***

“In here,” said the guard who was guiding them as he fumbled with the lock to the cell.

Pulling the door open and gesturing for them to enter, the guard walked in.

Walking in, Alex and Alice glanced around.

Gray concrete walls, a small window to let the sunlight through, and a narrow cot upon which lay a pillow.

Overall the room was sparse but clean.

“My apologies, your grace.”

“However we do not have any accommodations fitting of your status, these cells are used to hold nobles while their families pay for their release and will be used for your stay until your audience with the king is approved.” said the guard bowing his head.

“May we have 5 minutes to speak before we separate?” asked Alice.

“Of course,” he said before leaving.

Turning her head around to look at Alex she found his gaze wandering around the room slightly dazed.

“Alex,” she said, getting his attention.

Snapping his gaze to her, his eyes reflected a clouded emotion swirling within.

Ignoring this as she didn't have much time she said.

“I will do everything I can to get an audience with the king as soon as possible. I will also have an old friend of my fathers who operates a large mercantile business look into the matter of the trial.”

Nodding his head slightly in acknowledgment he said.

“Be careful, someone with the power to bribe members of the High Magistrate is not someone to be looked down on.”

“I know, but I still have to try,” she said resolutely.

“Then I shall eagerly await your return,” he said blandly.

Nodding her head she said.

“I will see about having two of your guards posted here in case there are any issues such as the assassin. Although this place is incredibly secure you can never be too sure.”

“Time's up!” called the voice of the guard from the end of the hallway.

“Here quickly, take this!” she said hurriedly, as she shoved a small leather sheath in his hand.

“Thank you,” he said, glancing at the dagger inside.

Nodding her head she said goodbye before leaving.

The door shut behind her and silence enveloped the room.

Alex shut his eyes as he sat down on the bed and leaned against the wall.

‘Seriously, how far have I fallen?’

‘To be put on trial and then imprisoned.’

‘Pathetic.’

Sighing internally he thought about what was to come.

‘An Audience with the king huh?’

‘Wait, would I need to bow to him?’ Alex suddenly thought in shock.

Suddenly a memory was called forth from within his mind.

*** Memory ***

“Rise.” said a loud voice.

Glancing up he looked around.

He was in a large throne room.

Pillars lined the sides as was common.

A red carpet stretched from the entrance to the large ornate golden throne.

A tall bearded man stood up from the throne.

On his head was a crown, and hung on his shoulders was a long robe that trailed behind him as he walked.

He was the king, Henry Parsche, Alex’s father.

“Do you know why there is no one in the throne room today?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

Alex shook his head as he did not know.

As his father approached him he suddenly lashed out with his hand and smashed his fist into Alex’s jaw.

Alex fell on the ground clutching his jaw in pain.

“YOU FOOL!” the king shouted.

“YOU STARTED A WAR AND FOR WHAT?”

“Hundreds of thousands dead and what do you have to show for it?”

“NOTHING!!!!” The king's face was getting more red by the second as he rushed in and kicked Alex in the stomach, making him curl up and wheeze.

“Blasted incompetent, arrogant fool.” he began muttering.

“I've got a kingdom breathing down my neck wanting vengeance and I can't even control my own kingdom. How am I supposed to tell the people that we lost so many soldiers and didn't even win anything!” he spat.

“Father! I…” Alex began but another sharp kick to his face quickly silenced him, sending his head spinning to the ground as blood flowed out of his broken nose.

“No excuses! Man up and accept that you were too greedy and now I have to pay the consequences for your actions. At this point, I might even have a rebellion in my own kingdom.”

Alex glanced up at his father with teary eyes as he kept beating him.

“If only I hadn't married your whore of a mother and you were born!” he spat.

Alex’s mind froze.

‘If only you hadn’t been born’ echoed through his head as his father kicked him again.

It seemed something in him finally snapped as the tears that were streaming down his face stopped.

As his father's next kick came in, Alex rolled to the side avoiding the kick.

“Huh?” his father grunted, surprised.

However, before he could do anything he suddenly felt something sharp in his chest as pain blossomed through his body.

Looking down he saw the handle of a dagger embedded in him, the handle holding that dagger was shaking but it held on as if for dear life.

Looking up, he stared into the eyes of his son.

All that reflected back at him was sheer broken madness.

It was as if he was staring at a broken man, a man who never regretted, a man who bore the hatred of others, a man who relentlessly pushed forward, and a man driven by his goals, but in the end, it seemed that man couldn’t handle it and collapsed, defeated, broken, but most of all.

He was mad.

The king couldn’t believe what he was looking at and stuttered.

“Do you know what you've done?”

“I raised you, I fed you, I clothed you, I put a roof over your head! And you dare do this?” he asked in shock as the light began fading from his eyes.

Alex stared deep into his father’s eyes.

