A Rose Amongst the Dragons, page 27
part #1 of A Rose Amongst the Dragons Series
…
Thelton sat with his feet in the ice cold water as it soothed away his aches. He had been waiting for Flance for quite some time. “Maybe the old man isn’t coming back, that’s fine with me. I will miss having the food, but I sure won’t miss Flance. It sure seems impossible to part from him.” Thelton closed his eyes and rested. Just as he started drifting to sleep, he heard the rustle of leaves on the little hill above him. He hurried to hide behind a tree with his hands on the golden and emerald swords.
Flance came stumbling down the hill, he carried a burlap sack. He tripped twice and skinned his elbow.
“Hey, old friend, where are you,” he called out. Thelton put his swords away and came out from behind the tree.
“Ahh, yes, there you are. I was able to obtain some nice bread, cheese, and jerky. There is enough for you to take. It will last you for several days.” Flance tossed the bag at Thelton. Thelton opened it and examined the contents. He pulled out some white cheese and ravishingly began eating it.
Flance pulled a bottle out of his waist band. “And this is for me.”
As they ate, Thelton was deep in thought. Finally, he spoke up.
“Why did you do that?”
“I was thirsty,” Flance responded.
“No, why did you give all your Tretos to those men. You didn’t have to save me. I would have gotten away and you would still have your Tretos.”
“They would have killed you. As strong as you are, it was nothing compared to the hate they had for you. They were going to avenge the death of a woman and her son. You had no chance.”
“I still don’t understand why you gave up all your money. I would not have done the same for you.”
“Thelton, we have a history. Like it or not, I am your friend.”
“No more of that talk,” Thelton said.
The men sat in uncomfortable silence for some time. Finally, they relaxed. As they did, they heard a noise behind them. Both men quickly jumped to their feet. Thelton grabbed his swords. They were sure that it was the angry mob of men. Flance began to sweat.
…
Out from behind the trees came the king’s soldiers, and the king.
“It’s him, it’s Flance. Men, take him, do not let him get away.”
Seven guards charged at Flance. He didn’t resist, he didn’t try to run. He bowed his head while they overtook him. They were brutal and showed no mercy. With unnecessary force, they captured Flance.
“We did it, we did it, and finally, he is ours.” The king almost sounded close to tears, he was overcome with joy and satisfaction.
“Now our kingdom can rest and the men can move on. There has been such a dark cloud that has overtaken our kingdom because of your actions. The people need to see you executed. Once that happens, the people can heal.”
Flance raised his head up and looked at the king. “Please forgive me your Lord; I am sorry for the stress that I have caused. I do not fight. Let the kingdom heal.”
Flance did not deny the murders. He did not tell the king that the men in the forest had been betrayed by Thelton’s hands. Flance’s actions caught Thelton off guard. Thelton swallowed wrong and began choking on his spit.
“Why isn’t he fighting this, why he is taking the blame for my wrongs?” Thelton wondered. ”Is he really going to take my place?” Thelton felt a tug at his heart. Flance had saved his life twice. Although he hated that fact, he had come to respect Flance a little more than he had, but was he willing to allow Flance to die for his sins?
A guard took his club and banged it on the side of Flance’s head. Flance fell down into the dirt and began coughing. Blood rolled down his cheek, while the dirt mixing into it.
“Oh shut up,” said another guards as he kicked his side.
One guard grabbed his arm and dragged him up. “Get up and stand like a man.” They were mocking him. The king seemed to enjoy the cruelty.
Thelton felt his muscles tense. Should he fight the guards and rescue Flance? Flance seemed at peace with the situation. As Flance coughed, he looked so sick. The old man was probably close to death. What would be the harm on bringing it on a little sooner? If he was willing to die for Thelton, then Thelton would let him.
Wouldn’t he?
Thelton watched the malevolent behavior reigned upon Flance. He tried to figure out what he should do. Could he really allow Flance to die in his place? Could he live the rest of his life with Flance’s blood on his hands? It wouldn’t actually be him killing Flance, but Flance would die because of him.
