Draft Saturday

Today we present to you the first draft of a short story that our Editor Alecia was working on called the Legend's Downfall.

The Legend’s Downfall

By: Alecia M Gallant

(Trigger Warning, Violence, Langauge, Blood)

He was a shadow, a silent killer, a womanizer, the king of thieves and a man incapable of making mistakes. The living corpse of a long-forgotten royal heir, he sought revenge on those who wronged him and his family. He was a god, a living legend. But even gods make mistakes; however, his mistake would impact the entirety of the 11 kingdoms. For Krad would forever be changed by the actions of a defiant thief.

The cold air was stale as it filled his lungs; his long deep breaths floated like fog in front of him. The cell was lit with a torch from a wall two doors down. The icy greenish stone beneath him began to make his fingers numb as he scratched at the mouldy bread. He looked up to see icicles hanging like daggers, which seemed fitting for the situation. Death was creeping closer what could he do.

He knew if he hadn’t brought along Gideon, it would have worked. He could have killed the King and his wretched incestuous royal line once and for all. If he could have pulled it off, he wouldn’t be in this wintery hell. He laid his head back against the iron bars.

The footsteps began ringing down the hall, thunderous in this prison of forgotten souls. The torchlight was drawing nearer. Death was approaching, and the boy didn’t have the heart to face it head-on. The steps stopped behind him; destiny had come from him.

Two guards stood in front of him heavily armoured and wearing the famous black and red armour of the royal army of Siton. They placed the shackles on his wrists and ankles and dragged him to his feet. Twenty more guards stood outside the cell, waiting to take him to the throne room.

“ The king has commanded your presence in the hall of King’s brat,” The Captain spits at him.

The boy begins to laugh manically with a flash of bright blue eyes. The guard captain twists the shackles bringing the boys to his knees; he places another restraint around the boy’s neck with a grin.

The boy looked at his walking prison. Celestial black iron was made to capture dragons in the third age. There was no escaping these bonds, for if a dragon couldn’t break them. Not even a demi-god stood a chance.

Two of the bigger guards dragged the boy up the stairs and down the halls of the Kradian Castle. The Boy eyed the doors they were approaching. He knew what awaited him beyond the Red stone doors was nothing but death and his maker.

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

We had gotten this far, hiding in a village this close to our targets. If I could sneak away in the middle of the night, I could slit his damn throat before the guards could be alerted. Damn, if I weren’t also protecting Miranda, I would already be there.

I watched as Penelope and Gideon talked amongst themselves on the other side of the table. But unfortunately, I didn’t have the energy to start a conversation. I was still sore from the ride from the temple, the priests had given me herbs for the pain, but I refused to take anything my good-for-nothing father was offering.

Penelope’s yellow eyes lock with mine. She leans forward, grabbing my attention.

“ Don’t worry so much, we are going to pull this off, and I'll be back on Cat’s Eye before dawn in two days, richer than we ever thought of being”

She smiles, her shark-like teeth clacked together as she shut her mouth.

She was right. In two days, I would be rich and the leader of the thieves guild, Gideon would be setting off on the seven seas, and Penelope and Miranda would be getting married then would go off to live in a cottage by the sea.

This was going to go off without a hitch, even if I had to do it myself. Gideon smirks at me from his barstool at the end of the table. He raises his tankard, a grin stretching across his face. I knew that look; I lifted my tankard.

“ To riches, woman and the future,” he says as we down our ale.

When we returned to our small bedroom in the tavern, we began to plan our way into the castle. Gideon laid out the map of the castle grounds; I watched as he circled the guard towers. Penelope held Miranda in her lap as the young dwarf had fallen asleep or passed out drunk one of the two. Women of courts don’t belong in this type of work or maybe in a tavern. I chuckle to myself.

“ Our best bet is to use the sewers to get past the guards,” Gideon points to the sewer entrance.

“ How big are the tunnels?” I ask

“ I will fit easily standing up; you will need to kneel.”

“ I don’t kneel.”

He rolls his eyes.

