The Last Son of Dominus: Chapter 7

"Run," Vieft said as he awoke with a start, quickly casting off the covers from his bed.  It had only been hours since he had laid down, but now his senses were tightened to a razor's edge.  Barefoot, he ran from his chambers down the hall towards his sister's chambers.  He stopped in place when he saw the form of a number of Imperial guards hovering about the door, knocking on it to try to rouse the princess from her slumbers and threatening to break the door if she did not comply with the orders given to her.  Steel-blue eyes noted Caron amongst their number, his arms crossed about his chest and a grim look about his face. 

The prince backpedaled, nearly falling in order to flee the scene before they noticed how close he had come to them.  He had to find Alis and quickly–he had to ensure her safety at all costs.  Thoughts of what they would do once reunited crossed his mind, as well as the result if either of them were found out now.  Something within told him to seek that place she had shown him earlier–surely the engineers would have created a means of moving supplies in and out from the base of the hill, meaning that there was a possible escape route through those tunnels.  Vieft sprinted down the halls as quickly as his bare feet would allow, his bed robes rippling about his body as he moved through the cold autumn air. 

When he reached the tapestry, his keen eyes beheld two figures in the darkness, a man and a woman.  When he began to approach, the man's hand moved to a sword at his hip before he relaxed slightly. "Milord?" a familiar whispered voice called out.  Vieft nodded and moved closer only to see the features of Pennock grow clearer.  Alis was with him, trying to escape through the tunnels as he thought she would if she shared the same grim vision that he had.  The three of them looked between each other before Pennock nodded–she would not require his escort and his efforts would be better directed elsewhere.  "Very well. Make haste, Alis, for none of us would like to see what may happen should you be discovered.  Remember all that I told you, and I hope we shall meet again soon."

"Thank you," she whispered, hugging him quickly and tightly before pressing her lips to his, "for all that you have done for me."

They shared a smile together before the young officer insisted they be off.  He clasped Vieft's shoulder once and gave a nod of reassurance. "Worry not for me milord, I am well prepared for whatever might happen. Go quickly now to Oldell in the far west and seek out Master Valarius. Go!"

With a nod to Alis, the Dominion princess took her brother by the arm and into the tunnels once again, Pennock closing the door behind them before moving away to give them time and to cause a diversion to allow them to escape.  This time, Alis did not stop to light a torch, but did pause in the middle of the central chamber before heading to one of the middle tunnels.  Vieft did his best to keep up without tripping over some debris or losing the grip he and his sister shared. 

"What was that about with Pennock?" Vieft asked as they moved quickly down the tunnel ahead of them.

"We were lovers once, he and I," she confessed to her brother. "After he learned of Dasan's dishonorable act, he enacted revenge on my behalf by my request, plunging a dagger into his heart.  He killed a vile, evil man to redeem my honor, and that of countless other girls, I am sure.  He was my hero and we both committed ourselves to the cause. In time, we grew apart and I found other things to occupy my mind, but I have yet to forget the great risks he has taken for me since then."

"So Pennock is part of this faction as well?" Vieft asked as they continued on.

"Yes, amongst others. Hundreds of men and women all stand ready to take arms whenever you tell them to.  Even now, small band of soldiers lead by Valarius waits for us in Oldell.  Pennock had already made arrangements on our behalf in the event that something like this were to happen."  The princess patted a place on her chest where a letter rested that would inform Valarius of what had occurred and would clear up any possible confusion. 
As they reached the end of the tunnel, Alis released Vieft's arm in order to move forward cautiously.  The moons were bright above, casting light onto a forest only a short distance from where they would exit their tunnel.  Squeezing their way through, they escaped the palace itself with no sign that the legionnaires had followed or would know their location.

