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[eleerethis]

King's Gambit - I - Bravado

WARNING: This story WILL contain coarse language, themes, violence, and blood.

A/N:

It's been a while since I last wrote and published anywhere, as such, I would like you to bare with me as I grind up the Wattpad ladder. :)

This is a work of Fiction. The story and the characters are my integral property and all copyright reserved. Please do not copy or reproduce the story in any form.

Summary:

"A revolutio-" "Shh- quiet! People could hear us!" "A revolution but we barely made it out alive last time!"

24 years old knights Konrad Rowley and Aedale Thorpe are prodigies of the Merodian armed forces, known at a young age for their ability and ambition among their peers. Serving the Kingdom of Merod in 5000 Before Alendry's foundation. when your king is a corrupted politician is not the easiest of things. Moreover, as time goes on, raids, banditry, and organized criminal attacks increase. Forcing the two and their companions to act and stop the criminal activity once and for all. However, this adventure might be the first step to liberate Merod from the tyranny of greed…

♠

"Konrad, what are you doing!" She called me from behind as I was holding my ground against a pirate. Literally trying to save the village from being taken over by these bandits. I turned around to see her holding an enemy off, fear etched on her face. "I'm coming!" I replied as I lunged forward to take down another pirate. We couldn't let them win. We had to protect these innocents. I grumbled after hearing her speak in her usual furious and wild tone. The opponent wasn't easy prey; he was, aware of my flaws and surely knew how to put me down when he tried to bash my skull with his already bloody mace. "Die!" He yelled, letting all the rage fuse inside him.

With luck, I ducked out of his attempt at simply killing me and saw an opening. I could strike right here and now, and if I was fast enough, it would've been only a matter of time until he was on the floor. I tightened my grip on my sword and stabbed him in the stomach before letting him fall.

"Could use some help over there!" She signaled that a thief, or bandit, was towering over her, his body completely covering hers, her small body disarmed, and her small hands, trying to push the blade away from her neck. Seeing her that vulnerable made something click in me—my face, red from exhaustion, became red from anger, and my eyes and my heart were full of a desire to kill.

"Don't resist, woman; you'll make it harder on yourself!" The man laughed.

I had to save her.

I gained momentum, dashed towards him in a way he'd have trouble preparing for, and jumped his way, shouting with all the force in my lungs, "Leave her alone!" He turned around, but it was already too late; he'd feel the blade meet his neck, and he'd have to face the consequences: death. And a beheaded head, of course. So, his head had whirled in the air and spurted blood all over my friend's face. Shaken but alive, I came over to her and tried to wipe out some blood off her face before asking her, straight into her eyes, "Aedale, you alright?"

Behind the bloody red, she nodded with her confused face, breathing for a second, and I swear—I swear to God that I could lose myself in these green eyes, how beautiful they would look with the sunlight shining on her, and how much I would love that sight. But right now, they were anxious, confused, and maybe scared. How could someone try to hurt my friend? "I'm good now, thank you." Called back to reality, I said with a nod, "Anytime." Now was not the time to chat; we had other things to do. And in that case, kill them all!

We stood up together and lunged our swords and our bodies against the next opponents in our way. We heard the sound of steel, blades clashing, and some grunts from pirates and soldiers alike.

"Hahah, what are you waiting for? Too scared to fight me, asshole!" One of them exclaimed, And if his teeth were a reflection of his soul, his soul would be rotten, but again, would a pirate be anything other than a rotten soul? "I'm coming for ya; don't worry, old man," he followed by yelling, with his huge black eyes and his wrinkles showing his age. "Come at me, boy!"

God, I hated his smile.

With my shield at my side, I charged to slash at his swollen (by age) belly but was interrupted by him leaping backward before rushing with his used machete. He would hack me if I let him reach me, I parried the hit; I had tightened my grip on the hilt and was now holding my own. Seeing me survive his, he tried again, putting all his strength and experience into his attacks. The old man lunged with his blade, almost touching my right cheek. My eyes widened a little, and seeing this, he replied, "You didn't expect this, did you? Hah!"

I was not going to let him beat me. Never.

