Second prompt. 557 words.
Halvor wipes the crimson blood off his sword. He sighs, a wisp of steam trails out of his mouth, before glancing at his sister. A slightly petite woman with a hooded lavender cape, which covers her back and spills onto the marble floor. She’s standing over a pleading man, begging for his life to spared. His chest plate has been broken into two and arms raised in surrender.
“Be easy on him, Veronika,” Halvor groans. This was about the raid of the castle, the victorious murder of ‘King’ Åsmund, and the heroic shattering of a tyrannical empire. This was revenge on that one person… not the slaughter of the innocent.
“Like hell I would,” she replies coldly as a twisting purple ring starts to form on her outstretched palm. The man has given up pleading, now cowering in fear as his inevitable end creeps closer.
Halvor strides to Veronika, pushing her hand down. Her face morphs into a look of anger before Halvor flashes her a warning glance.
“This man doesn’t deserve to die,” Halvor explains softly, “He probably has a family… or something.” He turns his back to the soldier to face Veronika, “Don’t you have any empathy for the common? Isn’t that what our cause is for?”
Before Halvor can continue, the roar of the man is heard behind him. Halvor turns around to see the man with a raised dagger, sharp as a sword, charging to him. Veronika pushes Halvor out of the way before firing a blast of darkness to the man’s head.
It vaporises, leaving behind a stream of blood trailing out of his perfectly severed neck. The remaining body falls back before the duo as Halvor stares in shock. Veronika then turns to Halvor, face full of rage.
“He worked for empire. Look at his chest, does it not have the insignia of union?” Veronika barks, “Know who your enemies really are before you spare them!” She swishes around towards waiting double doors.
Halvor gets up, catching his breath. A sheepish pain crawling from the depths of his soul reminds him that he should trust his sister more often. He walks towards the towering double doors, stopping next to his sister. For the first time, he notices how intricate and… well… beautiful the carvings were. Tangling laces twirl with the lush flowers, laced with gold.
“Sorry about that,” Halvor apologises, “I just wanted to make sure you knew why we were here in the first place.”
“What happened back in home was 3 years ago… I know it hit you hard but… we have more people that depend on us now,” he expands whilst feeling the carvings, “ We’ve worked towards this moment ever since… let’s make sure it was worthwhile…”
“It’s fine…” Veronika whispers, tears forming in his eyes as she vividly remembers that fateful night 3 years ago. The massacre still leaves a deep impression on her. She notices that Halvor is occupied with the carvings, “It’s a nice door…” she sniffles.
“Yeah… it’s a shame,” Halvor murmurs as he draws his sword, “You ready for this?”
Veronika wipes the tears off her face then grins, “Yup,” before kicking the door open.
They’re greeted with an ocean of knights with edged spears pointed at the pair. Veronika opens her palms, golden wisps of smoke seep out as she smirks, “Hey boys!”
