A King's Legacy Ch. 48

A King's Legacy

Chapter 48:

Making Time

His consciousness came back slowly to him as he awoke, but Captain Rixator was alright with that.... He would have to be. It did, at least, offer him some time to linger on the unknowns, to ensure he recalled all that he needed to. He had never known such unconditional defeat before, something that dampened even his stubborn spirit. He remembered everything up to when it all went dark, when his prince was calling out for his aid. The bull drew a silent and deep breath before he exhaled slowly, keeping his eyes closed to his failure for just a moment longer.

There were many things he would have to see and accept for himself shortly, things that would surely dictate his path moving forward. For a brief moment, he was neither a Captain or a knight, he was simply a waking bull, one that was rising to a new and uncertain dawn.

With another steadying breath in, the captain's eyes parted open. He lifted himself with his left arm, his gaze immediately settling on the crocodile.

Fraxis was laying across from the bull on a tall but narrow bed similar to Rix's own. The crocodile had his back propped up on a few pillows, placing him in a mostly sitting position as he looked absently out a nearby window. The croc had a tidy looking bandage smeared with a verdant paste over the bridge of his snout, and another larger wrap bearing the same sticky looking salve pressed across his throat. There were a few stray blotches of the balm dotted over smaller injuries on the soldier as well.

Rix was glad to see he was alive, that way he could kill him with his own hands should Fraxis be confirmed as the traitor that cost him his king. The bull abruptly spoke in a flatter tone than he would normally use, startling the croc. "Tell me. Does my prince live? Or do I now bear a knight's greatest shame?"

The croc's expression lightened a degree as he turned to intercept the stare cast his way. Fraxis stared back towards the bull quietly for a moment before speaking in his more hushed tone. "Prince Tyfin is just fine. If I had to guess, probably better now than he was before."

The heaviest of weights fell from the bull's shoulders at the news. No matter what, he could manage any other developments with that settled. The captain let out a long sigh as he briefly relaxed back into his own bed in relief.

The bull let out a small grunt before he propped himself back up and asked his next question. "And? Where is he now?"

"With that guard of his, the eldest Venatus panther. They took their leave together yesterday, after they had us settled here." Fraxis responded honestly.

Rix grumbled a little at the report. "I don't like the idea of not escorting him myself, but the panther is capable. Where are they heading?"

"Don't know. I wouldn't let them tell me." Fraxis looked off to the side, waiting for the bull's follow-up.

"You going to fill me in on why that is? Or, at least, tell me what you aren't saying?"

Fraxis kept his gaze averted for a moment longer, but knowing patience was surely as sparse as ever for the burly bull, he turned back to the bovine. The crocodile stared the elite guard captain directly in the eyes as he spoke, taking full responsibility for his role. "If they told me, Sir Logos would know too."

Rix's eyes narrowed as the bull let out a huff of agitation. He coaxed the croc on, threateningly. "I'm listening."

Fraxis figured he should start at the beginning. "I failed the Selection my first three attempts. In truth, I only had two chances left."

"My ma's health only got worse between each attempt. I was afraid she wouldn't survive much beyond another failure on my part.... I needed the money to get her some treatment, and I had come to terms with not being good enough on my own...." The soldier trailed off a moment before he resumed reluctantly. "So... I cheated."

"This had better be relevant." Rix was wary of anyone trying to garner sympathy before giving an answer.

"It is..." Fraxis resumed. "I sought an audience with a few notable warriors, hoping one may take me on as a student so I could get strong enough to win a spot on top in the next Selection. Not one even took a second look at me.... Not until Sir Logos, that is."

"He heard my story out, and after, he offered me a deal I couldn't believe was true, one I was in no position to turn down." The croc shifted uncomfortably, blurting out as quickly as he could manage. "He would pay for my ma to see a healer, and he promised me he could set my matches in the Selection to ensure I would face opponents I could easily defeat."

"He isn't the kind to do favors for free." Rix commented abruptly.

"No... he isn't." Fraxis would deny nothing. He would give the Captain the same truth he had given the prince. "In exchange, I would act as his eyes."

"SO, YOU'VE BEEN LEAKING ALL OF OUR INFORMATION TO THAT SCUM FOR ALL THIS TIME?" It seemed Rix was done being quiet. "SO THEN WHAT? YOU'VE BEEN COMMUNICATING WITH HIM?"

