One Hell of a Surprise

The burnt scent of grass, wood, and trees filled the once calming and beautiful state of the town square. The tulips trampled by the debris, the statues chipped and broken, most had scattered into bits while some flew from the center of the square.

There lies the unfortunate three, caught up in an unprecedented assault from an unknown enemy. On Nicolas's mind, the culprit must have been the people who had been sending death threats to the royal family, but this was not his immediate concern. He was shaken from the shock of the explosion and his orientation were still out of order. All he know is that Alisa is relatively safe behind him being the farthest away from the blast. Arthur on the other had been hit gravely, he must have sheltered the prince as much as he could in order to protect him as part of his primary duty.

"Arthur—," the prince coughed as he inhaled the smoke-filled air. He called him again and again but no reply was given, except for the ruckus coming from one of the statues beside Nicolas, it was too close that it might have crushed his tiny young body if he had been an inch closer.

"Nicolas—," a voice came from the ruble.

"Arthur, is that you? Where are you?"

"I'm fine—," the gentleman abruptly replied before coughing. Fine is the last thing that he can be described, Alvor must have liked him too much that he decided to hug the poor old man. He was sandwiched, blood dripping from his head, his arms barely even moving, and everything from under his waist is a tomato paste.

"I had served during the war, I never thought that—," blood gushed out of his mouth as he desperately tried to converse, "This will be the way I'll die."

"You're not gonna die, I'll get you out," Nicolas started his futile excavation of the ruble only to be painted red from his butler's blood. Arthur stopped him. He knows that he's already far from being saved and there's no need to look to know that he's beyond saving.

"It was an honor to serve you your majesty— Forgive me for not fulfilling my role properly, but you should listen to me," he placed his trembling hands on the Prince's shoulder. "Take Alisa and go back to the castle, let them know what happened and—"

"And what?," his vision started cloud, "Leave you here? To die? I can't Arthur."

"I am not asking you my prince. This is an order"

"NO"

Arthur watched as the prince struggled to hold his tears finally poured down his cheeks. It melted his heart; he had always been the one who keeps an eye on these children more than their parents had actually found time to. The invisible punctures in his chest had reached his heart, more painful than his injuries. He gathered the last of his strength and screamed from the top of his lungs.

"GO Nicolas, take Alisa. You need to leave. The kingdom needs you. If you die here it will be a big loss so go, I DON'T NEED YOUR SYMPATHY"

Nicolas felt even more torn, there was only one instance that Arthur had ever raised his voice in front of them and it's also the only time that he had looked and sounded serious. This was the second time and sadly, probably the last. His butler's eyes are full of determination despite the trembling that gets worse every passing second as he slowly felt cold. He could not do anything but cry as he slowly collected himself from the ground, his tears like a water fall as he turned his attention to Alisa who's now starting to recover. He quickly grabbed her by the arm and ran without looking back, keeping his tears to himself.

"Where's Arthur?," Alisa looked back.

"We can't go back for him"

"No Nicolas, we need to go back for him. HE NEEDS US," she tried to break free but the boy's grip is tighter than a pickle jar's cap due to adrenalin.

"ALISA, LISTEN," Nicolas squealed as he tried to prevent her from going back, grabbing her again by the hand, they played a tug of war, except there was no rope and life is what's at stake. They only came to a pause when another explosion obliterated the place they had been just a minute ago. They both fell to the ground, eyes wide, tearful, and devastated.

"We could have saved him," Alisa cried.

"Enough Alisa," his voice wavering and weak, "We would not even be able to help him."

"But…"

"No buts, he wanted us to survive and reach the castle, would you really trample over his death wish," he lost control of his temper, leaving her speechless and with no other choice but to cry her eyes out as they fled.

Explosions here, there, left, and right. Anywhere they set your gaze, destruction is the only thing that will met their eyes, loud bang for the hearing, and the suffocating smoke for the nose and lungs. The colorful lights that's illuminating the deep dark sky did not help their faint hearts. House, stores, libraries, and other buildings and structures, none was spared. Whoever was behind the attack must have hated Gregoria with every bit of his soul. This is no mere attempt for the royal family's heads but a sharp blade to severe the Kingdom's leg, that's what Nicolas thought as he and Alisa traversed their way through the sea of flames. It should have been a peaceful night while gazing at the fireworks.

"If only I never left the castle," guilt started to climb up his throat as he started regretting his decision.

Despite the incident, one thing is still fortunate. Fortunate enough that all the citizens are drunk and merry inside the castle, oblivious that as the sun rises tomorrow, only ash and ruble will be the only thing that they can call home. On the other hand, the two unfortunate children loss in hell had reach a dead end. Two buildings had collapsed and blocked the way with no way to climb or squeeze themselves through.

