Chapter 20

It was often Sampson wondered what must have happened to Master Duncan to make him so deep rooted with hate. He had always thought that being evil was a trait that was learned and not something you were born with and so he thought of Master Duncan's story to be utterly tragic.

It made him pity the man in some way because where he was as cruel as he possibly could be, he lacked any form of companionship.

Even as he stood over Sampson now with the cane, fully intending to beat him until the little smooth skin he had would be covered in scars Sampson couldn't help but feel that he had be unloved in his lifetime and so took whatever happiness he could from others.

"You useless brat", Master Duncan seethed. He grabbed a fistful of Sampson's hair, pulling it until Sampson felt it close to be ripped from his head. He stood to his feet in an instant and let Master Duncan pull him to the corridor to where his chambers lay.

He pushed Sampson inside and closed the door, the moment he did he began to unravel his steel belt from his clothes. Sampson shuddered, staring down at the brown floor until it almost looked clear.

"I heard what you did to the Prince, you ungrateful fucking brat". The first whip to his back was always the worst because it was the hit that carried the most strength. Plus the belt loop was cold so it felt like he was being struck over and over again with shards of ice.

"I was going to the king to accept my punishment". "You were running away". He brought the belt back down on his back and Sampson winced in pain. His head bowed as blood rushed to his head and he placed the hands that had been on his knees on the floor. "I wasn't".

"Liar. After everything the Prince has done for you and this is how you repay him". "Master Duncan please listen to me", Sampson begged. His words were wasted breaths as he brought the belt down again. After being hit so viciously Sampson felt the fight leave his body and so he stilled and took the harsh beating.

Master Duncan's lashing were relentless, he dedicated his lashings to one particular spot in the small of his back and Sampson could feel himself curl inward with every hit. He wanted to escape his body and drift of to a world much kinder than this one.

Master Duncan wouldn't stop until he was dead and Sampson was past the point of begging. He wished for death as he collapsed on the floor with his head pressed to the side. He breathed in the dirt from the floor and coughed, letting out spurts of blood from his mouth.

When the lashings suddenly stopped Sampson didn't even notice at first. It was only until his hair was grabbed and he was forced to stand on his feet did he realise that Master Duncan had discarded the belt to the floor. "I've just had a thought. The King will seek a reward to the person who brings him the lost son". He gripped Sampson's neck, squeezing hard.

"I won't kill you, I'll let the King torture you to death". He smiled and through his blurry vision Sampson thought it could have been warm as if he was showing Sampson a kindness despite the malicious words he had spoken.

As soon as he loosened his grip on Sampson's neck he fell to the ground. He hit his head hard and he could feel something warm run down his temple. "Look at the state of you", Master Duncan tutted. He took a pale of water from his desk and poured it over him. Sampson felt like screaming when the ice cold water came into contact with his back but it would have taken too much effort for him to scream.

"Clean yourself up. I'll be taking you to the Prince". Seeing that he could barely move Master Duncan thought it safe to leave the room and when he returned Sampson would still be there, withering on the floor in pain. He left barely giving him another glance, most likely preparing himself for how he would address the King.

Servants never directly addressed the King but so Sampson imagined he would have been waiting for that moment his whole life. He would be giddy with anticipation as he prepared himself not only for his speech but also for the reward he would reap.

He had forgotten something. Master Duncan had beat him many times before and Sampson had always gotten up and gone on with his day as if it never happened at all. He forced himself to do that now, getting on his hands and knees and ignoring the searing pain of his cut flesh. He crawled to the bed at the far end of the room and used it to stand up.

When he stood his legs were shaking and he barely made it a few steps before he was stumbling forward again. He used the walls to steady himself, clinging on violently to the brick to stop him from falling forward.

He opened the door of Master Duncan's chambers, relief spread through him when he saw there were no knights patrolling. They were too close to the Prince's chambers not to be. Sampson figured that they would be looking for the Prince by now and that to get out of the castle wouldn't be an option.

He was sick of running and so even he was in the right state to run away, he wouldn't. He had promised Linshanth he would stop doing that and the least he could do was keep to his promise. If he was caught and killed, Linshanth would forever think him a liar and someone who goes back on his word. Sampson didn't want to be remembered in that way, he had never been a coward and he wouldn't let the fear of death turn him into one.

