Sometimes even the darkest of time find the light.

[Clover221B]

There was no doubt that Princess Athena was a young woman who cared about her people, however there was a line which was finely drawn. This. This very much crossed it. 


"Do you not understand what I'm saying, brother? I will not marry him! He is a murderous leech who is responsible for so many of the deaths in our Kingdom, he led the uprise for goodness sake!" By this point it was quite clear that Athena had lost her cool and rightly so, her brother may have been the King but he did not have the authority to organise a lifetime of despair for his younger sister. 


Letting out a deep sigh, Henry ran a hand through his contrastingly dark hair. "Athena, that is exactly the point I'm making, with him on our side, the war will be over. The death count will decrease and we shall be able to fix all that has gone wrong." The King commented hopefully, knowing all too well that it wouldn't be enough for his little sister. 


"Or he'll turn the kingdom upside down, any hope of us winning over the people will be gone. We will burn with the kingdom forever, Henry." The blonde spat back anger not shifting from her tone, even when a knight entered the room with them. 


King Henry looked from his sister's face to the taller knight that stood straight beside her at this point, grateful for the escape from the conversation. "Can I help?" He questioned the knight who was lacking armour, obviously he wasn't anywhere near the front lines. 


"They're ready for her your royal highness, I'm here to accompany the Princess to the dungeons." The deep voice came from beneath the large built man who Athena was sure was called Astric. 


"No, don't you dare, Henry, this isn't fair!" Anthea demanded to her brother but by this point two other guards who had previously been outside the door had joined Astric and were there to carry the Princess down to the dungeon if they had to. One nod from Henry said it all and both the guards took an arm each of the Princess, matching her out of the room as she fussed at their grip and tried her best to pull away. "You're a complete idiot, Henry, this won't work, I won't forgive you!" She called but soon after the large throne room doors had shut behind her and her brother would no longer hear her pleads. 


"Take your hands off me this instant, I can walk myself! I'm a lady after all, at least let me have some dignity." She demanded to the two guards that were much bigger and she didn't have very much chance of beating, both following Astric who walked ahead. 


As the grips on her forearms were released, Athena let out a loud sigh then brushed down her soft velvet green dress. Her corset was much too tight today and if the news of her new marriage wasn't enough, she felt as though her lungs might pack in at any moment. 


Eventually they reached the darkness of the dungeons and before she knew it Athena was standing before the cell which held her beloved husband to be. 


Clearing her throat with a distasteful look, she directed her sharp blue gaze to his face. "I believe we've got to make acquaintance, but first let me assure you I'm much less pleased than you could ever be about our soon to be marriage. It was not my idea and I will be doing everything in my power to stop it, if it were me, you'd have been made an example of in a guillotine."

 

[Kraftysloth]

Alonius punched the wall not knowing what else to do and startled the rather cowardly guard on the outside of his cell. He thought about what had happened to get him here captured and bond by chains like some sort of beast but then again his ferocity in battle wasn't unlike a beast's ferocity in the hunt. His sister was the reason he was bound up on the wall; His only weakness was that his sister decided to switch kingdoms after her previous husband was put to death by no other than his sword and it found its mark in his throat. He closed his eyes and flashed back to where he surrendered.

The battlefield was where he was now sword in hand and armor on along with the banner he wore proudly; He raised his sword and began speaking to his soldiers "Men! This is for our king if we die today may our souls like vengeful spirits strike at their minds as we go to heaven! That is our reward a warriors death and eternal peace but until then you have not earned the right to go to heaven if you do not at least take down twenty of them with you!" His soldiers screamed with a new purpose and he stepped forward pointing at the enemy captain with his sword. "Ready! Charge!" What ensued next was essentially a blood bath coating the once green fields with flame, arrows and corpses, some even mangled enough to no longer be recognizable. In the center of it all was the two generals or captains battling. Alonius kicked the other general in the chest sending him sprawling and cutting down a few of the lesser soldiers trying to kill him. He stood over the captain sword poised at his throat and with one quick cleave his head was no longer attached but in his hand was a letter signed to him now stained with the blood of the enemy captain.

He was brought back to the present time by a rather rude princess that he didn't even bother looking up at. "So that's their plan is it; To marry me to some young girl and seal my allegiance." He shook his head and stifled a look at the rude girl "Don't worry princess your will not have to stand me for much longer when my king comes to get me and I place a dagger against your throat next to your bastard of a king; I will let him watch as I kill you so he knows how it feels to have a hostage and beg for their life in return for his." He did not want to be that rude to a lady, a quite beautiful one at that but he knew the more he pissed her off the more she would demand to just have him killed and that was fine with him. In his prisoner rags one could see the scars on his arms and legs as well as a few small ones on his face and if he were to take off his shirt it would reveal many scars from many battles; He did not care anymore whether he lived or died and he knew his king was probably not coming for him and probably already enlisted a new captain to take his place.