"Listen," a man's voice echoed from somewhere, and the only thing they know is that it's getting closer and closer, so they hid themselves to the closest thing they can find.

"I don't want to hear any complaints. We only have one objective and I don't want anyone getting sidetracked. Find the prince, make sure to bombard everything as you make your way towards the castle. He must be sitting somewhere fancy inside those castle walls, so look for him. I want him alive. By alive I mean well and breathing," a man dressed in an all-black cloak came marching together with another 20 men or so.

"And what about the others sire?"

"You may do as you wish, behead them, gouged their intestines out, I don't care. Just give me the prince and we'll be out of this place," he added before dispersing, leaving a wave of confusion to Nicolas and Alisa.

"They're looking for you, do you know any of them?," she asked before pulling him to the ground just before another explosion shook the ground.

"I don't know them nor have I seen them before, but from what he said, I guess they are unaware that I'm outside. If I'm right, they don't even know what I look like," the prince tried to cover his fear but his trembling lips and slight stutter had spoken it all. "If we want to stop them, we should beat them to the castle first."

With no other choice, they decide to circle around the dead end and found a more viable route which produced a pinch of hope for their hopeless hearts. Nicolas took the first step while watching the castle grow closer and closer when Alisa stopped him on his tracks.

"Did you here that? I think someone is still here with us," she scanned the surroundings.

A little later, he too had picked up a faint yet audible cry. "Mother, HELP, anyone…," it sobs and sobs until it's close enough to properly trace the direction it was coming from. To both of their surprise, it was Hunter, one of their playmates from earlier.

"What are you still doing here? Didn't you leave with the other kids already?," the prince began throwing him questions. "Do you have a death wish or something?"

"It's not my fault—," he cried even more.

Alisa had loss the prideful and leaderlike view he had with him earlier, she would have never expected that Hunter, of all people, would be the loudest crier she had ever met in her almost 7 years of existence. Crybaby, she thought. "Why are you still here then?"

"You see, I found a little kitten on the way back, I— I wanted to keep it but she ran away"

"But you're too simple minded enough that you still chased after it, and now you're in this mess with us, with no guarantee that we would even see the light of day again," the prince brushed lemon into the already wounded boy.

"Your being too harsh Nicolas," Alisa reminded him that a prince should not nor say those kinds of things.

"I just want to see mother—," Hunter tried to cry again but was immediately hushed by Nicolas through a not so considerate muffling with his hands.

"Did you hear anything?," two of the cloaked men came cruising by.

"I don't know. Must have been the wind. No one is here remember, they are busy chomping down lamb's leg at the castle grounds, lucky peasants"

"I'm not crazy, I swear I can hear kids mumbling from over here".

The two unidentified men began their search in the vicinity, still arguing as they checked every nook and cranny, listening closely to the faint but occasional ruckus. Their every step can be heard as they draw nearer, and to make it worst, straight towards where they hid. All hands to the wall as they prayed that their seekers would turn around the last minute. Nicolas was already debating if he should trade his life for the sake of the other two, Alisa is worried that Nicolas would do so, and Hunter is already turning purple from being muffled on his mouth and nose.

He tapped and tapped and tapped, but the sweaty and trembling prince only tightened his hold with each heart pounding moment while every kind of possibility ran through his mind, Alisa was the same.

"Ni— co— las," he desperately removed the prince's hand as he started to reach the end of his lung capacity, when Alisa finally noticed his struggle.

She tapped Nicolas by the shoulder and gestured to the poor boy, which snapped the prince back to the living world. His breathing finally went back to normal as he apologetically freed Hunter who immediately took a deep breath.

"WHAT THE HELL," Hunter cried to both of them. Taking no consideration to the state of the situation. All the hair stood up from their bodies as they slowly turned their heads stemming from Hunter towards the other side of the wall.

"I told you there's someone here," the man called for backup leaving the three with no choice but to run.

"What do we do? Will we still be able to get out of here," Hunter cried.

The other two just threw him some sharp gazes, "We could safely have," Alisa started.

"If only you did not squeal, ASSHOLE," Nicolas finished the statement.

"Words Nicolas," Alisa reminded him but he did not care. If burning Hunter with offensive words could save them, he would gladly do so, free of charge.

"Catch them, Don't let them get to the castle, kill them if you must," one of the men ordered as a humongous man emerged from the smoke and ash. He was big, no, he was gigantic that the long black cloak looked like a shirt for him. Although his face is not visible, parts of his body had large stitches and his proportions had little to no symmetry at all, like a jigsaw puzzle that had been forcefully mended together.

