A King's Legacy Ch. 22

A King's Legacy

Chapter 22: Sanctuary

From the moment the fox saw that enormous tree sprout forth from the earth below, Rust knew the battle was over. The silence that fell upon that battlefield in the darkness of the night after only confirmed it. The cub had watched intently as the light of that golden heartbeat illuminated the sky like the rising sun, and knew there could be only one solution. He had seen that light many times over, and it had even come to his rescue back at the caverns, but this time, it was more than the fox ever would've imagined. It was only visible to him above the line of houses, but the glow it cast was reassuring somehow. The fox wasn't afraid anymore. They were safe, they had won, and that mammoth cherry tree climbing into the air after only cemented that claim.

Rust took a single look at his hands, thinking about the gift he had awakened only moments before, and darted off towards the river to help before he ever stopped to think otherwise. The cub worked endlessly throughout the night with the support of Stahl to heal the injured, starting with Aster, who was unconscious by the time the cub arrived on scene. His focus and willpower never wavered for an instant until his part was over, well after dawn rose upon that weary battlefield turned sanctuary... Well after a certain stubborn bull finally found a place to rest for a moment.

The captain was beyond exhausted, going two complete days, a long walk with a sprint back, and fighting a demanding battle before being allowed to stop, his position had demanded such. He demanded as much from himself. The bull ate three pieces of the fruit, and walked around the backside of the tree, letting himself hide away from any that would think to approach him in that moment. His duty was done for the day, and not a beast or orc present ever disturbed that solitude, intentionally or otherwise. The bull finally had a moment to think. The captain let himself mourn.

There had always been a Rixator in every war of every king for the passed four generations of Alora's ruling family. There was a legacy there to uphold for the bovine, and yet, suddenly, he was alone. He didn't have time to mourn his father, but the general had lived a full life. He had raised a fitting heir to lead on after him... Mollis had helped ease that loneliness and keep the bovine distracted after he had died a worthy death. Mollis had been there for him over half his life at that point... But Mollis was the last piece of family the captain had, and he had just watched him fade away from him as well, leaving only the faintest, fading taste of the hare behind.

The captain was alone. The captain was the last of his line. The captain was more tired than he should be... He would be thirty-four soon, and he could feel it. His body was becoming less dependable by the day... His right shoulder was on fire, and his knees felt like they had been ground to dust. The bull was struggling with his mortality, the lack of his own family or legacy that came with it, and the smothering realization that he was truly without anyone then.

The bull closed his eyes, letting the flowers dance around him in the breeze. Despite his despair, his fatigue was winning. The bovine adjusted his head, took in a deep breath of the floral scent swirling around him, and exhaled a long, and drawn out sigh. He could think on such things after he had led his prince to safety...

Something thumped his new horn lightly, clasping itself around the tip of the cherry wood that had replaced it. The bull opened his eyes, and waved a hand near the presence, sitting up just a bit as he did so. A small sparrow jumped off the horn, landing just an arm's length in front of the bull. The captain studied it with a sense of nonbelief, not moving a single inch more as he did so. It had dark brown feathers, with the lightest tan spots dotted around its plumage, just a tiny little sparrow seeming so out of place.

The bird took a few hops forward, and reached down, gathering up pieces of the flowery plant in its stead. It gathered a large beak-full, turned back to the bull one more time, and flittered off. The captain watched as it rose high into the air, and disappeared into the branches of the great tree towering above to start building its nest. The bull let out a huff and fell backwards, folding his arms behind his head as he closed his eyes once more. The captain cracked a smile, and spoke in that whispered tone one last time before yielding to his exhaustion.

"I hear you, Mollis. I'll start building my own nest after my work is done here. I promise."

===

Prince Tyfin was not holding up well after the battle had ended. Mollis had drained him of almost everything, drawing the largest reserve of power the young lion had ever held at once to nothing within seconds. He had badly overused his bloodskill, stressing his nervous system, and leaving him with a dizzying sense of numbness. He couldn't even feel his fingertips anymore, and that feeling was only spreading. As the death count was tallied, the prince found his forces had been decimated, leaving a mere handful to continue forth, the rest either dead, or choosing to stay behind in the village... The prince had failed, at least, in his eyes.