I growled and quickly dodged his attack before deciding it was my turn. I had to finish it now, so I held my shield well-adjusted with my face and plowed into the opponent, saying, "Take that!", surprised, he didn't and couldn't force himself back up. His age was weighing on him, I guess, but what I didn't know was why he was risking his life at this age. "You won't finish me, boy!" On the floor, I used some of my strength to immobilize him. Him trying to take hold of his weapon, and I, trying to make sure he couldn't. I said in a grumble, "You lost, old man!" and stabbed him in the stomach.

As I drew my sword, I felt a pang of guilt for killing someone who had passed their prime. But I quickly brushed it aside, reminding myself that this was my duty. Since then, the battle was over, and I could see all kinds of bodies of different sizes on the floor. There was a lot of blood and a lot of pain. And all this, for what? A village?

The blood-colored grass made me think of wine, of how it spread on the ground, of how it looked... I needed to drink and catch my breath. I had been fighting since early in the morning, and we were past the afternoon. Stopping a pirate raid is pretty exhausting, eh? I placed my blade in its scabbard, stowed my shield, then pulled out my bottle and took a mouthful, closing my eyes as the red wine, almost as red as the blood on the floor, went down my throat.

There was a lot of blood—maybe too much. We'd already stopped assaults from pirates, bandits, or even cartels. But this time, they were as numerous as our defensive force. They came in numbers, with enough equipment to kill the casual peacekeepers and take way more than a village. I'm starting to think it's way more than just a pirate raid, I thought.

"Rowley," I turned around to see who called me and saw the blonde girl with full pink lips and green eyes. "Yes, Aedale?" I looked her in the eyes with a small grin, waiting for her to fall in love with me. "Sir Connor wants to talk to you." She said it with a snug smile. Mine just dropped while I slightly frowned. "Damn, what did I do again?" I mumbled.

Um, alright, I'll go to him..." Ok, sure, I'm going to have a hard time with Commander Connor, but at least she smiled. And a smile means something, right?

Right?

♠

"What I've seen here is not only the foolishness and individualism of some of you. When you enrolled in the army, you were told to defend your country, the children, women, elders, and every citizen."

"But sir-"

"Say, we're in a battle; we're fighting countless legions of men coming for us. You're leading the defense forces; would you risk everyone's life just to prove you're better than some nobody?!" "What's the sense in that, boy? How can you believe you're doing an honorable job when you're not doing it outta duty, eh?" I couldn't honestly look at his furious, blue eyes; usually, they used to brim with light and confidence, but now...

Was he...um, mad at me? I couldn't force myself to look him in the eyes and confront his obvious disappointment.

"What does it say about your principles?" He scowled before taking a deep breath. "And look at me in the eyes when I'm talking to ya!"

"Understood?!" I clenched my fists, trying not to show him how much my hands were shaking, I balled them up until they became white. At this moment, I would've liked to feel this pain rather than listen to my chief's rant, but here I was, taking both. I cleared my throat and blinked, I was trying to mentally force myself to look up at him, but I don't think I did it quickly enough. "I said, look at me in the eyes; you heard me?" There he was, arms crossed, his brows still furrowed, and his eyes still glaring daggers at me.

"Y-Yes, sir." I stupidly stuttered.

"Now, I wanna know how reckless you can be. Do you think you're invincible? Did you think you were gods? No, now I wanna know how it's possible for ya to be stupider than you already are."

"With all due respect, t-that's, that's not what I thought, sir."

"Then, what is it that you thought?"

"I don't know... I just..." We stood there for a while, him still glaring at me, and me, of course, stupidly trying to come up with something so as to simply not die. Okay, granted, he wouldn't kill me, but he'd send me back home, and this would be worse than death itself. I clenched my jaw, and the more I thought about it, the less I could explain it. I didn't do it to show off, right?

A few more seconds passed, and silence was all we could hear. I could see his face progressively softening up and losing its harshness; I knew he was right. And I'm pretty sure he knew he was.

"Remember, your goal is to serve and protect your people." Commander Connor sighed. "We can't let pride, bloodlust, and vanity make their way into our hearts."

Protect...

To be honest, I was way more excited to kill pirates than protect anyone. I thought I didn't have time to protect my people; the only kind of protection I knew was the offensive one. The best defense is a good offense, they said, or something like that. But he was right—doing my job with perfection and doing it to show off were two different things. I know I would still keep being reckless because few could fight like I could, and because few ever had the skill to crush me. I mean, look at me, I'm a freaking unit!—but at least I'd stop showing off. Everyone already knew I was the best around here, right?

