As the moon rose over the fortress casting shadows across the village town, each and every guard atop the watchtowers glanced around nervously, tightening their grip on their spears, their hearts beating frantically. Every man on that tower that night knew what was to come, yet none of them knew if this was to be their last night working for the king, working to protect the empire from evil, protect the innocent people who didn't deserved to die.

A howl rose up in the distance, and at once the men began to get anxious, theirs hearts seeming to thump out of their chests. But they couldn't show fear, it would only worry the people, make them even more terrified then they already were. The howl rang out around the kingdom once more, this time closer than before. Like it had done every month. Clear repetition.

But what wasn't repetition was the horses hooves sounding out on the stone walkway outside the village, the driver clearly unaware of the current situation. At once shouts went around the watchtowers, each man waiting for the other to volunteer to risk his life for the horseman. Yet no one offered. No one that was on duty at the time that was.

"Get Cruz." One guard hissed, the message running around the circle of watchtowers in an instant. Yet no one stirred, "Now!" the guard hissed again, and the man next to him dropped his spear, relieved to have an excuse to leave The Watch and opened the oak door leading inside, sprinting down the steps to the soldiers quarters. Storming past the full rooms of sleeping men, he stopped to catch his breath at the large mahogany doors at the end of the Third Quarter, before barging into the silent room noisily.

As it happened, many of the men had not had the chance to physically meet the famous 'Cruz' warrior, which was the case for the man who had sprinted towards his bedchambers. So it could only come as a surprise when he suddenly looked up to see a teenager's face glaring back at him from the large, oak wood bed, gripping a knife in his right hand threateningly,

"You've got to be kidding me." He groaned, throwing the knife back under his pillow and flopping back onto the bed lazily. The man before him frowned, unsure of what to say, "You must have come here for a reason. It's a three week dungeon punishment for anyone who isn't part of my Section to see my face without authorization." He explained, sitting up and flinging his feet over the side of the bed, looking at the soldier expectantly, "Well?"

"The Creature is back." The soldier whispered, just in ear shot of the boy who rolled his eyes in annoyance, as if it were something simple, "There's a horseman outside the village walls who is risking his life carrying some cargo for the king. He wasn't notified of the danger and none of the watchmen want to leave their posts." By the time the soldier had finished explaining to the boy, 'Cruz' had pulled on his boots, strapped a knife to his left arm and had begun to approach the door.

 "Beg my pardon Sir, but what of body armor?" The nervous watchman asked and for the first time since entering the chambers, he realized this...boy had none at all in sight. Wasn't he fearing for his life?

 "No need." The boy shrugged, and with no further explanation, left the startled soldier in his chambers alone, unsure of what he had just seen.

                                                                                                          ***  

The horseman shifted uncomfortably in the saddle he was atop. The king had paid him an unusual amount of gold to insure his cargo was delivered on time, yet he wasn't entirely sure why. There had been clear and demanding instructions to arrive with the cargo at the exact time the horseman arrived, he had no clue what the cargo might be, or why it was needed at such a late time in the evening. But he worked for the king, and so said nothing of it when asked.

As the minutes ticked by, the horseman began to notice the state of the villages either side of the gates. They seemed inhabitable, as if no one had lived there for years. He was certain that whatever incident had happened to cause these villagers to flee, had not been recorded back to the Emperor. The king was keeping it a secret perhaps? Or the villagers would be back if he had reported it. The horseman had great faith in the rulers of his empire. He had no doubt that his ruler, Emperor Seirisa would be able to handle such a little problem. He would take it up on the courts when he arrived home.

 The clock tower hand inched towards the hour, and yet the gates had not been opened, they were tightly secured by the iron bands wrapped around the large oak doors, allowing no one to exit...or enter for that matter. Were they keeping someone out? By now, the horseman was considering leaving the cargo by the gates, no matter how precious it seemed to be and returning home with Stellar, his cart horse, who so bravely hauled him and his luggage across the Zealer lands.

But a sudden, short howl in the distance from the way he had come, had him reconsidering whether or not to stay the night. He had not been told of anything vicious in these borders of the Alacaturian Empire. This kingdom, known all over the empire by many, had been claimed to be the safest kingdom to have hospitality from. The rules were strict, the army was harsh, but it kept the kingdom in order. It kept them safe and secure.

The howl rose over the forest again, this time seeming to be closer than before. It raised the hairs on the back of the horseman's neck, as Stellar, sensing the danger, skittered nervously where she stood, "Dear lord, are the whole kingdom asleep?" the horseman hissed, rubbing his hands together as a short blast of cold air whirled around him.

