Wrongly in Love

49- The Battle Begins

"That stupid blockhead! Do we have to abandon our plan to follow him?!" Lesley groaned, pulling her hair out in frustration. "I warned him! Several times!"

"Weren't we going to ambush Arthur anyway?" Lancelot asked. "Same thing."

"Idiot! We have to wait for a reason! We're still waiting them to arrive!"

"Who were they again?" Lancelot noticed a stray candy bar on the table, then ate it and gagged. Must've been expired for a long time. Lesley didn't answer.

"Well, if we don't go after him he'd be in big trouble right now. I'll stay here and go over the first part of the plan," Odette said, pushing them gently out of the door.

"You sure?"
"Yes. I'll be fine."

After hesitating for a while, Lesley, Lancelot, and Granger walked out the door. Odette sighed. Surely there won't be any trouble. All she had to do was summon a swan to carry a bucket. Not that hard.

Suddenly she heard the back door open. Filled with uncertainty, she turned to find ten young men bursting through the door, each with a gun or sword pointing at her.

It felt as if his legs turned to stone. Not a single tear in his eyes, but unable to see. He had daggers by his side, but he couldn't initiate an attack. He couldn't find Lancelot and the others, but he didn't care.

All he wanted at that moment was to run away.

Arthur was speechless for a moment. In the middle of processing everything that happened, the corners of his lips formed a devilish, evil smirk.

"You see, brother? She doesn't know you," Arthur said slowly, emphasizing each word. Then he faced the audience. "You all heard that, right?"

The crowd, which consisted of rulers from different kingdoms and provinces, went silent. They were too shocked and afraid to answer, their lips trembling as if their life depended on their every word.

Gusion could hear faint cheers for Arthur, most likely coming from the villagers, followed by even fainter boos against their would-be ruler, but they were so quiet it was almost inaudible. He felt too weak to move, but too embarassed to stay.

Clink. Clonk. Everyone except Gusion turned their head to the noise. The heels of Lesley's boots made a soft noise as she made her way from the stone pathway to the green grass in the wedding site. She was followed quickly by Lancelot and Granger, but Odette was nowhere to be found. Where was she?

Arthur's smile went wider if that were possible. "I see you've brought friends, brother! But what's the use of them if they were meant for sacrifice?" He pulled Guinevere closer to his chest.

Gusion suddenly had the courage to look up again, scanning the scared faces staring at him until he caught sight of Guinevere. There was no anger or fear or regret in her eyes. No fondness or softness in them. There was... nothing.

"But where's the lovely Swan Princess? A pity, I would've loved to see her," Arthur drawled. "Was she really with you? Or is she already-"

A shrill high-pitched voice interrupted him, followed by men's shouts. People's eyes turned to the sky, where an image of a swan flew into the heavens.

"Fool! You intended to had Swan Princess killed while you face off with your brother!" A nearby villager shouted. "What a loser!"

At this, loud boos and hisses followed.

"You might kill this assassin, but you can't lay a finger on Swan Princess!"

"He's right! How dare you try kill a fellow ruler when you made friends with us in the first place!"

"Your conflict with your brother shouldn't involve innocent people in the first place?"

"SILENCE!" Arthur yelled. "You all come today knowing there was an execution. Why back down now?" He sneered at the frightened faces. "This is only the beginning..."

At that moment, one after another Blood Demons showed up coming to stand beside Arthur. Gusion and his friends' eyes widened in shock.

"So that's where they went... we have to tell Alice," Granger whispered to Lancelot. "We have to get to Odette to deliver the message."

"It's no use," Lancelot said. He clutched a piece of papyrus that turns out, Odette's summoned swan dropped from the sky. "The message was short, but I knew. She can't be trusted. Alice most likely sided with Arthur at the very last moment when she found out where her precious servants went. I doubt she'd show her face here thinking we wouldn't know. Odette made the guards confess everything they know before she knocked them out. Arthur must've bribed her with something, but I'm not too sure."

CLANG!
Exactly after he muttered those words, a bucket dropped from the sky and red liquid completely drenched Arthur, which he immediately realized was blood. Droplets splattered on guests' clothing.

Flying over the scene below, a swan honked.

Odette has done her job.

"She did it," Lesley tried to hide her smile. "All after kicking those men's asses."

"The real execution begins now."

Alright... I admit that my latest writing seemed... bored and uninspired, lol. At least in my opinion. But I'll try to finish this story before it reaches its 2nd year, and I certainly don't want to keep you all waiting! Sorry, and thank you all for supporting my story!