Souls

Chapter Six- A Prince's Luck

"We might as well," Wyatt said. He wasn't pleased by King Arkins appearance, and especially not by the trader he had brought with him. At least Emory seemed to be staying out of everything. They were trying to prevent the two horses, a grey one and an auburn one, from eating the grass. It was actually slightly amusing.

"From my understanding, this all seems to have stemmed from a mishap at the border. Am I correct?" said King Arkins. He seemed desperate for this meeting to be as peaceful as possible. Something Wyatt had no intention of doing. For now, he played along and nodded. Queen Irene nodded too.

"Then," Kind Arkins said, "we just need to more clearly define where the borders are. The Abandoned City has always been a bit unclear when it comes to this."

"The Abandoned City has, and will always be in the Kingdom of Shadows territory," Wyatt said. "If the Kingdom of Light entered The Abandoned City, they trespassed on our land."

"The Abandoned City should be ours," Queen Irene said. "Our territory is much smaller than yours."

"You can expand your territory west. We cannot. We are trapped between the mountains, the other two kingdoms, and the Cheerless Sea. And just because you want The Abandoned City, it doesn't give you the right to trespass on our territory, or kill our soldiers. We lost our best general in that battle. He sacrificed himself for a young soldier that was being tag-teamed by your knights." Silence. Wyatt had played his cards right. Tag teaming was considered a highly dishonorable act in battle. Then, Queen Irene recovered herself.

"Mya," she said, "come here." A Kingdom of Light knight stepped forward. Wyatt had noticed her earlier. She had a bloody handprint on the side of her helmet. "Mya," Queen Irene continued, "tell them about Claire." The knight removed her helmet. She had long, brown hair tied into a bun and hazel eyes. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot, like she had been crying for a long time.

"Claire was my sister. We were very close. We trained together whenever we got the chance. She was well-liked by everyone that knew her. She was hurt badly early on in the battle, and her opposer just left her to die. She died slowly and painfully." Queen Irene looked around expectantly. Knights were supposed to finish off their opponents as quickly and painlessly as possible as a show of respect. It wasn't as dishonorable as tag-teaming, however, and everyone seemed to know that.

"Thank you, Mya," Queen Irene said. Mya replaced her helmet and fell back in line. Prince Wyatt looked at Queen Irene.

"What was the purpose of that story? We've all heard tearjerkers from soldiers."

Queen Irene's eyes flared. "Your soldier left her to die instead of finishing her off!"

"And? Your knights tag-teamed!"

"What do you know about honor and respect anyways? You decided that this meeting wasn't important enough to send your king!"

Wyatt glared. "I am the heir to the throne. I deserve to be listened to and respected as much as my father!"

"Stop!" Wyatt and Queen Irene both jumped. They turned to look at the source of the outcry. It was Emory. They seemed just as surprised as the others about their outburst.

"Excuse me?" Queen Irene glared at the young trader. Emory seemed to shrink away from her.

"S-sorry," they squeaked. King Arkins stepped in front of Emory.

"They're right," he said. "We are getting nowhere from this. The discussion is over. The Abandoned City belongs to the Kingdom of Shadows. If you are from the Kingdom of Light and enter The Abandoned City without permission, it is considered trespass. Goodbye." King Arkins motioned to Emory, who quickly led the horses over to him. King Arkins hopped on the auburn one, and Emory got on the grey one.

Back at the palace, Wyatt paced his room. He had come so close, but that Emory kid just had to open his mouth.

Knock, knock, knock. "Prince Wyatt?" a timid voice called. "Someone's here to see you." Wyatt stopped his pacing.

"Let them in." The door opened, and in stepped a strange figure in a black cloak. "Who are you?"

"That is not what is important right now."

"Then what is?"

"The three Kingdoms are in danger. If nothing is done, everyone will die. There will be three who save them. One is destined to die. One is destined to betray all. The final one is destined to become more powerful than the world every has, or every will, see."

Wyatt sighed. "And why are you telling this to me?"

"Why do you think?"

"Because I'm the heir to the throne and deserve to know." The figure laughed. Actually, it was more like a wheeze, but Wyatt got the gist.

"Then why?" he snapped.

"Because you are one of the three." Wyatt was silent for a moment. The figure continued. "Meet the others tomorrow where the mountains end at midnight. Your task will then become clear." The figure disappeared. Wyatt looked around, but it was no where to be seen. He collapsed onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Just my luck, he thought. First, my plan with Queen Irene falls through because of one stupid kid, and now I have to be a part of some sort of stupid prophecy. And, underneath his tunic, something glowed orange.