“I sacrificed everything for you, my happiness, my pride, my freedom!”

“AND WHAT DO I GET FOR IT?” Alex shouted.

“I just wanted something that was finally mine, for once I wanted to be greedy. After all, you were the one who taught me to do what is necessary no matter the price.”

“It doesn’t matter if you fed me or clothed me or put a roof over my head when it might have just been better had I never been born!” he yelled crazily.

His father stared at him in shock as the light finally died out from his eyes.

Alex ingrained the image of his father's dying moments in his mind.

Holding his father's body Alex began sobbing.

“Forgive me father, for I hath sinned.”

*** End Of Memory ***

Snapping out of the memory Alex sat bolt upright.

‘No, never again.’

‘Never again will I bow to another.’

***

Alice was walking down an alleyway at a brisk pace, two guards were trailing behind her while the rest had been sent to guard the manor that the duchy owned in the city, and two were left at the prison.

Her hood swayed in the frigid winter air as she neared a metal door at the end of the alleyway.

Upon reaching it she knocked 6 times and then 9 times before waiting.

A second later she heard the sound of rusted metal moving as a slat at the top of the door was opened wide enough for a person to peer out.

The eyes quickly trailed over her robe and the two guards behind her.

“Business?” asked a voice from behind the door.

“I'm here to see Edmund,” she said as she shivered from the cold.

“Do you have an appointment?” he asked.

“Tell him his niece has come,” she said.

The man's eyes flashed with surprise.

Shutting the slat, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard from the other side.

A few minutes later they heard several latches unhitch as the door swung wide open revealing a portly man who quickly ran out smothering Alice in a hug.

The guards bristled but stopped when Alice waved her hand.

“I haven't seen you in quite some time!” said Edmund cheerfully.

“Yes well I've been quite busy uncle Edmund, however, it is quite cold outside so may we come in?” she asked as she rubbed her hands together.

“Of course! Of course!” laughed the man leading the way inside.

Once inside they were greeted by a tall lanky man with a hooked nose and sallow skin.

“This is Trell, my assistant,” he said, gesturing at the man.

The man bowed in greeting.

Nodding her head at him she asked.

“Can we go somewhere private? I have something urgent to discuss with you.”

Nodding his head as he assumed a somewhat serious expression he led the way down the hall.

As they passed by an open door a quick glance inside revealed several large and burly men as well as several thin and tall men dressed in black, with various weapons scattered around as they drank.

Pausing for a second Edmund gestured towards Alice.

Alice, realizing his intent, said.

“Wait here for me, I shall be back soon.” as she looked pointedly at the guards.

“But…” began one but she quickly silenced him with a glare as she gestured for them to join the other men in the room.

The guards quickly snapped off a salute and went inside.

Once they had gone upstairs they entered a large office decorated plainly however with some style as several paintings hung from the green walls.

Trell locked the door behind them before assuming a position behind Edmund.

Alice quickly took a seat.

“So what can I do for you?” asked Edmund curiously as Alice had only ever come to him a few times for help.

“I need you to investigate someone,” she said as she glanced around the room.

“Who?” Edmund asked curiously.

“I don't know,” she said frankly.

“Okay… then what is it exactly that you want me to do?” he asked as his interest piqued.

“Someone paid the High Magistrate to order absurd judgments on the trial for my husband. It seems their goal was for us to be forced into petitioning for an audience with the king.”

“Hmm…” hummed Edmund as he rubbed his chin.

Looking over at Trell he asked.

“Have you seen any out-of-the-ordinary deals lately?”

Trell thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.

“It is possible it was established outside of our channels but it is highly unlikely, in order to get around us you would have to have major resources to the point that you probably wouldn’t even need to bribe the Magistrate,” he said.

Edmund thought for a bit before saying.

“Very well I will look into it, of course, I'll do it for free on account of this being an attack against my niece and her husband.” his eyes flashed dangerously as he said that.

“Is that all?” he asked.

“One more thing…”

***

As they walked down the stairs Edmund said.

“You should bring your husband around some time, I'd like to meet the man who married my niece.”

“Oh you would, wouldn’t you?” she jested.

“What's that supposed to mean?” he asked.

“You just want to bully him and give him the talk don't you?”

Edmund quickly glanced away having been found out.

“I was not thinking that!” he said in feigned anger.

“Sure you weren't, but let me tell you my husband won't be so easy to bully,” she said with a trace of pride.

“Oh just you wait, ain’t nothing withstood uncle Edmund yet,” he said heartily.

As they arrived at the foyer they came across a bizarre scene.

Gathered around a table were all the men who were previously sitting around the room.

One of Alice's knights could be seen in the crowd of men who were chanting as well.

As they approached they saw two men arm wrestling.

One was the second knight.