He froze in terror as a thump could be heard from behind him, footsteps of a human, yet the snarl of a vicious creature. The crate in which the cargo had been placed, cracked and a sudden yelp of pain could be heard, "Please! Spare me!" the voice cried out, and a struggle arose. All the horseman could hear was snarling, crying and the occasional bash against the cart, which shook threateningly every time, "It wasn't my fault!" the voice cried again. Which confused the horseman. He was certain when he first heard the thump, there was only one of whatever was attacking...his cargo was a human?

Out of the corner of his eye, the horseman noticed a shadow drop from the stone walls of the fortress, but it faded away as quickly as it could be seen as soon as the shadow reached the ground. Knowing that it might be a good idea to find out what exactly he was in danger from, he attempted to turn around to face the fight. Shifting in the saddle, he was about to turn around when a deadly knife appeared at his throat, "Don't turn around." a harsh voice ordered, "Unless you want to spend the rest of your days under the hostage of my king." it spoke again. The horseman nodded and the knife was removed, a small silver coin was pressed into his hand and the owner of the voice moved away.

The cries continued, the cart shook violently, the snarling increased. Wasn't that shadow, who was the owner of the knife supposed to save his life? It continued for a while, until the snarling was cut short, the cries of the cargo turned into a scream and another voice yelled out, "You bastard!" it seemed like the voice of a young man, "I'm supposed to be saving your ass!" it yelled again. There was a silence, except the odd burst of tears from the cargo, before a high pitched whistle pierced the air. At once the gates began to heave open, the horseman's savior spoke once more, "I hope you keep your word. If you even look around once, I will personally kill you. Go. Stay safe." It said before yelling out in pain and out of the corner of his eye, the horseman saw the shadow fall. A young girl cradling the head of a wounded soldier, his leg heavily wounded.

                                                                                                          ***

The horseman, who's name was Elaraz Samier, once he had assured his horse was safe in the local stables, was escorted quickly to the tavern, where he, and the rest of the crowded room were locked inside hurriedly. Yet nobody questioned this strange behavior of the guards, it was as if it had happened before. Frequently.

Moving across the room towards an almost empty table, where two middle aged men sat heavily drinking, while a younger man watched them with distaste, Elaraz introduced himself and questioned the young man - who seemed to be the only sober drinker in the room at this time- about the guard's actions, "They only stop us from leaving when two things happen. There's either a battle, in which case all women and children would be guarded. Or Cruz is wounded, in which case they would need to go through the villages to get him to the king's physician, I fight for the king, so I would assume Cruz has been wounded." He explained, adding, "Again."

"Who is Cruz? All I saw was a shadow when he fought of the creature outside." Elaraz asked, assuming the one who saved him had to be Cruz. The kingdom was appearing a lot more mysterious than he had been told as a child. There were still the great, forged iron gates which barred anything evil - spiritually or human- to enter, the mighty king atop his throne, the lack of riots and fights in the taverns...the sense of sereneness and support for the kingdom and its guards. But something else was lurking in the midst of the kingdom, something that was waiting, for one day to spring upon the rest of the empire and affect them greatly.

"That's all we ever see of him." The young man shook his head sadly, "Well, you do." he muttered under his breath. Elaraz had a small feeling he wasn't supposed to have heard that, "Cruz is the king's finest warrior, nicknamed The Shadow. He's his protector and supposedly personal guard. The only thing is, well we all think, the king has something to hide about Cruz. Anyone who see's his face who isn't the seven men who he is always in battle with, are sentenced to weeks in prison with minimal food. Then, once released, you're sworn to secrecy about his identity. You're told that the next time you see his face, or spread the word, they wouldn't be as kind." The young man smirked at Elaraz, his detailed explanation causing him to wonder whether this man spoke from experience, or knew of one who had experienced it.

Elaraz was about to ask if anyone had any guesses as to why Cruz had to be kept such a secret, when one of the guards from outside burst into the room, "Leon!" he yelled, and the crowds began looking around nervously, as if that very name caused fear to ripple around the room, "Leon you bastard it's your brother in arms!" he yelled again, Elaraz turned back to the young man to ask, but he was nowhere to be seen. Neither were the two drunk men who he had been watching. It was as if he had been never there.

                                                                                                     ***

Gabriel stumbled out of the back door, leading his guardians towards the safe hands of the men he could trust, before pulling a hood over his face and approaching the guard who called him, "Where is he?" he asked urgently. The guard looked at him nervously, before leading him towards the castle where his brother had been carried.

