The Ancient Prophecy Ch. 12a

"And I will go, too." Lynn paused for a while, fighting over the sadness in her heart. "And I mean it when I say that… I hold nothing against you for Falstoff’s death… I… I know it must have been hard for you… I… I’m sorry…"

"There is nothing to be regretted," Anna said softly while circling her hand over the Fairy, soothing her. "We have come this far. We have shared joy and pain together. The time has come for us to witness the true destiny of this realm, and we are all going to make it happen." Anna looked at Atrus lovingly. "We are all with you, Lord Atrus."

Atrus couldn’t hide his awe as all his friends pledged their loyalty and support for his cause. The fear vanished immediately. They all would succeed. "Thank you, all of you." Then he turned back toward the light. "Lord Guardian… I accept my destiny."

"And accept it you will, Atrus," said Lord Guardian. "You will leave tomorrow morning. Falagor will send you to the Northern Continent for the final engagement."

"But how about the realm?" Atrus asked. "Who will protect the realm?"

"The Alliance you have forged will suffice to withstand the demonic assault."

"The demonic assault?" Anna frowned. "You mean the demons will launch another assault?"

There was a slight wait before Lord Guardian answered the question. "Yes, they will."

"Where?" Anna demanded.

Again, a slight pause. "If I tell you, I will betray the deal."

"Lord Guardian, the demons have repeatedly betrayed the deal!" Anna countered. "Many lives can be saved if we can anticipate the assault."

Finally, Lord Guardian yielded. "The final battle will commence… in the land of Elom… in three days…"

Aurelia gasped in terror. "They’re going to attack my homeland? We’ve got to warn them!"

"No need. I will return to Stromgard immediately with the news." Captain White Lion said. "Don’t worry, Princess. We will defend your homeland from those demons. I swear with my life."

"In you I have no doubt," Aurelia nodded. "Thank you."

"Warriors, I must wish you good luck in your journey," Lord Guardian said. "Remember, we, the Gods of the realm, stand on your side."

With that the bright light faded, and the room became quiet once more. No one spoke for a while. All were deep in thought. They were facing a great battle, a battle that would decide the fate of their beloved realm. Indeed, the fate of the Land of Lore was at stake.

Captain White Lion decided to break the silence, "I must waste no more time. Send me back to Stromgard. I must warn the royal court about the attack."

"Tell that to Prince Roberto," Aurelia. "He’s preparing the alliance army for the war."

"Good luck, Father…" Atrus said.

The captain hesitated as he looked at the young man he had used to call son. "Lord Atrus, I’ve told you before, I’m not your father!"

"Yes, you are. You have raised me since I was small. You have taught me everything I need to know to survive. Forever you will remain as my father. I will wear your name with pride."

And the father and son, once again reunited, embraced each other. Both were lost in their emotional moment. Both were lost in the wave of admiration for one another.

"Blood doesn’t define a family, Father. Relationship does."

"I’m proud of you, my son…" Captain White Lion said. "My prayer will remain with you."

Anna chanted the spell, and a dimension door was opened at one corner of the room. Captain White Lion took a moment to glance at the party, wishing them good luck for the impending battle. After some exchange of words, he was gone, swallowed by the swirling hole.

"So, Lord Falagor," Atrus turned to the wizard, "What’s the plan?"

"Rest now." The wizard smiled. "You need your strength for tomorrow."

Roberto was furious, as always when things went insane.

Nothing seemed to work right. The preparation for the Alliance army had gone poorly as the trainers at Stromgard were taken by surprise. Although elite armies came from many places to Stromgard, special training was still needed to consolidate them as one army, consisting of five races working together. There were, however, problems. Some of the Elves still felt uncomfortable being in the same detachment with their old nemesis, the Humans. Some of the Humans didn’t like having the Mages in their army, which they affectionately nicknamed‘nerds with pointy hats’. Finally, the Dwarves complained that the Castle Stromgarde didn’t have toilets short enough to accommodate their… natural needs.

And bad news came from all over the region. There was a locust outbreak at the western land of Aragon, threatening to destroy farms along the southern border. A flash flood near the Dwarven border slightly delayed the arms shipment from Seraphim. To top that out, various small raids done by the demons still raged across the land. The raids, even small, meant something. The demons were planning something big.