Bombardments kept going, some flew from their backs, some on their side, and the worst are the strong ones that can shake the ground. The houses that turned to ruble was now starting to turn into literal dust, while broken wood has turned to ash.

Hunter felt hopeless, more hopeless than the other two. Despite being the face and the forefront of all his playmates he knows deeply how much a coward he is. He would cry from a simple scratch, squeal at a simple bump, and now, a little more and he feels like he'd just drop dead from a heart attack. No matter how he look at the man pursuing them, one thought is only circling his mind, "He could snap a child's neck effort free."

They had a perk though, thanks to their height and size, they can easily pass-through gaps that are impossible for an adult. But perks and luck is not enough advantage against their pursuer, his giant steps has far more reach that their little feet. Feeling weaker and weaker as the man laughed from behind, it was too deep that it sounded like it came from the bowels of hell. It might as well be the devil finding entertainment in their suffering.

"Useless struggle brats, you'd die here," he said, sending shivers down their spine, finally weakening their legs.

Hunter planted his face to the ground after an uncoordinated leap over a fallen branch, all he could do is look at the man's wide smile as he approached. Alisa, who was behind him, quickly helped him up. It looks like her playful deviant acts, running and jumping around the castle with the prince had made her a suitable runner for this kind of death game. She quickly made him run when her skirt got caught on some sharp-edged leg of a broken table. Struggling to free herself, Hunter did not even looked back to try and help his savior, not even an apology. He just kept running, tears continuously falling, drenched with sweat, perfumed by smoke.

Then, out of nowhere, projectiles came flying, adding to the breathtaking dodgeball with the explosives, the poor girl almost loss her head as a ruble as big as her face came zooming by. It made her tiny legs weak. She trembled at the sight of those large hands reaching for her, she was out of breath, her heart pounding fast that she can feel every beat in her head.

"Where's Alisa?," Nicolas asked as Hunter caught up to him.

He just looked at him, scared, sorry, and bitter faced like a pug. Except pugs looks cute and has a clear conscience, unlike him, a person who left behind a comrade in a battlefield just because it's convenient.

"Answer me Hunter, WHERE IS SHE"

"She's back there, I— I don't know"

Nicolas did not wait for the boy's excuse, and quickly rushed back through the smoke and chaos. He picked up a knife, it must have been displaced from one of the fallen houses but who cares, if it can help even a little bit then better equip yourself with it.

"Get away from her," he threw the knife as those huge hands tried to seize the frozen girl. It spun into the air without any determined trajectory, Nicolas had left everything to luck hoping it would hit the most convenient place for them. Then, just before Alisa was caught, the man retracted and bellowed in pain. He cried blood as the knife punctured his eyes, impeding his vision, immobilizing him just enough for the distressed to run. But there are two things that can come in pain, the agony that you absorb and the anger that you will release, this did not just blind one of his eyes, it made him furious.

"RUN while you can. Once I caught you, I'll snap you into two. I will savor your meat, while enjoying your screams as I'm slowly munching your breathing half". He began mindlessly throwing ruble again, but it was the least of Nicolas's concern. Alisa was fine, that's all he needs to know. They caught up with Hunter in front of another wreckage, biting his nails down to the bone as he panicked.

"MOVE," the prince shoved him out of the way before a burning tree came falling down.

"Mooottthhheeerrr," Hunter cried as he fell to the ground, he's not only drenched in sweat anymore. It was mixed with piss making him smell.

"We don't have time to cry, start climbing now," Nicolas helped Alisa climb before shaking Hunter back to his senses. "I'll hold him off, so keep your shitty tears for yourself and go if you still want to survive."

"Let's go Hunter," Alisa encouraged him and so they climbed first.

The prince on the other hand was quick in his feat. He collected all combustible materials he could find, a broken chair, a twig, a branch, blanket, clothes, anything just to set up a wall before setting it ablaze. He knows this might not do much, but for now, this is all he can think of. After putting a bit more of the materials, he too began ascending. He could see the fireworks in the night sky, it was still on going, it might have been an hour or more, he's not sure, none of them knows. All they know is that the castle from a distance is like a dream come true, yet they are here living a nightmare.

Hunter on the other hand is fixated not on the castle but on their pursuer. His silhouette menacingly getting larger as his fear inducing laughter started to grow louder than any of the explosions. He had one thing in his mind, as he watched Alisa nearing where he stood.

"I must live. Mother, I must live…," he whispered.

