The King Returns

Chapter 23 - Attack

The silent rustle of leaves could be heard as Almar made his way through the thick vegetation. Almar felt more and more nervous the closer they came towards the castle. At the same time, he wasn't sure if he could kill another elf, yet alone his uncle. Almar didn't know what to think anymore and it scared him that he was related to a tyrant, the very same one that caused the death of his adopted parents at that. He felt like vomiting at the thought that he might've turned out just like him, had he been raised in the castle instead of in the woods. And what if he really would, once that crown was put on his head? Perhaps the power would overwhelm him, consume him and change him forever. He shivered by the idea. 

  "Almar, are you okay?" Lusha asked, coming up beside him in the bushes. 

  "Yeah, everything is alright... I can't wait until my sword slits Zyron's throat," Almar replied, furrowing his eyebrows while shaking off the unpleasant feelings his thoughts had brought him. 

  "Now I know that's not true," Lusha laughed at his reply. 

  "And how would you know, huh?" Almar grinned at her, raising one eyebrow with a doubtful expression. 

  "Well for starters, you're not exactly the blood-thirsty type," Lusha smiled. 

  "Hehe, sigh... You're right, I'm scared that the second that crown goes on my head, I'll turn into a tyrant just like Zyron. Don't you realise that I'm related to a crazy and dangerous psychopath?!" Almar raised his voice, trying not to yell at her, considering how close they were to the castle by now. 

  "Look, I know it's tough for you but even if you would put in your best efforts, you're not Zyron, you never will be. Trust me, you'll become a much better king than him," Eir suddenly spoke from behind. 

Almar turned around and saw Eir, sitting in a pile of leaves with a warm encouraging smile. 

  "Hey! What are you, some kind of peeping tom?" Lusha said jokingly while laughing out loud. 

  "Haha! Shut up! I was already looking for you but didn't want to disturb," Eir replied in light laughter.

Almar looked upon the two elves with a smile. 

  "I'm more than happy that you two support me in this," Almar said and then looked down at his closed fist, "can you promise me something?" he continued. 

  "What?" Lusha asked in a curious voice. 

  "If I ever get out of control, can you do me a favour and kill me?" Almar asked in a heavy voice. 

  "Are you crazy?! You of course won't... How can you even ask such an awful thing of us?" Eir almost shouted with a tinge of panic in her voice. 

  "Because I don't want to make other people suffer, not any more than they have already done by the hands of my uncle," Almar replied. 

  "Not that I would ever see you turn into an evil supervillain ha-ha," Lusha said with a smile, putting her hand on Almar's shoulder, "but if you ever would, I'll be sure to give you a good punch in the face before I stab you!" she continued with a smile. 

  "Haha, thanks?" Almar replied, looking at Lusha with a half-worried expression.

***

Later, when they finally came out of the damp forest, Lusha rolled out the map for both Almar and Eir to look at. 

  "Now that we're close to the castle, we'll split up here," Lusha said, pointing at the location on the map where they currently stood. 

  "Split up? But we need everyone," Eir said. 

  "Almar and I are going into the castle to kill Zyron, however you have to find Sasha who's locked up somewhere inside the dungeons. That entrance is over here," Lusha explained and pointed at a location a little bit farther away from the main entrance.