"Understood, sir.

-Good."

There was a little bit of silence, which I used to think about the situation. Frankly, there were too many enemies for it to simply be a raid. I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was happening in the dark. The attacks were becoming more and more recurrent, with a stronger intensity.

"Sir, can I add something?" I asked. They consistently swarmed the coast, raiding the various villages and towns in the region.

"Ask away." He replied with a more welcoming voice.

I don't know... It seemed like we were at war. Okay, in a way, we were since we had a harsh stance on piracy and banditry, but it wasn't that bad; we're talking about raids involving the military here. I had to know.

"There's been a lot of attacks lately," I started, I know it was bold of me to ask him such things just after he lectured me, but hopefully he knew my goodwill. "And I, I wanted to know what we were going to do about it." He grinned a little before twirling his ginger mustache, a sign he was thinking about it, then he cleared his throat. "You're right, my boy. The attacks are increasing in number, and we need to do something about it. I've thought long about this, and I'm still not sure of my decision." The commander trailed on, leaving me with mysteries. I grew impatient and made him snap out of it. "What's your decision, sir?"

"You may be a stupid kid, kid, but I think I got something for you.

-For me?" I raised my sharp black eyebrows, surprised that he had something for me. My eyes were alive again, and what was left of shame on my face was now gone. I could barely hold my excitement, and I think he knew that, too, but I tried and waited for his response.

"You love to be in the field, right? He asked me in return with a little smile. Now, boy, if that's not the adventure you wanted, I don't know what that is, I thought. My whole face widened, from my eyes to my lips, and my right hand, which had been put on my neck earlier, fell down to meet my other hand. With excitement, I exclaimed, "I'd love to!"

An expression he copied before moving close to me and putting his hand on my shoulder. "Then tell your friends to get ready." Not only was I going on an adventure, but my friends could come with me. We were going not only to defend the region but also take the fight to their doorstep. We were going to get to the bottom of this. And most importantly, we were going to have fun.

"Of course, Commander!" My smile ate up every other thing you could see on my face—at least, that's what my mom told me every time I smiled. I did what he ordered me to do, and walked out of the room, still trying to hold back my excitement, and honestly? I loved this commander, and I was pretty sure I'd love what would come next.

And- Wait, did he just call me stupid?

[eleerethis]

King's Gambit - Prequel "In the Ashes 1/?"

WARNING: This story WILL contain coarse language, themes, violence, and blood.

A/N:

It's been a while since I last wrote and published anywhere, as such, I would like you to bare with me as I grind up the Wattpad ladder. :)

This is a work of Fiction. The story and the characters are my integral property and all copyright reserved. Please do not copy or reproduce the story in any form.

Summary:

"A revolutio-" "Shh- quiet! People could hear us!" "A revolution but we barely made it out alive last time!"

24 years old knights Konrad Rowley and Aedale Thorpe are prodigies of the Merodian armed forces, known at a young age for their ability and ambition among their peers. Serving the Kingdom of Merod in 5000 Before Alendry's foundation. when your king is a corrupted politician is not the easiest of things. Moreover, as time goes on, raids, banditry, and organized criminal attacks increase. Forcing the two and their companions to act and stop the criminal activity once and for all. However, this adventure might be the first step to liberate Merod from the tyranny of greed…

♠

"It's all my fault."

While the building burned down, I stood there and observed. Scarlet raging flames overran the settlement, devouring anything that dared stand in their way. Fire, fire, fire — even in the serene forest we once cheerfully strolled through. Fire in the expertly constructed wooden homes of individuals who built this now-destroyed town. Fire in this ancient location, a hidden community, hidden from the egotistical men who rule and poison our nation. From the desires of those who seek it. Hidden from the proud, the disdainful, and the clouded hearts of those who are imposing their will on everyone. Fire, fire in our hearts—fire in our young, passionate hearts; fire in our tender hearts; fire in our obstinate hearts; fire in our yearning, unbroken souls.

I ran outside what had once been a house as the scent of burning filled my lungs. If the fire hadn't already destroyed everything, it was about to. A spark was all it took to start a flame, and they were rekindling and growing stronger. The crackle was not the soothing crackle of a soft fire you might have heard while sitting in front of the fireplace.