"NICOLAS, behind this wall is a clearing, we might be able to get out of here," Alisa rejoiced as she reached the top. She extended her hand for Nicolas when the agitated Hunter yelled. His eyes are shivering, his smile is grim, he had loss it that he can't even see the positive side of the situation.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE," he yelled.

Nicolas watched as Alisa loss her balanced and tumbled forward and Hunter's smile was his last view before the boy left. Alisa on the other hand was back to square one, hope must have finally left her soul as her worried eyes met with the prince.

"Save yourself," the girl whispered, but Nicolas could not make out the words.

He can only hear his heart beating; his only focus is his friend's tears as the gigantic hands finally hugged her tightly. "LET HER GO," he cried as he rushed back down, throwing whatever first came to his grasp.

"Why would I listen to a kid?"

"I'll trade my life, for hers, so let her go."

"Not even a please I see," he tightened his grip which made her scream.

"Leave me here Nicolas, save yourself," Alisa begged.

"I CAN'T LOSE YOU TOO"

"Enough with the chatter, I DON'T CARE. If you both want to die I will gladly take my fill"

"Are you sure you want to kill the person you are ordered to capture?"

"Nicolas don't—"

"I don't know who the hell you are, just sit there and wait for your turn, it won't be long."

"I'M THE PRINCE THAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR"

Alisa could not help but cry as she felt that her uselessness had led them to this tight situation, where she either dies or the most important person in the kingdom right now will perish. Either way it's a loss cause for their parents, but if there's anyone who deserves to live she knows it's not her.

"Go, there still time—," her tears slowly slithered her cheeks as she smiled pass the pain.

"I won't leave you—"

"DON'T BE STUBBORN, GO," It was a heated debate on who dies but it's not up to them, the humongous monster was just about to stop their chatter when a one-man applause interrupted.

"I like the drama," it was a familiar voice. If Nicolas is right, this is the man who was giving the orders earlier, "I should give you my thanks, Prince of Gregoria, for making my job easier than expected. Though I'm not going to lie, this is your best course of action. Either way you will fall into our hands, the only difference is the level of blood shed of course". He lowered the hood of his cloak and revealed a beard, his smile is wide and pleased. Though he looked older due to his choice of facial hair, his fully dark hair suggest otherwise.

"Let her go and I'll come with you," he switched his focus to the bearded man.

"Ooh a negotiation"

"Yes or no is the only answer I want to hear," Alisa wanted to argue with the Prince's decision but he has no intention to listen.

"Okay, come here and well give her—"

"Set her free first, this is my only demand," he tried to stay calm. Weakness is the last thing he'll want them to see from him, especially if his best friend's life is on the line.

The bearded man gestured to his giant pawn and she released the girl, but listening seems to be his weakness and understanding someone's safety is far from his comprehension. He threw the girl as if she were a ball that would bounce right back up if she met the floor. Alisa fell unconscious upon impact, although minimal, it seems that her head suffered an injury cause part of her hair had been painted red.

"You piece of—"

"I apologize for my…," he punched his men though it had little to no effect, "Pawn, thinking was never his strong suit. I haven't found a perfect brain to replace the rotting one, yet," he joked. "So, do we have a deal or not? I promise we'll retreat after," he extended his hands.

"NO, you also need to stop the bombardment first."

"Daring aren't we. I can say, you really are bright for your age," he bearded man once again applauded. "Fine, we will, it's someone's orders after all, and he did not pay us enough to continue. HALT THE DYNAMITES," he yelled and so they did.

"Good," Nicolas tried to smile.

All that he could do was look back at Alisa, but when he noticed that her chest is still moving, he's certainly sure that she's still alive, and for that he is already thankful. But he's not out of the woods yet, the following events would decide his life, forever. As he took his step, he felt like a hero, the kind that he reads from the story books he has on his bedside bookshelf. Though at the same time, it felt wrong, deep inside he feared what will happened to him as he reach for those hands. He desperately wanted to cry, he desperately wanted to turn back, but this is what he decided to do. He convinced himself that it's a Prince's duty to protect his people, thus he is just simply fulfilling it.

Despite the panicking beats of his heart, the desperate control of his breathing and tears, the overly shaking of his fingers and knees, he pushed through. He had saved Alisa and Gregoria from further pain and destruction, but as he held the man's hand, something flew overhead.

"Oh, that can't be good," the bearded man let out before an explosion occurred.