The guard stopped at the doors, "You go in alone." he explained, "I have been ordered to stay out here on penalty of death." the guard added, who Gabriel assumed had already fallen upon the identity of his brother once before.  Nodding his thanks towards the guard, he scaled the stone steps two at a time and shoved open the large oak doors. As soon as he entered, storming his way across the entrance hall, everyone froze, backing away from him nervously as he approached the door.

There had been a time when Gabriel would storm across the very hall he had just crossed, and not one servant, knight or lord would bat an eye at his presence. Now, after the battle of the Zealers, which exiled the savages of the lands (who could also be described as vicious pirates), he could not go anywhere about the kingdom where his name spread fear across the people, walk around the castle without people averting their eyes away. It had been arranged so, he could walk the towns and villages freely, without any person recognizing him, yet he still did not feel the same as before. Before his nickname was created. His brother, was The Shadow. He, was The Predator. He wasn't given that name for the good either.

Pushing open the physicians door, he pointed to the guards, "Leave us." he ordered, waiting for everyone but the physician to leave before throwing his hood back and crouching beside his brother, "What happened? It's never as bad as this." he asked, amusing himself that the only person he had patience for was the one man who took the most time in the world to answer. Watching as the physician turned the yellowing pages of his hand book, handed down from father to son over the years, he examined his brother's pale face.

"Still breathing," Gabriel announced, "Small cuts across his chest and face, no major wounds. Two small puncture wounds on his right leg, below the knee, yet a lot of blood is being lost..." he looked over his brother's sleeping body once more, a small smile creeping onto the physicians face, "There seems to be evidence of a wolf wound, yet the claw marks seem to be in the shape of a human hand...isn't this similar to the myth of Lupercalia?" he looked up at the physician who was watching him intently.

"You've learned well Gabriel." he spoke, closing the handbook and seating himself back beside the fallen warrior, "It seems your brother has stumbled upon the myth of the Lycanthropus." The two men looked at each worriedly, knowing, for certain, something terrible was about to happen.

As the sun rose once more around the kingdom, panic and distress began to arise amongst the villagers. It had been three turns of the sand timer since any news on the recovery of their greatest hero had been given, except that he still remained in a sleep like state from which he had been found.

Amongst these villagers, stood two men. One of whom bore dark circles around his eyes from the lack of sleep, who had shaking hands from the worry of what was to come. The other, was staring blankly into the distance mountains, where he wished he could once again return to. Back to his kingdom. Back to his own king. Both were seated in a tavern nearby the castle entrance, each man clutching a large mug of ale, which admittedly had not been their first. But each man had their own reasons for drowning their memories with the hopeless promise of a drowsy sleep.

"Where did you go last night friend?" Elaraz asked, noticing the way the young man whom he was speaking to was constantly distracted, alert for any signs of news from the guards, "You seemed to disappear when that soldier was calling for Leon." The young man turned his head towards the horseman tiredly, as if wishing that he was not being questioned at such an unruly hour, despite it being quite past the hour for anyone but drunkards to be still asleep and not about their daily work.

"You obviously have not heard of the warrior Leon." The young man stated, shaking his head slowly, before setting down his mug heavily and rubbing his eyes, "It is not a story I would wish to tell right in this moment, however I will say that they call him The Predator." Elaraz flinched, and the young man sadly smiled, "You do know him then." Elaraz nodded. He knew The Predator very well. The horseman would never forget those screams of his children, the expression of horror on his wife's face as their eldest son was snatched away from them, never to be seen again. He had destroyed their home, he had destroyed all of their homes, taken every eldest son of every innocent family in his kingdom. He would never forget the burning smell of his farm, his only source of providing for his family gone in a blink of an eye. Those who stood against him, were ripped to pieces by the damned blade he held in his bloodied hand, that very blade which he would thrust high into the air for everyone to see, before riding off into the distance after a successful hunt.

That's what they were to him. Not people. But animals. The weaker were killed, the stronger were picked off and used against their own kin before they even knew what loyalty meant. They were the hunt to him. That's why he was called The Predator.

"He took my eldest son away from me. Took everyone's eldest son. He burnt my property to the ground when I tried to stand against him, and confined my wife to her bed." Elaraz snarled, gripping his ale mug so tightly in anger, that it had to be removed from his grip, else the handle would be ripped off. The young man in front of him had a distant look in his eyes, as if trying to recall a certain day which had scarred him. He shook his head as a small tear trickled down his cheek, dropping off his chin onto the wooden table.

