"T-They don't understand..."

He muttered under his breath, fearfully speaking in a hushed tone as his chest heaved to desperately bring air into his tired lungs. Cold hands clawed against the tattered cloak that shielded him from the elements. Blood dripped from the tip of his armored fingers as his head turned to look behind him.

"I am not.. I am not the traitor.."

He saw lights in the distance, followed by the baying of hounds. But he knew it was not hounds, and it forced his tired legs to move and bring him to a sprint, passing by trees that dwarfed his height and loomed over menacingly as the cold of winter howled against his frail body. The rush of heat went through him, yet he shivered still at the cold.

The snow covered ground crunched with each rapid step he took. His sprint was anything but fast and he could hear the thumps of heavy armor and the contact of hooves to the frozen earth beneath them. It pushed him to run faster, to flee far from here but his pace was hampered by his frail body, and as a resort he suddenly turned to the right, going deeper into the forest in hopes they would lose track of him.

“We are nothing to them!... Only death waits for us in their service..”

His voice was a low rumble, unnatural for a young man such as him. Yet despite that, it was shaky and fearful, nearly hushed in tone as he breathed heavily. In that moment, reasons as to why he was fleeing ceased to matter. The primal desire to simply live overpowered him, driving himself to ignore the limitations of his body.

Everything around him as he ran seemed blurry, and all he could see now as he continued to run, was the trees in front of him. They passed by easily, as snow rained from above. It was only when he reached the edge of a cliff that he stopped abruptly. Nearly falling over as he saw what was below the cliff, a rushing river leading to somewhere. To fall into it was certain death yet his mind registered it slowly as he backed away slightly, turning to face the forest he came from.

There was a few metres that separated him from the forest, a small field of grass was there. And he could see the lights getting closer. Almost he could hear the baying of the hounds again, the sound of clanking of metal on metal with frozen water being disturbed as they came for him.

“Damn it, damn it..”

He cursed, his shaky and still bloody hands almost combed his hair in habit, but at the sight of the blood on the gauntlets stopped him, and he lowered them. But as he did so he couldn’t help but stare at them, at the red splatters around the steel of his gauntlets and the way they dripped down to the snow covered ground beneath his feet. His eyes focused on the dripping blood, and all he could see was them. The way they fell from his fingertips, turning into circular droplets till they hit the snow on the ground, tainting them with the remaining life they had in them.

This was all he focused on, even the sounds of the hounds, their barks and howling did not register to his ears. Even when they passed through the trees finally, he stared at his hands and the blood that dripped. After a moment he closed his eyes and frowned, barring his teeth as he curled his bloodied fingers into fists.

“Benedict, please do not run anymore.”

Then a voice came, a kind feminine one. One that made everyone that hear it associate such a voice to a princess of sorts, one that embodied everything that was good about humanity, mind and body. Benedict opened his eyes, his brown eyes looking to its source as he finally fully lowered his hands. What he saw saw was the armored form of a female, an elven warrior. She was beautiful, pale skin that glowed under the moonlight, sharp features that matched her silk-like hair. Her eyes looked on with determination, those silver orbs staring at him as she crossed her arms, looking at him with disapproval and sadness.

Benedict only moved backwards slowly as he looked to her sides. It was the other Summoned, people like him. People from Earth summoned to this world they were in. They varied in ethnicity, but all seemed to have been highschool students. And some of them were here, looking at him with extreme hate as they held their weapons tightly. There was one in particular that looked at him with contempt, as if he was the lowest of all, a blonde-haired kid chosen by one of the Gods of Light.

He didn’t care for that individual, as he returned to look at the elf. She raised a hand, and the summoned seem to lower their guard. The hounds were nowhere to be seen, but he could see glowing eyes deep in the forest. He wondered as to how he could understand her, he never listened to the lessons given to the people that summoned them, and he doubted that she spoke english. It had to be magic, but the situation now didn’t allow him to ponder on the matter.

“It is all I can do now, the King has sent you and them to hunt me down.. I c-can’t go back.. That crime, it was not my doing!”

He yelled, not deluding himself that they would believe him. Already he could see that blonde boy grin in amusement, as the others looked at him as if they were insulted by his ‘lie’. Benedict gritted his teeth at this, he couldn’t escape them, and returning to the castle was a death sentence waiting to happen. So he chose another choice, a choice that scares him deeply.

“Benedict, we have been tasked to bring you back. Not to hunt you down like a dog. Please, surrender, so this may end without blood. Unlike that scene from which you fled from.”

The elf spoke as if she was neutral on the matter. She had a by the book attitude as she waited for him to surrender, it seemed she did expect for this to end without blood. As her sword, a broadsword from what he could see, was still sheathed in its scabbard. But Benedict did not want to surrender at all, so he turned around and ran.

And at that moment he could hear gasps as they saw where he was heading. With a fatalistic need, he sped up until he was near enough to leap from the cliff, and into the rushing rapids below. His eyes looking upwards as the silhouette was seen above, looking down on him with others following suit.

Then he had hit the raging waters below. The freezing temperatures instantly chilling him as he desperately tried to stay afloat. But never having the knowledge on how to swim, he easily sank. And a cold blue illuminated by the bright moon was all he could see, until darkness took over and his consciousness slipped away.

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Thoughts of the Carmine King (AN)

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Hello! I am Lictor, or Fallen. I am a bit nervous and rather excited to actually post this story you see. As I have said in the description, this is a re-write of a story with a similar name and plot, which was cringe worthy as it held so much cliche and plot-holes. Though it was made by a request of a friend, this one will be a re-write so that request may at least be fulfilled.

As I love many things that are fantasy and sci-fi, many such things will influence this story. I can only trust that it shall not ruin this story. If I have any mistakes, please do tell me as I do not have anyone to proof-read my work. And doing it myself may be a bit, innefective? Ehehe. Anyways, do join me in this tale!