NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 13: A Bright Morning
Far outside the capital of the Hillsbrooke Empire was a large area of land made for producing agricultural goods and foodstuffs, this entire land was managed by one of the empire’s most influential families who had yet to pledge their allegiance to the Crown Prince Visnet, the family known as the Halfriva’s.
The sun’s gentle rays gently dawned as the day slowly came, the maids and servants of the Halfriva Family estate all got up to go to work. Some went to the garden that was loved by the lady of the house and tended to personally by her in the morning, while others made their way to the stables and tended to the horses and cattle that were there. The knights shifted with the night watch and began their patrols throughout the estate grounds and the roads leading up to the main building.
Soon it was now 9:00 in the morning, with the sun’s rays trickling down from above, shifting between the clouds that came and went, the day was starting off to be a good sunny day, and on a porch at the back of the estate was a pair of adults looking out to the garden.
One was a man that had slicked-back black hair accompanied by sideburns and an impressive and bushy beard and mustache combo. His face with blue eyes was average looking despite his mane of hair and he was of average height and had a very normal build, not that strong nor too weak. On the bridge of his nose sat a pair of glasses that helped him with his sight and he was draped in a blue overcoat with gold accents on the cuffs and the collar with a simple noble black shirt and slacks finishing his look, the current head of the Halfriva Family, Pyotr Halfriva. Sharon’s father,
Sitting down next to him, in a relaxed manner sipping her tea, draped in a lovely red summer dress that cut right above her feet, with the dress wrapping itself snugly around her well-endowed body and with her long elegant brunette hair down was Ilena Halfriva, Pyotr’s beloved wife and Sharon’s mother.
“Dear. We only have a month left to leave, are you sure we have done everything we could?” Pyotr asked as he turned to his beloved his eyes fixated on her
“I do believe we did. Sharon will return a week before we leave and Amelia has told me by then that she will be stronger” Ilena simply replied as she glanced at her husband before taking a sip of her tea
“I see but on our end, we have merely just moved some supplies and loyal workers over to the duchy and that seems about it” he added as he walked up beside her and placed his hands on her shoulders
“That’s not all that we have been doing my love. We also have been spreading rumors about the Erstad Duchy to ward off any thoughts of takeover by the other nobles remember? Our sway in the nobles' circles has been helping them stay autonomous.” She replied as she put down the cup and eased her head back, resting on Pyotr’s belly.
“Didn’t the emperor already make a statement regarding that?” He asked as he looked down at her
“It was pure coincidence and a good one too. Helped us out even more” She replied with a smile as she puckered her lips and awaited a kiss, to which Pyotr did not hesitate to quickly answer.
“I just feel like we could do more”
“Doing more will only raise suspicion my dear. If we truly want to help them even more then we can just tell them when the next shipment of materials and goods will be sent”
“I believe I will do just that” Pyotr replied as he kissed Ilena on the head again before moving away and standing next to one of the porch railings.
“I heard from my informant that the Crown Prince and his faction are currently snooping around and trying to figure out why we haven’t been able to give as much foodstuffs and other essential agriculture goods to the imperial market” Pyotr then stated
“Hmm. I heard the same thing in a party hosted by Countess Adrumand a week ago, she directed the question to me. It seems she has finally taken a side” Ilena added
“What did you tell them?”
“I told them the same thing we have told everyone else. Bad Harvest. We even self-sabotaged some of our own crops just for that very reason. It’s their fault for not properly stocking up ever since the last bad harvest. Coupled with the fact we are giving a lot of our production to the Erstad Duchy per Amelia’s request, I can see why everyone is starting to get curious as to why one of the empire’s biggest producers of foodstuffs and agricultural goods are still lagging behind.”
“Thankfully it’s from our secret stockpiles and secret farms that we supply the Erstad Duchy. If not for them, we would have been found out by now” Pyotr remarked with a strained smile as he rested his head upon his hands, leaning on the railing.