"No!" Fraxis expected this reaction. It seemed a fair one. Even so, the bull should know the entire truth. "I didn't have to do anything, I only had to let him lay a hand on me the morning of the knighting ceremony that followed. Sir Logos has a bloodskill that he has kept well hidden from most."

"And I assume this skill is how you sold us out?" The captain was nothing if not blunt with his curt but truthful replies.

Fraxis nodded regardless, confirming as much by the action before doing the same with his words. "He explained it to me, guess he never expected I'd be around this long to tell of it."

Rix's stare coaxed the crocodile to advance cautiously. "He calls them his 'flies'. I don't know how much truth there is to his words, more so with current hindsight, but he says he can place them on up to three different targets by making physical contact with them. Once he places a fly, he can see and hear everything the target can without them ever knowing he was spying. He placed one on me for the ceremony. I didn't understand why back then, but the prince filled me in before he left."

This was an unsettling development for Rix, but he needed more information first. He let Fraxis continue uninterrupted.

"Logos and a few others were planning a coup back then. It's my belief that I was to be his eyes on the prince for the attack.... Needless to say, that attack was interrupted before it ever began when the demon struck first. I doubt Logos expected me to end up with the prince in the desert after, but I am almost certain he has been watching and listening through me this entire time. He knew none of us were really dead, but he did his best to keep us that way while making as little noise as possible."

"YOU DIDN'T THINK TO TELL US THIS SOONER?" Rix shouted towards the croc.

"Respectfully, Captain... I didn't know Sir Logos was an enemy. I didn't know about his plans or the coup.... I thought that because he too knew what it was like to be common born, that he was an ally to my struggle. Instead, he used and fooled me better than anyone ever has, and then he tossed me aside the moment that usefulness ended.... Were it not for Prince Tyfin choosing to intervene for me, I would have died." Fraxis' tone was getting lower as he reached the end.

"So, how did the prince gain this information in the short time I was out?" Rix leaned off the abrasiveness for a moment, but he was still profoundly pissed about all of this all the same.

Fraxis's features took on an air of excitement as he dove right into telling the bull everything that had happened after he was hit with that club; from Talan's timely save, to Tyfin's incredible display of force, and even about the miraculous save at the end after the loud boar had fallen. While Fraxis concluded his recount, Rix was leaning back once more, a smug smirk plastered over his maw as he relished the thought of both his prince finally coming into his own power, and of him giving those mercenaries what they had coming.

As the croc finished up, the bull went mostly silent as he made his decision. He half-groaned before asking his last question to the croc. "Alright. So what do we do with you now? We can't exactly have you near any sensitive conversations moving forward.... Least not until I wash my steel in the blood of that traitorous, foul hyena myself."

"The prince had similar concerns, which is why we both decided it's probably best that I don't travel with them for the time being. So, he left me here with you, along with his final orders until you return to him."

Rix had an unsettling gut feeling take hold of him at those words. He just knew he was about to hear something that was going to piss him off. The seasoned captain hated his instincts sometimes.

The croc nodded towards a letter folded on a small table beside the bull. The letter had a small seal pressed over the edge, a precaution the prince had taken to ease the bovine's worry about Fraxis potentially reading it. Captain Rix eyed the parchment warily before he cracked the seal to receive his orders.

'Captain Rixator.'

'Let me begin by apologizing for my swift departure. However, if you're reading this, then I assume you can understand my reasoning by now.'

'That same reasoning leads us to the first thing I must ask you to handle on my behalf. I do not believe Fraxis to be bad, and I don't believe I can ever fault him for doing what he did, considering the corner he was backed into beforehand. He lacked any knowledge of the coup, and he never gave up our location to the sell-swords, even when they tried to beat it out of him. (I checked through his memories of the respective days to be certain of that much). That being said, I cannot allow him to serve among my ranks freely as he is. So, I leave the decision to you.'

'If you feel there is something within him you can build up, then he will be assigned directly to your ranks. He can pursue no other teams to join. If he cannot serve under you, then he will be absolved of his duty as a knight to Alora. I would ask that you allow him to return to his mother should that be your decision. I am sorry to place this on you, but as only you are aware of his current intel problem, only you could manage to direct him in a way he would pose us no further threat.'

The Captain broke away from the letter before he continued reading any further. The bull brought his gaze back to the croc for a moment as he just stared him down. As intended, Rix made the soldier quite nervous at the lingering unknowns.