"When I was fourteen, before my father died of the eternal sleep, I stumbled across The Predator sleeping. He had tied his horse to a nearby tree, yet his pack and saddle were still upon him. Being a rider for the king, I was horrified at the carelessness he had taken towards his horse and after removing his saddle and provisions from the horse's tired back, I untied the horse and set it free." The young man took a long drink of his ale before continuing, "The moment the horse began cantering down the hill away from myself and the warrior, I myself began to flee. But not before The Predator woke up and threatened to kill me if I ever tried to attempt something like that again. He threw his own dagger at me as I fled, scraping the flesh off part of my chest before it lodged itself in the grass beside me. I never tried my luck again, and won't hang around whenever he's near." The young man lifted his shirt slowly, showing a jagged red scar across his chest. This sudden action caught the attention of few of the men, who began questioning him about what had happened. It was only until a soldier realized why the tavern had all moved to the back of the room, was the young man approached and dragged outside. Much to the confusion, and protests of the men inside.

                                                                                                     ***

To Sebastian, the world around him was silent, everything was in darkness. He could feel the rough sheets covering him, the hard wooden bench he was lying upon digging into his back. But he couldn't move. A sudden crash of a door swinging open, returned his hearing to the norm. He heard footsteps approaching, the creaking of a chair as the person seated themselves beside him, "Seb, wake up. Please!" came a voice, which Sebastian immediately recognized as his Gabriel. His brother. His twin brother.

If Sebastian was going to try and awaken for someone, he would awaken for his twin. They had shared everything together, he had trusted him with his life more times than Sebastian could count, and more times than that, Gabriel had returned the favor, "R..Riel..." Sebastian stuttered, trying more than anything to reach out towards where his brother was, to grasp his arms tightly and know he was safe, "Riel help!" he quietly begged, forcing his fingers to move, then his hand... and slowly but surely he was able to move his arm towards his brother.

A firm grip caught hold of his arm, enveloping Sebastian in his hold, "I.. I can't see..." He whispered, remembering the days when he and his brother would live by themselves, clutched in each others arms as the jagged flashes from the sky struck above them, as the gods' anger rolled across the skies, heavy droplets of rain flooding everything in their wake.

Gradually Sebastian was able to blink and see the blurry image of his brother's arm wrapped around him, the physicians room brightening and becoming more outlined the more he blinked away the darkness, he let go slowly of his brother's arms, and with help, pulled himself into a seated position, "Seb, you're awake!" his brother exclaimed, putting a cup of water to Sebastian's dry lips and grinning, "Everyone thought the worse Seb, they all thought The Shadow had finally been defeated." he laughed, able to make a joke out of his brother's near death now that it was clear he was alive. Just like old times. Sebastian thought.

"What...What did you think?" Sebastian asked, taking the cup away from his brother's hand and drinking from it by himself, "How long have I been in this state?" he asked, attempting to swing his legs over the edge of the wooden bench and stagger to his feet, using the stone walls to prop himself up as he stumbled around the room, "I feel drunk." he complained, as he tripped, falling over a table leg and lying on the floor in tiredness.

"You look drunk Seb." Gabriel laughed back, walking over to his brother to help him up, and give up his shoulder for leaning support, "You were out for the night and almost half a day, not as long as our last journey to the Emperor but enough to make the king worried for your life." Gabriel let go of his brother as they reached the bench again, pushing his shoulder length black hair away from his face, the last beads of sweat from his run up to the castle began dripping down his face, rolling down his cheeks as if they were his own tears. He didn't think he had shed a tear since his mother died, when both he and his brother were just turning eleven.

Both brothers lost their last parent at the age of eleven due to a dark disease that had spread across the empire, picking out the elderly and the weak. As their mother was already terribly ill, and neither boy had the education to understand how to help her, neither boy had enough money to pay for the doctor, she was already weakened and so died in the first wave of the plague sent by the gods.

Being the few survivors of their village, both the brothers left to escape the last straggling wave of the gods evil wrath, leaving behind the bodies of their once friends, neighbors and mother. Since leaving the small, village in which they had been born the twins arrived in the sanctuary of the kingdom they resided in now. With no money, no belongings except for the clothes they were wearing and their father's cart horse, they became beggars on the streets, each day wondering if it would be their last.

The twins had always known they would have died that way, had it not been for their father who had always said: 'Help should be always given, even if you dislike the man who needs it.' which is why they always had great respect for a man they had lost early on in their childhood. It was in the summer, the king was returning from a distance land and one of his majestic horses had collapsed halfway towards the castle stables. After having to bare the weight of the carriage itself, the other horse was due to collapse, overturning the carriage as it went and injuring all those inside. As it happened, both brothers were sitting on the roadside as this happened and rushed to the aid of both of horse and the king. While Gabriel tended to the injured horse, his twin Sebastian threw open the carriage door, which had been barred on the inside, and pulled everyone out of the carriage before it collapsed.