He had reassured his people, calling for strength, and asking them to put their lives on the line... To trust in their king... And now most of them were dead. That trust had only landed them in either a mass cremation, or the belly of fiends. He left that battlefield, choosing to be alone in his shame, finding it difficult to even walk through the prickle of numbness that stabbed at his feet. The prince stumbled off, feeling like he hadn't actually contributed a single thing to the efforts, never realizing that it took far more than swords to take victory. Never realizing that their plan only failed because of the Earthwyrm disrupting everything at the most crucial point.

His ankle gave way, and he lost his balance just before reaching the outskirts of the village, forcing the young king to his knees. He barely caught himself as he fell forward, landing on shaky arms with his face mere inches from the dirt. His dizziness swept through him with new vigor, spiraling his vision as everything swirled beneath him. The lion clenched his teeth, trying desperately to keep from emptying his stomach, but failing as he retched the bile from his lips. The prince didn't understand why his bloodskill was making him so dizzy, so nauseous, so short of breath... The numbing prickle he knew of, but never this. It was the beast standing behind him that pointed out what he was missing.

"It's harder than you thought, isn't it? Being responsible for so many lives... The weight a king must bear." Tyfin couldn't even turn his head to look up at his visitor, barely keeping himself from falling apart completely. He couldn't even manage to speak, his chest was just too tight. Sir Corper just kept talking to the young king, as if he wasn't scarcely managing not to collapse into his own vomit.

"But you show true remorse... True leadership... Traits I didn't want to accept that you had. I wanted to see you as your father, for you are more like him than you know... He went down the wrong path, even with such promise. The same could easily happen for you as well..." The bear went silent for a moment, taking a pause. The lion felt a powerful grip on his shoulder, and the sudden sensation of being pulled upright, held on his knees helplessly as the bear stood behind him. The prince felt the warrior move his other hand around him, bringing it up to his throat, casually letting those burly fingers dig beneath his mane. The bear encased the lion's entire neck within his grasp, gently rubbing his thumbclaw against the pulsing jugular. The prince failed to draw in a breath. The bear was silent for a while, keeping his threatening hold for a moment longer before continuing.

"But... You could also become the type of king your people really need, the kind they don't even realize they need yet. You could repair much of the generations of damage your family has caused... Never all, but you could set a new standard towards making it right, with a little help and guidance... You could lead the way your mother chose to." The prince felt the grip on his shoulder tighten, pulling him to his feet briefly. His legs still just didn't want to work...

"Draw from me." The bear spoke with a hint of solemnity. The prince weakly shook his head and replied.

"I cannot... I have exhausted my bloodskill. United Strength is beyond its limit..." The veteran spoke again, a bit more somber this time.

"Consume is not." The prince's eyes went wide. He protested immediately.

"I will not use my father's bloodskill... Nothing good will ever com-" The bear interrupted the young king, not caring to hear what he was certain was a well practiced excuse.

"I fought beside your mother and father for many years. I've seen the effects of both skills... That numbness you are feeling? It's going to ravage your entire body soon. You're going to scream out in agony as you sweat out the pain, unable to even move from the paralyzing shock of the kickback. Then, your nerves are going to feel like they are catching fire beneath your skin, and your spine and skull will feel like lightning is coursing through them. Finally, you'll erupt into a fit of seizures, as your body manages to set itself right. You'll wake up more sore than you've ever been. You've clearly never overused it to this extent, so you really don't know what true pain awaits you... But your mother had endured it, many times, and it almost killed her every time. She was not known for being weak willed." The prince's legs buckled, but the bear caught him with blinding speed, never letting him shift more than an inch as he carried on.