And he had known, right after Captain White Lion’s return to Stromgard with the news. He felt good at knowing where he could anticipate his enemies. On the other hand, the news could act as another bad news. The demons were planning a final assault, and the conquest would start from Elom.

Roberto had been drilling the army tirelessly, or at least in the inside. Physically, the effort had taken toll from his health. Captain Hawk was the only guy that stood between Roberto and total exhaustion. The young captain had used his personal friendship with the prince to ‘order’ him to take a rest. Roberto had grumbled all the way down the hall, although he didn’t dare to resist his friend.

But when he entered his bedroom, all grumbling stopped, replaced by grateful feeling.

At one corner of the massive bedroom, a young girl, Maya Murdock, knelt before his cabinet, cleaning the top with a small rug. Roberto couldn’t help but chuckle. Maya Murdock, the lady after his own heart, and now the future queen of Aragon, was on her knees, doing housework. She claimed she couldn’t resist the urge. She was indeed born to serve, and he admired that, just like Atrus admired her a lot.

Quickly Maya spotted him near the door and her face blossomed with joy. It didn’t last, however, as plain annoyance and anger built up on her face.She looks cute when she’s angry…

"You have outdone yourself again, Roberto!" she cried. "Two days and two nights without rest? Do you really want to die that much? With your current feat, it wouldn’t be long until you collapse during the drill from exhaustion. How do you like that?"

With old Roberto, he would have ordered his guards to have her flogged for insulting him. But after so many adventures he had shared with his friends, he knew that she just cared for his health. And he was thankful for it. "Hmm, I never knew you care."

"Of course I care! You’ve been drilling the army without rest since we returned here. Even Hawk had time to write a few letters home! I know you are dedicated to your job as the leader of the Alliance, but you just can’t go on like this! The battle might be lost before it even starts!"

Roberto laughed lightly, "Come on, spare me the preaching. Hawk has done most of the job."

"Of course! I made him do it!"

Roberto came toward her and gave her a quick peck on her cheek. "I know, honey, I’m sorry I made you feel worried. Thank you for worrying."

Maya’s pouting face brightened immediately after hearing the response. She lay her head on his chest armor and circled her slender arms around his neck. "In that case, welcome home, my prince."

Roberto trailed the curves of her face, wiping the beads of sweat from her forehead and admiring the depth of her dark eyes, as if swallowing him whole. Softly he put his lips on hers and planted a deep kiss while pulling her waist closer to him. For a moment he was paralyzed by her charm.

At least until he felt Maya curiously poking her thumbs over the back of his neck. "Uh, Maya…? What are you doing?"

"My, my… Your muscles are all rock hard… Sit down. You need to relax."

Maya helped him take off the plate armor. It was a tedious work, as the armor pieces usually took a least five minutes to be put on, yet remained comfortable to wear once it was on. Then she led him toward the bed and ordered him to sit on it. She then cleaned her hand with a wet washcloth and climbed the bed behind him and began her magic. Roberto hummed in pleasure as Maya’s hands found his tense muscles and slowly worked them into relaxation. She was indeed a master in the craft. It was clear on how she could turn a terribly wounded Atrus White Lion into a battle-ready Atrus White Lion with just the touch of her hands.

"You have to teach me this sometimes," Roberto said. "I’d like to return the favor."

"It’s a tricky skill to master. A simple mistake can result a painful knot on your muscles that can last for a week."

"That bad, huh?"

"Just one of a few skills that I actually mastered from my days of slavery. You see, Mistress Anna insisted that I taught her this. Since then she had been using Atrus’ back as… target practice. You witness how… shaky their relation is right now."

"Fine." Roberto cringed. "I’ll let you do the job, then."

After only a few minutes of close contact struggle with his protesting muscles, Maya finally announced that she had won the match. Slowly she pulled his body down, allowing him to lie down on the bed. The instant his bed took over the support of his weight, he felt like heaven. His tense muscles had been beaten into submission and relaxed. Maya then began peeling off his cotton shirt, slightly drenched with sweat. Then she took off his pants and lifted both his feet from the ground and onto the bed.

Roberto was now lying on his bed, clothed only with his briefs. The wave of drowsiness quickly flew over him, but he quickly brushed it away. "Maya… I can’t go to sleep now…"

"Of course you can’t," Maya responded from somewhere outside his limited field of view. "You are lying on your bed, but your thought is still our there, somewhere in the courtyard, watching your troops training."