One of the guards brought his sword up to Flance’s neck. He poked the tip into the flesh.
“Do as you must,” Flance said looking into his eyes. He looked so at peace.
“Stop,” the king ordered. “The kingdom needs to be a part of the execution. Flance will die, but not right now. We will do it first thing in the morning. And, he will be heavily guarded just to make sure that he does not escape again.”
“Walk, you putrid soul,” the guard said as he increased the pressure on the sword.
The king rushed to Thelton’s side. Thelton was uneasy for he knew that he had run from the throne.
Unexpectedly, the king wrapped his arms around Thelton. “My fine boy, we have missed you so much. And I want you to know that Alashia and I forgive you. We realize you did what you had to do; you had to rescue that creature of the forest. You are not a blood spilling man and you could not stand the thought of any harm befalling her. We forgive you for that. We invite you back to the kingdom; we invite you back to the throne.”
Thelton stared at the king not knowing what to think. He had done horrible things to the men. He had walked out on the king and the princess. He knew he was evil and that he was receiving a full pardon. If the king would have appeared one day sooner, then he would have easily let Flance die in his place. He looked over at Flance who was still being tormented by the guards. He looked at the king who was holding his heart out to him.
Thelton bowed, he pulled out his emerald sword and his golden sword and placed them on the ground in front of the king. He then kneeled down before the king and kissed King Wolfgang’s feet.
“Take me. I am not the man you think. I do not deserve the kingdom, and I do not deserve your daughter.”
“Stand up boy, stop being humble. It is yours, we have forgiven you.”
“I…”Thelton hesitated. “I did it. I did all the horrible things to the men. It was not Flance. I poisoned the men so that I could obtain ALL the glory in bringing the dragons in. Flance has taken my blame, but it was me.”
“What are you doing, Thelton? Be quiet. The words you speak are a lie. You are the future king and you would have never done those things.” The king looked horrified.
“Please, this is hard enough on me as is it. Accept my confession and let that man go.” Thelton closed his eyes and kept his head down to the ground.
All the guards stopped what they were doing. They stared at Thelton with an open mouth. Was he really turning himself in? Flance stared at Thelton, shocked at his act.
The king turned to the men. “Thelton is weak for lack of food. He does not mean this. Flance destroyed our kingdom, and he will pay for it tomorrow. You are a free man, Thelton. Not only that, but after you marry my daughter you are the heir to the kingdom. Hold your tongue and think of the magnitude of what you are doing.”
“I have your Lordship. I am not the man you want me to be. I am selfish and think only of myself. I wanted to be the only one that slayed all the dragons, and I wanted the glory all to myself. I didn’t think of all the men’s lives I was willing to destroy for that glory. It is now time I right my wrong.”
Everyone just stared.
“Thelton, please. This is the last chance I can give you. Don’t do this, let Flance take your place. The kingdom expects it and they will find great satisfaction out of it. No one wants to see me kill their hero, especially me. So please boy, stop your talk, and we will forget everything that you have said.”
Thelton couldn’t believe it. There he was trying to turn himself in, but he was still given a free pass to escape his sins. He looked at Flance. Flance looked tired and worn out.
“Go. I will take your place.”
Flance scratched his head. He slowly stood from the dirt. A few dry leaves clung to his face. The confused guards released their grip on him. Flance walked over to Thelton and looked at him. Tears pooled in Flance’s eyes.
“You are a free man, you don’t deserve this, go on, live your life.” Thelton said.
The king looked like he had tears in his eyes. He was desperate. “Please, Thelton.” He pleaded one last time. “Don’t do this. Flance is the man we want to execute, not you.”
“Wolfgang, it is done.” Thelton said as he closed his eyes and surrendered both arms.