"DO YOU STILL WISH TO SERVE ALORA?" Rix's sudden outburst coaxed Fraxis to jump a little in alarm. "Going forward, do you want to follow Tyfin as your true king? Would you give your life to ensure his reign prevails if as much was demanded of you?"

"YES SIR!" Fraxis never hesitated, choosing as much once before, when he was being used as leverage against Tyfin. The ever-quiet crocodile raised his voice louder than the bull knew he could.

Rix smirked to himself, noting that the croc had resolve, if nothing else. Fraxis hadn't sold them out, even when it only kept the enemies a little further from the prince. That was definitely the kind of beast Rix wanted on his team.

"Fine. Then you're with me from now on. You should know, though... the rest of my team is usually just as hard on the fresh meat as I tend to be." Rix taunted, knowing he wasn't exaggerating about that in the slightest.

It never swayed the crocodile. Fraxis was just thrilled he got to keep his post. That elation was deflated some when the bull next spoke, however.

"We will need all the help we can get whipping you into shape in time for the next Selection." Rix smirked as the reptile froze. The bull missed such bonding moments with his troops.

"WHAT? YOU THINK I'M LETTING SOME WEAK LOSER THAT HAD TO CHEAT HIS WAY THROUGH THE PROCESS GET OFF THAT EASILY? NOT IN MY RANKS! YOU'LL BE RETAKING THAT SELECTION! THE RIGHT WAY THIS TIME, AND YOU'LL EITHER PASS, OR I'LL BEAT YOUR ASS FOR TWICE AS LONG UNTIL YOU PASS THE ATTEMPT AFTER THAT!"

With the croc sweating just enough to count as payback for the bull, the Captain went to resume his letter. An unexpected interruption made him pause instead.

"Can you please not yell so much? I was sleeping really well...." The groggy statement came from the bull's left a short way. The captain turned his head to see the one rubbing his eyes while using such a squeaky tone, noticing his company for the first time. The bull's brow furrowed as he answered the raccoon with an even louder taunt.

"OH, I'M SORRY, DID I WAKE THE MERCENARY? NICE TO SEE YOU AREN'T LOSING ANY SLEEP OVER THIS." Rix was told of the adolescent spared by Tyfin during the croc's recount, but he never expected the cub to be present still.

Peanut squeaked as he sat up a little straighter, forcing himself from the alluring comforts of such a soft bed for a change. He hadn't realized it was the bull that was shouting before. He immediately started to frantically apologize. "SORRY! I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS YOU, CAPTAIN!"

Rix backed off a little at the reply, but he still wasn't too fond of an enemy sleeping so close to him. He was, admittedly, a little taken aback by the unprompted usage of his rank. That unsettling feeling was gnawing away at the bull again....

"Why are you even here? You don't look injured." Rix prodded carefully, still feeling strangely wary of this development.

"Uhh... well." The raccoon was keeping his eyes firmly on the blankets bundled over his lap as he responded to the bull, but his gaze briefly flashed to the letter in the captain's hands after, telling the bovine all he needed to know.

With reluctance to find out what message the cub was so hesitant to deliver, the mighty bull turned his attention back to his prince's letter, resuming where he had left off.

'Now, on the subject of those needing direction.... There was a young mercenary involved in the recent skirmish, a raccoon. His name is Peanut, and as I'm sure you can tell from that much alone, he is a borrowed child from the rodent kingdom. I was once told by another borrowed child that you saved his life, that you gave him the freedom he so wanted after winning his contract. I cannot, in good consciousness, brush this off as mere coincidence.'

'He is quite a skilled rune magic user, and he can efficiently place them on his throwing knives, making for some prospective potential that I can attest to firsthand. He even managed to briefly incapacitate both Talan and myself with such unpredictable tactics! In addition to such, he has proven to bear a kind soul, and so much had led me confidently to the conclusion that he would serve you quite well as a squire moving forward....'

"No.... NO-NO-NO.... ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY NOT!!!" The captain was ranting at full volume as he finished the last of that letter.

'So, Captain Rixator, I leave you with this. When you are finished with what is needed there, you are to rejoin me. Our course has not changed, as we still plan to seek shelter in the northern Aschefell estate. When your team is ready to regroup, please return to me there. We have great challenges still before us, my trusted and true knight.'

'With more debt than I may ever hope to repay to your house, I thank you for being a true example of what it means to be a knight. I thank you for teaching me such important lessons, all while guiding me further than most ever have.'