“ You’re going to kneel because it’s the only way in unless you want to crawl like a child, Jasper grow up. We have done worse than that,” he growls.

“ I hate you,” I murmured.

“ You weren’t saying that last night,” he winks.

Silver flashes by me, and a dagger is stabbed into the table. We both turn our attention to Penelope. She flashed us her teeth, growling low—a siren’s growl, attractive but dangerous. I shake the feeling off.

“ Sorry”

“ You better be; if you wake her up, I will kill the both of you,” she hisses.

Miranda stirred in her sleep, then rolled over. I returned to looking at the map and motioned for Gideon to continue.

“ Our best bet is once out of the sewer, we divide and conquer. Penelope will head towards the east wing towards the princess’s quarters, I’ll head towards the queen’s chambers in the south wing, and Jasper, you’ll head north towards the King’s private study where he spends most of his time.”

“ Remember, we got one shot. If we fuck up, we won’t get a second chance,” Penelope says, stroking Miranda’s hair.

We all crawled into our bedrolls, praying to our gods that we would survive long enough to kill the king. I had never failed a mission yet, and I didn’t make mistakes. So I was going to kill the king for what he had done to my mothers, to my birth mother; I was going to put his head on a pike.

I fell asleep to the thoughts of his scream echoing across the castle as I slit his throat. I would get my revenge one way or another.

Who gave the sun permission to be so bright at the ass crack of dawn. I was still tired, and Gideon had woken me up by kicking me in the stomach as he moved in his sleep. The one halfling I trusted with my life. I wanted to tell him for years that I loved him. But it was useless he loved the sea more than he loved me, and I knew once we got our money, he would be gone., Once again, I would be alone.

I sat up, looking out the window as snow littered the sky falling between the bright pinks and reds of the morning sun. I get up, grabbing my gear. I pulled on my light leather armour. I placed each dagger, the vial of poison and the hidden weapon in the perfect place. I grabbed my mother’s necklace, kissing it as I put the token around my neck. I pulled up my hood, hiding my face with a scarf.

I then kneel, looking out the window, placing my hands in prayer.

“ Cept, god of death and life. I am a shadow; you’re wilder of the blade. I am your servant; my breath is yours, my soul is yours; give me you’re strength and wisdom to complete your request. Death, Mercy, Libertas,” I whisper.

“ Isn’t it a bit early to be praying?”

I turn to see Miranda watching me from her bedroll. I smile, getting up.

“ A thief prays to his god before every task set before him for the god of death and life gives and takes,” I respond “ now wake the others and meet me downstairs for something to eat before we set out the castle.”

I walked down the twisting stairs; I was surprised I could get them up drunk because sober they were a death trap. I found the booth we had sat in the night before; I cleaned off the seat. Sitting down, I waited for the others to join me.

I then heard heavy footsteps approach me. I looked up to see the golden eyes of the hidden traveller beneath his cloak. I growl as he sits in front of me.

“ What do you want?”

“ Such harsh words for your father,”

Two tankards of ale appear on the oak table. He picks it up, takes a long drink then puts it back down. I looked at mine and pushed it away. He leans closer.

“ Jasper, I wanted to visit you to tell you to abandon this quest; to kill a lord is nothing, but to kill a King appointed by a God themselves is another,” My father whispers.

“ You are not my father; you only claimed me at the temple to keep me alive because you promised my mother,” I growl.

“ Son, listen to me.”

“ Don’t call me son!” I shout

He grabs me by the caller; his hair catches fire under his cloak. His face contoured in anger.

“ Listen to me, you do this, and I cannot protect you.”

“ Then break your promise” I push him off me.

“ Jasper Prior, I am your father, and you will listen to me.”

I get up from the table and start walking towards the tavern door. Atho grabs my arm, pulling me towards him. I turn on my hill and punch him in the face. The god of fire stumbles backwards; he gets to his feet. Rubbing his jaw, he didn’t look angry. So why wasn’t this bastard mad?

