Another scrap of fantasy fiction. I'm not sure where this story will go from here, but I figured I would share it, as I do like it as an interesting opening.
Huzer and his charge rode easily over the last hill, pulling up their horses' reigns so they could stop and take a look around. They had just exited a dense forest, the path now spilling out into an open plain, sectioned and farmed for the upcoming spring. The white clouds did little to block the sunlight, so all of nature was green and bright before them.
"Ah, home," said Sean, Prince of Attoria. Huzer knew exactly where his eyes were staring, and he turned himself to see Attoria Castle off in the distance.
"It's only been a month," Huzer said, his quiet deep voice almost snapping the prince out of his trance.
"That's long enough to be homesick," Sean said. Sean was a somewhat young prince, just over the age of twenty, but he had already shown the regal confidence that characterized the noble Attoria family. However, brimming under such confidence was a youthful energy that bordered on recklessness found in all young princes. The long ride home had only dampened his vitality a little.
Huzer looked back and smiled at his little prince, dressed in blue and white, the royal colors. He had been given the duty to protect and assist him when Sean was a young child. While he had been more of a servant than a teacher, Huzer genuinely cared for him like he was his own son. He speculated that he would eventually be a kind of mentor or councilor for whatever duties the prince's father or older brothers would eventually ask of him. However, he wasn't so ambitious to miss the small moments of joy that he'd had with the prince along the way.
"We should probably start moving if we want to reach the castle by nightfall. I'm sure your mother and father would want to see you before then," Huzer stated, and Sean finally shook his head from his daze.
"You're right," Sean said, and grabbed the reigns to begin descending down the hill.
Nevertheless, even as the road leveled out, they never rose to running speed, but kept their horses at a quick trot. The faint breeze carried the smell of freshly turned dirt to their noses as they looked out across the fields. The sounds of birds flying over their heads were accompanied by the rattling of their equipment on their horses. Huzer continued to smile as he began to envision the welcome the king and queen were no doubt preparing.
"Something's wrong," Sean said, snapping Huzer from his thoughts. He mentally scolded himself for daydreaming while his prince had stayed alert.
"What do you mean?" he asked, bringing his horse even with the prince.
"I know it's the end of the day, but," Sean started, then paused before continuing, "But, I'm not seeing anyone. Don't you think there should be somebody out in their fields still?"
At this, Huzer quickly took a look around. The prince was right. As far as he could see, over all the perfect rows of farmland, the two of them were the only people around.
"Perhaps a coincidence," Huzer suggested, trying to convince himself as much as the prince.
"I don't know," Sean said, his voice now quite wary. "There's something wrong. I can feel it."
They continued riding at the same pace, making their way through the farmland. Huzer kept looking around, hoping to find at least one other person, and when he failed to do so, he felt his heart beating faster under his chainmail. When he looked back at the prince, he noticed that his eyes were set on the castle, squinting a little as if trying to make out what he was seeing. Finally, as they crossed a small bridge over a creek, Huzer saw evidence for his prince's bad hunches.
"Where are the flags?" he said.
"What?" blurted the prince, and he blinked to get a new look at the castle he'd been staring at for the past hour.
"The flags bearing our royal colors. Where are the blue and white flags?" Huzer said, pointing with a free hand. He could hear the prince's breathing now as they continued to ride.
"Let's go!" Sean ordered, whipping his reigns and kicking his heels for his horse to start charging. Huzer did so as well and kept up with the speed of his prince. They sped down the road, leaving behind them a trail of dust high in the air. Soon the road changed to stone as they approached the castle. By now they could see more causes for concern.
The castle faced north, with it's massive gates and drawbridge in the middle of that stone wall. Next to the drawbridge, on the east half of the north wall, was a massive hole that looked like a giant had punched it in. Many of the other stones had scorch marks and other signs of a battle, but the lack of smoke and people made it look abandoned as well. High above, the flag-poles waved no colors, some of them even broken off half-way up. As they rode up to where the drawbridge met the road, they also noticed the emptiness of the moat that surrounded the castle.
"It certainly didn't look like this when we left," Huzer said, a small smirk on his lips.
"Save your dry humor for later," Sean scorned as he rode across the drawbridge.
The gates were eerily open, with one of the heavy doors hanging at an odd angle from a single hinge. Once inside, they saw even more rubble and destruction. What remained of the castle walls blocked the falling, western sun, darkening everything to tones of gray. Huzer passed by the stables to see they were barely standing, the wood charred as black as coal. He reached out a hand to touch that wood and was surprised to find it quite cold.
"Where is everybody?" he heard his prince ask out loud. He saw Sean take a quick turn around the open yard before coming back to the front gates. Huzer then noticed the lack of bodies that would fit such a scene. If Attoria castle had been successfully invaded, at least some of the dead would still be lying here.
Huzer got off his horse and tied it to one of the few remaining posts. Then he squatted down and began to examine the ground, hoping that what remained of his tracking skills would find something useful. As he made his way across the yard, he heard his prince's horse come up from behind him. He turned to see Sean jump off and crouch down next to him.
"Find anything?" he asked.
"Nothing," Huzer said, "Not even a drop of blood. Even if we were attacked the day after we left, there would still be bloodstains on the ground."
Sean gulped and nodded. Huzer could see the fear growing in his eyes, and could only imagine what the prince was feeling at this moment.
"Let's go up to the throne room," Huzer said. Sean nodded again, but as they stood up, they heard the sound of spare wood falling to the ground. Immediately, they turned toward a pile of rubble where the smithy once was to see a form tumbling down.
At once the prince drew his sword. "Who's there?" he shouted. When the form simply continued to fumble around on the ground, the prince started charging forward to get his response. Huzer drew his sword and followed after him, hoping that he could stop his young charge before he did something reckless.
"Stop where you are," the prince shouted, coming within a few feet of the stranger, who instantly obeyed the command.
"Stand up," the prince ordered, and the stranger complied, slowly and shakily getting to his feet. He was dressed in rags that may have resembled the attire of one of the castle's servants, but had long since lost it's color and shape. His hair was long and ratty as it was straight black. Huzer almost doubted that it was human as he came up behind his prince.
"Who are you?" Sean asked, his voice now a little more timid. The stranger finally turned around to look at the pair of them, revealing a face that made both Sean and Huzer rear back and gasp in horror. What once may have been a man's face had now been horribly warped like drooping candlewax. Huzer struggled to comprehend how such thing could happen to a man.
As the stranger finally got a close look, what was left of his eyes widened. "Prince Sean?" he asked in recognition, his voice raspy and broken. The man reached out his shaking, weak hands to touch his prince, but stopped himself, as if he had stepped out of place. After glancing from side-to-side in thought, he finally knelt down before them at such a speed he almost fell to the ground again.
"My prince!" he said, keeping his eyes to the ground.
Sean and Huzer turned to look at each other. Huzer could only grimace in acknowledgement, raising his eyebrows and letting the prince to deal with his subject. Sean gulped again before leaning down to the stranger.
"Who are you?" he asked, this time his voice more compassionate.
"Bartus," the stranger answered, raising his head a little, "I was the stablemaster for the castle guards."
"Stand up and tell me what happened here," the prince said. While it may have been technically an order, he made it sound like the suggestion of a loving father. The prince's compassion for everyone was something that Huzer prided in. Bartus struggled to stand up, but winced and clutched his knee. The prince caught him by the arm and helped him back up, but once up Bartus stepped away, as if insisting that he stand on his own. He looked down at the ground, crossing and uncrossing his fingers as if deep in thought.
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