Nicolas wished and prayed that that was just the fireworks but wishes does not always come true and prayers are not always heard. The shockwave pushed him forward, the man quickly caged him and all he could do was look back as the man carried him on his shoulders. Alisa was no more, the place she had been lying just moments ago was now only a crater. It broke his heart in pieces, probably less broken than the probably scattered pieces of his friend but who cares, whoever threw that thing is now laughing together with his comrades as they retreated with him as their prize.

Confused whether he should laugh or not, he is mentally breaking apart as the tears he's been holding had finally been let loose. The bottle cracked and there is no other way to fix it, he was eaten by his capturer's laughter of celebration, it made him sick, it ignited his hate. He had loss the sense of what he wanted to do and so he drowned. He slowly smiled wide and grim before following through with the celebration. By the time he had burst into laughter, the bearded man was already bleeding on his back on the burnt grassy ground, and that giant man had loss his head. All eyes on him as he owned the last laugh, no one knew what happened, all they know is that their boss is out cold, and whoever's that boy laughing in front of them is far from the boy from earlier.

"That really can't be good," he chuckled.

His eyes constricted, dried of tears as he looked at them one by one with his burning gaze. One brave man decided to call him out, but was immediately cut off, leaving his comrades stunned. "Why do you looked surprised? I thought you'd like to see some blood," he added before the man's head slowly slid on his perfectly severed neck, squirting like a fountain.

The clear sky, the stars, and the moon slowly succumbed to the clouds. The wind briefly blew cold before the sky cried. Maybe it's Nicolas's agony, the sky must have known that he's out of tears to shed and made him a favor, but it's not enough. Not enough to quell the fire, not enough to ease his rage, and certainly not enough to quench his thirst for revenge. All of the remaining men burst into panic as the prince began slashing them like unwanted weeds on a garden full of precious yellow tulips, though his flower had already wilted and all that's left is his hate for those weeds who prevented the flower to grow.

"YOU WOULD ALL PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE. YOU DESERVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL," he laugh hysterically as he bathes in their blood, enjoying every cry, every inch of their pain. In his mind, this is what they deserved, and in fact, they deserved more.

All of them have occurring thought as they tried to escape their end. Where did he get the sword that seemingly materialized from thin air?, why does it glow?, how in the world such small boy would be so mentally twisted that he can mercilessly decapitate a man limb for limb without any remorse.

"Tell me who threw that fucking bomb and I might spare your life," he maniacally whispered to his captive but he got no answer, fear ate him up that not even a word came out of his coarse throat from all the screaming. When one tried to escape, he was immediately impaled by the sword Nicolas had thrown.

Upon closer inspection, he had a match and three more dynamites on his waist. "Found you," he caught the man by the hair and pulled him right back to the center of the bloodshed. "What in the word AGREEMENT don't you understand," he cast the man on to the bloody ground, making him swim through the intestines of his comrades.

They did not look like a person but butchered pigs. It took a toll on the culprit, all he can do is scream as Nicolas laughed in the background, and so he began the punishment. "Go on, CRAWL, I might spare you if you can escape," he decided to have fun and helped the man stand. "I'll count to three, and on three you run like hell got it?"

The man shakingly nod as he snorted back the green mucus that's running from his nose, his feet were weak, and his wound can't seem to find a break. "One—," he took the stance. "Two—," he forcefully calmed his legs. "Three—," and he began to fall back to the ground. There was a burning feeling in his knees which made him screech.

"You did not think I would really let you go do you?," Nicolas rejoiced as he picked up one of the man's severed legs and handed it to its owner. "Go on, SQUEAL, like the bloody pig that you are."

"Please stop I'm begging you please," his lips are trembling as he can feel his consciousness fading with each passing second.

"I don't remember asking for your opinion," Nicolas stabbed him again, this time closer to the heart but making sure that he avoided the vital organs that would make the man's suffering short. He knows where exactly to puncture; he had aced his anatomy class with his learning sessions since he was four years old after all.

The man's vocals are already rough when Nicolas severed his hands. His vocals had already given up when the Prince started slicing him like a loaf of bread. His consciousness is wavering but every new cut put him back to the present.

"I always wanted to know; they say that a severed head still has consciousness after it's detached from the body. Would you like to help me in a simple experiment?," there was no longer a reply but a glaring sorry look and panting. He screamed in silence.

Nicolas made sure that the man would feel every second of it. He slowly sawed his neck like filleting a fish and by the time he picked his head up, his eyes are already diluted and stuck upwards leading to his disappointment. "He had loss too much blood, too bad, that or I should have made a clean cut," he kicked it away like a soccer ball scoring a goal on one of the surviving archways.

He was about to head back to the castle when all his hair stood straight followed by an applause from behind. He had heard it once, and he wished to never hear it again.