Tales of Eleutheros

Robert stared down at a pool of red blood behind a barricade in the courtyard of the palace in Vul De Rah. His mind was numb from the battle and the terrible guilt he felt for what he was now wholly responsible for. That’s a lot of blood, he thought, knowing that it could only be Katrina’s. Daniel was facing off with Alektor during this little skirmish, and there were only three people here that he knew of that bled red. He held in his sorrow, knowing he would have plenty of time to reflect on it later.

“She lives…” Dio’Mar said, appearing on his shoulder. “She has made her choice though… and it was not you…”

“You’re back,” Robert said, his throat dry. “You had me worried. You just disappeared on me.”

“I’m touched…” she said blithely. “Gro’ak and I fought in the spiritual realm… we would have destroyed this city if it had been here, and we both could not risk that…”

“I know he isn’t dead,” Robert continued, walking toward the palace. “He saved Daniel from Alektor, apparently.”

“He managed to slip past me once he knew he would not win… his only option was to save his human… and hide,” she hissed. “I will find him again… do not worry. He will probably go back to his forest… and rally support against me…”

Robert nodded and entered the palace, remembering the first time he walked in the large doors, being escorted by Oros and Boros. He strode through the halls, bloody and littered with the bodies of warriors and nobles. He found his way to the throne room, where he saw Alektor standing on the throne platform, looking down thoughtfully at it.

“I have dreamed of this moment,” Alektor said as Robert approached. “The moment where I would vanquish the evil tyrant of Vul De Rah and sit on his throne with his blood soaking the floor beneath it.” He extended his hand to touch the smooth stone it was made of. “But here I am, and the feeling I imagined is not here. Only the emptiness of this chamber, of those who loved him, of those who tried so hard to kill me because of what I had done.”

“Not just you,” Robert said.

“Reku…” He turned to him and narrowed his eyes. “I must apologize to you, I had thought to capture Daniel, but in the end, he chose to die rather than to submit. And… I do not know where your former mate, Katrina, is. I’m afraid the only trace we have of her is that puddle of blood in the courtyard. She may very well be dead.”

Robert shook his head. Holding in his emotions.

“But you have also shown me,” he continued, “that there is much I need to work on as a ruler. There are sides and perspectives that I find difficult to see.” He took a deep breath and finally sat on Agron’s throne. Leaning back in it, he rested his arms and looked as regal as he possibly could. “I will heed your counsel, and the people of Vul De Rah will not suffer harshly. You have my word on that. However, we will investigate any mistreatment of my people while in the service of them. They will be held accountable.”

Robert nodded and let out a breath. “I suppose that’ll do.”

“How fares, Demessa?” the King asked.

“She’s alive,” Robert responded, clenching his fists. “Damn Avria.”

“Go to her,” Alektor continued. “She will need your strength.”

~

Robert made his way through the ruined corridors of the palace, absentmindedly avoiding pools of blood. The violence that he so adamantly avoided back home had become so commonplace here that he now was barely affected by the sights. He approached one of the royal chambers, a place he vaguely remembered. The room was large, with beds and tables that had been brought in to turn it into one of the many field hospitals created to tend to the countless wounded warriors who were left in the wake of the battle. Robert walked past the dozens of bustling medical Dae that did their best to tend to the groaning and pleading warriors, easing their pain with their own spiritual energy. Near the back of the room, lying on one of the larger beds, was Demessa. The right side of her face was covered in bandages, leaving a hole for her eye. Robert could see small areas where her blue blood had seeped through the bandage, and wounded tissue that was not completely covered. She met his eyes and then turned away. As if ashamed of being viewed in such a vulnerable state.

“Good to see that you’re up,” he said, taking a seat next to her. “Have you eaten yet?”

She took several moments before responding, inhaling deeply, with her eyes closed. “I suppose I should thank you, Kryo.” Her voice was ragged. “You saved me…”

Robert said nothing. He just looked at her, nodding.

“We have taken the city then.”

“Yes,” he said. “Alektor is enjoying his victory in the throne room.” He gestured to the wounded around them. “We took a beating, though. The Lokkadonians didn’t give up this place without a fight.”

“This was their home.” Demessa opened her eyes then and adjusted the pillows she was using to prop herself up. “They fought for it with conviction and strength, but in the end, we were victorious.”

She studied his face for a few moments, then she put her hand on his.

He flinched at the touch but accepted it. “I’ve lost everything from my old life now. Completely. I was confident in what I had chosen to do, after seeing what the Lokkadonians did in that village.” He shook his head. “But now… I just feel like I have done something terrible.”

“Terrible?” Demessa asked, grunting in pain as she sat up further. “You have freed tens of thousands of people, Reku. You have done something that none thought possible, that all in Eleutheros thought to be madness; this was all because of you! Don’t think for a moment that what we did here today was terrible.”

“All the death,” he said in frustration. “All the pain. Look at what we’ve done to this place.”

“Every transition is a painful process, filled with uncertainty and regret. You’re not the only one who is thinking what you are. I assure you that your brother, the King, is fending off his own guilt and turmoil now.” She squeezed his hand. “The Lokkadonians were murderers in their own right, oppressors, and violators. Go outside, walk among the Doulos you freed today. Accept their thanks and their praise. Hear the stories of the atrocities against them. Then you come back here and tell me that what you did was terrible.”

Robert looked at her for a long moment. Wounded as she was, she was still breathtakingly beautiful. Her battle against Avria to protect him was one of the many things that prodded his guilt, but he knew she was right. Daniel and Katrina had chosen to side with these people, who casually stood for something he hated. He had lost the only connection to his old life, but now he had a new one. He lifted his hand to Demessa’s wounded face and cupped her exposed cheek. She looked at him, confused for a moment, but was interrupted by a kiss he planted on her lips. Robert pulled away and stood, leaving Demessa speechless. With that, he smiled at her and made his way back into the palace halls.