Gabriel knew that he could do nothing for the fate of the fallen horse, but knew that if the carriage fell, the last remaining horse would be pulled with it, injuring yet another which could be avoided. He whipped out a pen knife which he had picked up from a soldier while watching a parade the year before and hacked at the reins, freeing the horse from the bounds of the carriage and leading it to the safety of the onlookers. By the time he had got round to freeing the other horse, the carriage fell, falling on both injured horse and Gabriel.

In his rage, Sebastian overpowered one of the younger soldiers and after pulling the sword from it's sheath, advanced on the king as he thought his brother to be dead. The soldiers began swarming Sebastian, however one after one, thankful for his uncle's training, he gradually overpowered them, much to the surprise of the king himself. When not one soldier stood in the way of Sebastian and the king, he began to advance once more, and had it not been for Gabriel shifting underneath the carriage, he might have succeeded in killing him.

To the amazement of the crowds, the king pushed aside the fact that Sebastian had tried to kill one of royal blood, and asked both brothers (he could not tell who was who) to join his army, he wished for Sebastian to be one of the swordsmen, and Gabriel to be a rider. Which is what started the slow ascent to the kingdom's protector and finest royal rider, yet also the start to a line of horrific events.

"So the young warrior has awakened." The door to the physician's quarters swung open as a loud, booming voice was heard from behind it, startling both boys from their sudden  thoughts. This particular voice belonged to the king himself, while the protesting physician came scuttling behind him.

"Sire, this 'young warrior' of yours needs to sleep." the physician complained, as the twins bowed their heads in respect before greeting the man who they looked up to as if he were their father in a more friendly fashion. Ignoring the physician, the king seated himself where Sebastian had fallen in his 'drunken' state on the makeshift bed and began retelling some of the rumors about the kingdom. The odd relatively humorous moments receiving a respectful chuckle from the injured brother.

"Apologies for the interruptions Gabriel, as soon as the king heard you two fooling around, he made straight for the rooms. I know it's hard to get a moment alone with each other these days." The physician spoke, gladly accepting the help from Gabriel of replacing the medicines used to revive The Shadow away in their proper places, clearing the desks of scrolls concerning Gabriel's teaching and returning the linen of the makeshift bed back to the women in the servants quarters. While the king argued many a time that these job were such for a servant themselves and not his finest rider, Gabriel was more than happy to oblige to these few tasks, as long as he kept his apprenticeship silent (due to the king's utter demand.)

By the time Gabriel reached the physician's quarters again, the king had left, leaving his brother and the physician alone silently speaking. Once they were aware of Gabriel's presence, his brother turned his face away, making it clear that tears were streaking his face again. Although this time, Gabriel knew it was for a different reason, however neither speaker thought to share that information with him, "Riel, the king suggested that we took a journey to the mountains while my wound heals, he said it would be easier than to hide in the castle itself. The villagers are getting angry at being cooped up in the taverns for so long." Sebastian explained, wincing as he pushed himself off the bench he was seated in, making his way towards his twin, "We must set off immediately, I am getting bored of this place." he whispered in Gabriel's ear as he reached him, both of them grinning wildly as they both threw hoods over their faces and were escorted towards the soldier's quarters by one of the king's guard. Behind them, the physician shot them an uncertain look,as if he knew that wherever those twins journeyed to, there would always be some dangerous adventure lurking in the midst, waiting for them to arrive and jump out at their faces.

It was never good news.

                                                                                                      ***

As the twins reached the soldier's quarters, it wasn't empty as they had hoped. The king had released all the men from duty earlier than expected, thinking that Sebastian could make it down the long winding stairs by the time the soldiers were given leave. Apparently he hadn't taken into account the large wound taking up most of the upper thigh of his finest warrior's leg that would most definitely slow him down somewhat.

The quarters fell silent as the two hooded brother's made their way through, each man's gaze falling in both respect yet distaste at them both, making a passageway to the end of the hall. No man knew which brother was which. Then again, no man knew that these two warriors were brothers either, as both brothers never used their true names. However all men knew that these two warriors were under secure protection of the king, which meant severe punishment if either were to be disrespected.

Although the soldiers never strayed from the rules and regulations of the king, these rules were very often broken by King's Warriors themselves, including the brothers as they knew the king would never dare to rid of them. Such displays of informality reminded these soldiers that these warriors were no more than men, and so the king attempted to turn a blind eye, "Christ, you all look solemn." One twin exclaimed as he reached the oak doors at the back of the room, " Someone send some ale here would you?" He yelled at the guard who had followed them back to the chambers, "These men need a party and if someone challenges the reason of celebration, say that it's because the warriors are going away and it reduces the amount of bloody competition!" The men began cheering, some laughing at the thought of ale spread amongst the crowds. The two brothers took this as an opportunity to escape them and slip back into the safety of Sebastian's chambers.