"But... if you use Consume, if you use your father's bloodskill, you can draw what you need from me. You can draw some clarity and balance for the heavy thoughts that plague you. You can draw some sense of peace for your silent burden of the weight thrust upon you. You can draw the strength your body needs to right itself, to steel your nerves, to fix yourself by borrowing the power of another. Prayer magic never helped your mother... But this should work. It was the entire reason for their arranged marriage in the first place. You cannot rule with only half of your self, young king. You cannot live in fear of your greatest potential, you must learn to trust yourself to know when to stop, to accept your power. I will not repeat myself, Draw from me." The prince winced, his knees falling asleep on him, far beyond his control, yet searing with more pain than ever before. He groaned through his persistent dizziness, not even sure if he could move his arm still. Sir Corper moved it for him, placing it on his own forearm as he spoke shortly, bracing the young prince up carefully.

"You won't get a word out through the screaming soon. Now or never..." Prince Tyfin finally gave in, terrified by that power, but more terrified of what was taking a hold of him... With a hitched voice more like a frightened whimper, he spoke the command at last.

"Consume." A sensation the prince had only felt once before rocked into him, knocking away everything that he was or wasn't feeling in that moment. It reminded him of a hunter, sinking their teeth into their game, taking everything from their prey as their own. The bear grunted immediately, speaking to the lion gruffly.

"Ease back..." The prince almost dropped it completely, but found his head starting to clear just enough to listen to the guidance, and did his best to focus on slowing the draw. He was able to stabilize it at a slow trickle, slowly feeling himself regain control of his body. A sense of peace washed over the beast as he drew out the bear's polished control, and took a piece of it for himself. The prince had something flood into his mind then, as the skill began cracking into the ex-knight's memories. Sir Corper had prepared for as much, focusing on one, and gave the lion another gift that day.

The image of a mighty lioness in her prime, standing valiantly at the edge of a battlefield came to him. She was looking down upon her army with a fierceness in her eyes that commanded attention, and respect. The lion felt the bear's emotions from that moment as his own. She knew the cost of leadership, and she was prepared to lay down her very life to fight beside her people. She knew the price of war, and she would stand against the fiends regardless, knowing she would suffer losses. She would mourn those that perished beneath her watch, and she would fight tirelessly to spare as many of her allies as she could. She was something to be admired. She was something beautiful. She was his mother, shown in a way he was far too young to ever remember in. The young king found a touch of peace indeed.

Tyfin cut the connection, catching himself on now steady limbs. It had worked, he didn't feel like he was dying anymore, and his mind lingered on the image of his mother. Before he could ever finish processing that borrowed memory, the bear spoke again.

"I am choosing to believe that you are more like her... I am betting everything on it. Now, we both need rest. Come." It took everything the prince had to repair his façade, the one he was duty bound to maintain, but the prince locked away his emotions and tears, and headed off towards the village beside the bear, having no real idea what had spurred all of this on. The bear stopped a short ways from the prince's quarters, and turned to open the door to another small room. Sir Corper motioned the lion in with a wave. Tyfin didn't know why, but he trusted the veteran, and followed him in, closing the door behind himself. The prince stared at the bear cautiously, questioning being alone with the beast who had quite clearly made it a point to show he could've killed the lion only moments before. Then Sir Corper started stripping off his clothing, making the prince panic in an entirely new way as he spoke.

"W-wait... I-" The older beast cut him off once more.

"Be silent." The young king closed his mouth immediately, feeling cornered, pressured, and strangely compliant to the larger beast's command. The bear undressed further, tossing his clothing aside before he walked over to the lion and started removing his longer coat. The prince felt frozen in place, simply letting the bear undress him without resistance, knowing this shouldn't be happening. Sir Corper tugged off Tyfin's shirt without a fight, but as the bear reached a claw into the waistband of his pants, the lion suddenly regained some control, and stepped back a pace, clutching at his waistband. The bear just shrugged, and turned to the larger bed, laying down with his back against the wall as he stared towards the regal lion. He spoke out to the prince as he settled in.

"If you don't want to sleep in the nude, suit yourself, but you're getting in this bed, even if I have to put you in it myself. You need this, and I'm probably the only one that can see that you do... You hide it so well. This is the only time your weakness can show. This is somewhere you don't have to be a king. When you wake, you'll have to go back to being a leader, so come, I won't tell you again." The bear patted a massive hand beside himself, beckoning the lion to take the spot next to him.

