70 - Liaison

Everyone bowed before the commander. The kayaans, the fairies, the werewolves, the witches, the vampires, the angels and the gnomes were all faced down paying homage to the commander. Despite the lives lost, they bowed before her singing her praises and celebrating her leading them to victory.
The commander was standing next to the prince. Their hands were intertwined, both staring at each other. The people stood up cheering and dancing in victory while Nicholas engulfed her into a hug. He smiled when he got a whiff of her lavander scent. The scent had a mix of foul odour so he grimaced in disgust. The groaning coming from Lily made them pull out of the hug and etched on Lily's face was a wide smile.
Prince Nicholas skimmed the commander's body taking in the bruises on her skin. Some parts of her skin were swollen and she had a black eye. "Thank you." He breathed out, holding her hands.
Lily gave a smile and he added, "I should still come take the fighting lessons though." The both chuckled.
Deep into each other's eyes, no one mattered to them. The cheering only buzzed in their ears and in the moment all they could see was their each other. Prince Nicholas pulled her closer to him, slipping his arms around her waist. The commander placed her hands on his chest, still looking lovingly into the vampire prince eyes.
He dipped his neck, his face moving closer to the commander's. She raised head, pouting her lips and just as she could feel his pout lips on hers and he squeezed her waist gently, princess Laura interrupted, "Nicholas."
Quickly, they both snapped apart from each other and focused on the princess. Princess Laura rushed to embrace her husband. When he groaned, she pulled away from him feeling sorry that she had caused pain to him. The werewolf princess carefully touched her husband's swollen cheek but he took her hand away from him.
"What do you want, Laura?" He told her while his eyes searched for the woman he loved. When he didn't see the commander around, he focused on his wife.
Commander Lily made her way to the elders. They were together, looks if victory and smiles on their faces as they rambled on about the war. She bowed to greet them and they all took turns blessing her.
"My dear commander, I'm so proud of you." Sarandi told her with a smile. The commander gave a tired nod.
Baba Achio faced the heavens, "Mbari would be so proud of you." Lily felt her chest swell and fall in a way that wasn't cadence but she took a deep breath. Yes, he would have been so proud of her.
"May the gods bless his soul." One of the elders ended.
Lily's eyes caught on the prince and his wife. They were having a conversation, his wife's hand wrapped around his neck. He looked uncomfortable, like there was a foul smell in the air. She kissed him and he kissed back.The commander felt her heart shatter into a million pieces remembering and seeing that the love of her life was with another.
A large number of lives had been lost. While some celebrated, some had their loved ones in their arms on the ground crying and mourning. Many were being hurried to the healers and doctor. A lot of people had sustained injures that were going to last for a lifetime and some only minor injuries. This saddened the commander. She had tried her best to protect everyone but it was impossible. Definitely there were going to be fallen heros.
Lily walked to the front of the field. "It's with sadness we mourn our heros." She brought bout in a loud voice. The cheering slowly died down when the voice of the kayaan commander boomed. "We thank them for choosing to take the fall so we would be able to have victory. I join all who have lost a loved one to this war. I stand with you and hope the goddess gives you the strength to carry the burden of losing a loved one. However, the dedication and strength of those we lost will be forever remembered and they will be know as heros who went up fighting."
The commander went on her knees and dipped her hand in a puddle of blood. The others did so too. She stood up and raised her hands to the sky, "to the fallen heros."
They all repeated, "to the fallen heros." And just like the commander made the sign of a cross in her forehead, they people did the same.
****
Limping, the prince made his way into the werewolf dungeon. It was entirely different from the vampire dungeon, the first difference being that it was upstairs in the topmost floor of the castle. The dungeon was practically empty, most of the people being held in had been let out.
Nicholas made his way down the dungeon hall checking every cell for his father. When he sighted the hold man, his heart throbbed faster. He halted before his cell.
King Eric was seated on the bare floor, head facing the ground. He was dazed. It felt like a dream being captured and locked in the dungeon. He was suppose to be the most powerful king in the whole realm and it was ironic that he was now a prisoner.
"Hello, father."
The old king raised his head up to see his son. He was filled with rage again, his eyes red seeing the one who had defeated him. "Here to gloat?" He stood, walking closer to Nicholas.
"Maybe." The prince crossed his arms. "You taught to me mock my enemies, didn't you? You're my latest enemy and I have you defeated behind bars. Why else will I be here?"
The king narrowed his eyes as his stopped close to his son.
"All my life, I've hoped you'd accept me. I'm constantly doing crazy things so I'll have your validation but yet all I did never seemed to be enough for you." Nicholas brought out. "No matter how hard I fought. No matter how what I sacrifice. No matter who I over throw or what I create you'll never just accept me. Right?' He arched a questioning eyebrow. "You just seem to have this hatred for me. Why?"