'With my deepest gratitude,

The rightful king of Alora, Tyfin Tonitrus.'

"FUCK!" Rix had little other choice for words at the moment. "I AM NO DAMNED WET NURSE FOR SOME SNOT-NOSED LITTLE BRAT! I DON'T EVEN LIKE CUBS! ALL THEY DO IS CRY AND COST YOU GOLD! WHO THE FUCK WANTS THAT? ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

In the midst of his tantrum, the bull turned back towards Peanut, more angry at the situation than at the raccoon himself. "Look, no offense, kid, but I don't have time for this...."

The bovine went to swing his hooves over the bed, preparing to really move for the first time since he had been awake. He barely budged before a jolting pain went shooting up his leg.

Rix groaned out at the unexpected sensation, assuming the injury had been handled by the healer of the clinic. He expressed roughly the same as he stared down at his leg. "WHY AM I STILL INJURED? WHAT KIND OF DAMNED BACKWATER CLINIC IS THIS?"

Captain Rix turned his head back towards the raccoon, ignoring his injury to address the more pressing concern. "Hey, I get it.... You're out in the world now, and it's big and scary by yourself, but that doesn't mean you can tag alo—" Rix stopped speaking as the adolescent held up his right arm, parting the fur to show the life-oath he had taken.

Peanut spoke nervously, squeaking out bravely in the face of the imposing bull. "The prince was concerned about your safety while you slept and my general well-being... his words. The oath I took lasts until I'm a legal adult by Aloran standards, upon my twentieth year. Until then, for roughly the next three years, I'm both duty and life bound to be your squire."

Rix clenched his teeth at the revelation, huffing loudly through his flaring nostrils. He just got stuck with a squire, and there wasn't anything he could do about it anymore. With his rage simmering over, the bull finally raised his voice at his newest ward. "FUCK, FINE! BUT BY THE DAMNED GODS, THERE'S NO WAY I'M GOING AROUND INTRODUCING MY SQUIRE AS FUCKING PEANUT! YOU AREN'T A SLAVE TO THOSE THAT GAVE YOU THAT TITLE ANYMORE! SO, HERE'S YOUR FIRST DAMNED ORDER, CHOOSE A REAL NAME FOR YOURSELF."

The adolescent eagerly replied with a "Yes Sir!" of his own.

Despite the bull's tone and clear resentment of the arrangement, Peanut smiled a little in response. He could tell the Captain actually cared. The prince had told him beforehand that Rix was secretly kind-hearted... Peanut saw that much for himself. He would follow that order and choose a name of his own when he was ready.

With sudden realization, the mighty bull began searching his surroundings, looking for signs of another beast. When Fraxis questioned the action, inquiring what the bull was seeking, the captain replied gruffly. "Where's the cat?"

The croc and raccoon exchanged a short look between them before Fraxis answered the bull. "We... don't know."

"You don't know? What, the prince wouldn't tell you?" The captain raised a brow skeptically towards his recruit.

"No, I mean none of us know where she went, Prince Tyfin included. She was there one moment, after the fight was finished, and just gone the next. None of us have any clue what happened to her. We aren't sure if she woke up, but there wasn't anyone else anywhere near our location then, so we are almost certain she wasn't taken."

Rix huffed in aggravation. All that trouble on the feline's behalf just for her to up and disappear.... Still, if Rix knew anyone could take care of themselves, it was the King's Cannon. If Alice was awake, she would be fine, and she would return when she was ready. He could still be pissed about it, though.

"YEAH, THAT'S ABOUT RIGHT. JUST SLEEP STRAIGHT THROUGH THE TROUBLE AFTER WE HAULED HER ACROSS THE CONTINENT, ONLY TO WAKE UP AND VANISH! SEEMS RIGHT IN LINE FOR THE SHIT WE'VE BEEN FED FOR THE LAST FEW WEEKS!" The great bull huffed out at last, letting out his overwhelming frustration at how wrong it had all gone the moment he actually got some damned rest....

Rix twisted his snout up into an angered sneer as his clenching fists trembled. He had lost so much. He had failed so greatly. Mollis was gone, his valor as a knight was forever tarnished by his failure to save the prince, and even his wounds didn't seem worth tending to before he was appropriately left behind on cub-sitting duty. The last of the long line of great Rixator warriors was reduced to this.... What shame he brought to his family name.