He refused to give Master Duncan the satisfaction of giving him to the King himself. He would be heavily rewarded and would most likely be hailed a hero throughout the Kingdom. The thought of it had his skin burning in anger. He was a hateful person and didn't deserve such a life.

Sampson felt like a walking corpse as he stumbled through the corridors, blood dripped down his back and temple, leaving a trail on the floor. He didn't worry of anyone following it and finding him, the servants quarters were never cleaned and so the floor was full of blood and faeces.

Sampson often held his breath and kept his eyes anywhere but the floor when he walked through it. It was ghastly but when the day was done, and the majority of servants had spent the day tending to the castle, the last thing that was worried for was the state of their own quarters.

It was a miracle that Sampson came out of the servants quarters and to the pond without being spotted. His legs had weakened to the point he was half crawling to the pond water. It called out for him through it's soft ripples water that was so clear it could have been glass. The sun was shining bright and reflected off the water which meant the closer he approached, the less he could see. He closed his eyes when the sun became too blinding and dragged himself into the warm water.

He was only waist high when his legs finally collapsed from underneath him. He fell forward and submerged himself into the water. He couldn't hear a sound underneath the surface of the water and it made him want to stay there forever. He could no longer feel the pain in his body and only warmth. He had been under the water for a long time and he knew if he didn't swim up soon his lungs would give out on him and yet it was too peaceful for him to swim up to the top.

He wanted to stay under the water forever. His dream was short lived when a pair of arms came up around him. One had clamped around his torso and the other was holding his shoulders, clinging tightly onto his arms. He felt himself being tugged with great effort out of the water whilst his saviours heaved and groaned at hauling such a heavy weight.

He was laid out on the grass and shaken. He dragged his swimming eyes open coming face to face with Minnie and Perity who's faces were filled with dread. Perity was still shaking him, shouting words at him that he couldn't hear because his ears were clogged with water. Minnie watched from the side, huddled into a ball and crying.

Seeing her in such a way he hated himself for not coming to her sooner. Sampson stood up taking Perity with him who was sprawled over him. Seeing that he was awake she hit his chest repeatedly. "What is wrong with you? Are you trying to kill yourself?". Sampson silenced her by wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her tight. "I'm sorry". She breathed heavily into his chest but stopped hitting him. Sampson held his arm for Minnie but she turned her back to him, continuing to cry into her hands.

"Please don't be upset. I would never leave you two". "Then what were you doing Sampson?", Perity asked, pulling away from him with an accusatory glare. "I was just swimming Perity that's all". "You're lying", Perity demanded.

"Just leave him Perity. He never tells us the truth now anyway", Minnie spoke suddenly. Her words were cold and insolent and nothing like the way she usually spoke. "What's that supposed to mean?". "It means since you've become the lost son and hailed a hero you've forgotten about us".

Sampson recoiled. Minnie had never acted this way towards him before. He had wanted to protect her but he knew if he didn't tell her the truth it would run the risk that neither of them would trust him.

"I killed someone. I had one of the souls kill a king in the mountains. I ran away but the Prince followed me and got shot with an arrow. He used a spell to get us back to the castle but he hasn't woken up. As soon as the King finds me, he'll kill me". He watched their faces morph from shock to horror as he knew they would. It was exactly the reason why he didn't want to tell them. .

"Are you telling the truth Sampson?", Minnie breathed. "Every word". She dived towards him, wrapping her tiny arms around him and clinging on tightly. Perity followed shortly after until he was squeezed so tight he could scarcely breath. "Okay, okay. You can let go". It was several minutes before the weight around his neck lessened, but even then they kept clinging onto him.

"We should leave the castle Sampson". "I'm not running anymore. I made a promise to the Prince I wouldn't anymore". "What does it matter if you break a promise you made to him?", Minnie asked. "It's not about the Prince. I don't want to keep running". They sat in a tensional silence for a while, none of them knowing what they could say to break it before Perity spoke.

"Why did you ask the soul to kill the king?". Sampson looked away, ashamed of his actions. He didn't feel judgment from them but he should have. He had done something truly despicable and he was going to have to face the consequences for it.

"I don't know. I was angry with all the Kings and Queens watching me like I was monkey pulling tricks. I did it in the moment, I'm not sure what came over me". Perity's face twisted as if she couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. He knew how absurd it sounded. No one had provoked him to kill anyone and yet he had done it without even thinking about it.