“On another note, Emperor Gauis did give us his blessing to leave, I am surprised he hasn’t told anyone yet” Pyotr added
“Well. It seems that him knowing we are supplying Amelia and her companions is good reason enough”
{!}
“He does?!” Pyotr asked, shock on his face as he turned to his wife
“Indeed. In Countess Adrumand’s party, he was there, and he requested to speak with each noble privately. When it was my turn, he told me he knew what we were doing. But allowed it saying “At least make sure that what you send will be more than enough”
“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?!”
“I didn’t find the right time”
As the two of them stayed in silence, the door to the porch opened. Rushing forward were two little kids at the age of five, one with black hair going past her shoulder and another with spiky brown hair, the girl had blue eyes while the boy had green. Their names were Yulen and Yulan the younger twin siblings of Sharon and the youngest in the Halfriva Family.
“Mother! Father!” both cried out as they rushed to hug their parents
“Yulen! Yulan!” Both of them happily replied as they accepted the hugs.
“Will big sis be here today?!” Yulen asked as he looked up at his mother
“Yeah! Yeah! Will she?!” Yulan quickly followed up as she looked at her father
“Well…I-”
BANG!
{!}
Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out from the fields further behind the estate, there was a large plume of smoke coming from where the bang had come from. Several of the maids and servants ran towards where the sound came from without waiting for instructions, stealing a glance at his wife and seeing a nod, Pyotr gave Yulena to Ilena and made his way to the scene. But not before making a quick trip into the estate and grabbing his sword.
“Stay right here with your mother, I will be right back” he said as he disappeared from their sight.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
“What the…” Pyotr let out a confused sound as he saw the stables on fire, with several servers and maids being tended to nearby
Making his way there he saw that their clothes were burned and in tatters with scorch marks present on the now exposed skin, all of them were groaning in pain as they were being tended to by other servants and maids that had just arrived.
“What happened” Pyotr asked as he knelt down next to one of the servants, a wolfkin named Joachim,
“It was all too fast..hnngg…There was a dragonkin looking for the lady and a girl named Amelia….hngrr…He said that if we don’t tell him where they were he was going to burn this place down….”
“What did you tell him?” Pyotr asked as his expression hardened as he heard the answer
“I told him nothing sir….he then set the stables alight with his dragon breath. My brother threw himself in front of the flames to mitigate the damage. I….I think he is dead….the dragonkin then began flying upward. I believe he is heading to the estate proper” The servant then began shedding tears as he thought of his brother. Tears that Pyotr wiped away
“Rest now Joachim. They will tend to you”
“Be safe sir” Joachim replied before he went unconscious
Quickly getting to his feet, he saw several knights on horseback making their way towards him, the first of the knights to reach him, dawned in silver plate armor with a lovely mane of white hair was the captain of the Halfriva Family knights.
“Brutus. I need your knights to head straight for the estate. Make sure Ilena and the kids are alright. And order another group of knights to protect the people here, making sure they are all tended to”
“Understood sir. But what about you?”
“I will be going with you of course, I’m riding with you”
With an understanding nod from Brutus, he began barking orders to half a dozen knights who were with him to stay put and help tend to the wounded servants and maids. Before helping Pyotr ride on the back of his horse and making his way to the estate.
Returning to their back porch, Pyotr saw Ilena standing beside their head butler and close confidant, an elderly man named Turner. However, Yulen and Yulan were nowhere to be seen.
“Where are the kids?” Pyotr asked
“I sent them back inside their rooms, some of the knights are with them, did you find out what caused that explosion?” Ilena asked
“A dragonkin came by, looking for our daughter and her friend. And I think it’s a good idea for the two of us to-”
“Well, well, well. The Halfriva Family is here!” A voice called out to them from above
{!}
“I have been very patient with your staff in regards to asking about the whereabouts of my beloved and her parasitic friend who is your daughter” the voice continued,
“Where are you and who are you damn it?!” Pyotr shouted as he continued to look up into the sky
VWIIING!