"Where will we go? We could journey into the depths of the mountains, to the villages so outside of the kingdom that not one single man knows my face! Where tales of dragons and merfolk appear, tales of the immortal creatures which feast off human blood and-" Gabriel was stopped by a low chuckling from the doorway which led to his own chambers, the king strode into the room with two servants behind him each carrying a chest in which the ladies of the castle held their silks for long journeys to balls in the king's carriages.

After glancing uncertainly at the chests, both boys greeted the king before seating themselves in chairs by the glowing fire, "There shall be none of that while Sebastian heals." he explained, much to the disappoint of them both as could clearly be seen on their faces, "I have spoken to an old friend from one of the kingdoms in the North, he has assured you will be welcomed there as if it were your own home. Both of you and one other shall journey there, as even while you are gone the beasts of the lands still lingers. I cannot afford to lose all eight warriors on a small journey of rest while we here are being attacked night after night by a horrific creature."

"I understand my lord, I assure you I will not be tempted by any absurd suggestions my brother may come up with. I too wish to heal as fast as possible in the hope that I may return and help defeat the creature alongside him." Sebastian replied, to Gabriel's horror. After all, they had never listened to the king when out on journeys to the mountains- there had been too much to discover. The king had no clue of their quests to the supposed dragons lair or the merfolk lagoons, all eight warriors had challenged the finest riders of the West to a race down the chalk cliffs to win back one of the prized horses they had 'accidentally' traded whilst drunk in a tavern. By forbidding five of them to travel whilst their leader healed, was torture to them. No doubt they would try and wound themselves in the hope they too could join the others...it had been done before (however on a smaller scale and so the king did not suspect.)

"I hope so young warrior, I just hope we can survive without the two of you." the king replied, seeming thankful that at least one of the boys in front of him could make sense of why he was sending them away. To heal, not to make an adventure of their journey, "I must leave you two now, I am sorry I shall not see you go as I am expected to welcome my nephew into the kingdom. His father has just passed away poor thing, and now to be expected to rule at the age of fifteen with so little experience..." the king shook his head sadly as he stood, exiting the room quickly before either warrior could stand and bid him farewell before their long journey to the North.

"You bastard! What happened to not doing anything the king said?" Gabriel exclaimed once the door to the chambers had swung shut and he was sure the king was out of hearing distance. Sebastian just grinned back him, (much to his annoyance.)

"Brother dear, did you honestly think that I would listen to a word he spoke? How boring it would be to spend months healing in another castle exactly like the one we left! I intend to leave the path as soon as the kingdom is out of sight, then, we shall backtrack to the mountains with whoever the third man shall be and explore the villages there." He gripped his brothers arm tightly as they grinned at each other in excitement, knowing that yet again, they would be diving headlong into another adventure and the king would never even know.

Just as the physician expected.

The villagers were buzzing with news by the time the sun rose the next morning, word had spread that their two greatest warriors were leaving the kingdom due to The Shadow's almost fatal wound. This news split the people into two sides - those who supported and prayed for the recovery of their warrior, and the angered men who felt vulnerable without them there. Some might even call them cowards (If this kingdom were the norm however.)

Elaraz had been told by a guardsman at dawn that he may leave the kingdom anytime after midday and so for the remainder of the time he had been preparing his horse, gathering supplies and planning out his journey back to his emperor. As the sun rose in the distant mountains, Elaraz perched himself outside the stables, a warm pasty clutched in his hands, watching the bustling streets go by, watching as the market stools filled with fresh crops, cloth and silk, handcrafted boxes no bigger than the size of a child's fist to the size of a farmer's biggest sow.

It reminded him of back home before his village was tormented by The Predator. His wife every day would send their eldest out onto the fields of their farm to retrieve the best blackberries for their breakfast, she would send the two youngest out for bread at the market. He could still remember the smell of freshly baked bread whenever he entered his house, the smell of summer all year round.

An approaching figure interrupted his strayed thoughts and as he looked up, he realized it was the mysterious young man whom he had met on the first day of his arrival, he seemed to be dressed for a long journey on horseback, as Elaraz was himself, "I heard you were leaving." he began, "It seemed rude not to bid you farewell, seeing as you have spoken mostly to me in these few days. It's funny how you trust me, unlike many others." He held out his hand politely for Elaraz to shake, but before their hands could meet, a distressed yell arose from the corner the young man had appeared from.