The king didn't respond.
"All I've ever done since I was a young lad is please you. I do you will, I listen and do just as you order. I even got marry to the werewolf princess just for you to satisfy you but yet-" the prince stopped to shake his head, "my father wouldn't just accept me. I was never enough and I'm still not going to be enough."
"You bastard." The king snarled. "All you've ever done is bring problems to my life."
The prince frowned. "How?!" The prince brought out practically shouting.
"Your mother betrayed me. She broke my trust."
Prince Nicholas laughed. "This is ridiculous." He held the pole of the king's prison gates. "You hate me just because of some unresolved issues with my mother?"
"She cheated."
"Don't speak against my mother. Protect her memory!"
With a look of disgust, king Eric got out, "she had an illicit affiair with a guard. She picked him over me. Our marriage." He walked closer to the gates where his son was. "You were the product of that liaison."
Nicholas launched his right hand into the prison cell and grabbed his father's neck. With raged in his eyes, his firm in the hold man's neck tightened, the flow of air into his lungs being restricted.
King Eric struggled, gasping for air but air didn't reach his lungs. His heart beated faster when Nicholas raised him two feet from the ground. Nicholas hold on his father's neck tighed and the vein in the old man's neck became visible almost ready to pop as he turned blueish from being cut off from oxygen.
Nicholas couldn't believe his years. He tried to remember his childhood and his thought went back to all the moments he shared with his parents. They were a perfect family. His father always loved him while his mother was alive. He watched his parents marriage hoping to have one like their's and so it was a high surprise to his ears to hear such words about his mother.
He mother was an angel. She was always there with him. She trusted him with everything even though he was just a child. He loved how protective she was with him. He could remember her singing lullabies, telling him bed time stories and sleeping in his small bed with him whenever he had nightmares. She was an angel and she treated him with so much love and attention.
He never failed to see how compassionate and sweet she was with the servants. On many occasions, he had seen her do work the maids ought to do. "You're a liar, you bastard!" He pushed him down.
The king landed in a dull thud on the ground. He wheezed and started to cough out, his hands on his neck. It stung badly. "Stupid child!" Nicholas only glared at his father on the ground.
"You think she was a saint uhn?" He coughed out. "She was sleeping around like the bitch she is!"
Nicholas stretched his hand into the prison cell trying to get get a hold of his father but he scrambled back, so his son wouldn't touch him.
King Eric only glared at Nicholas. The king had almost suffered an heart attack when he came into his room and saw a guard making love to his wife. The guard fled for his life while she begged and a few months later she found out she was with child. She wanted to leave the kingdom and go after the father of her child but Eric had threatened to kill her if she left the kingdom and so she was confined the palace with her son till her death.
A maid walked in with a tray. She made her way consciously toward the prince. "Hello, your majesty." She acknowledged his presence without looking up at the king. She dropped the tray on the floor and slipped it into the king's prison cell.
King Eric scrunched his face in disgust at the smell of the food. He took a look at it and frowned, a look of disgust also plastered on his face. The old man recoiled when he saw the pudding while the maid practically ran out of the dungeon.
"You deserve to die." Prince Nicholas's voice boomed in the dungeon. Glaring, he spat at his father and made his way out of the dungeon.
The vampire king's quest for power made him crazy. The more power he got, the more he wanted and so he was crazy to acquire power and he didn't care who had to die or live just for him to be the strongest and most powerful man in the world.
He would rather die than have others mock him now that he was defeated. He refused to accept defeat. King Eric didn't want to give his son the pleasure of seeing his downfall. He had worked so hard to become so powerful and he wasn't going to give anyone the pleasure of seeing him fall.So, he took the metal spoon with his food tray.
King Eric picked the spoon, disgusted by the brownish pudding in the plate. He sat on the floor and took a stone that caught his eyes. He started to sharpen the edge of the spoon with the stone.
He rubbed the stone on the spoon with much intensity. He continued to rub both objects till he felt it was sharp enough.
His finger tips touched the edges of the now sharpened spoon. King Eric put the sharp edge of the spoon against his tongue and slowly licked it. This made blood rush out from the cuts the spoon made.
He raised the spoon up and put the sharp edge of the spoon to his chest. Slowly, he pierced his chest with the spoon and laughed out loud. The deeper the spoon went into his chest, the more pain her got. He pulled the spoon out and spat out the blood that formed from the cut he made to his tongue.
Determined this time, he drove the spoon as fast as he could into the upper part of his chest. He fell to his knees, mouth open and blood pour out from this throat. He coughed out blood, his hand in his chest trying to get the spoon out of his chest but he fell on his face in the floor, the spoon driving deeper into his chest.