It wasn't the crackle of a fire that a father would build with wood for his daughter to warm her up. It was not a welcomed one; it did not warm people up; rather, we all knew what it was going to do and what it meant. It meant disaster. It meant destruction. It meant punishment.

"He's doing it because of me..."

This vapor, accompanied by a gray haze, blinded you and made you feel as if you can't breathe. Now that I was outside the building, I could see the destruction- the pain my people felt.

"Arghh-" I jumped as soon as I heard the horrifying agony cry of a middle-aged man. And then two other screams followed. They were high-pitched; however, one sounded younger, more juvenile, while the other sounded like a woman in her thirties. I dared not watch the scene at first but decided to go against my feelings. She was so terrified that she shut her eyes and elevated her head while instinctively using all of her vocal cords. The lady screamed a scream I had never heard before. Fortunately, she seemed to catch no other guard's attention, but I remained hypervigilant; I kept looking frantically at my surroundings in a moment of panic. It was hardly a moment of grace; instead, you could hear the coughing of a sick voice that lacked its usual crystalline grace.

The volume of the fire around them, as well as the fragility of the cry caused by the lack of oxygen, made it difficult to hear a person's cry.

"Please! Please, not Albert, not him!" It seemed like the man's wife stabbed in his stomach was crying and screaming; the soldier pulled his sword out of his body and destroyed the lady's hope to save her husband in the process. Drenched in his blood and with sweat on his blackened face from the smoke, he tried to speak, but I couldn't hear him. All I could hear were the screams of people fighting or running all over the place, as well as what the lady was saying.

"Please! Please, let us go. You don't have to do this! Listen, we can leave and let you do what you have to do; we've done nothing wrong!" She said this as the man was slowly walking towards them. "Please... no!" she continued.

He kept walking toward them, his helmet on, his eyes unseen, but he fastened his pace; her eyes were searching frantically for some sort of exit, and her hands were behind her back, trying to protect her daughter, whom she loved like a mother loves her child.

"You don't have to do this; I have a child! Does she really have to pay the price? We didn't do anything! I swear to God!"

She continued moving backward until her left hand touched the wall behind her, and after casting a quick glance at it, she shook her head, unable to accept that her time was up. The more she tried to move backward, the more she understood she couldn't go anywhere.

"Please, please, leave us alone; whatever we did, we won't do it again! I just want my daughter to live, and you—you have a child, too, right? Please don't do this to a mother and her child, I beg you."

Her eyes were filled with tears, her body was shaking, and she had a big lump in her throat because of the emotions and the scene she just witnessed. Her words weren't making much sense, but that was understandable; her husband had been killed, and they were soon to follow.

"Any death wish?" He coldly said.

My hand was on my mouth, and my whole body was shaking—maybe not as much as the lady's, but yet, here I was, weak, standing on my weak feet with my weak and cold hands touching the cold wall.

I wouldn't, no, I couldn't let them die. Right?

...

right?

"Mommy... I'm scared.." The little brunette spoke to her mother in their very last moments.

No. I can't let this little girl die like this. I can't.

Listen here. I know you're scared, but you have to do something.

The middle-aged woman turned around before leaning towards her child, and then replied with a shaky and fake voice, her eyes watering at the mere idea of getting killed, her daughter and her, and a fake smile to top it all off, "I know, I know, darling... Just close your eyes, ok? I love you, Mira." She then proceeded to hug her as tight as she could, repeating the last four words.

I looked at the unsheathed and bloody sword, and then I placed my right hand on the sword's handle before tightening my grip.

You have to do something about it, someone has to fight for our legacy.

It's now or never.

I took a deep breath and decided to quickly clear my mind, eyes closed. I had to do something, and I couldn't let fear get the best of me. I opened them again and tried to ignore my watering eyes, I knew how to fight with a sword, and despite my tender age, I was quite good at it! I had a chance of doing it, I just had to ignore my feelings and do what I felt was right.

"Are you done?" He asked, not letting her answer and preparing his sword.

I have to do it, right now.

So I bit my lip, exhaled, and intervened.

"Hey, you!" I yelled at him with my broken and high-pitched voice, putting all my anger and determination into it.

I was going to save Mira and her mother.