The Destined Knight
1847 Words
[A week has passed, Morning, Amadeus at his bed.]
The raven seems to be visiting him day by day, watching his stilled body in the bed full of bandages.
As his closed eyes wiggle inside, he finally opens it for a long time, by the gap the light gets in, the raven head-turning as it realizes Amadeus has woken up, it rustles its wings away and decides to leave through the gap.
He started to look around the room, although the place is still pretty neat the floor is a bit wet, it seems like there was rain yesterday, and it manages to get inside through the gap.
He turns to examine himself, he lifts his left arm to only see a missing hand, he looks to his right to see it was amputated.
‘Ah! Damn,' he thought, with a hint of regret.
One of his legs is missing and the other seems like they amputated it as well.
‘Basically, I’m a living useless, I shouldn’t have lived,’ he thought, realizing his current state.
He laughs frantically only to abruptly cough from the sword wound in his chest. The cultists heard his voice and they proceeded to enter.
“The destined knight is awake!” one of the cultists said.
“Get the highseer!” he said.
“Who, who are you?” Amadeus asked.
“We are nothing but your humble servant!” he replied, as he kneels and bows in front of Amadeus.
“What? Where am I?”
“Don’t you recognize this place? this was your old home before you sent us to Grearia to build you another one, ” he replied.
“I can’t remember, or maybe I don’t want to remember anything right now,” he said.
An old man came in with his particular white hooded robe that differs from other cultists.
“Good gracious! The destined knight is awake!” old man.
As he gets close to Amadeus, he lifts his hood revealing the small half-moon shape tattoo on his forehead.
“It is nice to see you again, destined knight, ” the old man said.
“Why am I here?” he asked with confusion.
“We have met a lot of times now, but for you, this might be— our second, I am Santi Esparia and I’m but a humble servant to you” he replied.
Amadeus focuses his eye on the half-moon tattoo, as he remembers the day an old man warned him about the forest.
“It was you, you know what’s out there!” he said.
When he remembers everything that happens, Amadeus’ minds break, all of his body hurts. He let out a scream from the pain, as he yelled out, Santi took a blood potion in his pocket and made Amadeus drink it.
“Please, drink this, ” he said as he pours the potion into his mouth.
“It will make you calm, ” he added.
Amadeus’ sobs were slowly waning as he began to fall asleep.
“He’s not ready, but the good thing is that he woke up, my wife Carmelia needs to hear this.”
As he looks to the sleeping Amadeus.
“Let’s leave him for now my proud servants, prepare the sacrifice for tonight, ” he said to the cultists.
Leaving Amadeus to continue his long-overdue rest.
The dusk has come and it's spreading to the land of Grisaia, unto the hidden cave and where Amadeus is resting.
A blurry dark red figure, with a horn silhouette, came to visit Amadeus.
“What are you afraid of?” he asked.
“I can’t see!” Amadeus replied.
As he tries to move his head.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“Who am I, I’m the one who is going to end your life, ” he replied as he delivered heavy breathing.
“You have taken everything from me! I have taken—, ” he added.
Amadeus’ heartbeats rapidly with his every voice, he tries to take a good look at the man as he walks closer to him.
“But, what are you afraid of?” he asked once more.
“Are you afraid of failing the Queen?”
As there is nothing else Amadeus can do with his state, he remained quiet.
“Are you afraid of failing your men? Are you afraid of failing your princess?” he asked as he bends closer.
“ANSWER ME!”
“YES!”
“Are you afraid that they will realize the real you, that is why you returned and tried to be a hero?”
“Yes!”
“Are you afraid of the beast?”
“I am!" As Amadeus sobs.
The man was the devil with his gloomy face, as he holds out his hand and grips Amadeus’ face.
“Are you afraid of dying?”
As he felt his cold tough hand.
“I am”
“Then what do you want?”
“I want to live!”
“No, tell me what do you really want”
While the devil holds Amadeus tighter, his nails slowly growing as it drives to its forehead dripping blood in every inch.
“Tell me what you really want! Or I will end your life now!” he declared.
“God damn power!” he yelled as he woke up from his dream.