A guard very hesitantly brought his sword to Thelton’s back. The king commanded the guards to move out. They silently walked away with their new prisoner. Flance watched as they turned their backs to him and left.
Flance was a free man. He no longer had a price on his head. Had Thelton really sacrificed his life for him?
Chapter 23
Thelton was given a room in the dungeon. There were still three functional cells left. All the rubble from the two broken cells still remained scattered everywhere. The king immediately had a bed with blankets and a chamber pot put in the room. He brought in a small pit so that Thelton could have a fire and keep warm. Even though he had placed Thelton in the dungeon to appease the kingdom, he had furnished it with nice things. He purposely kept the dungeon unguarded.
“Are you comfy, my son?” the king asked.
“You have been more than fair, my dear king”
Princess Alashia came running into the dungeon. The king swung the cell door open so that the princess could see Thelton.
She threw herself into his arms. “Oh, my love. You have returned to me. My heart has broken for you. I can now be complete, but you must not stay here. Come back up to the castle. Father will pardon you. Please, don’t stay here.”
The king sadly looked at his daughter, for he hated to see the pain she was enduring. “I am afraid we cannot do that at this time. The people would revoke. They expect a beheading. We cannot cater to Thelton. He has made his choice, he will be… He will pay his due.” The king’s voice choked up. He looked at Thelton and bowed his head. “I am sorry, my son. You chose this.”
“No, no, no father, no. You cannot do this. You cannot kill my fiancé. If you do, I will never go on living again. No father.” Princess Alashia wailed in sorrow. She threw her body around in pure agony.
The king frowned. He wanted to help his daughter. He wanted Thelton free almost as much as she did.
“When?” the princess could barely ask, because her voice choked up.
“In seven days.”
Alashia buried her head into Thelton. He placed his hand on the back of her head and rubbed it. With a free hand, she reached up and gripped his ice cold hand.
“My love, I will rescue you, we will run away. We can cross the seas and live a new life together. I will not let you die.”
“It’s ok, princess. I ruined those men’s lives. I deserve my fate.” He looked at her, her radiant smile traveled to the rest of her, making her look more beautiful than ever.
“No, you can’t it’s not fair.”
A tear escaped the king’s eye. “Thelton, I owe you an apology. It is my fault that you are in this situation. I set you up to fail. I knew that you didn’t work with others. You tried to tell me that. I was so consumed with my own selfishness of being the king that rid the world of dragons that I didn’t listen. Of course you did the things you did, you had to. That is what makes you so mighty and powerful. I am sorry that I made this happen to you. Alashia, I apologize to you as well.”
The princess was moved by her father’s tears. Hers began to pour out. They both were crying very heavily. The king entered the cell and wrapped his arms around Alashia and Thelton.
Thelton was very uncomfortable. “They forgave me. I am a bad man. I did bad things to people. I had even personally betrayed the king and his daughter when I ran from our marriage. I don’t love her, nor had I ever, and yet, here they were begging me of my forgiveness.”
…
The kingdom reacted to the news of Thelton with mixed emotions. Many were heartbroken to learn that their hero was evil and was going to be beheaded. No one likes to see their hero fall. Some were glad. Others wanted to still see Flance die as well. They had accepted the idea of his evilness for so long, that they couldn’t let it go. The people demanded that the dungeon was guarded. They did not want to see Thelton get away like Flance had.
To appease the people, the king had situated a guard on the outer door of the dungeon. The princess insisted on being able to come and go as she needed. She had hot food and drinks brought to Thelton. She had a musician come in and play calming music. She hardly left his side.
Despite the small fire pit, it was cold and clammy in the dungeon. The princess spent most of the time shivering. Thelton kept telling her to leave him, but she refused. She stayed by his side and would tell him stories and share with him her dreams. Even when she developed a chest cold, she would not leave.
“What kind of wife would I be if I abandoned you in your hour of need? I do not know what is going to happen to you. You may die. I could never live with myself if I idled away your last days in the castle. I will stay here, with the man that I love.” At that moment, her purity defined her.