Clearly knowing what was going on, unlike Elaraz, the young man excused himself and rolling his eyes, he raced down the street to where the yelling had begun, "Quiet!" A woman's voice pleaded, "The master could come running with you yelling like that!" she added, before going silent as Elaraz lost sight of the young man around the corner.

"What is the meaning of this?" His voice questioned, both the yelling man and the women had fallen silent, "I leave you to tend to my horse for a few minutes and he's a panicking mess? Who even are you? Where's Matthieu?" His harsh voice surprised Elaraz and obviously meant something to the villagers unpacking around him as they fell silent, their eyes flicking towards the commotion nervously. A few children who were helping set up were ushered towards their parents, some even handed to Elaraz or pushed into the nearest shop.

"His father's died master, please don't take it out on Raphael, he's only doing what Your Majesty asked of him. We thought you knew sir." The women's voice rose again, seeming more urgent than before.

A sudden flurry of yelling started, the loudest being the young man whom Elaraz knew, but if he was asked later to translate exactly what was being said, he wouldn't have a clue. The yelling was so frantic, each person overlapping the other that not a single sentence could be heard from any outsider, "Leon!" was suddenly yelled, another voice - not any Elaraz had heard already. At once the yelling subsided.

"Let the poor man go!" the voice yelled again, which concerned Elaraz as to what exactly had been happening in the last few moments, "This is not how father taught you to act! He would be ashamed!" This obviously struck a chord in the young man's memories as this comment was followed by a almighty crash and more yelling.

"Father is dead! Even so, he taught me nothing but violence!" Another crash was heard and Elaraz caught sight of two figures running down the street towards him, the woman and the man whom he assumed was Raphael. His shirt was torn at the shoulder, his nose a bloody mess.

 "Please," The woman approached Elaraz urgently, "They'll kill each other!" she grabbed the front of his shirt, shaking him, "Please!" He didn't know what he could do, but he detached himself from the woman, assuring the children he had been given were held onto before racing up the street which they had just come from.

Turning the corner, he realized with a relief he wasn't the only man attempting to end the fight. Taking in his surroundings he also noticed it wasn't obviously the first time this had happened, the soldiers surrounding these two men were fulling equipped with batons of wood and swords. Some even held nets and rope.

Elaraz couldn't see clearly what was going on, as he was handed a blunt sword by a soldier - he noticed all the weapons they held were blunt. - but he could see the young man, his face bloodied as he was pinned to the wall, attempting to wrestle off a hooded figure.

The moment the hooded figure was pushed off the young man, the ring of soldiers rushed towards the him, forcing him back, "You don`t know anything!" he yelled, spitting blood towards the circle of soldiers, "I told you not to get involved!" He shot an angry glare towards Elaraz and limped away.

For some odd reason, the limping man reminded Elaraz of the night he was saved by that shadow, the way he had seen the girl cradling a soldiers head in her lap as his leg bled out painfully. He wasn't sure what had become of his savior, he only hoped it wasn't the worst.

Elaraz was snapped back into the present when the young man strode up to him, "I told you to stay there. You shouldn't have seen that." He wiped his sleeve across his mouth, dropping his blood stained cuff back to his side before guiding Elaraz - admittedly with slight force - back to the market place where he had come from.

"What was that?" Elaraz asked the young man, who was nervously looking around at the market place. The man shook his head, dismissing the question and turning away, as if to go back the way he came, "Can I at least know your name?" He asked again, stopping the man in his tracks.

The young man seemed to hesitate before answering, "Oscar." and with that he turned away from Elaraz, waving away the soldiers who had apparently followed him, "Don't you dare follow me Elaraz." he called back, disappearing around the corner with not another word.

Elaraz began to turn to leave when a sudden shock ran down his spine, a chill cascading across his body as the name the young man had just uttered from his lips rang out across his ears, Oscar. Could it be? It had been years since The Predator ripped his eldest son from his arms but- He wanted to cry out, wanted to run after the man, but something held him back. Something was different about him. He hadn't even recognized his own father, but it would make sense as the young man had known his name, despite not actually introducing himself as Elaraz... Only after Elaraz had mounted his horse and had begun up the tracks to the mountains hours later, did it occur to him that he had just missed his only chance to unite with his son once more. 