{!}
Suddenly coming into view was a purple-haired dragonkin dressed in ornately decorated red robes, on the left was a symbol of a red dragon with its wings spread out inside a large red star. The symbol of the dragonkin clan named Götterdämmerung, one of the most influential clans in the empire. His golden eyes had a piercing gaze that gave Pyotr and Ilena a sense of unease, his face and his fangs amplified this sense as he smirked at the pair.
“Who are you?! And how dare you trespass on our territory and harm our people!” Ilena shouted as she pointed up at the dragonkin still in the air
“I am Kier Götterdämmerung, and I have come for Amelia Rothild” Kier answered with a smirk
“Then why don’t you go the Erstad Duchy?! They would obviously know where she is!” Ilena angrily replied,
“Oh I did. But when I tried I was blasted out of the sky by imperial knights stationed there who then told me to leave. Obviously I was mad but then a little birdy told me that she was with your daughter”
{!}
“Who told you?” Pyotr asked, his unease beginning to rise
“That’s a secret” Kier replied as he placed his index finger over his lips.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Yesterday. In the Imperial Palace
“You want me to do what?” Kier asked as he leaned on the pillar in a reception room in the imperial palace
“Head to the Halfriva Family estate and burn it down” Visnet replied as he toyed with a loaf of bread in his hands
“Why? I am not your fucking lap dog!” Kier angrily replied
“Hmm? I never said you were. Call it a trade of sorts, you help me out and I…”
“You what?”
“I tell you where your beloved Amelia is”
“No thank you, I can do that myself, looking for her won’t be a problem since I can just ask Jacon” Kier replied as he turned around and began to walk out
“I see, you would be surprised by how much nobles these days are willing to pay for tribal slaves”
{!}
“What?”
“You heard me. It would be a shame if your entire tribe was made into slaves”
VWOOOOM!
“You wouldn’t dare” Kier growled as he sent out a shockwave from his wings,
“Oh I would” Visnet replied matter-of-factly as he rose from his seat and walked closer to the dragonkin
“The imperial law doesn’t allow this” Kier added disbelief in his eyes
“But the law was made by the imperial family. And me being the crown prince. I can simply change it. I am the law like it or not” Visnet quickly countered.
“You sick fuck” Kier growled as his eyes narrowed and his gaze hardened
“Oh please. I am not a monster, I’m giving you a choice. Do what I ask and in return your tribe isn’t sent back to being slaves” Visnet rolled his eyes as he sat back down and took a bite out of the loaf
“But why the Halfriva Family? Aren’t they a family you have to win over?”
“Oh please. They are nothing but glorified farmers. But said farmers have been lagging behind in their production for the imperial market. They cite bad harvest but everyone else has been restoring their quotas”
“That’s because you have all of them under your thumb”
“Hmm do I?”
‘This fucker’ the dragonkin thought
“But there is another reason why I want you to burn the place down, I am amazed by how little you know of Amelia despite claiming you love her”
“And what does that have to do with this?”
“Simple. The Halfriva Family is the family of her best friend. Sharon, the girl who humiliated you time and again in front of her in the academy”
{!}
“That bitch” Kier remarked as he cletched his fists, the memories of his losing repeatedly at her hands angering him
“Mhmm. think about it, burning down her best friends home and showing how weak they are will most definitely show Amelia that you are much more worth it than that bitch and her family no? Picture it, the woman of your dreams, clinging to the strongest dragonkin the empire has ever seen, sounds lovely does it not?”
“Hmmm…But what are you getting from this? Burning one of your empire’s most prominent producers?”
“Simple. I show the rest of the nobles on the fence I do not need them, they either join me or face destruction. And besides, the Halfriva family are in a state of bad harvest, better to rid the empire of a useless whittled branch than let it continue to infest the mighty tree”
“Hmm” Kier said nothing as he stared at the crown prince as he crushed a piece of the bread in his palm,
‘He really is a psycho’ he thought as he weighed his options. Either to do his bidding and save his people with the added benefit of getting back at the bitch who humiliated him time and time again or risk his entire clan getting their rights revoked and turned to slaves.
