The King with Six Friends

The Third Trial

After Zar presented the egg, King Invictus sent them all away to rest. He had a big decision to make. After musing alone for hours, he called the seven back to the throne room for the third and final trial.

Eryx, Furze, and Edge were tired from their excursion. Agus, Kindle, and Dumble were talking about how good the wine was the other day. Zar was exhausted, but he stood as tall as he could before the king.

Kiera puzzled over a thought in her mind, but she stayed quiet, as all women of the court were expected to. She couldn't figure out how these people were conquering the trials when no one else had even come close. Her hands clenched on her lap.

"Congratulations on your first and second victories," The King addressed them. "You have passed challenges that no man ever has before. You have braved the lowest of the depths and the highest of the peaks. But I ask you all this: can you withstand an ambush?"

At that, the throne room guards aimed their weapons and advanced on the group. They were completely surrounded with no way out.

A single archer- unknown to anyone in the kingdom- nocked an arrow from behind a large vase.

"Dumble!" shouted Zar, drawing his sword. "Turn into a swarm of bees!" The soldiers rushed at the seven, but Dumble was quicker.

A deafening, violent buzzing vibrated the walls as a dark mass swelled over the room. The soldiers faltered mid-step. They watched as an angry swarm of bees rose up from where the small man once stood. The swarm dove at the soldiers, scattering their formation. They yelled in pain with each sting, abandoning their weapons. Some jumped out the windows to escape.

Kiera knew that her father's trials were impossible. She recounted the many times suitors from other countries and lands had attempted to beat them. Some had brought several servants and soldiers to aid them, but all failed.

This scrappy, smelly horde of comrades single-handedly put all those blue-bloods to shame. What Kiera couldn't understand before was how. Now she knew how; it was because they were all Morphs. They were people who were discriminated against and shunned by most because of their strange abilities. She silently laughed to herself. How humorous it was, the irony of it all.

The throne room was cleared of guards in less than a minute by the swarm.

King Invictus sat on his throne stunned. "Well, it seems. . . you've passed all the trials. All that's left to do is the legal work." he chuckled. His page, who'd been stung on his nose by a stray bee, brought in a tray of official-looking papers.

At that moment, the archer slunk out from his hiding place. The arrow was poised at the heart of the new heir of the South Kingdom.

Kiera's eyes widened in horror when she saw it. "Watch out!" she screamed.

The archer let fly his arrow just as Zar turned to look. The arrowhead missed his heart by a hair-breadth, slicing through his tunic. He ran at the assassin, sword flashing.

The archer pulled another arrow from his quiver, nocking and releasing in one fluid stroke. It grazed Zar's leg but in no way stalled his advance.

The archer panicked, darting for a shattered window to escape. Zar beat him to it. In a snap decision, the archer drew and aimed for the princess.

Zar's blade cracked down on the bow, snapping the string and severing part of the archer's hand. He yelped in pain as Zar pinned him against the wall.

"Why are you doing this?" Zar demanded, holding the sword up to the archer's throat. "Who sent you?"

There was a sudden hot, sharp sensation in Zar's stomach. He glanced down to see a knife slashed through his chest. A crimson stain seeped through his shirt.

The archer kicked Zar back and hurdled through the window.

Zar could not remember how he fell to the floor. He did not see his friends run to his side. The only thing he registered was a fair, doe-eyed angel looking over him.

The room spun around and suddenly went dark.