The Songster in Revenant Kingdom

Chapter 8

They reappeared, and Camilla collapsed. "Camilla!" Gascon gasped, both boys running to her. Roland came over and turned her so she lay on her back, finally seeing the large gashes across her body from the rat's claws. She had deep cuts, and she was completely pale. "Camilla, please don't die too!" Gascon begged, then looked around, and saw where they were. "Mum! Dad!" He shouted, and ran off. Roland and Gascon looked, and saw that he was heading for a large building with a pig design on the front of it. 

"Gascon!" Roland called, lifting Camilla into his arms like a baby and ran after Gascon, Evan right behind him. He barely could pay attention to the large, smoky, mechanical city that was hidden beneath the building. He was focused on running after Gascon, who seemed to know where he was going. "Gascon, wait!" The boy didn't stop. He kept running until he entered another, palace like building.

"Mum! Dad! Uncle Swaine! Aunt Nichole!" He shouted. "Somebody help!" Roland looked around the palace, a little in awe. It was much more grand compared to Evan's, with tall ceilings, a large room and gold metal building the walls and red carpet covering the floor. 

They reached an area where there was a small couch and some end tables, as well as clutter covering the back wall. "Lay her down here!" Gascon told Roland, running to the clutter pile and grabbing a blanket. "They'll find us in here!"

"Who will?" Roland asked, laying her down. Gascon didn't respond. He just went back into the hallway, looking back and forth own each end, searching for them. 

"Mum! Dad!" he called.

"Gascon?" An older man appeared in the doorway beside him. A man with curly black hair, an orange button-up shirt, and a pair of jeans with some black shoes came in, followed by a blonde woman who wore a red shirt and a pair of white pants. She gasped when she saw them.

"Oh, Camilla! Honey!" She came running over, Roland stepping aside so that she could see the young girl.  "Camilla?" Camilla groaned in pain.

"Gascon, what happened?" the older man demanded, crossing his arms.

"There was a coup!" Gascon told him. "Uncle Swaine, Evan's kingdom got taken over!"

"Evan?" The man, Swaine, looked at Evan, who nodded timidly.

"Yeah!" Gascon nodded. "It was Lord Mausinger! He was trying to kill Evan so that he could be king! But Camilla and Roland saved us!" Swaine looked to Roland, and Roland stood straighter, a bit intimidated by this man.

"You rescued them?" Roland nodded.

"Yes, Sir. I protected them to the best of my ability. I am only ashamed to admit I wasn't with Camilla when she was injured."

"She stayed behind with Nella to fight the Black Knight." Evan piped up. "Nella begged that we get Camilla to safety, so we brought her here."

"And where is Aranella?" The woman asked, using a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe up the bleeding wounds Camilla had. 

"Aranella is gone," Roland told her quickly so that the younger boys wouldn't have to explain it. "she wasn't able to make it." The woman held a hand to her heart, Swaine looking down, shaking his head.

"A good fighter like that, gone." He murmured, before pulling himself together and staring Roland down intently. "But, we must move on. Now, who are you? And how did you find yourself in the palace?"

"My name is Roland, and I am just as confused on that as you are, Sir." He responded. Swaine rubbed his head, looking frustrated.

"Bloody hell." he grumbled, before going over to Camilla, examining her. "How is she, Nichole?" The woman shrugged, looking helpless.

"I don't know." She responded. "I can't tell how deep her wounds are, but they're not good."

"What's going on in here?" The door opened again, and a woman with long black hair, a long purple dress, and a blue coat over it with long sleeves came in, followed by a man in a teal coat with gold emblems along the front, wearing purple pants and black shoes.

"Mum!" Gascon exclaimed, hurrying over to her, and she wrapped her arms around him, seeing Evan and pulling him over, wrapping her arms around them and falling to her knees to be level with them, looking relieved. Roland could tell that she cared very much for the boys.

"Oh, Gascon! Evan! I'm so glad you're both okay!" She told them, the man coming over and putting his hand on Gascon's shoulder, looking as though he could cry with relief. "Gallin gave us the word of what was happening! We were trying to get a message to Aranella, but when he got back, he told us what was going on! We were so worried! We didn't know what had happened to you!"

"Gallin saw?" Gascon asked, looking up.

"Yes, he did." The man told him grimly. "He overheard Lord Mausinger talking about what he was going to do to Evan, and flew back at once. He wouldn't have had the chance to see you three." The woman tightened her grip on the two boys as though she were never going to let them go.

"You have no idea what we thought happened to you!" She told them, almost crying.

"Mum, we're fine!" Gascon told her, trying to wriggle out of her hands, but she wasn't budging. "Thanks to Roland and Camilla!"

"Roland?" The man looked up, and Roland gave a small bow to him, recognizing that he was the leader of this nation.

"That would be me, Your Majesty." He told him as he stood straight. "My name is Roland. I come from a world far different from yours, and I helped to lead the boys from the palace."