“ You will never be my father, we might be blood-related, but you mean nothing to me, you don’t have the right to call me your son, and you never will!” I yell as he disappears.

I punch a wooden beam in anger and confusion. Gideon runs down the stairs, his battle-axe ready to behead anyone that attacked either of us. He looks at me, shoving his battle-axe away on his back. He walked towards me.

“What in Cept’s name is going on down here?” He says.

“ Parental issues,” I respond.

“ Jasper, please tell me you didn’t fight a god.”

“ I didn’t fight a god; I fought a good for nothing, father!” I yell towards the ceiling.

“ You are going to be the death of us” He kisses me before walking towards the bar.

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

The doors opened in front of the boy to reveal the hall of the Kings. The room was bright red stone lined with golden streams and obsidian fireplaces. Crowds of people were shuffling around the hall. The guards dragged the boy across the floor while the lords and ladies, even peasants spit at him and spewed obscenities. The boy's heart was starting to creep into his throat when he heard a woman scream.

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

We left Miranda hidden in the tavern, safe from the guards until we returned to fetch her before leaving the kingdom. Penelope was against it at first, saying Miranda would be safer with us, till Gideon convinced her that Miranda has no fighting skills and could easily be killed if caught off guard.

We walked through the city streets heading out towards the bay where the entrance to the sewers was located. I stepped onto the snow-covered beach. Each step revealed the red sand beneath. Bloody footsteps were quickly filled in. Perhaps it was a sign that Cept was watching over our journey. The culvert was foul-smelling even though we were still 10 feet away. I gagged with Penelope. Gideon rolled his eyes as he entered the stone tunnel of hell. Penelope entered next, and then I stepped inside.

We walked through the sewer with a stifled gag of protest as we entered the belly of the beast. Gideon stops us as we hover under a cover that leads into the dungeons. I got Gideon on my shoulders so he could get rid of the cover. Once he was inside, we lifted Penelope inside, and I followed suit.

I quickly threw my crap-covered travelling cloak into the sewer. Penelope chuckled as we continued to make our way through the dungeons. As we turned a corner, guards were watching the entrance. I halted, grabbing Gideon by the scruff of the neck to keep him from walking forward. He looks at me, and I whisper,

“ Two guards, we need another way out.”

“ There is no other way out,” he hisses.

“ Well, boys, time for a little girlish charm then.”

Penelope fluffs her bright turquoise hair and unbuttons a few buttons on her shirt. She walks towards the guards; they turn towards her but raise their swords at her. Shit. I grab the small crossbow from my hip and shoot one in the neck. Penelope’s dagger dropped the other. She spits on their bodies.

“ Damn idiots, as they have never seen a siren before,” She growls as we run up the stairs.

“ Is now really the time to be talking about men not interested in boobs” Gideon replies “ You should be glad that stunt didn’t alert the whole damn castle.”

We entered a staircase and decided this was where we split up. Penelope runs towards her target, but before Gideon can leave, I grab his hand.

“ Don’t Die” I kiss him with such passion it takes his breath away.

“ Same to you… Jasper”

“ I love you.”

“ I know”

He runs away. I watch as he runs, then clear every dirty thought from my mind before I begin to run towards the north tower.

I walked amongst the guards, wearing the stolen armour of a dead guard. It was easy to blend in and move towards the north tower. I was almost up the study when a maid approached me with a worried look on her face.

“ Sir Knight, the maids, are whispering about the queen catching someone in her chambers. Is this true”

My heart drops into my stomach… No… This couldn’t be happening. I adjust my stance and place a hand on her shoulder.

“ These are just rumours; if anything is to come of it, you will be the first to know.”

She nods, walking away. Dammit, this mission was going wrong already, but none of the guards were moving from their positions. Something was wrong… something was wrong. No, I can’t think about the others. I needed to kill the king. That was the job. I open the door to the study.

Two guards then grab me; I try to shake them off, and I raise my head to see Gideon looking at me with a knife to his throat and standing behind him was Lion. Lion’s green eyes stare into mine, glimmering with intense violence.

