Chapter 15: Chapter 15
Colter
Palace Outskirts, Kingdom of Howard
His mind racing, along side Nimrod’s gallant gallops through the pathways, thoughts of Samuel consumed Colter. He had put the mystery dream girl aside as this new development had caught his eye. He had wanted to confirm the idle gossip that he heard from the village miles away from his current location. In the distance, as he reached a clearing, the palace. Its gates were open, and a crowd had gathered on a specific location. Unable to bear it anymore, Colter caressed Nimrod’s neck, bidding goodbye knowing that his trusted steed will be able to find his way towards the stables, and leapt off, flying towards the crowded area.
He saw his parents, the King Malik Howard and Queen Regina Howard, behind them was the Deity Flora watching without betraying any emotions, before them was a figure groveling before them. It was Samuel. Colter watched the scene unfold him intently, while mindlessly muttering: “So… he really is back.”
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SAMUEL
Palace Outskirts, Kingdom of Howard
The tear fell endlessly into the dirt as he kneeled before the monarchs of the kingdom, cradled in his hands is a small box, matted with the very same tears that fell from Samuel’s eyes. His hair was disheveled, his skin deathly pale and his eyes red with agony and madness. His voice was shaky, yet the words he spoke rang true.
“I would like to apologize for committing the highest sin towards the Kingdom of Howard” Samuel told them, his tears still dropping, the lines on his face show a great sign of stress and depression. His hands shook harder as he kept on repeating his words of apology towards the rulers. Around him were soldiers who had their weapons poised on him, should he make a sudden movement towards King Malik or Queen Regina. Commonfolk and nobles stood behind the soldiers, trying to get a gaze at the lost Ecanus that was this man. Unseen from his sight, the young prince Colter was watching this spectacle, his eyes filled with wonder.
Three years had passed since he was reported as lost, it became some form of legend that he stepped into the fabled forbidden portal. Hence his long disappearance from the kingdom.
“I stepped into the portal hidden in the woods” Samuel repeated, and the people still could not believe their ears, the portal existed! “I offer my sincerest apologies to the King and Queen and even to everyone in this kingdom. I had committed the gravest of errors. I stepped into a portal and fell in love with a human.”
The crowd gasped at the revelation, seemingly everything that they thought was myth started to become true today. Colter in the crowd tried to process this, thinking “What is a ‘human’?”
“I have done one part towards the road of repaying my sins, I stepped into the human’s world and lived there for years, as her lover. But in the end, my guilty for having abandoned my post, my kingdom and the family that raised me here, I return.” More tears fell from his eyes as Samuel tried to steel himself and maintain his already shattered composure.
“I beseech you, my lord and lady. Relieve me from this horror and make me atone further for my transgressions.”
The crowd was consumed by what Samuel had said, he stepped into a portal, lived among humans, and fell in love with one. All their eyes shifted on the box that was being cradled by his shaking hands. Realizing what it was, their horror filled the area. There were gasps of shock, some of them were shuddering. Even the soldiers pointing their weapons towards Samuel shook.
“I ask of you, King Malik, let me regain the honor that was lost when I left this kingdom. I am the first of our citizens to step into the portal, it had consumed my thoughts and I was mesmerized by its beauty”
Colter remembered the portal, how it had enthralled him, all those times he was staring at it, it also had the same effect on his brother.
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KING MALIK HOWARD
Palace Outskirts, Kingdom of Howard
After listening to his pleas, and watching his tears fall, King Malik Howard stepped forward. “Samuel has broken an ultimate law amongst our people. For this, the highest punishment, yes, higher even than treason, will be handed to him. Let this serve as a warning for those foolish enough to brave the forests that surround this kingdom. The portal will ruin your lives, it could also lead to your death.”
“Look me in the eyes, Samuel the sinner” the king continued, his voice regal and intimidating, the broken Ecanus helplessly gazed into his eyes, “It seems you know what will happen next.”
The king exuded a royal presence that everyone in the area felt, it was daunting and frightening. Samuel wordlessly accepted the energies that the king threw at him and felt his powers drain away. The tears never stopped falling and the king took pity upon Samuel’s current stature but knew in his heart of hearts that it must be done to preserve the kingdom’s sanctity.
Samuel was gasping for air, having been exhausted physically by having his powers drained by King Malik. “Are you certain of what you have in that box?” Malik asked the once missing Ecanus, Samuel nodded pathetically, his tears slowly drying but his face was forever left in a grimace of horror and sadness.
“Open it.” The King commanded and Samuel obeyed at once, with shaking hands he lifted the lid on the small box and the smell immediately filled the air around them. There were shrieks of disgust, a dull thud in the background meant that someone had fainted over the sight of it. Because in the box that Samuel held was a human heart, it was basked in blood and other kinds of viscera. But it was a heart.
“Lady Flora…” the King started and closed his eyes at the sight of the eviscerated heart before him, he felt Flora’s presence now as she closed in on Samuel.
There was still no emotion on Flora’s face when she reached for the box, the odor seemed to bother her not. “Samuel… it is good to have you back.” She said calmly reaching into her sleeves and pulling out a silvery powder. “May this be proper and true” after saying those words, she sprinkled the heart with Ecarian dust. The crowd gazed at the sight of this, hypnotized by the poise and grace of the deity that rarely shows herself in public.
“I shall bring this to the portal’s location now, King Malik” the deity told him and King Malik nodded and grunted in return.
“Three days, Samuel and that heart you have brought us will bloom into a flower.” The King announced, now shifting attention away from the disappearing deity into him. “Should it turn white, your punishment will continue, giving you the opportunity to gain honor and power that was lost due to your actions.”
Samuel nodded wordlessly, still shaking and looking devastated by what he had done.
“Should it turn black, then your life becomes forfeit. That would mean you have given us the wrong heart. You had not slain the human that you claimed to have loved. You will be given a painful death and you shall perish from this world without honor to your name. Do you understand these words?”
Samuel nodded again.
“Very well” the King replied to his gesture and summoned some guards, “Detain this sinner and lock him with the rest of the criminals in Tralfagar.”
The guards acted swiftly, grabbing Samuel by the arms, and locking him in manacles, and dragged him away from the location.
“He accepted his punishment without hesitation, there is honor left in him yet.” The King commented as Samuel disappeared from his sight, he glanced at the crowd and to his wife behind him, who only nodded. “Was he the one Flora foresaw?” the thought flashed across his mind, “she told me someone returning will bring about a great change to the kingdom, I wonder what that oracle meant by that. Would it be good changes or bad?”
The horror slowly dawned on him as he realized that word would now spread that the forbidden portal is true, and some adventurous fool of an Ecanus might try and go find it.
“We mustn’t allow the humans to realize our existence. Must I deploy royal guards around the borders of the portal?” He scanned the crowd that was slowly dispersing, and his eyes fell on Colter, who was still staring in the direction where Samuel disappeared. The King’s worries doubled.
Colter
Palace Outskirts, Kingdom of Howard
The young prince witnessed all of this and stared as Samuel was dragged away by guards, “Humans? Other world?” He thought rapidly, instead of fear and horror at the revelations, his curiosity sparked. He wanted to know more, the thirst for knowledge and the idea that there is another whole new world out there filled his veins.
“Could that brown-haired girl be in that other world too?” Colter whispered, remembering once more of the dreams that pester him at night. While he was lost in all his thoughts, he did not realize the stony gaze of his father that was directed at him.
“Tralfagar, huh?” the prince pondered, setting his mind on finding and talking to Samuel all about this world he came from.