"You came from a different world, and still felt the need to save the children?" The man asked, coming over to Roland as the woman looked up, keeping her hands on the boys' shoulders. "I must thank you then." The man told him, giving a small bow in return. "Forgive me for not introducing myself. I am Marcassin, Emperor of Hamelin. And this is my wife, Harmony. We are Gascon's parents." Roland held out a hand to him, and Marcassin shook it heartily.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty." Harmony came over to him, and Roland expected to shake her hand as well, but she instead wrapped her arms around his neck as tight as she could.

"Thank you," she whispered gratefully. "For protecting our son."

"I hate to break up the party, but Harmony, we could really use some help over here." Swaine interrupted, and Harmony looked over, gasping when she saw Camilla.

"Oh, goodness!" She ran over and knelt beside the girl, removing some of the buttons on her shirt and lifting up her undershirt to reveal a deep cut across her stomach, Camilla groaning in pain as she did. "Who could've done this to such a young girl?" She murmured, casting a spell over Camilla and making her groan in pain.

"It was the Black Knight, Miss Harmony," Evan told her, coming over. He had been completely silent since they left Ding Dong Dell. "Camilla and Nella tried to fight him, and they were both really hurt."

"That probably wasn't the brightest option," Roland commented, crossing his arms. "If Mausinger knows who Gascon and Camilla are, he'll know where to find Evan."

"No, I know Mausinger." Swaine told him curtly, his lips thin as he tried not to lose his temper. "As long as Evan is out of the way, he won't care what becomes of him. As long as he becomes king."

"And besides, our army is far superior to that of Ding Dong Dell," Marcassin added, putting his hand on Evan's shoulder. "We can protect Evan here."

"But I have to become a king," Evan told him, his small hands in fists. "I made a promise to Nella."

"Evan, no one is becoming king right now except for Mausinger," Swaine told him, coming over as Harmony and Nichole used magic and bandages to fix Camilla's wounds. "You need to stay here, where it's safe." Evan looked between the two men, a little shocked by their opinions. These two were adventurers! They had done things no one in this word could ever imagine! And yet, they were trying to stop him now?

"Evan could become king!" Gascon came over, putting his hand on Evan's shoulder. "He'd be a great king! He knows what needs to be done and how it can be done, so why shouldn't he go out and make his own kingdom?"

"Gascon, do not argue with your father." Harmony scolded. "I always thought Evan was too young to become king anyway. He doesn't need to be running off now, looking for trouble."

"But, Miss Harmony! I made a promise to Nella!" Evan fussed, trying to make her see reason, even with how childish his own voice sounded to even himself. "I promised that I would build a kingdom! A new kingdom! Where everyone can live happily ever after! I have to fulfill it!"

"Evan, you can't just start a new kingdom." Harmony told him, trying to make him see reason. "There are all sorts of things that would go straight over your head at your age. It's not just about castles and crowns and addendums. It's about politics, and building armies, and making peace."

"What if he had an advisor?" Roland piped up, stepping in on Evan's side. "Someone who's been down the road of running a country, and knows how to get one started and make it strong?" Swaine crossed his arms, coming over to him.

"And let me guess, you're just the person he needs, am I right?" Roland shrugged.

"Well, I do have experience. I ran a country myself in my world. I was a king of sorts."

"And how well did that go?" Marcassin came over, Roland biting his tongue on the truth. He needn't tell them how he had been on a mission for peace, and his country had been destroyed.

"I was on a mission bring peace to the nations of the world when I was brought here." There. He had told half of the truth.

"And you really believe you're all that Evan's going to need to become a good king?" Swaine demanded, crossing his arms.


"He'll have me too!" Gascon declared, taking Evan's hand determinedly. "I'll help him become a good king too!"

"Gascon..." Harmony stood to her feet, about to chastise him, but he shook his head.

"Dad said that he felt like he couldn't become a good Emperor if he didn't have you by his side. And Evan needs followers! So, I'm going to be by his side no matter what!" Harmony pursed her lips, looking as though she wanted to tell Gascon that he couldn't do it. That she wasn't going to let him go off and try and start a kingdom somewhere she couldn't save them if they needed her. In her eyes, these boys were still babies. They were still the little kids that she had had her hand in raising, and here they were talking about becoming kings. It didn't feel real to her. It felt like they were still little boys, playing a game of pretend. But they weren't. They had grown up, and she could see that they were truly ready to go out on their own and face the world head on.

Finally, she took a deep breath, and looked to the boys, finally seeing them as grown young men. "I was only a year younger than the two of you when I left home. If I made it, then the two of you surely can." She went over and put her hand on Evan's shoulder. "Evan, you are going to be a wonderful king." She told him with a small smile. "I just know you are. I can see it."

"With your vision?" he asked, and she shook her head, chuckling a little.

"No. I can see it in your eyes." She told him. "I look at you, and I can see a great king standing before me. Someone who could bring the world together as one." Evan smiled at her, and wrapped his arms around her middle tightly.

"Thank you, Miss Harmony! I won't let you down! I promise!"