“ One step, Legend and I slit his throat,” he growls.

“ Why? We trusted you!” I yell.

“ Did you think I worked for that fish,” he begins to laugh “ I’m the hand of the king Samuel Esout; we knew about your journey from the moment you left the cat’s eye.”

No, No, NO! This couldn’t be happening. I don’t make mistakes. I am the harbinger of death; I don’t make mistakes.

“ I’m going to kill you,” I growl, struggling against the guards.

The guards and Samuel begin to laugh as they clap chains around my neck. Again, I was losing control of the situation. No! This isn’t happening! As the guards began to drag me out the door. Gideon locks eyes with me.

“ You’re not going to kill me, Legend, but I will kill him.”

With one swift movement, he slit Gideon’s throat. Blood seeped out of his neck, his eyes still looking at me as his soul left his body.

“ GIDEON!!”

I scream his name as they drag me through the halls towards the dungeons. I cried till I couldn’t anymore. Gideon was dead, and it was my fault. I messed up. I trusted Lion, but he turned out to be the damn hand of the king. The brother to the bastard. I punch the stone walls of my cell, screaming obscenities and curses.

I knew my father was behind this. He had to be the reason why my boyfriend was dead. He was the reason I got caught.

“ Fuck the gods.”

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

The woman screaming was Miranda. She was hovering over Penelope’s lifeless body as it pooled blood around them. She was chained like me. I growled lowly; I had no more tears. I had anger.

They dragged me towards the large black throne. Two enormous dragons were carved into the base, but they were sitting on the skulls of the innocent was the king of Krad, Urslay Esout. His white hair was cut short beneath his black crown, the gems of the gods glittering within it. His piercing green eyes watch my every movement as I struggle against the chains.

Whispers crawled throughout the hall as they slipped past Miranda’s horrendous screams. I decided to listen to those whispers ignoring what fate awaited me when we finally stopped. They were questioning who I was. Saying I was too small and lean, I didn’t look like much and that I was too sickly to be the famed Legend of the thieves guild.

Urslay stood up from his throne as we stopped. He made his way towards me; I mustered enough saliva to spit at his boots.

“ Kneel,” he growls.

“ I don’t kneel to bastards,” I reply

His boot glides with my ribs, causing me to fold onto my knees. I spit blood. My rib cage was on fire. I looked up to see the faces of the royal family smiling down at me: cruel, sick, people, the lot of them.

The white-haired princes, princess, and his sister queen were watching him torture me by repeatedly kicking me in the stomach. The pain amounting from this was causing me to tremble. I had tried to stop it; my training should have prepared me. I looked up at Urslay; he wore his black royal garments and deep maroon cape. Then I noticed his sword… It was Penelope’s great sword. The damn bastard was carrying her sword. How dare he.

“ Will you kneel now, Legend?” He grabs a fist full of my hair to look at him.

“ Never” I spit blood in his face.

“ Make him stand and give witness to the crowd of what their king is capable of when they decide to plot against him.”

The guards bring me into a standing position. I see Miranda as she is pulled from Penelope’s body; she is caked in the blood of her lover. Urlsay punches me in the gut, then notices where I am looking.

“ Oh, don’t worry, boy, I won’t kill her. She has a pretty price on her head, and the king of Eviva is willing to pay anything to get her back.”

No, Miranda couldn’t go back to Eviva. She would be imprisoned for the rest of her life, a slave to a husband she doesn’t love or want. I struggle against my shackles. The pain erupted through my body. It hurt; this all hurt. What would Gideon do? What would he say?

This was useless. I was useless.

I stand as tall as I can and stare Urslay in the eyes.

“ Listen well, King Urslay Esout. My name is Legend, leader of the thieves guild, womanizer, harbinger of death. However, I am also the son of Atho, Lord of fire and light, I have committed many crimes, but this is the one I will admit to freely. I came here to kill you and your damn family.”

The crowd begins to murmur loudly, and the king raises a hand to silence them.

