Wicked Chase

♚ Interlude ♚

INTERLUDE
The Kingdom

The crowd stood before the King of Deidrif, his warriors alongside others who had offered help from nearby Kingdoms stood before him.

The crowd was a mess, voices raised above one another as arguments easily broke out and discussions about the Princess of Deidrif's abduction spiraled out of control.

The Ice Prince who had travelled all the way from Alecta stood by the King's side as he surveyed the crowd with dark, boring and judgmental eyes. He was here to avenge his best friend's death. Philip Rowstring was caught in the crossfire of Thorin's plans but the Ice Prince had no intentions of killing Thorin. No that right was reserved for the King and the Princess of Deidrif. All he wanted to see was Josiah's head on his blade. Josiah killed his best friend and the Ice Prince deemed it necessary to avenge his demise by killing that sick bastard. Or anyone who was involved in this sickening plot.

The King stood before the crowd, his eyes misted from the tears of rage. His beloved wife was taken away from him and now his daughter was snatched away from him, too, both processes happening right under his nose without his suspicion. Oh Lord, how he hated being in the oblivion.

The King was going to go to hell and back if it meant bringing home both the women he loved with his old dying heart. He would fight his way through. He would kill his brother if it ensured the safety of his wife and daughter.

Thorin was a threat, not only to the Kingdom but to the King's heart as well and the King could no longer bear the pain and burden that his brother bestowed upon him.

Clearly his throat, Ronan, The King, stood up straighter and cleared his eyes, made them look hellbent on getting what he wanted. "People of Deidrif," he announced loudly and the Ice Prince cast him a brief glance before returning his gaze back to the mass crowd that consisted of more men than women, both sexes still dressed in heavy armoury as well as carrying various weapons. "And generals from other Kingdoms, and Caspian Wintry" - he nodded at the Ice Prince - "thank you all for standing up for this Kingdom, for your home - for our home."

The crowd was silent, absorbing in every word that the King uttered like that would quell their fear, or like that would heighten their conviction to get their Queen back. "When I became King I promised all of you safety and while I was good on my word I chose to be ignorant about the darkness that lurked about. Thorin was a threat from the very beginning but he was my brother and I couldn't stand to see him suffer. I was soft. I took the role of being King, I took the responsibilities but I made one mistake that brought this all on. My brother is not only insane, he's vindictive and what he wants is war. He wants to rule over this Kingdom. He wants to turn everything to sand and dust. And the pure emotion of jealousy has driven him to such an edge.

"I shall no longer tolerate this behaviour any more. I shall no longer have a soft spot because Thorin isn't my brother, he isn't family." The King paused, trying to sound convincing as he could, even if he was lying to himself. He knew that when faced with Thorin that he'd have to kill his brother and he would make sure that Thorin suffered the wrath he deserved but the King wasn't certain if his brother's demise would be by his hands or the hands of another. Could he kill his brother?

"Tonight we will salvage what we lost twenty years ago. Tonight we will bring the Queen back to her throne and the Princess back to hers. We will make Deidrif whole and reclaim the land that we had lost due to my lack of insight. Let us use our plans and make best of what we've got to bring this ruler down and bring upon a new era!"

The King's words echoed loudly with each shout but the King knew that all was not going to go according to plan. One thing he knew about his brother was that he a conniving, vindictive and twisted arse, and that war was his forte. If Thorin were to die, which Ronan was certain he would, he would die with grace - he would die only after causing destruction. Because that's all his brother wanted; power and the sinister beauty of war deluded him to cause whatever destruction was to come.

Overcome with a sudden sense of confidence Ronan, the King, raised his sword and shouted, "Hail Queen Mariana! Hail Princess Genevieve!"

People repeated this with conviction. The King raised his sword once more and turned around so he was facing the border that separated Deidrif from Fallonailes and declared, "for Deidrif!" before they all charged, crossing the border and giving Thorin the war he waited more than twenty years to fight for.