Let Me Be Your Knight

A beautiful midday in a peaceful kingdom. Then came a coronation, being held in the throne room. Everybody, both priests, royal courts, and nobles, in the throne room seemed very excited. They wore bright smiles on their faces as they watched the king himself put the crown over his son's head. 

“ Hereafter, my child. You have become the Crown Prince of...

Before the king could complete his words, the door banged open and thirty camouflaged Invaders suddenly barged in.

These Invaders wore no armor to indicate the kingdom where they came from, rather, they dressed as though they were assassins. Their attires seemed quite creepy to the little children who were there in the throne room.

Everyone in the throne room got thrown into confusion, wondering how the Invaders managed to enter the throne room, who they might be, and who sent them. How come the city bell didn't ring to signal them to be at alarm regarding the danger?

The Invaders began killing guardsmen in the throne room. Because it was unexpected and nobody was prepared for the fight, these Invaders killed the whole guardsmen. 

Every one of the attendants were still in the verge of confusion. Awe submerged everyone in the throne room, they were scared to death and hopeless. They shivered in terror, gazing fearfully at the Invaders, who had already drawn their arrows to shoot. One of the Invaders held a spear, aiming at the king.

Just when the king thought the Invader would throw the spear on him, the Invader threw the spear, and it landed on the king's son.

The spear penetrated the little boy's stomach, making him unable to move his body nor speak, he was overwhelmed by an excruciating pain which felt like death is the only way to get rid of the pain.

“ No!” the king growled and held his son, who had fallen down due to the unbearable pain. “ Be strong, son. Stay strong.” the king pleaded with his son. It didn't seem to him like his son was going to survive the pain, not by any chance.

In an unruly rage braced with sorrow, the king growled and started running towards the Invaders with his sword. 

But already, the Invaders released their arrows and shot everyone down, including the king. The king still tried to stand on his feet to fight, but the Invaders released more arrows on him, which made him fall back on his knees unconscious. Blood gushed out of the king's wounds, more than ten arrows were shot against the king.

As if that wasn't enough, the same Invader who threw a spear on the king's son, prepared to throw another spear on the king. He targeted the king from where he stood by door, then he vigorously threw the spear, and it landed on the king's heart. 

The king was unable to withstand the deadly pain, it was ever so unbearable to him, so he fell to the floor. 

The king wasn't dead, but he would definitely lose his life in no time. Everyone in the throne room had died, except the king and his son who were still struggling between life and death. 

“Father… Father.” the king's son faintly called.

The little boy was drenched in his own blood, and was at the point of death because of the pain induced by the spear. He crawled on the floor, struggling to reach for the king's hand. 

The king also was close to death, and nothing on Earth could save him from dying. The king tried stretching out his hand to reach for his son's hand, but it seemed almost impossible to move his limbs, all he did was to say his last and most important word to his son.

“ Live... Stay alive.” The king spoke faintly, as though he were forcing the words.

Immediately, one of the Invaders stood beside the king with an axe raised above his head. Vehemently, the invader beheaded the king. The little boy screamed in agony, wailing with an unsteady tone. 

Killing the king didn't feel enough, as another invader lifted the king's son from the floor. Clutching on the little boy's face from behind, he gradually started slitting the boy's neck with a dagger. 

The invader whispered in the ear of the little boy, saying, “No descendant of Asriel will live.” 

******************

Abothorn was known as one of the greatest kingdoms which suddenly impoverished due to the embezzlement of funds and properties by the former King Jooper, also the misdeeds by predecessors. 

King Jooper was a greedy and malicious king. Due to no fund and properties, Abothorn had poor citizens, thieves, low or no income earners which are the king's royal courts and subjects. Beggars, hungry peasants, robin hoods, promiscuous men and women, assassins, defamatory citizens who take the kingdom's affairs to other kingdoms to get coins, and more abominable misfortunes. Even the nobles lacked like the peasants in the kingdom.

Worse of all, the king had only one child, which was the heiress, Princess Matilda. The only way to put an end to these misfortunes and to save the kingdom was that the princess be married out to a wealthy and powerful kingdom.

Princess Matilda was the one and only heir to the throne of Abothorn. Matilda was a young woman whose dignity attaches to everything she does. Despite her beauty and good qualities, she always got rejected by bachelors. 

Princess Matilda had been told that she would partake in a consort pick in the Kingdom of Messea. 

There was absolutely no hope for Matilda to participate in the ceremony, it was pointless. Matilda believed that she definitely would be rejected by Prince Uriah, even though he accepts her, she cannot marry him because of her illness. Therefore, she must find another alternative. 

In Abothorn, it was forbidden for a noblewoman to leave the castle without a permission, regardless of how dire the reason might be. Only the king gives permission to his consort and daughter to leave the fortress. This permission requires that the noblewoman must give a clean reason as to why she wants to leave the castle.