A Tale From Lanoria: The Princess of Barough

Chapter 2: Long live the King

Arrows streaked through the sky from behind them, piercing through the armor of the two knights in the back. Their bodies were riddled with them long before they fell into the dirt. Felix, thankfully, had raised his shield in time to block them, though his horse wasn't as lucky. The stallion quickly plummeted to the road along with the king. The horses up front kicked their legs up as a ball of fire exploded in front of them. The situation only got worse by the second. Before long, even more bandits began to pour out of the woods, coming from both sides of the road. With all the luminous spells going off, it was easy to see all of them.

"FOR THE KING!! FOR BAROUGH!!" One of the knights roared as they met the charging bandits that came from the sides of the road.

The four remaining knights quickly formed themselves around the king. The knights swung their swords at the bandits. Their horses kicked and stomped alongside their riders. Felix didn't sit back and watch. Whenever one would get too close or he saw one of his knights being overwhelmed, the king would strike. Fighting side by side with his men, the king knew their lives depended on each other.

"FIGHT ON!! TONIGHT, WE MAKE TALES OF OUR GLORY!!" the king roared.

They could see that the cult was organized enough to find the carriage and stage an attack, and wealthy enough to hire these bandits to help them. They were even disciplined enough to hold their fire until the right time. Something was off, and Felix knew it. He just wished he could figure out what it was. After a moment of fighting, Felix noticed that one of the bodies of the bandits had started to glow. It was almost like a fire was burning inside him.

"SCATTER!!" Felix shouted as he realized what was going on. The King quickly dove into the carriage and kicked out the other door before jumping out of it onto the other side. The king and his knights cut through bandits who were still trying to work their way around and over the carriage. That was when the first one went off. The bandit's body burst into a plume of red-hot fire. Two of his knights were able to escape. One was working his way around the carriage to where he saw the king run. It was like a chain reaction. Body after body went off like bombs on a battlefield.

"Mages have sealed their bodies with magic! They are most likely set to go off when they die! Each one of them is explosive!" Felix shouted. The carriage behind him quickly exploded and burst into flames from the force of the bursting bodies. One of the pieces of wood from the carriage lodged itself in Felix's side.

"Agghhh!" Felix shouted as he felt the sharp piece of wood puncture his body, causing the king to fall to his knees.

Long, glowing ropes made of magic raced through the sky and wrapped around Felix's neck, bringing the king to the ground. Dragged through the dirt and rocks of the road, the king could see the glittering stars above him as his life flashed before his eyes.

"Oriana, forgive me," he whispered to himself as he drew a small blade from his robes and gripped the ropes above him. He tried desperately to cut them, but to no avail, as the rope pulled tightly around his neck. Gripping as much as he could, Felix could only hold on as he was painfully pulled down the road like a dog on a leash.

For fifteen painful minutes, he was dragged another mile down the road. A long trail of blood was the only evidence of his struggle. The king could see who he was being led to.

"It's you!" Felix exclaimed in surprise.

Pristine leather riding boots hit the ground as the figure jumped from his horse. A wicked grin spread over his handsome face. He was a younger gentleman, with blonde hair and cold blue eyes.

"It is. Don't worry, I'll make sure to take good care of the Princess and Barough in your absence," he told him as he drew a blade. He moved it skillfully, slicing Felix's cheek before removing the crown from the king's head as he examined it gleefully.