There was one thing he should have told them but he couldn't bare to speak the words. He was cursed and even Deiniol wasn't sure if there was a way to stop it. At least with his death no one else would get hurt by him again.

He stood up and both girls followed, clinging onto each of his arms. "Where are you going?". "I need to leave now and address the King. You should go on with your duties". He kept his voice stern and level, refusing to give into the temptation of breaking down in front of them. His whole life he had been terrified of them leaving him and now he was doing the exact opposite to them. "You can't do that Sampson, he'll kill you".

"I don't have another choice". "Sampson please don't do this. I need you", Minnie begged squeezing his hand tightly. He ripped his hand away from her before she could beg anymore. It was only going to break down his resolve the longer he continued listening to her. "You don't need me Minnie. You're not a baby, you need to learn to look after yourself". She flinched as if he had slapped her and dropped his arm.

"Don't try and push us away Sampson", Perity spoke, seeing right through to his façade. "It's Perity. He's right. We're not babies, we'll be just fine without him". Minnie stalked away, her shoulder moved up and down showing that she had started to sob. Perity began running after her but Sampson grabbed her wrist before she left.

"I want you to tell her something after I'm gone". "I doubt she would want to hear anything you want to say", Perity snapped. "Perity please. I don't have a choice". "I know more than anyone what it feels like to be backed in a corner, don't insult me Sampson", she shouted. "I'm not, but there's no escaping this. Even if I were to run, they would never stop looking for me". Perity sighed, looking down to the floor.

"What do you want me to say to her?". "I want you to tell her I was going to ask for her hand. But only after I'm gone. If you tell her now she'll try come looking for me". "If I tell her that she'll be crushed Sampson", Perity winced.

"You have to tell her. She needs to know how much I care for her", Sampson begged. After a while Perity nodded and he embraced her. When he had first met Perity, so small and frail all he wanted to do was protect her. It was only as he got to know her dark temper and her scolding words did he realise that she was more than capable of doing that herself. She was the strongest out of all of them because she knew what it was like to be completely on her own. Neither Sampson nor Minnie had ever faced such hardship.

"I'll be going now", Sampson spoke, pulling away from her. "Sampson wait. Tell me what to do, I can't just sit back and let you die". "There is nothing you can do. I deserve punishment Perity, there is no other way".

He turned away from her and stalked away before she could run after him. She would never understand why he had to do this and he hoped she would never learn of the curse. She would tell Minnie and in time she would no longer hate him too, but she would never forgive him from breaking his promise.

There were many places Sampson wished to visit before he gave himself up to the King. He wanted to go down to the pond once more and feel the heat of the sun of his face, he wanted to taste the apples in the Prince's private gardens and spend his afternoon lazing on the grass, not having a care in the world. He even thought about visiting the seamstress and thanking her for taking him in as a boy but it would be futile in helping him accept that he was about to die.

In the end he slumped down onto the ground outside the wall of the castle. He picked up a stone from the floor and twirled it in his hand before making it float high up in the air. He had only just received the ability to use his magic and knew only how to do one thing.

It wasn't worth thinking of all the things he could do if he had more time to harness his power but still his mind wandered. He was the only known living member of the Vahda tribe which meant he had a power like no other. He could take over whole Kingdoms if he wanted to and even have Toombak crawling on it's knees. The thought sounded funny and Sampson started to laugh. He only stopped when he felt a sharp pain course through his shoulder.

"You're going to wish you stayed a servant". He heard Onyx's bitter voice and he stood. He wasn't alone, over half of the Knights were in attendance with him with their swords raised and pointed to Sampson's throat. They could kill him now easily, but then they wouldn't get the satisfaction of knowing Sampson was slowly tortured to death.

The King wasn't good at many things. He was a lazy ruler who got by with his powers and his great army. There was only one thing he specialised in and that was killing. He would pluck each one of Sampson's nerves and skin him down to the bone just for his own pleasure.

Sampson had heard of him keeping traitors alive for weeks by only giving them a spoonful of soup and water a day. He had great healing powers and he would heal his enemies only to beat them harder.

It was why he was known as the King On of death and why no other King would ever dare to challenge him. To intimidate and maim was a sport to him, and one he would he would never lose.