“I will do what you ask. But if I hear that one of my people becomes a slave I will have your head” he growled as he stuck out his right hand
“I am a man of my word Kier, so thank you for choosing wisely” Visnet replied with a venomous tone and smirk as he shook the dragonkin’s hand.
“Take this with you as well” Visnet added as he tossed a gold ring with a red gem
“What’s this?” the dragonkin asked
“An invisibility ring. Will allow you to sneak up on them”
“And to save you the trip to Jacon in the cathedral, Amelia’s location is not that important, she will come running with the bitch when you endanger her family, so all you have to do is sit and wait after you finish the job” Visnet added with a smile as he waved goodbye to Kier.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
“I heard that you are the family of that bitch named Sharon” Kier said with a smile as he hovered in the air, noticing the knights arriving into the garden from all sides.
“Call my daughter a bitch again and that will be the last words you will ever speak” Ilean growled as she looked up at the dragonkin, fuming and angry. Small sparks of ice magic fluttering at her fingertips
“Hah! You think you pathetic humans can beat me?! The best dragonkin fighter in all of the clans!” Kier asked with an amused tone as he
“I don’t care, no one insults my family and gets away with it. Be they mortal or a god!”
SWVINNGG!
{!}
VWOOSH!
SHINK!
“GHH!”
Ilena then silent casted the spell <Ice Spear> creating a long jagged spear and immediately threw it at Kier, barely giving him enough time to dodge as the spear flew by, one of the jagged edges clipping him.
“You bitch. I’ll kill you for that!” Kier roared as he looked at his shoulder and saw the small gash made by the spear.
“Not if I can help it” Pyotr replied as he readied his blade and signaled to the other knights to do the same.
“Turner, get out of here and get the kids to where Sharon is. Tell her what’s going on and make sure they get back here safely, we will hold him off until then” Ilena ordered as she turned to him,
“At once my lady” Turner answered as he snapped his fingers and immediately vanished, the sounds of the children vanishing with him.
“Oh? You think you can hold me until help arrives huh? Hmph. fine then, I will have my fun with you before I burn this whole place down!” Kier joyfully spouted as his limbs suddenly became bulkier with more scales and jagged surfaces. Soaring high into the sky.
“Bring it you oversized lizard!” Ilena shouted as Kier dived down.
“Men! Deploy barriers!” Brutus shouted as raised his shield
VWINNG! VWINNG! VWINNNG! VWINNG!
All of the knights did the same and several large transparent barrier bubbles formed from the shields raised, all of them directed at the incoming dragonkin
“You think that will stop me? You idiots!”
CRAKAAAWW BWOOOOOM!
SHATTER! SHATTER! SHATTER! SHATTER!
“GHHHAGGGHH!”
As he was diving, Kier transformed his head into it’s dragon form, unleashing a large cone of high-powered flames that instantly shattered the barrier bubbles, getting some of the knights who were directly underneath get caught in the flames, almost burned to death were it not for their shields which they tossed aside as they were now just molten slag. Some of them even removed their armor as the plates were now heated to the point where it could burn at a slight touch.
“Take this <Shatter Storm>” Ilena casted
VWWOOOOOMMMM!
She summoned a large icy tornado filled with icicles that would cut anyone caught by it, Kier only smiled as he saw it approach him his head once more turning into its dragon form
CRAKAAAW! BWOOOM!
Firing off another fiery attack, he blasted the tornado into nothing, a satisfied smile on his lips as he turned his head back to it’s human form and locked eyes with Ilena,
“Is that all you can do? It’s not even a challenge for me”
“Keep talking like that and you’ll be dead you piece of shit” Ilena growled back
“Now men! Rush him!” Pyotr shouted as he and the rest of the knights swarmed Kier from all sides,
{!}
CLANG! PRING! CLANK! PING! BAM! SLASH!