And the other was a thin wiry man dressed all in black.

It seemed as if the knight was struggling to lower the man's hand down.

Just when it seemed as if the knight would succeed, suddenly the man's arm lifted and smashed the knight's hand into the table.

Silence quickly fell as everyone stared in awe at this amazing scene.

Quickly the silence was broken as everyone began cheering.

“Ehem” coughed a voice.

The men all quickly turned still as they turned their heads as if rusty machines to look back at Edmund.

Flash!

Suddenly the area around the table was clear as all the men were back in their seats doing what they were doing before.

Only the knights remained where they were bewildered.

Alice covered her mouth with her hand as she let out a little laugh.

“It seems your mercenaries are as tough as ever,” she said.

“Yes… and it seems yours could use some work, remind me some time and I'll send one of my instructors to train your men.”

Nodding her head in acceptance she was quickly joined by the knights as they headed for the exit.

Stopping just at the doorway she turned to look back at Edmund and said.

“Remember the last thing we talked about, I have a feeling something bad will happen.”

Turning back around she left into the chilly night air as she put on her coat and walked down the alley.

***

Alex was trying to fall asleep when he heard a small whine coming from the window across the room.

Turning around he couldn’t see anything in the dark however the whining kept coming.

Climbing out of his bed he walked over to the window.

Unlatching the hook keeping the metal plate in place he opened it up.

There laying right outside the bars of his window was the black dog he had seen earlier.

It lay curled up on the ground as it shivered from the cold.

Its rib cage was visible from hunger, it seemed it hadn’t been able to find anything to eat.

It whined softly as the chilly wind bit into its flesh.

Alex’s heart was slightly touched by this scene.

“Hey…” Alex called softly.

The dog jumped as it scampered back in fright.

“It's okay, it's okay,” Alex said reassuringly, trying to calm the dog down.

The dog watched Alex for a minute before slowly approaching him.

Sniff!

Sniff!

The dog sniffed Alex’s stretched-out hand before licking it slightly.

Alex’s hand twitched as the lick tickled.

The dog backed away quickly before approaching again.

“It's okay, I won't hurt you,” Alex said, trying to be reassuring.

The dog looked at him before seemingly deciding Alex was safe.

“Here, come here,” Alex said, trying to coax the dog into fitting through the bars.

Suddenly the wind picked up again and the dog felt the freezing cold as it pierced through its short fur.

The dog quickly tried fitting its body through the bars but seemed to be having trouble.

Alex tried finding a way and decided that pushing the dog through would be best.

Standing up on his tiptoes he stuck his hand out through the bars and pushed on the back of the dog as he forced it in.

The dog quickly fit through and landed on the ground roughly.

Alex quickly shut the metal plate and locked the latch so as not to let the cold wind in.

Gazing up at him the dog didn't know what to do as it gazed at him uncertainly.

Looking down at the dog Alex wasn’t sure what to do either.

Glancing at his bed suddenly a thought occurred to him.

“Are you cold?” he asked, even though he knew the dog couldn’t answer him.

The dog merely stared at him but Alex could see the dog shiver.

Alex quickly walked over to the bed and gestured for the dog to climb in.

The dog merely watched him but his tail began wagging.

“Come on,” Alex said as he kept waving his hands.

Finally, the dog walked over and hopped on the bed.

Laying down and curling up it waited as Alex climbed on the bed and pulled the sheet over them.

Alex shifted trying to get comfortable before finally deciding the most comfortable position was facing the dog.

Alex turned around and gazed at the dog as it curled up against him trying to get more of his body heat.

Shutting his eyes Alex quickly fell asleep.

***

Alex woke up to the sound of clattering at the door.

The dog similarly woke up at its head perked up and ears straightened out.

“Your Grace, I have brought today's breakfast, is there anything you need?”

Called the voice of the guard.

Alex quickly climbed out of bed to grab the tray of food that was being fit through the bars.

“If you could heat up the cell at night it would be nice, it was quite cold last night.”

Alex said.

“Of course your grace, once again I apologize for the accommodations, we weren't aware that winter would come so soon.”

Apologized to the guard.

“That is all then,” said Alex as he walked back to the bed.

He heard the sound of footsteps as the guard retreated back down the hall.

The dog watched as Alex placed the food tray on the bed and picked up a loaf of bread and some meat.

“Eat,” Alex said, pointing at the tray.

The dog quickly turned its gaze towards the tray as it began wolfing down the food.

First, the meat and then the vegetables were quickly devoured into its stomach.

Alex watched as the dog rapidly wolfed down the food.

‘Hmm... ‘

“I think I'll name you... Wolf,” said Alex as he gazed down at the dog.

Wolf looked up as he said that but quickly went back to devouring the food.

High above in the sky where no one could see, a pair of eyes watched this scene silently.