forum The Dark Kingdom (Fantasy BXB, Closed, Stalkers welcome)

Started September 07, 2020 by @bluebee55

tune

Mylan tumbled over the vines as well and struggled to get up. He got up and started running as soon as possible, assuming that Caspian was behind him until he heard the loud boom. He looked over his shoulder worriedly and was relieved to see that Caspian was okay, but confused on how the other had created such a large blast of magic. He put it out of his mind for now. It was something that he could worry about later. "Come on!" He grabbed the other's hand and bolted, holding out his free hand to form a forcefield around the two of them as they ran.

It felt as if the two of them had been running forever. Caspian's lungs burned and it was difficult to breathe. After a long time, he spotted a small cottage that seemed uninhabited. He dragged Mylan inside, shut the door and waited. After about 5 minutes, he let out a sigh. "I think we're safe now," he said, still trying to catch his breath.

Mylan whimpered weakly as he leaned his head back against the wall, gasping for breath again. "I-I hope… you're right…" He tried his best to relax, but he was clearly struggling. It was understandable considering that he did have trained guards trying to kill him. "I'm already so tired of all this… w-what did I do wrong?"

Caspian looked over at Mylan and realized the pain he was in. "Hey, hey, its okay," he spoke softly, looking the taller male in the eyes. "Whatever's going on, it's not your fault. It's his. I'm sure you did nothing wrong." He was surprised at his own soft tone, as he never spoke like this to anyone before. Now that he thought about it, he never really had anyone to speak to this way. "I wont let them kill you. I promise."

Mylan looked over at Caspian weakly. "W-What if we can't stop them? The… the king's trained guards want me dead… what am I supposed to do about that? They'll kill me, and they'll kill you too for trying to hide me… I just… I don't know why he suddenly decided that I need to die. I've never done anything to him!"

"Listen." He looked Mylan in the eye. "You have to try not to think that way. If you think your going to fail, it's more likely to happen than if you're determined." Cas paused. "Shit, that sounded really corny. What I mean is…we have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst." He turned around. "In the meantime, this little house might be a nice place to camp out, at least for a little while."

"R-Right, I… I'm sorry… you're right." Mylan sighed, running his trembling fingers through his hair. "I'm just… this is all so sudden and I don't know what to do about it… I'm terrified, honestly. I mean, my own brother wants to kill me… sure, I can use magic and… and I know how to use a sword, but I know I couldn't take on those guards…"

"Thats why we gotta keep running!" Cas smiled sadly despite his cheerful tone. "But in all seriousness, I know it's scary. I've been there. To be honest, i dont really care if they kill me. At least I died trying to protect someone, yaknow?" He sat down at the table which looked as if it hadn't been sat at in years. "But at least you're not in this alone. I'm not much, but hey, I'm something." He smiled a bit.

(No problem! Me too lol)

Mylan sighed shakily, letting his face fall into his hands. "W-We… I can't run forever… I wish this was all some terrible nightmare so I could just… so I could just wake up from all of this… we can't survive out in the woods forever, Caspian… they'll find us. They know what they're doing."

Caspian sighed. "We'll just have to play it by ear then. I dont know what's gonna happen. I'm scared too. I can go back into town for food and stuff. They most likely dont know my face, so I should be fine to go out in public. It doesnt look like anyone's been here in a while so we should be okay to stay here, at least for a little bit."

Mylan nodded a bit and peered up at Caspian between his fingers. "Are you sure? I… I-I could always give you some money for food if you need it… I know I've got some on me…" He looked away and bit his lip, clearly still stressed.

"You dont have to, but that would be great. I dont know if you could tell, but I'm not exactly wealthy." He chuckled, gesturing to his dirty white button down shirt, torn in some places from wearing it too much. He smiled at the taller boy. "Everything will be fine, I promise."

Mylan laughed weakly. "Yeah… um… I don't think we'll need food just yet, but how much money do you think you'll need to get it when we do?" He asked, shifting where he was sitting to get more comfortable.

"I probably wont need too much, I can pay for most of it." He smiled and leaned back, pulling out a small pouch of coins when all of a sudden- the door opened. But instead of soldiers like Cas expected, it was…a young girl, who didnt look much older than thirteen.
"Oh, hello," she spoke softly. She wore a long white dress which reached her ankles, and had long, wavy brown hair. The way she spoke was almost angelic.

Mylan jumped when he heard the door open, traces of fire magic crackling at his fingertips for a moment. He relaxed a bit when he realized that the intruder wasn't any guards, but he was still very uneasy. "Um… h-hello… sincerest apologies, is this your home?" He asked softly. "We didn't mean to intrude or anything, I assure you…"

The girl paused for a moment, then shook her head. "No, its alright, you two can stay. You seem like you need a place to stay."
Cas was trying to wrap his head around this. If this was her home, then why did it look so run down? And why was she so young-looking? "Um, what's your name then?" Caspian asked.
"Eveline." She said quietly. "Eveline Cryslorn."
"Cryslorn?" He looked over at Mylan. "But isnt that-"
Now Caspian knew where he recognized the girl from. Many years ago, a member of the royal family- a young princess named Eveline- disappeared around the age of thirteen and never came back. This was the exact face he saw in the history books.

Mylan froze when he heard the name, memories flooding back to him. "E-Eveline? But I… n-no, you… you're dead. You can't be here. You disappeared years ago!" He got to his feet, his face very pale as he stared at the girl. "What have you been doing out here in the woods all this time?? Are you a ghost??"

"Hm…I suppose you could say I'm a ghost of sorts. I prefer the term spirit." She smiled at Mylan. "It was 10 years ago, if I remember correctly. Your father had another child before you and your brother. I was his firstborn."
"What happened, then?" Caspian asked. "How did you die?"
Eveline sighed. "Father's amulet. He kept it in his room back then. I picked it up to look at it, but then he caught me and took it from me. When he took it he started acting strange…he said I was in his way, and he…tried to kill me. I ran away because I was scared. I think I died out here in the woods…the last thing I remember was being in the snow…and then I woke up, and everything was okay. But I never aged, not even after ten years…"

Mylan exhaled shakily. "O-Oh god… I… that's why I'm here too-! Alec has the amulet now and he's trying to have me killed… I have no idea what's going on or… or why this is happening… I wonder what kind of magic is in that amulet? I mean, it has to be connected to the family murder spree thing… I feel like I remember something like this being in my books, but I'm not sure…"

"I…I remember something like that too." Cas murmured. "It seems like every time a member of the royal family gets their hands on that amulet, they…end up hurting or killing someone. That's why its usually locked up, am I correct?"

"Yeah, I think so… that thing is dangerous. I wish we could just destroy it, honestly, but I don't think it would blow over well if I destroyed a family heirloom…" Mylan sighed softly and ran his fingers through his hair, starting to pace anxiously. "There's not a lot I can do…"

"I don't know if it even can be destroyed." Eveline pointed out. "If it's that magical of an object, there's gotta be some sort of protection to prevent that.. But whatever it is, it must have some sort of…mind control over the person inheriting it. I've never seen father act that way before. It was strange."