“GAGGHH!”
“ENOUGH!”
SCHWIIING! SCRAPE! THRUST! FWANG!
“GAGH!”
“GUHHH!”
“TUUGH!”
Brutus and the knights came down on Kier were ferocity as they all unleashed their blows, slashing and striking at the lone dragonkin, but their blows were simply blocked and ineffective as his tough scaly skin was able to absorb their blows, but not before Pyotr got a clean shot and whacked the dragonkin on the side of the head with the pommel of his sword, sending the dragonkin stumbling back before hitting him with an upward slash, making a gash on the left shoulder.
But Kier was not finished however, immediately reorienting himself, he went on the attack, clawing away at the knights that surrounded him, his limbs ripping apart the armor the other knights were wearing while swinging his tail around a whip to hit those who had none, skewering several of them through the abdomen and then lifting them into the air and tossing them aside, some of them dying on impact, one of his claw attacks managed to send Brutus flying back from the force, shattering his armor and making him hit one of the water pipes of the garden, causing water to leak out. By the end of it all, it was just Pyotr and Ilena still standing.
“You murderer! Take this! <Water Manipulation>” Pyotr yelled as he took control of the leaking water and directed it at Kier, wrapping around him tightly,
{!}
FREEEEEZEE!
Without hesitation, Ilena immediately blasted the now trapped dragonkin with an icy blast that froze the water around him, freezing his limbs and tail and forcing him to his knees, and making him immobile.
“Now die!” Pyotr declared as he leaped into the air, his sword raised high
“Hah! Nice try! <Draconic Explosion>”
{!}
BOOOOM!
“AGGGH!”
“GAAAAGH!”
“Hahahahahah! Did you really think that I would fall that easily?!” Kier laughed as the ice melted around him,
“Ho…How?” Pyotr mumbled as he crawled to Ilena, both of them were knocked onto the porch, the force of the explosion ripped their clothes,
“Damn draconic magic” Ilena muttered as she clutched her aching body.
“Someone as weak as you wouldn’t understand” Kier answered as he walked to the prone couple, a smug look on his face as he looked down at the two of them, their disheveled faces, torn clothes and the traces of bloodied wounds filled him with glee.
BAM!
“GUGHH!”
Placing his foot on Ilena’s chest and holding Pyotr up by the collar, his eyes were filled with satisfaction,
“If your going to kill us. Our daughter will avenge us” Ilena stated as she tried to push Kier’s foot off of her
“You will pay for your crimes here today” Pyotr added as he tried to break free
“Oh no, I won’t be killing you. Not yet anyway, I will kill your bitch of a daughter first and make you watch. That will show Amelia who she should truly be with”
“You fucking psychopath” Ilena growled
“You will not succeed” Pyotr added
“We will see about that. But for now, enjoy the show as I burn down this entire estate” Kier told them with a smile
DROP!
LIFT!
WOOOSH!
“NO!” Both of them shouted as Kier let go of Pyotr and flew into the air,
CRAKOOOOOOM! BURRNNN!
Turning his head into its dragon form, he let loose a stream of flames that impacted the roof of the manor and continued flying around the place, coating every inch of it in his flames, with Ilena and Pyotr helplessly watching on, before being carried by a bloodied and burnt Brutus and some of the surviving knights, running alongside the servants who escaped the burning building and making their way to the fields near the stables.
“Ahh. A job well done” Kier remarked to himself as he sat in the bodega in the center of the garden as he watched the manor burn in front of his eyes, a smile on his face as he relaxed and waited for his beloved to soon arrive.
But unknown to him, this would be the last time he would feel such satisfaction.
A/N: Hello! This will be the last chapter for a while, have to focus on requirements for school. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I had fun making it. and oh me oh my another villainous guy? anyways, I hope you continue to enjoy the series and I will be back with the continuing chapter soon! stay safe and enjoy yourselves!