Demetri

"You idiot." I grabbed Nicolai in a head lock and rubbed his hair like I would a little brother — if I had a brother.

"Stop. I didn't know you had stopped talking." He raised his leg and went to ram his heel into my foot like he was taught to when his opponent had him in a head lock like this. Well at least he was learning, even if his mouth and attention needed some serious whipping. I smiled as he shifted his weight and quickly pulled my foot back as his foot came crashing down so that his heel coiled with the hard ground. "Shit!" He screamed from the pain that was no doubt shooting up his leg.

"Hey!" I slapped the back of his head. "Watch your language. Be respectful." I lectured him as we came to a stop and turned our heads to see the massacre in front of us. Two hundred of our men, dead all because they went to the creek to relax without their amour and weapons instead of being on guard where they were supposed to, allowing our enemies to sneak in and attack us from the inside. They had survived the raids only to be butchered while they slept.

Nicolai bowed his head a little obviously feeling ashamed of himself for his behaviour. Death still got to him, it was something that most of us had overcome, death was our job but Nicolai was still young and he was friends with most of the men whom had perished — in fact, if I hadn't had of sent him on an errand to check up on the other company to the west he no doubt would have been among the dead, but I wasn't going to tell him that. Not today.

"Come on, let's start over there." I pointed over towards a small pile of bodies, he only nodded in return.

I bent down and grabbed a hold of one of our knight's hands, gently I started to pull him towards the large pyre that was being built to burn them. It was one of the hardest things to do after a fight and I hated it as much as anyone. The dead weight threatened to pull your shoulders out of their sockets, the blood always managed to stain not only your clothes but your mind and the smell was enough to have any other person running the other way.

I yanked on the hand, trying to pull him after he had gotten stuck when something fell. I frowned and quickly looked up to check on Nicolai, he was gently brushing the eyes of a man closed and trying to fight his emotions. I let go of the man and moved over to the side of him where a small object had fallen out; it was a small piece of carved wood. I leant down and picked it up, turning it over in my hands. It was a roughly carved eagle, my heart stopped as I recognised the carving.

"An eagle for my son back home." He showed me piece of wood but I lacked the imagination to see passed the oddly shaped mould and find this supposed eagle. "I'm not every good but he's only two and doesn't know how terrible it is yet." He smiled as he remembered.

My lips parted as I turned around and looked down at the man lying dead on the ground, his chest coloured red under his shirt. He will never see his wife and child again, his son will grow up into a man without the guidance or protection of his father and without work his wife — unless from a rich family — will be forced to work in a tavern or worse, a brothel just to feed her son.

I took a deep breath as I ran my thumb over the carving and placed the eagle in the pocket of my amour planning to return it to the boy when I returned home. Looking up at the rest of the bodies being gently dragged towards the pyre I realised that I was letting it get to me once again. Gods, Nicolai was beginning to rub off on me. I shook my head trying not to think about it too much as I got on with my task.

           ▪▪▪

"What are you doing?!" I screamed at Nicolai mainly because it was entertaining to watch him get frustrated and have to re pack everything but also because if he kept stacking the tents that way they were all going to fall at the first jolt in the road.

He was standing on the carriage and trying to fit in all the tables and chairs from the three main tents that was used for the commanders and the Kings whilst also trying to fit all of the smaller tents that the other men slept in. It was early morning and those who have woken up — which was most — had already packed up their tents and packed their horses, ready to help out with lighting the pyre for the funeral of the men that died. The smoke would attract far too much attention and we were in no shape to fight another battle so soon after the massacre so we were too light the flames just before we left which meant everything needed to be packed.

"I'm stacking." Nicolai grumbled as the chair fell and broke a leg.

"No that's not stacking Nicolai that's breaking furniture, you need to go back to having lessons." I toyed with him.

"Well if you have a problem then get up here and do it yourself." He muttered under his breath which made me smile.

"Faster!" I called to him as I turned around and started walking off to check up on the rest of the men — making sure everyone was staying on task.

I walked past the small strategies tent and froze. I knew he was supposed to kill her, Jonathan never planned on keeping her alive for more than a day but when he gave her clothes and food I thought for sure she might last longer than she was supposed to, and she did. But now we were heading back home and he could hardly take her back to the castle with us and it wasn't like him to just drop her off at a town and leave her — no, she wasn't worth the trouble.