 

[Clover221B]

A sharp and rather bitter laugh escaped from Athena as the man began to speak. 'Some young girl'? Who did he think he was? Whether he was trying to rile her up or not was something Athena didn't care about at current, he'd began to do quite a good job.


"I am not some young girl and it'll do you well to realise it sooner than later. I am the next in line to this throne and you will respect me as your Princess, whether you like it or not." Athena dismissed of him, not usually becoming high and mighty in her stance of power but he would not speak to her in such a way, let alone talk of her as though she had no control over this kingdom. Although at current it didn't feel much like it.


"As for my brother, I think you'll find he's already throwing a line out to sea. I wouldn't be much of a hostage to him, I might look like some inferior lady of the manor but I can assure you, I know how to use a sword, don't test me on it." She warned, her anger over their marriage creeping in on her views of her brother. She then scoffed as he spoke of his king coming back to rescue him. Was he more deluded than her brother? "As for your King coming to save you, I think you've got another thing coming. Your royal highness hasn't struggled in finding a new captain and has in fact lost two since your capture. Good luck with that one." 


Even in the poor light the dungeon illuminated it was plain to see that the man had been wounded in battle and many a time as it looked. His clothes were barely that, dirt clung to every inch of his skin and it was a less than pleasant place to be spending time. 


With one last glance to the man who clearly wasn't in his best condition, Athena didn't share a smile just one regretful look. "Try not to let the bed bugs bite." She told him groggily, knowing that sleep wasn't a very likely occurrence down in the cold and grotty dungeons. Picking the length of her petticoat up and exiting the dungeons feeling more aggrivated than ever. 

 

[Kraftysloth]

Alonius laughed at her as she thought she knew everything and that she thought that no one would oppose her in taking the throne. Before she left completely he yelled something to her "Hey girl, better take the throne now while you think you know everything because you will find that sometimes the things you expect will be your downfall." He shook his head and pulled at the chains as being down here for a few days made him stink and he hated it but he knew pretty soon they would be married and when they were he could easily drive the kingdom into collapse but would that be wise would he be seen as a hero to his own kingdom or a traitor for laying down his weapons for a blood relative at a different kingdom.

Alonius sat rather uncomfortably at the dinner table next to his soon to be wife as they silently prayed and when they were done he glanced at the king at the other end of the table, Alonius held a knife knowing he could try to throw it and kill him but would not escape alive as he watched all the guards with swords drawn. This annoyed him to no end as he began cutting the meat on his plate since the servants seemed frightened of him "Hey king tell your guards to put their swords away I will be married to the princess tomorrow if I was trying to kill anybody I would have done it and trying to eat with a sword at my back is almost as bad as you keeping my sister captive in whatever hole you have her in." His words were filled with annoyance and a bit of spite as this situation was still raw to him. He put food into his mouth and ate slowly watching the guards before glancing at his soon to be wife. "Don't look so angry at me 'my dear' you try eating with a sword poised to your back it doesn't feel to good and you can't focus on the taste of the food.

His words startled the servants as they stood on the sides of the room but they dared not speak unless spoken to by the king or princess. He pointed to a servant girl trying to hide in the corner behind him and he spoke softly with less anger "Can you pass that dish to me...please." He was a warrior but due to his successes he was allowed to many feasts were he had to be proper and act civilized which was not too hard for him as his whole childhood was to be trained as a warrior and that included being proper and respectful to women and any higher ups. He eyed the servant keeping her head down and passing what he had asked returning back to the spot in the corner where she stood originally.

 

[Clover221B]

The older man's words twisted in Athena's mind that evening, of course she didn't know everything and perhaps she never would but unlike her brother, she was less inclined to run the kingdom in the same manner. Henry was a kind and rational King, following in their father's footsteps, his actions weren't emotional as Athena's could tend to be but carefully planned out and always with the kingdom's best interest in mind. Even if it was at their own expense. Athena didn't want to lead their people and was sure on many counts she would get things wrong but at current she was mortified at where her older brother's choices had taken them and her soon to be arranged marriage. 


Of course Athena wasn't naive enough to believe that she wouldn't ever have an arranged marriage but to be married to a savage who was responsible for so many deaths. People whom she cared for dearly, perhaps even her guard who had stood by Athena's side for many years. More than a guard or a friend would ever be. 


As the royals sat at the grand oak dining table King Henry quirked his left eyebrow at the man before him, clearly he hadn't been around royalty very often. "I can assure you that your sister is safe, as of now. However, as much as you cherish your sister's safety I do with mine too and for now, the swords remain." The broad shouldered man explained calmly before he took a neat bite of the beef stew in front of him. Henry's gaze soon moved to his younger sister as their guest then addressed her. 