The prince gulped, his heart racing. He was admittedly a bit turned on by the way the solid beast was ordering him around, it felt nice to not be in charge... It was like when he was with him... The young king had only ever been with one beast, and wasn't sure if he even wanted to be with anyone but that one beast... But he wasn't being given a choice here, and that was the most exhilarating part to the young burdened king, because he was so damned tired of making choices. Tyfin lowered his head, and submitted his control to the bear, letting him take charge. He brought his hands back to his waistband, pulled down his pants, and stepped over to the bed hesitantly. The beast king crawled next to the older bear, secretly a bit scared, but putting himself at the mercy of the larger knight's whims all the same. The prince almost jumped when the gruff bear spoke softly to him, but with an undertone that demanded an answer.

"Lay against me, however feels natural... I know you're a submissive." The lion felt his sheath tingle at the words. Deep in his mind, something screamed for him to run somewhere, for the bear would surely break him given the chance. Perhaps he should have listened to that voice, for it was correct in a way the lion wasn't expecting, but the prince rolled over, raised his tail up, and slid back against the front of the bear, claiming the little spoon position. The lion felt the presence of a massive sheath along the ridge of his rear and tail, and trembled in pure uncertainty.

Sir Corper brought his arm over the royal cat with an encompassing embrace, his bigger bicep nearly covering the lion's entire torso. The bear tilted his forearm up to cradle the top of the prince's head tenderly, and moved his other arm above the prince, leaning forward a bit to encompass him. He placed his larger head over the prince's own, letting gravity push his weight down against the lion gently. As he brought up a leg to cover the young king's bottom half, the bear shifted a bit, drawing the smaller beast closer to him, locking Tyfin in a complete and total pin without ever putting too much pressure on him. The prince's sheath throbbed at the show of domination, and his façade shattered at last when an unstoppable moan escaped his lips. He just felt so wonderfully secure for the first time in weeks... The bear spoke to the young king in his control firmly.

"Good. You can feel the strength behind these arms. Know they are a sanctuary for you now... Know they will keep you safe here, hidden beneath me, away from all of those troubles on the other side of that door... Know they will hold you while you let yourself crumble into pieces. You may rest here, young king, for you have much to do on tomorrow's horizon. Accept all these things, for they are the truth." The bear gave the younger beast a tight squeeze, as if driving in his point before he continued.

"Your father is gone now, but you can learn from his past. With any battle comes loss, but accepting that risk is part of what a soldier's life is. Any power you hold is only as dangerous as you choose to let it be. These things are also truths, and must be accepted as such, though you are allowed to let yourself feel pain when you accept them. You may grieve how you need, even a king is allowed this much in this place." Tyfin listened on in shock, not realizing the bear had seen beneath that mask of his so expertly. But a king didn't have the luxury of such time to grieve... Not in front of his people... As if reading his mind once again, the bear drove the final nail into the coffin.

"I am not your soldier. You are not my king... I told you, you may rest here... You did well, but now you are hidden, and you are safe. Let it all out, I'll hold you together while you break apart, because you can't become the king you'll need to be until you do, and because you are the only real hope Alora has left for peace. You won't become a king anyone will follow until you accept these truths. Do you hear me?" The bear raised his voice just the slightest bit as he ended with the question burning into the lion's ear. The prince shuddered, and nodded before he barely whimpered out an answer, letting himself submit fully, yielding to the bear's demand with the first tears already falling.

"Yes Sir." Prince Tyfin fell apart at last, venting in the way he had needed to. He tucked his head into the reassuring presence of the weight against him, smothering his sobs into the burly beast's fur before they could ever be heard by anyone else. The bear's great arms hiding the young king's frailty from the world, but letting him know that somebody knew what was going on beneath the surface. He could finally breathe for a second. He could finally admit that he was afraid. He could finally rest, and the bear held him tightly through the night.