It was the same, he woke up but everything felt the same the night, the gloom, and the quietness.
'Was that a dream or was it a memory?' He thought with his raspy breathing.
He proceeds to touch his forehead to feel any wound, there is none.
Soon after some Cultists come in.
“Destined knight, it’s ready, everything is prepared now, I hope you have rested enough, ” one of the cultists said.
“Why do you keep calling me destined knight?”
“As you are— our savior, we owe our life to you,” he said as he bows.
“I will have to take you to your humble and proud servants, they want to witness your greatness!” he added.
Amadeus without his limbs has already given out his right, as he tries to understand everything they were saying to him. The two cultists respectfully carried his body out and into the main cave as they put him on the stone throne.
Everyone was delighted as soon as they saw him, they were singing with their bodies moving, it was familiar to him, those songs were the ones they usually sing in his orphanage home in Grearia.
Every hum of it was soothing, the first time he heard was a long time ago now, it was from a lovely woman, humming the tune into his ears as she held him while they walked.
As the woman tears slowly fall as he puts him down in front of an orphanage house.
“Grow as a great person, Galiet, pinky swear?” she said as she reached for his pinky.
“You will doubt yourself every time, but I know you will be great,” she said as she smiled and softly kissed his nose.
She left a note to the young Galiet knocked on the door a few times and hastily left.
Galiet's eyes are tired and heavy, his worn-out clothes are bloody as he stands quietly and watches the woman walk away.
“Destined knight! Thank you!” the servants cheering.
The Highseer enters the main cave, at his back are his fellow servants with a bandit in tow. The bandit’s eyes were in a shocking state, as they dragged him with a chain. Putting the chain in the ceiling as they pull it to lift the bandit facing the throne and Amadeus.
“Woah!” the nervous bandit let out.
“Is this a dream? Am I in a f*cking dream?” he yelled.
Amadeus was indisposed as he stared his sad blue eyes at the bandit.
“Is this a dream?” Amadeus asked.
“To be with you again, destined knight, felt like a dream, ” the Highseer said.
“No, this guy should be dead, he is probably cursed!” the bandit said.
The Highseer who follows him goes beside Amadeus that was on the throne.
With his disgruntled face, he replied.
“No! You can’t speak like that to our savior, you even dare steal from his men and stabbed his body like he’s some kind of disease,” He said as he loudly coughs.
He takes a deep breath and calms himself for a while to continue to speak again.
“Nevertheless we still found him and we are celebrating for his upcoming rebirth, and you will still be the honored one to get the chance to die for our savior, ” he said as he signaled his servant to prepare the sacrificial knife.
While the servant is washing the sacrificial knife in the basin the other followers are shouting in celebration.
“The return of our knight! I will have the chance to witness it,” said one of the followers.
Amadeus confuses as he takes everything in his mind.
'What is going on here? How did I survive, What the f*ck was that dream?' His mind scrambles for an answer.
'Kill,' a soft voice in his head.
With his confused face, he clings for his life rattling the chain on his hand but without gaining anything he pleads for his life and cries.
“Please I’ll stop, I will join your cult, I will be one of your loyal servants, please!.” as the bandit pleads.
The sacrificial knife is ready and was given to the Highseer Santi Esparia.
“I’m glad you wanted to join us, so before we start I humbly accept your request, ” he said as he slightly bowed and touched the forehead of the bandit’s face.
“You are now one of us, you are now blessed, ” he added
The bandit saw darkness for a while from the highseer’s hand.
“Thank you!” with his slightly relieved face.
“You are most welcome, let us now start the ritual, ” the highseer said.
“What!? No!”
Before he could speak anything else, a slithering sound was soon followed as the Highseer’s dagger ran to his neck. His throat was hastily cut as the blood sizzled on his throat and spattered on Amadeus’ face.
While everyone is delighted, Amadeus was shocked.
'Kill them,' a voice in his head.
'What?' he thought.
Soon after, the knife was used again to cut vertically on the bandit's stomach.
The way the followers react with excitement as they were anticipating everything.
“Reborn!” the highseer yelled as he looked at the bloodied Amadeus.
- Writer