I hope he made it quick.

The tent showed movement just before the curtain pulled back and Jonathan walked out, his belt on and daggers in there place, wearing a light grey shirt with his black pants. "Sire" I bowed my head catching his attention.

He looked up at me and smirked. "What, now you are being formal?"

"I'm practicing for when we get back home." I admitted as I fell into step beside him.

We walked over to the pyre and the bodies laid out on the bits of wood. Everyone soon began to gather around as Jonathan walked up to light the fires. We watched as the flames begin to catch, rising to reach heights untouchable by man and the smoke rose up to reach the clouds like a beacon. A soft hum started off amongst the men — a ritual at a funeral up North — as we all watched the sparks fly out across the meadow. Jonathan walked back towards me with his head held down and his eyes dual as they watched his own feet move across the blades of grass.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Forever weighed under the heavy burden of guilt, death and power. Blood for blood, I didn't know what he was planning for his revenge but I knew it would be swift and discreet — after all he didn't want to re-ignite a war. I just hoped he was smart about it.

He stopped next to me and turned around to watch the flames and listen as the hums of the tune got louder and louder.

"Smart is the mind that thinks for two" He chanted next to me. I knew the saying well, it was one of the first sentences that he had ever spoke to me and I took wisdom in its words.

To Jonathan those words were like law, smart is the mind that thinks for two; that is, if you think for only yourself you are only seeing half the picture. If you wanted to be clever, to be the best, then you needed to think not only for yourself but the others around, and most importantly think about what your enemy is thinking — that is how you stay on top of opponent, that is how you win a war.

It must be killing him now. To watch all of his men burn. He has never lost so many men before and the fact that these deaths could have been avoided if those on guard were where they were supposed to be would be making him furious beyond belief — and a furious Jonathan leads to actions that make him deserving of the title 'the Reaper King'.

"Heavy is the heart who buries his kin." I repeated the words I had heard before.

We stayed silent as we watched the flames, Nicolai soon came to stand just behind us after he completed his chores. I looked back as he approached and saw the flames reflect in his eyes as he started to join in the loud hum.

Turning back to Jonathan I leaned in and whispered. "Did you do it?"

He frowned, confused a little at my question. "Do what?"

"Did you kill her?"

His eyes shot towards me, narrowed and annoyed. "Why do you care?"

"I care because she didn't deserve to suffer."

"Well, don't worry about her suffering. I promised her a quick and clean death."

I closed my eyes as I took in the words. At least now she would be at peace and she didn't suffer for his amusement. "Are you going to burn her?"

He gave me a sinister smirk. "No, I am going to drag her body through the countryside."

I shuddered at the thought of her lifeless body being tied to a horse and dragged along the woods until her limbs began to fall off her body or a wolf came in the night to steal her away. "You're joking right?" He wouldn't seriously be considering this? Would he?

"Don't you worry, Demetri. Just get the horses ready, we move out in an hour." He said as he patted my back and walked off headed for the only tent still standing. He wasn't planning to take it down but leave it standing with all of the bodies of the other men that attacked us piled inside and a note for King Edward Thorn of the rise. I didn't know what exactly the note would say, all I know is that Jonathan had insisted on writing it himself.

I walked back towards the horses and started saddling up my brown stallion and making sure Jonathan's own black mare was saddled up appropriately — even though he would check it before he mounted it.

Nodding my head I quickly put my foot in the stirrups and lifted myself up and swung my leg over until I sat high on my saddle. I leaned forwards and grabbed hold of my reins when I felt something snap and a piece of leather reach up and slap against my leg. My vision started to turn on its side as my saddle shifted and started to roll off of my horses back until my body collided with the floor in a loud thud.

Nicolai's loud laughter echoed through my ears as my head began to pound.

"Nicolai!" I shouted and pushed myself up from the ground. I picked up the saddle with the now broken straps and threw it at him — aiming for his head — as he clutched his stomach and laughed.

           ▪▪▪

Sorry for the late update. I have been very sick lately and am only now feeling better.

Updates may start to slow down from here on in as I have exams coming up and have not even looked at my books since February when I bought them. Bare with me. I will hopefully be able to get you an update a week.

Please vote and comment.