"I can’t help it."

"I know, and as long as you can’t help it, you won’t get a fulfilling rest. Let me help."

Maya came out in his field of view and Roberto gulped. She was dressed only in her undergarments. Her cotton white bras cleverly hid her breasts yet invitingly presented her charm well. She giggled as his gaze was quickly fixed on her breasts. "Naughty, naughty…"

"You do this to Atrus all the time, too?"

"Yup… That’s why Master Atrus is always afraid to be alone in a room with me."

"I noticed the reason…"

Maya planted another deep kiss on his lips while slowly massaging his broad chest, relaxing the front part of his body. Roberto tried to pull her closer, but she slapped his hands away. She gave him her wicked grin, then resumed kissing him. Roberto decided to submit. Here he was, the future king of Aragon, being dominated by a Human slave.

Maya giggled as she noticed the bulge on his briefs. "Well, someone here is excited…"

"I should blame you."

Maya grinned, then kissed him again, occupying his mind. Her hands, however, found his member, aching in his briefs’ confinement. Teasingly she brushed her finger along its length, feeling it twitch. Roberto moaned in discomfort, yet she muffled him with another deep kiss. His member was now as hard as steel, even harder than any other muscles in his body before her treatment. And she would treat this muscle as well. Just in a different way.

She grabbed the nearest pillow and put it over Roberto’s head. "Now, you don’t want to see the guards flocking into your room because of hearing your moan. Trust me, you’ll want to use the pillow."

Roberto didn’t complain, so Maya resumed her work. She slowly pulled his briefs down, revealing his rock hard member, standing proud and erect. She began slowly stroking his member, drawing muffled moans from the prince. Then she took nearly the entire length of it in her mouth. Again, Roberto groaned because of the sudden warmth enveloping his member. Maya began moving up and down along his shaft, softly sucking his member. She lovingly played her tongue on it, making him groan even louder.

Roberto’s hand then found her crotch and surprised her by playing with her pussy beneath her cotton panties. She stole a glance at him and smiled warmly, admiring the prince’s stubbornness to love and please her. In return she doubled her effort, sucking his member vigorously. Roberto’s treatment was wavered for a moment, then matched her enthusiasm. The two lovers were engaged in a match of love, each working toward one another’s victory.

And the victor was decided quickly. With her years of experience as an unwilling slave, Maya finally brought Roberto to climax. He groaned loudly before shooting his load inside her mouth, which she gladly swallowed. Finally his body collapsed against the bed.

Maya knelt beside his body and slowly stroked his hair. "How do you feel, my prince?"

"Maya… thank you… that was wonderful…"

Maya kissed him lightly on his lips then whispered, "Then sleep now. I will tell Hawk to take care of the training while you’re gone. Everything will be all right."

"No…" Roberto said quickly. "You… you haven’t had your release…"

She smiled warmly, "That’s sweet, my prince. Your happiness is my release. Your smile is my heaven. You don’t know how much joy you’ve brought into my life."

"No, Maya…" Roberto struggled against the incredible wave of exhaustion from their lovemaking. "Please stay with me, then… At least until I go to sleep…"

Maya smiled and nodded. She then lay down next to him and rested her head on his chest. Roberto put his arm around her and pulled her closer against him, feeling her warmth. She purred softly as his hand in turn stroked her long hair. He was happy. The only girl he loved was here, lying next to him. Silently he swore, whatever it took, that he would protect her at all cost. No one, not even the Gods, could take her away from him without a fight.

"I love you, Maya…"

There was no answer. When he looked at her, he found the girl already asleep in his embrace. He just smiled. He already knew her answer if she had been awake.

And he surrendered himself to exhaustion and took flight to the world of dreams, knowing that his love was there as well, waiting for him.

A bad dream welcomed him, though. In his dream, he saw his friend Roberto fighting for his life…

"There are too many of them!!"

Hawk heard it. He also heard the pitiful cry of his wounded troops, blended well with the barbaric cry of the invading Orcs and Ogres. The battle rages around him, and he could still hear victory roar from everywhere. On the corner of his eyes he could see one of many towers of the Temple of the Magi slowly eaten by fire, releasing puffs of black cloud into the sky.