“ Your king is the greatest evil to be born in this land; his whole family is inbred. They take their sisters as wives. Because of their blood purity rule, they are working with the Vesdians to take over the entirety of the Krad. Do you think he will stop with the conquering of Cat’s island? Do you think he cares for his people? He killed the queen of the lost kingdom; he killed my mother; he killed Queen Thalia!”

The crowd erupts into dispute, and the anger on Urslay’s face was my final hurray, for if the people denied the truth, now they would soon realize that my words were fact. He grabs his sword and raises it towards me.

I smirked; I had no fear of death but for me back with Gideon. Bring me to my soulmate in the eternal realms of Cept. He growls at me, and I growl back.

Then something happened that was unexpected. The eldest princess, Timber Esout, walked down towards us. Her hair was tied back into braids that ran down her back. She grabs her father’s hand. That is when I noticed her eyes they are locked with mine.

“ Father, do not let your temper get in the way of our plans” She takes a step towards me “ Death would allow him to return to his friends. It is too good for him. He deserves a better punishment.”

No, this bitch.

“ Kill me, you bastard, or should I tell the court how you fucked my mother before you killed her”

Urslay smirks. No, kill me. I was begging; I would get to my knees. I needed to see Gideon again. Please.

Was I really to beg the man I tried to kill, to kill me.

“ Tell me your plan, Timber.”

“ Let us imprison him in the salt minds without his swordfight arm. Give him something to remember his failure. Is it not said that the Legend never fails”

I wanted to punch her or run her through with my dagger. She was just as cruel as her damn father. The whole family was a plague upon Krad.

“ Heat this.”

He hands the sword to a guard standing close by. No, I struggled against my chains. This wasn’t happening. You play to their ego; that is what the stories of heroes said. They defeat the kings by playing their ego.

“ Citizens of Siton, I King Urslay Esout, first of my name, firstborn son of my father, Jaromir Esout. Declare that this man is an enemy of the crown. As punishment for his crimes, he will serve a life sentence in the salt mines, living below the surface of the world. He will never see the light of the sun ever again.”

The crowds cheer their king, and I spit blood once again.

I was too pissed off to speak. I was going to live forever alone, Gideon was dead, Miranda was going to be in a loveless marriage, and Penelope was gone. I watched as the guard returned with a red hot blade. My punishment was moments away. There was no way out of this. I made a mistake, and I was going to die. No, this couldn’t be happening.

Urslay took the sword from the guard and walked towards me. The smirk on hsi face was infuriating. He knew I was defeated that the Legend of Krad had meant his downfall. I was soon face to face with the man who killed my mother destroyed my kingdom. The man who had ordered his brother to kill Gideon, maybe Penelope. I was looking into the eyes of death, and the only thing I could feel was this numbness welling inside of me.

The guards pull on my left arm, exposing my shoulder.

“ Your punishment is worse than death, Jasper Prior,” he whispers in my ear.

With those final words and a gut-wrenching scream. My arm dropped to the floor, blood and bones fragments littered the ground.

“ I showed this criminal mercy, now watch his gratefully kiss his king’s boots.”

I was in tears from the intense amount of pain I was in. I could barely see straight, but I managed to get to my feet. The room was spinning around me.

“ I would rather fuck a horse than kiss your boots, Urslay.”

With every ounce of my being, I began to call open what minor powers I had as a demi-god, and I pointed the finger at the now frightened royal family. I was on fire, a neat trick I learned when I was younger.

“ I curse the family Esout and Every drop of their blood that they too shall suffer a fate worse than death itself. So may it begin with the youngest” I fall to my knees.

Then I heard Timber’s screams as the youngest prince began to convulse on the floor in front of us. His body began twisting at odd angles, and the crowds were horrified. Urslay looked horror-struck as he ordered the guards to drag me away. This was my final stand. I knew I would live longer than his family line. Gideon, are you proud of me? Father, are you proud of me?

I laugh maniacally as I am dragged away to the dungeons once again. An eye for an eye, Urslay. Remember that, For the legend of krad is only the beginning of the rebellion.