“Princess, I am not the man you dream me to be. I am evil and I am horrible. I would not make a fitting husband to you. I am selfish and I think only of myself.”
“People change.”
“Not me.”
“Really, I don’t believe it. If you were as evil as you claim to be, you wouldn’t be here right now. You would have let Flance die in your place. But you couldn’t, therefore, I know that you aren’t as bad as you claim. And if you are, then change.”
Thelton turned his head from the princess. “My heart is black.”
“Well, I found a sliver of pink still in there, and that is what I am going to focus on.”
At first the princess’ presence annoyed Thelton to no end. “I wish she would leave me alone so I can just rot in silence.” But, she wouldn’t let him. By the third day, he started to remove his focus from himself and pay more attention to what she was doing.
He had always seen the princess as a selfish, spoiled girl that was only focused on shinny and trivial things. With nothing else to do, he began hearing the things that she said. When he actually listened, he realized she didn’t act so dim-witted. In fact, many of her ideas made sense and had value.
As he watched her, he realized how not only she was beautiful on the outside she was beautiful on the inside. He had never had anyone treat him the way she did. She was sacrificing everything she had to be with him. She truly loved him, he could feel it. He wasn’t sure how to react to that. He couldn’t remember anyone loving him, really loving him. He had been admired and adorned, but that was all shallow and superficial. That was the way he preferred it. But she loved him.
Thelton had resisted conversation with her for the first few days. But by the third day, he began to break. She sweetly lured him in with her kindness. He started sharing stories about his life with her. She seemed so interested in everything he had to say. She laughed at things that he didn’t recognize were funny. She complimented him and built him up. He just couldn’t make sense of his feelings.
…
It was the night before the beheading. The princess’ eyes were blood shot. Her stomach was torn in pain. She had been vomiting blood. Thelton was worried about her.
“Please Princess, see the doctor, you are sick.”
“I will not leave you.”
“Please, for me, go.”
The princess buried her head in Thelton’s chiseled chest. “No.”
Thelton held the princess close and rubbed his hand back and forth on her back. She was such a tender thing. He hoped she would not cry herself to the grave when he was gone. Thelton drifted to sleep. He was startled awake when he heard steps coming down the stairs. He looked up and saw the king.
The king came over to his cell and unlocked it.
“Go,” the king said.
Thelton sat up. “Go where?”
“Go, I am freeing you.”
Thelton thought about it for a minute. The princess continued to sleep on his arm.
“I cannot go, for the kingdom will revolt if they hear you freed me. They demand justice, and I am willing to pay.”
“I am the king, and I command you to go.”
“I can’t. It might cost you the throne.”
Tears streamed down the king’s face. He walked over to Thelton and pulled out his sword. He put the sword to Thelton’s heart. “Go, or I kill you in front of your love.”
“You wouldn’t.”
Thelton felt the sword break into his flesh. It wasn’t deep, but the blood still ran down his shirt.
“I will, Thelton, don’t doubt me. If you have ever had love for Alashia or me, you will go now.”
The sword pressed harder. Thelton maneuvered Alashia to the bed, he stood up. She stayed asleep.
“I will go then.”
The king stuffed coins in every one of Thelton’s pockets. He handed over Thelton’s emerald and golden sword.
The king was bawling. “It pains me to say this, but never return to Andleburg again.” He took Thelton’s hand and gave him a ring with the royal seal in it.
“You need to go overseas. You must stay away for a year. Give the kingdom time to get over the news of your escape. Once a year has passed, send a note as to where you are. Go under the name of Phinease, he was a cousin of mine who had died. Use the royal seal and send a note to me. In it, you will talk about the purchase of your new summer home. That is where you will reveal the location of your whereabouts. Talk about the opportunities of the area and request that I send the princess’ to stay with you for the summer. Once I receive your note, I will send Alashia to you. Is everything clear?”
