Betrayal (Part 1)

The assassin gave out cries of pain. The man was dead by the time the executor got to his neck, but the armored figure took the liberty of cutting off the man’s head in one swift swipe. The head fell to the ground and rolled in the mud, the face on the head frozen in horror. The soldier snapped his fingers and the guards dragged the body away. Another stepped forward and grabbed the severed body part. The guards buried the body in the ground. As a gravestone they put the head on a spear and stuck it in the ground.

With this done the armored man smiled. "We have done a good deed, and brought Justice to the king. He would be proud of us!" He gave a brief pause and then continued. "But we must not celebrate, nor should we rest. We must now secure the castle to make sure no more assassin’s sneak into the castle." The guards gave a shout of agreement and marched back to the castle. A few stayed back to talk with their general.

A foot soldier approached the hill from the castle and looked at the soldier. "General Verin, Queen Enuluss wishes to see you." The messenger kept his eyes on Verin, searching for any sadness over the death of the beloved king. The general seemed a bit shaken up. This is what the soldier hoped to see.

Verin then gave his response, "yes, tell the Queen I will be there shortly. Thank you for delivering the message to me." Verin looked up to the castle and then back to the few soldiers that stayed behind. One of them had been holding the assassin. He motioned to them to move back towards the castle. As they started to march back to the castle the soldier that held the assassin approached Verin.

"General...The man...that killed the king, he said something about "what you were supposed to do" and for some reason it seemed like he knew you." As the man finished his sentence Verin filled with rage. He managed to contain it and he put forth a small, fake, smile. He looked at the simple-minded foot soldier and spoke.

"What is your name soldier?" He said this in a low voice, and the soldier grew a little nervous. Verin noticed this. He was glad because this is what he wanted the soldier to do...Fear him. He stuttered a bit as he replied to his general’s inquiry.

"It... It’s Ernest, Sir." Verin narrowed his eyes and stared at Ernest’s face. When he spoke it was with a harsh and cruel voice.

"Listen here Ernest, that man did not know me. He was filth, and he was nothing. He would make up any kind of story to save himself...you understand don’t you Ernest? You seem to be a man of Intelligence." Ernest answered with proudness in his voice, being complimented by his commander.

"Yes Sir...I know what you mean. I am sorry I doubted you." Verin smiled, this soldier wouldn’t betray him. He wasn’t intelligent enough. He kept walking.

"Well Ernest, I have a meeting with the Queen, so Farewell." Ernest then walked away towards the guard tower, and the other soldiers followed behind him. Verin walked towards to the gate and it opened before him. He stepped through the gateway into the main room of the castle and walked up the stone stairs towards the rooms. He reached the room of the queen and knocked three times in succession. A female voice answered.

"Come in Verin." The voice sounded shaken up and sad, like somebody who just stopped crying. Verin entered the room and saw Queen Enuluss sitting in a chair. Her long golden hair gave the effect that it was flowing down her back, and when she looked at Verin her light blue eyes seemed like two diamonds, and they sparkled in the dim torchlight. She was young and beautiful, and that was the reason she was married to the former king. But, as Verin knew, from conversations with her, she was also very intelligent. She wore a pink dress that covered up her whole body from the feet to halfway up the neck. On her hands were white gloves.