                                                                                                           ***

Gabriel pushed open the door to his brother's chambers, he was seated on the bed as the physician tended to his wounds, "Brother." Gabriel called out. An angry glare was shot towards him, "I'm sorry-"

"You'd better be. We're supposed to be leaving any time now so I can heal up one wound. One. Not fifteen Riel." he stood up, pushing the physician away, "The kingdom can only handle so many days without us." He pulled his shirt on, wincing in pain as he did so, the newly laid bruises scattering his chest, as if he had caught some horrific disease, he leant in to whisper to his brother, "Besides, how am I meant to go exploring if I'm confined to my bedchambers?" he grinned, slapping Gabriel on the back before exiting the chambers without another word.

After being handed a luggage trunk by the physician, Gabriel followed his brother to the courtyard. Having known his brother for as long as he could remember his own life, he figured Sebastian would take the back route which led towards their own armory. He knew there had been many rumors and myths involving this very armory, and naturally those in the kingdom, and even some of the villagers had begun calling it Heaven's Armory. Myths had begun to appear about how it contained the most lethal weapons in all the land, some that even the king did not know about. This was...in some way a myth...however the king did indeed have no idea about this back passageway to where the warriors of the king kept their preferred weapons of choice. (of course, there were many other items put there in the case that a warriors preferred weapon had been destroyed - it wasn't a rare happening.)

Turning his head to see if anyone was in the corridor alongside him, he set down the luggage trunk and began scouring the tapestry he had confronted for a more faded section than the rest of the artistic beauty. After finding such a section, he pulled back the tapestry and slammed his fist on the painted wall behind, in the same place the faded tapestry square had been.

Moment's later a hidden door set into the stone behind the tapestry opened, a cheerful face appearing from where it had been waiting behind it, "Master Gabriel what a rare surprise..." The figure in front of Gabriel grinned, stepping aside from the raised threshold to allow him passage into the corridor. This action was followed by a moment of silence, before the young figure barreled into Gabriel playfully, almost knocking him down to the floor.

"You almost got me this time," Gabriel huffed as he struggled to upright himself so not to stain his newly washed uniform on the mossy ground beneath him, "Matthieu please, how do you think the King will react when I return to him covered in mud?" He laughed, brushing his uniform of any mud that may have appeared and engulfing Matthieu in a friendly hug.

"You made quite a scene today if I heard correctly Riel." Matthieu shook his head in disbelief, "I hurried back to the castle as soon as I could, but one of the king's goods carts overturned on a narrow lane in front of me. I couldn't have got past even if I had tried." His expression turned to one of glumness, and immediately the realization hit Gabriel that indeed, something tragic had happened to Matthieu...perhaps indeed to his father.

"Mattheiu-" he began to question, but was harshly waved off topic as the young man turned away, hurriedly rubbing at the gentle flow of tears streaming from his eyes. Gabriel respectfully stood behind him, allowing his gush of emotions to cease before attempting to approach him again.

"My father died last night Gabriel." he suddenly perked up, "He died thinking his son was a man of the king's horseman, a noble man bred from the darkest depths of poverty itself-" Matthieu stuttered, his rush of tears faltering his speech, "He died thinking that one day, his son was going to marry a lady from noble birth, breed a family and pass the once wrecked family name on. Little did he know..." he sighed, "Little did he know..."

Gabriel for once was short of an answer. He knew he should probably deliver some heart warming speech to his good friend in front of him, however no words of sympathy rose to the surface of his mind. How wretched, he thought. After choosing his words wisely, Gabriel responded with, "He knew you were a loving son, a son whom he could rely on, a son whom he could trust. Even if you'd admitted to him what you had said was wrong, he still had a son who worked for one of the noblest of the king's nobles...surely that in itself is an achievement? He would still be proud."

Silently congratulating himself as Matthieu's response was a nod and a small smile, he pulled Matthieu into a friendly hug once more, wished him all his well and hurried down the corridor to meet his brother, who was standing beside the entrance to the weaponry, a stern look plastered across his face.

"You shouldn't be so friendly with the kingdom's servants." Sebastian hissed, placing into Gabriel's arms the large sheath containing his blade, "The majority of them have a death wish upon us. Don't think he's an exception. He's the son of Beatrice." I know. Gabriel sighed. But he's nothing like his mother, who lead the revolt to rid the kingdom of the king's men and hence landed herself with the death penalty. 

"I understand brother." Gabriel replied, "But you need to learn to trust people - I trust Matthieu with my life, is that not enough for you?" 

"You'll say that until it's his knife that's between your rib cage whilst you sleep." Sebastian growled, "He'll jump at the chance."

"No he won't. Which is why I've ordered Matthieu to join us." Gabriel replied, beginning his walk down the corridor to the second hidden exit. Reaching the stone door, he spun on his heel and glared at his twin, "If you so much as draw your blade beside him with no enemy present, do not think I will not hesitate to stop you."