Duty and Destiny

Archer, Samson and a couple of men from the colony hid in the bushes outside the palace walls. They had been waiting there the whole night. At first, they had planned to invade the castle in the dark, but their numbers were nothing compared to the place guards that marched and flew over and around the palace walls.

They slept outside, but Archer couldn’t sleep. His arms itched for Adalia especially since she was only a few footsteps away from her. Being so close he felt his heart break all over again, thinking that Adalia had a hand in his attempted murder. He spent the night talking himself out of that idea while still convincing himself that it all couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Are you ready?” Samson pulled him out of his head. “They are opening the gates for the people to witness the wedding.”

“Let’s go,” but he wasn’t there to witness it but to disrupt it.

He jumped back when he saw a convoy of carriages heading their way. They were white with flags that had a hawk symbol on them. It was his family. Archer fought back the urge of stopping the convoy and telling his family he was alive. He hid behind the tree and just watched as his family entered the palace gates.

“I know you want to go to them, but you have to be careful,” Samson could see the longing in his eyes, but he had to caution him.

Archer threw a hood over his head and followed the long line of people walking into the palace gates. They waited with the throngs of people before breaking from them and hiding in a corner. They needed to wait for the procession to start that way everyone would be distracted, but they waited for a long time.

“What’s going on?” Samson asked agitated.

Archer could remember how Adalia would cause a fit before changing out of her training clothes to wear her dresses. The memory made him laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“Adalia hates getting dressed up. If she could, she would walk into that chapel in her armor,” his smiled but his joy was labored.

The crowd started getting agitated with murmurs flying around of a cancelation. Archer could only wish that it was true, this way he could stop suspecting Adalia of foul play. But how could he. An hour passed before someone came out to give them an update, but it still didn’t look like the ceremony was about to start any time soon.

***

Randi and Novia walked into Adalia’s room to find her asleep on her mother’s lap. When Leora saw them, she raised her finger to her lips asking them to be quiet.

“Mother what is going on?” Randi sat on the bed beside his mother.

“Why is she still asleep?” Novia was now examining Adalia, and she could see the marks of exhaustion on her face.

“I think she spent the whole night crying,” Leora combed her fingers through Adalia thick raven hair. “She’s only doing this because her father asked her to. She’s devastated that it isn’t Archer she’s marrying.”

“I miss my brother.”

Adalia was woken up by the voices around her, but she didn’t open her eyes. She was terrified that if she did, she would have to face her new life, a life she didn’t want. She didn’t move, she lay there listening to them talk about Archer.

“He loved her, didn’t he?” Randi said. “I think he could have been the only one to handle my sister. And that is only because he seemed to give her whatever she wanted.”

“That’s how he was,” Novia chuckled. “But he was so in love with her I thought he would go crazy.”

Adalia whimpered letting everyone around her know that she was awake. She sat up and tried to blink the tears away, but she couldn’t. She talked through her tears, wiping them away as they fell.

“I’m happy that you were able to come,” she forced a smile.

“What are you doing?” there was a tone of annoyance in Randi’s voice.

“I have to get married, and you know that,” Adalia scurried off her bed hoping to get away from her brother’s glaring eyes.

“But not so soon. You need time to deal with Archer’s death,” he followed her wherever she tried to run to.

“I don’t have time, the rebels-,”

“Lionell and I can handle the rebels. I am still Gabrielle’s first son.”

“But I am his first born, it’s my duty,” she picked up a veil, for the first time noticing her gown laid on the chair beside her.

Randi caught the look of terror immediately her eyes fell on the waiting gown. He snatched the veil from her hands and ripped it into pieces. “I won’t let you do this to yourself.”

“Father is sick, I need to step up it’s my duty,” she shrieked, the word duty replaying itself in her mind.

“I was bred for duty and responsibility. My Kingdom and my crown are more important than my desires and personal needs,” Novia recited. “That was what Archer kept telling himself and he never got to live his life the way he wanted to.”

“But it’s true, why else were we born,” Adalia was trying to convince herself and no one else.

“That saying is misguided and idiotic. I don’t know why my father kept on saying it to Archer,” Novia took both Adalia’s hands. “You were born to live, why don’t you do that?”

