Power and Love

Chapter 29: River

Arthur's POV

The wind whooshed as I fell, sounding deafening in my ears. The fall felt like it lasted hours, not just a minute. I knew, that I would die. If I didn't hit the ground, I would probably drown. Well, I would die, if a miracle didn't happen, but nowadays miracles don't really exist. I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact. I waited for the pain, and then I wouldn't feel anything anymore.

"We have found our new Queen!"

"Don't worry, I'll guard you from the ghosts, Artie!"

I smiled, when I remembered all the things Alfred had done and said. Maybe it was true. A person sees his life like a movie when they die.

I fell into the water and I sank under the surface like a rock. The water was cold, it felt like I had been put inside of an ice cube. Panic took over me. I opened my eyes, but I didn't see anything. I tried to swim, but the stream carried me along. Shining bubbles of air escaped from my mouth. Where was the surface? Where was the bottom of the river? Where was I? The questions gyrated in my mind.

I knew I was drowning. I stopped fighting against the river. I couldn't do this.. Oxygen ran out of my lungs. My consciousness vanished slowly, as I reached for the world above the surface which I could never see again.

Everything went dark.

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I heard voices. They were barely audible; like there had been a thick wall between me and the speakers. Then I felt pressure on my chest. I opened my eyes abruptly, sat up and leaned sideways, coughing and hacking. Water gushed out from my mouth, until there wasn't any left in my stomach or lungs. My chest hurted a little and my throat was sore, but I thought they would vanish quickly. Wait. When you're dead, you don't feel pain anymore, right?

"Are you done, wee brother?" A voice asked. I turned my head and my blood froze in my blood vessels. I had seen that face in a painting so many, many times. The person had a auburn hair, green eyes which resembled mine, a light blue shirt and black jeans and shoes. He looked older than me, but not much. Maybe few years older, I wondered. Next to him was a dagger and its hilt was beautifully carved. The carving portrayed a dragon, a lion, an unicorn and a four-leaf clover. My attention turned back to the man. I remembered, when I was young and I was still living with my father in our mansion in Verhen, that there had been a painting of our family. I had always looked it with mixed emotions. My mother and my other brothers had left, when I was still a baby. I had always believed they were dead, because father didn't say where they left.

"Why so shocked?" The man, my brother, interrupted my thoughts.

"Am... Am I in Heaven?" I asked, my voice hoarse. I shivered from the cold, partly because of my wet clothes and partly because of the breeze. I only now got aware of my surroundings; I was sitting on a rocky and a slightly moist bank of the river.

"No, Arthur, you're wrong!" He laughed. "Matthew, did you hear?" I noticed only now the man next to my brother. The man had a wavy, blond hair, violet eyes and a timid, calm expression. He wore a beige jacket, a red and a white T-shirt under it, black jeans with a red stripe and brownish boots. He looked like Alfred's brother.

"Yes." Matthew answered.

"But I have to be in heaven, you both are supposed to be dead! Or at least Matthew is." I stuttered.

"No, brother, you ain't dead. You're as alive as you were on that day when you were born." My brother moved to sit next to me and snapped his fingers. A jacket appeared from nowhere and he put it on me.

"Let's talk later. I bet you are freezing. Can you walk?" I nodded, before shakily standing up. Matthew started walking, and I followed him. Brother walked behind me, fiddling with his dagger and watching I wouldn't faint or something. He started whistling. Matthew chuckled.

After a while of walking and listening whistling, I was feeling rather pissed off. "Would you stop that already?" I snapped, turning around to watch my brother. He looked surprised, but then smiled, ruffling my hair. He must've known that I didn't like it, because when I groaned, trying to get him to stop it, he smirked victoriously.

"That's more like you, wee brother."

"I'm not small!" I protested.

"You are always small to me." He answered. I huffed, annoyed.

"Hey, are you coming?" Alfred's brother asked. I turned to watch, and saw Matthew walking through the rock. My eyes widened. My brother only shrugged, following him. After a moment, I followed them.

Walking through the rock was... Like sitting in a bath without moving. The water didn't move, neither did you, but you still knew that the water was there. Illusion magic, and flawless. Quite impressive, I thought. So here has to live a magician. Istopped, when I saw a long tunnel, which was lit with torches, in front of me. Matthew was waiting for me, but my brother were nowhere to be seen.

"Allistor went ahead already." Ah, my brother's name was Allistor? I nodded. Matthew turned and started walking. A silence fell between us. I thought about Alfred; how would he cope with the fact that his brother didn't die then?

"Is he alright?" Matthew's question surprised me.

"Yes. He is sad, though." I said, and tried to fiddle with the ring, but then I remembered that I had taken it off. He nodded.

"Why didn't you come back to the castle?" I asked, slightly disappointed to him. If he knew how Alfred suffered...

"I... Royal life didn't suit me. I kind of wanted freedom, a place where I would be known as Matthew, not just as a prince. Well, if they would notice me first." He chuckled. "I know I sound like Alfred, but that's how it is. My brother wanted freedom, too, but he knew he had to fulfill his duty as a crownprince. I wanted to be noticed, and here I got what I wanted." The tunnel ended, revealing a large cave. I was breathless. The was a campfire in the middle of the cave. Primitive looking beds were on the sides of the cave, and there was other tunnels, leading to somewhere else. At first, everything was silent, but then everyone started asking questions.

"What is the Queen doing here?"

"Matthew, what is this?"

"Hey, hey, who is there?"

"Who is that?"

"What the hell?"

"Hey, calm down, folks!" Allistar appeared from the crowd, and almost instantly everyone quited. He walked next to me.

"This is my brother, Arthur. Some may know him as the Queen of Spades." Allistar smirked, putting his arm around my neck. I struck it out furiously. My brother huffed, acting wounded. I glanced down at my clothes and noticed that they were shockingly different from the clothes Allistair, Matthew and others wore. I waited for another flood of questions, but it never came. Instead, everyone was quiet, even Allistor. Respect shone in their eyes.

"Arthur? Is that you?" A fragile voice asked. I turned around and stared at the person, speechless.

There, few meters away from me, stood my mother.

Hmm... Don't know what to say about this.

And as I said/promised, I would publish another chapter today ^^

(I was in the mood for Hetaoni, though) I've noticed that I have put a lot of (cardverse) usuk and I don't know is it a good thing or not😂 Well, this is a usuk story, so...

My head hurts, rip ;-;