How Kingdoms Fall: Part 1 Chapter 1

Part I: Out of Ocelin

A few centuries later…

Chapter I:

Kane ran through the corridors, ducking behind columns and around corners. The pounding of his foe echoed in the corridor behind him. Panting he ducked into a dark alcove and silently waited. A person ran past and disappeared around the corner. Kane let out a sigh of relief, but stayed in the alcove just to be safe. After a few minutes passed, he felt safe that his chaser had lost him. He took a step forward to leave the shadow of the alcove when someone swung down from above him.

“Hiya Kane,” they said grinning, still hanging upside down. Kane jumped backward.

“Ane, how’d you get there?” Kane asked as she swung down from the beams above the alcove.

“Simple, I know this castle inside and out,” Ane responded, brushing dust off her tunic.

“But, I thought you ran past me.”

“I did, this is just a terrible hiding spot,” Ane replied. She had been playing hide and seek with Kane for years and knew all of his hiding spots and tricks like the back of her hand. Despite always getting caught, he never seemed to change them up. “Anyway, the council’s looking for you. Apparently, you were supposed to be there ten minutes ago.”

“What,” he said, his eyes widening. He ran from the alcove, leaving Ane behind.

“They were saying something about the war, in case you were wondering,” Ane called after him.

Kane wasn’t listening as he ran to the council room. The war was a mere afterthought to him. It had been going on for the past few hundred years with the neighboring kingdom. Despite their very best efforts, no one had been able to stop it. At any rate, Kane had more important things on his mind.

He had completely forgotten that today was the council meeting about the war. He had been too busy running from his sisters who had yet again tried to get him one of their trips. Ane had seen him running and thought it would be fun to chase him, no doubt thinking it was a game of tag or hide and seek.

Panting, Kane arrived at the council room more than fifteen minutes late. After catching his breath, he pushed the doors open and walked in.

“So, you finally decided to arrive, did you?” The booming voice came from the head of the table where the king sat surrounded by the members of the council.

“I apologise for my lateness, father,” Kane replied, bowing to the king.

“Sit. Now that Kane has arrived, we can begin the meeting. Draewin, your report,” the king said, barely sparing a glance at his son. Kane quickly took a seat near the end of the table farthest from the king. One of the men nearer the king stood up to speak.

“Your Majesty, our troops have barely gained any ground within the past few months. The mountain range has prevented more extensive attacks on Raemith. Despite these mountains, reinforcements from Raemith still manage to make it through to join the battle,” Draewin, one of the kingdom’s military commanders, said before sitting back down.

“If we could find out how they are getting through the mountains, we could send troops to attack their capital,” the man across from Kane said.

“Impossible, we’ve been trying to find a pass for years,” another responded. As other men began joining in the argument, Kane tuned them out. He hated council meetings. Every time they tried to get something done or find a solution arguments would break out that could last for hours. This argument would be no exception. After nearly an hour of arguing that even the king had joined, Kane broke in. “So what you’re all saying is that we need to find a pass through the mountains in order to win the war?”

Surprised by Kane’s sudden question, nobody spoke for a moment. “Yes, but none of the troops we have sent have managed to make it through and come back alive,” one of the men finally said.

“I’ll go then. Two people are less conspicuous than a troop of soldiers, especially on enemy soil. Aren’t I right, father?” Kane turned to look at the king.

“What do you mean by two, who is going with you?” The king asked instead of responding.

“Your Majesty, you don’t mean you agree with this madness! He is a prince, and only fifteen. You can’t expect him to come back alive from a mission that trained soldiers have failed,” a council member cried, standing up abruptly. He was immediately met with a glare from the king.

“Kane may be a prince, and a terrible one at that, but he has been trained with a sword,” the person on the king’s right said. “Anyways, if he dies, it wouldn’t be that terrible. He’s only the third prince of Ocelin.” He smiled down the table Kane.

“Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?” Kane asked.

“Neither, brother, simply the truth,” the crown prince, Edward, replied. “You still haven’t answered father’s question. Who would you be taking with you?”

“Ane,” Kane replied.

The entire council immediately broke into outrage again. “Silence!” The king’s booming voice silenced the room. “Kane, you will go with Anemora to the Kingdom of Raemith and find a pathway through the mountains. Do not be found out or tell anyone else what you are doing. You will leave immediately.”

Kane nodded and stood up to leave the council room. “Kane. If you fail, don’t come back.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Kane replied before leaving the room. The heavy door banged shut behind him, and a loud argument immediately broke out inside. Calmly, he walked past the two guard stationed at the door and around the corner. After a few minutes, once he was sure that he was alone, Kane leaned against the wall and sank to the floor.

He was an idiot, his big mouth constantly getting him into trouble. Only this time was so much worse. He had simultaneously embarrassed himself, and signed his death warrant. If he didn’t find the pass through the mountains and make it back to tell the council where it was, he would probably be disowned and it would be better to die along the way instead. What have I gotten myself into, Kane thought, sighing heavily.

With nothing better to do, Kane stood and went to try to find Ane. It was best to try to get it over with and leave as quickly as possible. Maybe then word of his embarrassment wouldn’t have spread much before he left to meet his doom.