Adalia looked into her eyes with an intensity that had Novia staggering back. “My heart stopped beating the day your brother died in my arms. Leave me I need to get dressed,” she said in a firm deadly voice.

She watched as her family shuffled out of her room, leaving her to her loneliness.

***

Xander stood at the balcony watching the people walk in to witness his marriage ceremony. He felt a sense a sense of pride and triumph, knowing that at the end of the day he would be their king. He would have possessed the two things he wanted most Adalia and the South Kingdom.

“Sir,” a man dressed as a soldier came to his side.

“Is the final brew done? You have to make sure that he drinks it before the ceremony, that way he can be dead by the evening,” he whispered.

“Yes sir,” the man walked away to do as he had been commanded.

Xander didn’t believe in the afterlife or ghost, but he wanted to gloat. He wished that there was some way that Archer could see him now. And there was Archer hiding behind a beam when Xander walked out. He didn’t want to risk being seen. Of course, no one else had recognized him because of his new look but he couldn’t risk it.

***

Adalia walked out of her room, she didn’t wait for the royal band to serenade her, or for the flowers to be laid in her path. She matched out in her dress, without any make up or jeweler. She held her hair in a ponytail and placed her tiara on top of her head.

“Adalia?” her mother asked her eyes wide in terror.

“Let’s get this over with mother,” she walked into the chapel. She saw Xander waiting for her, and she marched down the aisle. As people stood up and started clapping, she shushed them. “Stop, sit down let’s get this over and done with.”

The room fell silent as she made her way to the alter. “Xander.”

“Adalia, you look beautiful.”

“Liar,” she stood next to him, half paying attention to everything the priest said half wanting a wind to blow through the palace and blow her away.

“Princess, would you like to make your vows to Xander,” the priest asked.

Usually, vows were made from the heart, a promise to your partner. And oath for a happily ever after. Adalia did have vows, but they were not meant for Archer. She could hear them in her head, she could hear Archer’s voice promising to love and protect her. When the priest asked her for her vows one more time, she shook her head.

“No, I have nothing to say,” Adalia could hear her brother snicker behind her, and that brought a smile to her face. “We aren’t going to promise each other anything. Just wed us.”

“Adalia, I had vows for you,” Xander protested.

“Keep them for someone who wants to hear them,” she whispered in his ear. Adalia turned to the priest with a feeble smile on her face. Although she didn’t want to be there, she was going to squeeze out as much fun from it as she could. “Let’s move on.”

Adalia knelt next to Xander, the whole time thinking that what she was doing was wrong. She didn’t feel right being here with him instead of Archer. But there was nothing she could do about that, Archer was dead to her, the king was sick, and the kingdom needed a marriage. This was her duty, what she was bred to do. Put the kingdom first any other feelings second.

She didn’t resist when the priest took her hand. This was the final blessing and once their hands were joined, it would be over. There was no turning back now.

***

Archer followed Samson as he led them into the palace. They didn’t have a problem until they came to the palace chapel. Archer could hear the procession go on inside and he was desperate to get in. There were six guards at the palace door and although they could easily take them, they would definitely cause a fracas and reinforcements would be called in.

They saw a man walk past the chapel with a tray of food. Samson immediately recognized him and followed him behind.

But he could hear every word the priest was saying. He was giving her away, giving Adalia away to another man. Although he doubted her, he wasn’t going to let that happen. Without Samson knowing, Archer charged at the guards, making sure to wound them but not kill them. His arm was beginning to fail him, but he didn’t stop until he had a clear path into the chapel.

Archer opened the chapel doors and the crowd of people turned back to look at him. They could see him but all he could see was Adalia and Xander on their knees before the priest, their hands about to be joined.

Archer walked into the chapel room and watched from a far. He had heard her say that she accepted Xander, and accepted to be by his side, and now she was about to be given away to him. He was going to let it happen, let life continue without him just as it should. But it looked like the fates didn’t share his sentiments. A loud noise came from the corridor, everyone but Archer moved towards it.

When he looked out the window and he could see shadows in the sky and in the trees. Something was coming, and it would be there soon. Samson dragged in a man by his neck through the crowd to where Archer stood.

“The rebels are coming,” he said to Archer.

He was too busy looking for intruders outside to realize that he was an intruder inside. His attention was pulled back in when he heard his mother gasp.