"We have to hurry," Vieft reminded his sister as he moved quickly towards the wood line, knowing that when the sun rose, they would have lost the cover of night in which to travel under.  It seemed as if they ran forever, barely able to see much ahead of them despite the abundant light from above.  Several times, he would hear Alis fall and curse under her breath, and each time he was there to help her to her feet so that they might continue.  After some time, however, she was simply unable to keep up with her younger brother, and needed to rest.  Panting and with tears wetting her cheek, Alis sat upon a felled tree in order to catch her breath.  Her dark-haired brother kept a vigilant watch towards the direction of the palace, which was not alive with lantern lights as the servants were roused to search the palace.

"We cannot remain here long, Alis," he reminded her, kneeling at her feet and looking up into her face. 

"I know," she repeated several times between deep breaths, "I suddenly wish I had your strength right now, Emor, but I will continue on."

Vieft gave her an encouraging smile before standing again and preparing to depart.  A feeling of uneasiness had grew within him, however, an instinct that something was amiss.  Alis looked up and suddenly stood having felt it as well–eyes trained to their every move.  The Crown Prince suddenly regretted not taking a blade of any kind with him, but it was far too late to dwell on now.  He took her by the hand and slowly started to move in the direction they had been traveling, a slow jog at first that quickened with the unease they felt.  Soon they were at a full clip and Vieft could hear the sound of beasts to his rear, snarling and howling like none he had every heard before. He told himself repeatedly not to look back, that it were better that he run as fast as he could without knowing what now chased them, but when Alis lost grip of his hand he was forced to.

The princess had fallen hard and called out to her brother in fear, only to see his silent horror.  A pack of what he could only describe as monsters were drawing near, their ebony skin making them look like darting shadows in the moonlight.  Large fangs extended from their mouths as they snarled and those bright crimson eyes were trained on him, paralyzing the young warrior with fear.  For a long moment, all he could do was watch as the monsters closed the distance faster than any animal could have, spreading out to surround them and close in for the kill. Reaching down to take Alis's hand, to bring her back to her feet, he was tackled on his blind side by one of the hulking beasts, its fur smelling of brimstone and fire and its breath smelling of rotting flesh. Vieft could hear his sisters cries for him as he moved along the forest underbrush to create some distance between him and the beast that moved with him.  Once he looked between the creature to his sister only to find the form of a man standing where the monster had once been.

That pause created by the confusion was all that was necessary for him to be snared, grasped by his ankles and turned onto his stomach.  As much as he tried to fight the hands that soon held him down, he could not resist their combined strength.  Cursing, he looked back to find a man standing over Alis's prone form, his brave sister still trying to create distance between her and their assailant.

"A pity," an all too familiar voice lamented as he took steps towards the lovely young princess. "I had watched you for many years, Alistania, and I had admired your beauty from afar.  I had watched you as you used that beauty to further your goals of undermining my master, giving of your body to make pacts with his enemies.  A princess turned herself into a whore for her weakling brother, who could not have possibly challenged the Emperor for his throne.  Fools."

"Caron!" Vieft called out, cursing at those who now held him down, "leave her be! She has done nothing to deserve this!"

Those crimson red eyes flashed towards the restrained prince and Vieft's former instructor gave him a look of amusement.  "You would like that, I'm sure.  Well, I have a surprise for you then, boy," he informed him as he motioned to more of the monsters in the trees.  "Hold down the girl.  She shall die as she lived, a whore.  And the boy will watch and bear witness to his sister's sacrifice for him."

Both cried out as Alis was beset by the beastmen, her hands and legs held down to the earth before leering eyes turned to other parts of her body.  Her bed robes were ripped from her and her shrieks and screams for mercy fell upon deaf ears.  As the men had their way with her, like a toy of flesh and blood, she struggled against their restraints but to no avail, as her brother did in his attempts to aid her.  Tears fell down his cheeks in horror and frustration as he poured all of his strength into freeing an arm or leg in order to throw off those who held him down, but it was no use.  One after the other, they ravaged his sister before his very eyes, bloodying her face and ripping her flesh until all of her strength was gone. 

