Dauntless

"Donny?" Angelo whispered in disbelief. Everything else around him seemed to slow to a blur, as his dark eyes remained glued to his brother's approaching figure.

His eyes watered, and he moved his head from side to side. "Please tell me this is real." He said while shifting his weight from knee to knee.

Donny knelt with one knee, his eyes alight with emotion. "Of course, it's real, brother. I'm here now and everything will be as it should be. There's just one small problem now." He looked down at the floor. "You're not my little brother anymore. You're a murderer." He whispered, lifting his head back up, a sickening wide smile spread across his face.

"…w…what?"

Donny stood abruptly, his knee slamming into Angelo's head. A repulsive crunch traveled through the cool air, as the blur around them dissolved and the whooping sounds of the people came into play once more.

The chained boy grunted in pain, as blood trailed down his dislocated nose.

Donny's features slowly faded away, as the crowd chanted loudly, the man's name. "Danek! Danek! Danek!"

Danek pumped his fists into the air, his blue eyes shining with pride. "Rahhh!" With a roar, he charged, smashing a rough-looking fist into Angelo's bloodied face.

He followed through, delivering a heavy kick to his arm, as his body hit the ground violently. Over and over, Danek assaulted the chained boy, the pleasure in his eyes growing with each strike.

His blood-stained hand came up, wiping the sweat and droplets of blood from his forehead. Kneeling with a single leg, he grabbed Angelo's hair roughly. "Not so tough, are we now, Rafal?"

With unimaginable speed, Danek flew back, his bare back colliding with the rough sand.

"I…am not Rafal!" The chains binding Angelo shattered to the ground, as he stood, the silver in his eyes illuminating his rage.

The crowd went silent, as the blue-eyed man chuckled, stumbling to his feet. "And neither are you…Angelo. Angelo, isn't it?" He scoffed at the hidden concern on the boy's face. "Pathetic, you don't even know who you are?"

The boy charged, kicking up sand as he barreled at the sneering man.

"Too slow." Danek took a side step, leaving his attacker grappling with the force of gravity.

With a huff, Angelo charged at him again, yet the results were the same. The crowd resumed their cheering, as they watched the Vanrei miss his nimble target over and over again.

"Off with his head!" The people yelled out, the smell of flames and blood tainting the air.

Danek chuckled. "Are you really Vanrei? If this is how weak you're so-called elite race is, we would've been in power long before the wars."

"I…am not…Vanrei." The boy panted out as he took another futile swing at the man.

"Oh, but you are. You, however, cannot beat me, I know your next move before you think it!" He laughed out loud, bringing his palm forward. "You are no match for the blue bloods, you are weak." The Vanrei fell to his knees, his breaths labored and the blue blood turned to his people with a grin. "Alas, we have nothing to fear! Our days of hiding and cowering behind our illusions can finally come to an end! We are free!"

The cheering of the blue bloods soared high beyond the dark clouds as the boy watched them in helpless blurs.

~~~

A streak of lightning raced along the clouds, briefly illuminating the forgotten castle on the shores of the black beach.

"I was once like you." Mordred's voice echoed throughout what seemed to have once been a throne room. Pacing back and forth about the dingy room, he continued to speak. "Unsure of who I was. Blue blood, or just another slave for those in power to abuse."

Angelo coughed up blood, his reddened eyes remaining pinned to the man's every move.

"I remember when Eveldon was as revered as the other kingdoms, if not more." He stopped, turning his strong features to the boy. "Do you know why you're not chained?"

The boy gave a glance to his free hands, then shook his head from side to side.

"It's because I asked them not to. Because I see myself in you, and because I want to help you. Give you a chance to make your mark."

"Look…uh Mordred, I didn't come here deliberately. I was dragged into this strange portal and then I was dropped unto the beach. Your castle was the only thing I could see and I had no idea there were people inside. I…I just want to go home."

"And where exactly is that…your home?" The man asked.

"Earth." He said, his eyes glazing over something distant and unknown.

"Earth is for humans. Try as you may, you cannot outrun the truth. Even if you did manage to return to your…home, you would be another person completely. Everyone would wonder what you have turned into, and your brother…what will you tell them?" Mordred raised a blonde eyebrow in question.

A thousand emotions passed over Angelo's filthy face as he bit back his words.

"Like I said, I was once like you and that is why I'm offering you this chance."

"What chance? I'm not some charity case." The incessant sound of water dripping seemed to highlight the boy's visible frustration.

"Who said you were? At full strength, you might stand a chance against my kind but now. Now you need a name for yourself, you need food. You need your strength back. I'm giving you a chance to become one of us, to make a decision for yourself and not be held back by the people who call you otherwise. That is not charity, that is an alliance."

He let out a short chuckle. "Alliance? Just tell me what you want from me."

"Your knowledge. As I mentioned, my people have been in hiding for long enough. We need to know that it is safe for us to emerge from the shadows."

"But I don't know of anything aside from earth and the veil, I cannot help you."

"Angelo doesn't. But…Rafal does. He was a protector, the most powerful of his time and he traveled the world. He has the knowledge we need. Like it or not he is a part of you. While you may choose another name, his memories, and consciousness will always be present in you."

"You…you looked into my mind back there. I could feel it, you and…your people have the ability to open the windows into minds. Why not just pluck out the answers yourself?"

"Because I want it to be your decision."

"Bullshit." He smiled disbelievingly, taking his head from side to side.

"Would you rather I kill you now?"

"You can try, I know I have." He muttered the last part under his breath.

Mordred nodded in understanding, as he turned his broad back to the boy and headed for the broken-down throne. "You have a day. Your body is weak, have you not noticed the lingering injuries on your body"

The boy's eyes widened as he quickly surveyed his bleeding body.

"It is not a machine, your body…even machines get tired. And so if I were to land a precise strike in the right direction right now, you would cease to exist. In fact, in your present condition, anybody could kill you." The roars and jeers of the blue bloods could be heard through the windows of the elevated throne room.

Mordred, their leader sat calmly on the barely standing throne which was made of stone. "A week at least, is what you would need to regain strength. Now I repeat…you have one day to collect your thoughts and make your decision, or you will be shown out of Eveldon and out into the horrors of the forgotten realm."