body that would make women drool. The man sported long hair with a chiseled which made him look like an incubus then a mage.

He also had a bad habit of teasing you but you always enjoyed them, It wasn't always that a stunning man would be your partner. “I can't read her, so she's definitely a mage but also way out of your league" He said with a chuckle and you slapped his thigh.

You increased your mental defenses and put on a spell so he wouldn't pry further which made him chuckle and put his hands up in defence "Sorry, You just look adorable when you're all flustered" He chuckled making you pout and observe the girl descretely.

"I don't know why but I feel drawn to her for some reason. Like she's one of the reason why I'm here..." You begin and let out a depressed sigh. "I'm kinda tired of this life Max, I'm just scared that one of these days, I'm just going to kick the bucket"

"Hey, None of that. I'll protect you, You know I will" He says and puts his hand on your shoulder and you smile at him. Even though he was flirtious, he always had that kind and caring attitude.

You turned your attention towards the girl and saw her pull her dark green worn-out cape tighter around her and your eyes locked for a split second. The girl gave you a shy smile turning your cheeks red and quickly look away just to find Max smirking at you. “S-she's cute alright!” You said defensively and your partner gave you a predatory grin.

"I'm not saying anything, just be careful. The kingdom already suspects us of turning insurgents, we don't want to give them a reason to kill us. Your tea' getting cold by the way and I'll be take this” He said and scooped in and took your half eaten muffin making you pout.

"Speaking of insurgents…” He whispered just as a sudden yell from outside startled you and a person covered in bruises was brought in by the soldiers. He was so badly beaten that you wondered if you still needed to kill him or not.

five soldiers poured into the cafe, walking in as if they owned the place and looked at you both with disgust. "We got one of your kinds here. do your thing and sap him of his magical powers. Our swords can't pierce his skin and the locals aren't happy either." The soldier spat out.

Max shrugged and stuffed your half eaten muffin in his mouth and gulped down your tea which made you whine making him chuckle and ruffle up your hair. Unlike you who was still a novice at controlling your power, Max was a warlock. That means he was built to take lives and protect them.

You saw the hooded girl choke on her bread as she saw the man. The color drained from her face as Max walked up towards the badly beaten up mage. Your partner loved taking his time when snuffing out insurgents magic which scared you sometimes.

You waited for him to finish the job, noticing how the café had fallen into silence. After a few seconds had passed, The man struggled a bit causing one of the soldiers to kick him in the stomach making him spit out blood.

"You know the orders of the king." The soldier growled in front of max "All mages are to be publicly executed and made an example of," Even though the soldier was shorter than your partner he still tried to keep up his brave face.

You quickly stood up to defend your partner and all of the soldiers drew out their swords and Max raised his hand to stop you.

"I'm gathering energy, It's not easy to nullify someone's power.” Max said to him making the soldier shake his head at him.

"Don't sympathize with them Mage. Or else it'll be you on your knees and your partner nullifying you"

Max let out a chuckle and shook his head. The warlock put a hand on the soldier's face and then pushed him away with ease and grabbed the side of the bruised up person's face and started to work up his magic. The man gave out a scream that was enough to make your blood run cold.

"I was going to meet someone! The savior of the kingdom! I-I was going to meet them, They said something about recruitment a-and I wanted to join them! The king had already abandoned us! I-I didn't know what to do and I'm sorry!!"

The man cried out making Max stop and look towards you. The both of you turned to look at the hooded girl to see that she had already conjured up flames in her hand. “TAKE COVER!!” You screamed and shoved the table in front of you and created a protective barrier just as the flash of white flames engulfed the whole café.

*****************************************************************************