CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

23.

Florian was lost in his mind when Thorin left him. She had said that she would respect whatever decision he made, but he was not certain how much she meant that. He stood just outside the double doors. He had his hand pulling on his collar as if the clothes he wore had been suffocating him. Does he go in? Will he leave? Will everybody be disappointed if he left? Will he end up like the young soldier?

He never understood why Alaric demanded that he be the one who has to take out Chapman. Why could he not stay with the others and then they all face Chapman together? Before Versus he had never doubted Alaric…but now he can see some cracks in Alaric's character. He knew these cracks were most probably present from the beginning but he had just been too blind to notice it. Voices broke Florian out of his mind. Two voices coming from the other side of the door. Does Chapman have more soldiers in his office? This was a dumb idea. Florian bit his lip and tapped his foot. He brought a trembling hand onto the door handles. He remembered to breathe. If the odds are against me, I can just run away. No big deal. He slowly opened the door. He heard the voices go quiet as he opened the door. Behind a large desk along the back wall of the room, a short fat man dressed in a brown suit. What was left of his hair looked as if they were desperately wanting to leave. Anger washed over the man's face as he stared at Florian. Across from the man sat a young boy with blond hair and blue eyes. His face had been indifferent when he looked at Florian.

"What is the meaning of your disturbance? I did not call for you!" The fat man yelled aggressively. Florian assumed the man to be Chapman. Florian closed the double doors behind him and placed a shaky hand onto the hilt of his stolen blade.

"Lord Chapman, there has been an emergency," Florian said, trying desperately to fool him. He moved closer to Chapman. He ignored the young boy. Chapman raised an eyebrow at his words but then waved him off.

"It probably has something to do with Gwenllian. Stupid whore is always up to no good." Chapman said in disgust. "I don't think I have ever seen you before. What is your name, soldier?"

Florian watched as the young boy moved from his position between Florian and Chapman.

"Florian-" He was cut short as he had to dodge a fast-moving projectile. He just barely got out of the way. He was currently on one knee leaning to his right.

"I do not care what your name is. How dare you interrupt my meeting."

Florian realised that Chapman held a whip in one hand. He glanced at the section of the floor that the whip had hit. The floor seemed damaged. He then brought his eyes to Chapman's whip. He noticed red symbols shining softly at the base of the weapon. Runes.

"You dare escape your death, maggot,"

Florian unsheathed his stolen blade and attempted to charge at Chapman. He found this to be difficult however as Chapman kept him at bay with his whip. The whip confused him. It moved as if it had a mind of its own. Chapman did not have to move his arm very much for the whip to lash out. It seemed focused on Florian. It had grazed him a few times. The areas burnt.

"Did Gwenllian send you here to kill me?" Chapman had been asking him these questions a few times already. Florian refused to answer them. Opting to focus on dodging the wild moving whip.

"You can't kill me, you can't even touch me." Chapman was laughing. Florian noticed a thin layer of sweat that was beginning to appear on Chapman. He can't keep it up all day. I can't as well. Florian assumed Chapman to not be a good caster, this was due to his body shape. Casting requires stamina as well as stria. This also meant that Florian did not want to expose himself by casting prematurely. He had to come up with an idea. He stopped trying to charge foolishly and backed up. He had been out of the range of the whip. Chapman did not chase. He remained rooted behind the large desk. He seemed content to remain there. He then turned to the young boy.

"Everard, come closer. This madman might attack you." Chapman's tone had been wildly different to the one he used to speak to Florian. It was almost endearing. The boy, Everard, did not look at Chapman; he focused on what happened across the room. Florian had made his way to the golden furniture while keeping his eyes focused on Chapman. Noticing that Chapman was distracted, he lifted a small golden stool and tossed it with all his might towards Chapman. He had hoped that the boy would not alert Chapman. He was correct, the blond boy just watched him. The stool flew through the air. Chapman had been unaware. As the stool got close, the whip moved wildly, shattering the stool into many pieces. One of the stool's many pieces hit Everard causing him to yelp. Chapman panicked and moved away from his desk and towards Everard. Florian used this moment to cast. The floor beneath Chapman's seemed to melt and he lost his balance. In his panic, he dropped his whip. Florian did not waste time anytime and began to charge. He tried his best to wave away the intrusive thoughts that were clouding his mind. He was before Chapman in a flash. He raised his blade with shaky hands and was about to strike. The look on Chapman's face caused him to close his eyes. Don't look at me like that. Don't be terrified. Please. Florian brought down the blade. The blade went close to Chapman when it stopped. Florian opened his eyes. He gasped when he saw what was happening. Chapman had been smiling at him. A cruel grin plastered on his face. His sword had been held in position by the whip that hung loosely. It had been wrapped around his blade. Chapman had not even been holding the whip. Florian tried to break the whip's hold but it was strong. Chapman began to laugh.

"Do you think you are the first to attempt to kill me?" Chapman mocked him. The whip moved his blade on its own. He tried to wrestle back control but the whip had been too strong. The whip forced him to point the blade at himself. The whip yanked viciously. Florian had let go of his blade and moved at the right time. His blade pierced through his left shoulder. Searing pain. Florian yelled as he stumbled backwards, falling onto his behind. The whip had let go of its hold on the blade. Chapman grabbed the whip and walked towards Florian, who had been breathing heavily. The rage on Chapman's face had been palpable.

"As I said you cannot touch me."

I can't do it. I am sorry. Ashe, Alaric, Thorin…I am sorry. He pulled the blade from his shoulder. He clenched his teeth. The pain had been unbearable. The blade dropped to the floor. It echoed loudly as it fell. Blood gushed from his wound. The blood reminded him of the blade on his back. The blade he could not figure out. He looked up towards Chapman. The man had been dishevelled, he had been sweating so much more than before. The whip lifted and was about to strike him. The whip did not move as fast as before. Florian rolled out of the way. He couldn't avoid the blow entirely as the whip caught a bit of his torso. Florian screamed. He brought his right hand to the wound and kept pressure on it. Blood was already escaping between his fingers. For some reason, Chapman did not attack immediately afterwards. Florian stumbled to his feet. He took one glance at Chapman. His eyes had been bloodshot and the hand in which he held the whip had been red. Florian began to limp away. He did not head to the door instead of heading towards the golden furniture. He could not die while trying to escape, everyone will think him a coward. He slowly weaved between the furniture, the whip lashing out at the furniture breaking a few of them into pieces while others just got a few lacerations. The whip caught him a few times, exactly on the wound on his torso. Florian screamed. His vision was getting blurred. There was nowhere to run anymore. No more furniture to hide behind. Florian turned to Chapman, who stood in the middle of the room. Though his vision was blurred, he could see that the foul man had been smiling. Florian let go of the wound. A new wave of pain hit him. He slowly brought his right hand to the hilt of the crimson blade. He limped towards Chapman. As he got close enough, the whip hit him on the wound. Florian did not have the energy to scream. He removed the sword. His energy drained rapidly as usual. He swung the sword loosely at Chapman. He could no longer see. He had not been in range. He felt a strange wind passing through his body. As he swung he fell to the floor. He could not hear anything. As his world fell into darkness.