"Perhaps if you kept your mouth shut and didn't keep filling our ears with your delightful chatter, then we might all be able to appreciate the food a little more, my dear." The blonde woman responded, taking a sip of the red wine in front of her then looked to him. In a better light and without the reak of body odour, it was hard to deny that the man was rather attractive and each of the scars seemed to add character more than anything else. Though each scar that traced his skin must have held a story, experiences in the world Athena could only imagine. 


As she politely ate through the meal, Athena decided to make a bit more of an effort. After all, whether she liked it or not this was the man she was to marry. "What is your sister called? Are you the eldest?" She questioned, a smile still not breaking through on her porcelain skin but her frown loosened slightly as the young servant brought the bowl to Alonius. "Thank you, Elisa." She added to the girl when her soon to be husband didn't, just because they were higher in the hierarchy status didn't mean that he could be impolite. 

 

[Kraftysloth]

Alonius scoffed and finished eating putting the silverware down and standing up making all the guards raise their sword. "Oh come on now I just stood up and you are not even holding your weapons properly!" He went up to the guard which in his fear swung; Alonius dodged the sword and kicked the guards leg making him slip and fall forward with his sword clattering a few feet away. "Tighten up your form and loosen your sword arm." He raised his voice but didn't at all sound mad even when blood began dripping out the cut on his arm. He knew none of them would care and so he instead of heading towards the entrance and exit he headed to her chambers considering it was a day before their wedding and wanting to explore; He also thought about the fact that he just put a guard on his ass and assumed that he was going to be thrown back in the dungeon from which he spent sleepless nights in. He walked around the castle as none of the guards stopped him hearing what had happened as he was talking loud enough in the dining hall when he was addressing the soldier.

He arrived at her chambers and not bleeding that much ignored the pain waiting for the anger that would be her or the king who he cared nothing for and as such addressed him like any other man. He stared out the window and clenched his fists at the fact that he was alone for not even his sister was here with him. He was surrounded by enemies but without a kingdom to fight for were they really even enemies? He couldn't find the answer to the question despite all of his thinking and gave up trying waiting for whoever would show up at the door to Athena's chambers.

 

[Clover221B]

As Alonius went to leave the guards began to head after him at least until Henry spoke, "Leave him. Inform the groundsmen to keep an eye out and if he is seen leaving, then take him to the dungeons. Ensure he is back in his cell by ten." The dark haired man looked to his sister as they sat alone at the grand table again, a look of amusement resting on her face. 


"If nothing else, he does have a point. Our best knights went off to fight for us." A lower tone rung off as Athena explained to her brother, taking another piece of beef off the end of her fork. Looking out to where Alonius had exited maybe he wouldn't come back, part of her hoped so. Their wedding would be called off and they'd no longer have to spend their days as husband and wife. 


Placing her silver cutlery down besides her plate, the young woman didn't comment anymore on the situation. "Please excuse me, I'll see you tomorrow, at my wedding." The words slowly escaped her lips and a heavy sigh fell before she left the large room. With each step she took up the grand stairway, Athena couldn't help but consider how her life would change in the next day. A man who she would never love to say the very least. 


Reaching her chambers the blonde woman paused in her path when she noticed the man stood before her bed. Tall and strong as her eyes traveled across his body, noting the red that rested on his arm. Obviously their guards weren't quite as bad as she'd first thought. "Your arm. You need to clean it, it might get infected.. Let me look at it." The blonde told the man who made her feel somewhat on edge, even if he was to be her husband. Why was he there in her chambers, uninvited and what intentions did he have in mind? Slowly she approached him and looked to his arm, by no means was she any nurse but she'd seen too many wounds in her lifetime and read many a book on first aid.

 

[Kraftysloth]

Alonius shook his head "It's fine I got careless and was slightly hoping for the sword to end me but unfortunately even your guards can not kill on accident." Despite his words he stuck out his arm "Do as you wish if you care that much I wont stop you." His words were soft no longer filled with anger as he didn't even look at her; He was nothing but an old soldier forced to marry a girl he didn't much care for but even so he couldn't help but to turn a little to glance at her and then back out the window quickly. Regardless of what he wanted the king did not care and the princess did not care and as such his words fall on deaf ears as all he wants is to see his sister "Can you talk to your brother about letting my sister be at the wedding she is no noble by any stretch of the imagination but I want her there regardless if this is forced or not. 

He was back on the battlefield with the note in his hand as he read the words carefully and punched the headless corpse "Damn it! You bastards take my sister! Everybody retreat and leave me to my fate send word to the king that I have been captured and taken because of my sister!" They all did as he said and he dropped his sword letting all the remaining soldiers surround him and bind his hands intent on not killing him but taking him to the king which he was not keen on meeting.

He turned from the window and stared at her dropping the solemn expression for a more saddened look "We both may not like the wedding but there was a time when I did want to be married before I died and I guess there was a time when I had stupid dreams like that." He stared at her features and looked down at the ground not really caring and resigning himself to his fate.