With a snap of his finger, the men backed away and Caron moved to stand above the silent girl whose empty eyes simply stared up at him in hatred.  Her body convulsed uncontrollably as she lay upon the cold earth, bleeding throat clenching as it tried to prepare for whatever was to come.  The dark-haired enforcer knelt down to her, his hand caressing her once lovely face, now covered in cuts and bruises from her abusers. "A pity," he lamented as he leaned down as if to kiss her swollen lips.

"I swear upon the gods that you and Magnis shall pay for this," Vieft called out to Caron, his voice hoarse from his growling and yelling during the rape of his sister.  "So long as I draw breath, you can be assured that your days are numbered. Do you understand that, you vile bastard? I will kill you and I will kill your master for what you have done!"

Those crimson eyes turned towards the prone Vieft, yet this time he was not given a smile of amusement. 

"Kill him."

Without hesitation, Vieft could feel claws ripping into his back, tearing deeply into his flesh as the beasts beset him.  Fangs punctured his shoulders and the dark-haired warrior could feel his life's blood pouring hotly from his back, and yet they continued to rip into his body.  He could not help but scream out in immense pain, his body shaking uncontrollably as he turned his head to witness Caron raise the blade above his sister's prone form.  With what little strength she had remaining, she turned and looked towards her brother with eyes filled with both love and sorrow.  To her, he was the world, and she would have gladly suffered greatly for him.  He was her friend and, in some ways, the only true love she would ever know.  Her frail hand reached out to him and her lips opened as if to say goodbye to her Vieft, her Emor. Then the blade pierced her chest and that hand, which had stroked his cheek and held his all of his life, fell dead to the earth.

Something within Vieft broke in that moment and his vision grew red.  Rage and hate swelled from deep within him, threatening to consume his very being until it was released in a thunderous roar. "Caron!" he screamed as the man began to walk away from the scene of carnage, the scene of tragedy he had caused.  "Caron!" the ShadowFire warrior roared as he rose to his knees, casting off the beasts that had torn the flesh from his now oozing back. As his strength failed him, Vieft fell face first to the earth, his vision growing darker with each racing heartbeat.  The enforcer only snapped his fingers, calling his beasts back to his side as he regarded the dying prince.

"Until we meet again then, boy," he said before turning his back and seemingly vanished into the darkness of the night.  Vieft, the Last Son of Dominus, poured what little strength he could hold as he bled into the earth beneath him towards crawling to his sister's body.  Her hazel eyes watched him still, even as he held her hand in his and began to weep.  They were the last thing that he saw before the darkness that had been moving along the edges of his vision finally seized him, and he began the long sleep that was to follow.
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"Granin Pennock, you stand before this tribunal for your part in the death of our own Princess Alistania ShadowFire.  On the night in question, you did your best to foil the efforts of your fellow Legionnaires as they sought the missing princess and even wounded one of your fellow soldiers who were following lawful orders given to them to rescue the princess.  Once you were restrained, you gave no word to her whereabouts or why you would act so uncharacteristically as an Imperial officer until this was produced from your chambers."

The beaten Imperial officer looked up through a swollen eye as a book was cast down to his feet.  For a brief moment, he looked down at the leather bound book before standing tall and proudly despite the chains about his hands and feet.  The tribunal of generals watched him with piercing eyes, yet Granin knew they were but puppets in a sinister plot that he did not expect them to understand.  His lips remained still despite accusations spit at him from the commoners allowed to bear witness to his trial.

"Do you not recognize that book of lies, Pennock? Speak now, or your silence will speak for you."

Pennock remained still and defiant.  He said a silent prayer to the gods for the soul of his beloved Alis, but he would never allow her sacrifice to be in vain--for her work to have been a complete waste. 

"Very well.  You, Granin Pennock, are a traitor and the blood of our brightest shall be upon your hands.  Your life shall be spared long enough for us to determine the location of the Crown Prince, whose location I am sure is known to you and this mysterious organization who would see our rightful and just Emperor taken from his throne.  To the dungeon with you!" the judge declared, standing sharply as the legionnaires grasped his arms and began to drag him away.

Take care for now, my King, wherever you are. My sword is, as it shall always be, at your service.