Fifteen minutes ago, he was still at the courtyard, drilling the Alliance troops, when a lone wizard stumbled out of a magic portal, with wounds all over his body. With his dying breath he informed him on the siege of the temple. Captain Hawk quickly rallied whatever troops he could spare and led them into the portal and right in the middle of the battlefield. Their initial mission was to push back the invading demons and defended the temple. Now their objective seemed to have shifted into survival.

Three Orcs decided to attack him. One never got there as Hawk’s spear met his neck first. The other one swung his huge falchion at him, but he easily dodged it. Hawk quickly pivoted his body and swung his own spear, cutting the foul beast into two. The last one was a bit smarter as he decided to run away. Hawk was quick on pursuit and split the creature’s skull open, instantly killing him. Some of his troops saw his action and roared victoriously, slightly increasing morale. At least for now.

Garmeon, the current leader of the wizards, was bashing one Goblin with his staff. Even in his late sixties, the mage fought like a tiger, not willing to surrender to the demons. The old man was just as eager as a young knight, and Hawk knew that if he didn’t do anything, the wizard might perish.

"Lord Garmeon, we must abandon the temple! Order your men to pull back!"

"Never!" the wizard replied angrily. "I will fight to death to defend this temple!"

For a moment the wizard was too distracted to notice a brave Orc storming from his behind, wielding a giant axe. At the last moment a Fairy tripped the Orc with her staff. As the Orc slumped against the hard ground, the Fairy swung her staff with all her might against the back of the monster’s skull, killing it instantly. Garmeon quickly found his savior and nodded his thanks.

"Lord Garmeon, we really must leave!" Lyra the Fairy pleaded. "If we stay any longer, we will have no chance of escaping later!"

"B…but… the temple…"

"Give it up already!" Hawk snarled. "When this war is over, we’ll build you a temple out of crystals! Now let’s go already!"

The wizard finally nodded. "Very well. We’ll go ahead and open the portal for you."

After Garmeon left, Hawk quickly issued the order, "All Alliance troops, commence slow retreat to the hill immediately! Spearmen guard the back, archers provide cover, and the rest protect the flanks!"

The troops didn’t disappoint him this time. They quickly assumed close formation and guard their comrades from all sides, deflecting the less-organized attacks from the foul folks. Behind him, the wizards had begun chanting their spell, working together to open a massive portal leading back to Stromgarde. Far beyond, the second tower surrendered to the fire and crumbled to the ground.

For the first time after the war against the undead, Hawk wondered if they could still win the war.

Atrus was awaken, probably for the sixth time that night. His shirt was drenched with cold sweat and he began to shiver. For a moment his mind was racing with the fleeing image in his memory. He couldn’t see anything. He couldn’t perceive anything. But he was sure he had heard something, during his sleep. Yet it was gone, blown by the night wind.

Tomorrow he was to depart to the Northern Continent, a journey to decide the fate of the realm. Yet just now he had heard things eerie enough to shake his guts. He could still hear the echoes of those screams in his head.Who were they, or whose voices were those…? The screams were of pain and suffering, eerie enough for him to feel the shiver in his bones.Why were they here? Why now?

His hand quickly darted to his side, trying to find Anna’s body, but he couldn’t find it. When he turned, Anna was nowhere in sight. She was supposed to be sleeping with him, for he remembered that she had always been awakened that night, too.Is she mad, so she left me? When he got up, he could feel cold breeze blowing from the open window. With the blanket still wrapped around his body, he darted through the door. Holgreb, Aurelia and Calem were sleeping in the living room, while Lynn was back to Heaven, probably sleeping on her own bed. For a moment Atrus wondered why the wizard and the Elf had volunteered to sleep in one room with Holgreb, since the Dwarf’s snoring was quite renowned.I wouldn’t mind my father’s snoring either, Atrus thought.These people are my family… we are all a family.

Quietly Atrus opened the front door and walked outside, resisting the biting cold breeze that welcomed him. The mosquitoes were terrible, even near the end of fall. The moon, however, was full and wonderful tonight. And with the moonlight’s help, he quickly found his love sitting near the ledge, facing the vast landscape beneath.

"You’re awakened again," Anna said without turning at him.

"Sorry, I keep on disturbing your sleep," Atrus said.

"No, it’s not your fault!" Anna quickly turned, smiling warmly at him. He could still notice the shadow around her eyes. She seemed to understand, too, and her smile faded. "It’s just… I… I could feel it, too…"