Chapter Three – The King My Father
The King, dressed in all of his finery, sat heavily upon his golden throne that headed a red velvet carpet that ran the entire length of the room. Stood along it, on either side, were his loyal advisers and personal guard—made up entirely of his closest friends. The enormous room was filled to the brim with the sunlight that had been thrown into it from the great crystal windows that flanked it on one side.
Jax suddenly appeared before the King and leant into his ear, “They have arrived, my King,” he whispered gently.
“My boy,” the King replied with a tear in his eye, “after all these long years,” he uttered, as he rose from his golden throne and stepped steadily down the few small stairs that led to the thin red carpet.
He bore shoulder-length blonde hair—which was so thick that it almost looked brown—a beard and moustache that rolled eagerly into one another and adorned his face, whilst eyes; like blue sapphires, quickly absorbed all that they saw. He was anointed with a crown of pure silver, with pure white diamonds encrusted within it and wore long robes of dark red velvet that trailed behind him so, elegantly, as he walked. Quickly he hurried along the vibrant carpet and toward the pearly white doors that led into the hallway. As he hurried, his personal guard hurried along either side of him as two further guards pulled the great doors wide open and they continued quickly through them. Across the great hall—surrounded by fine crystal and vast spaces—they rushed, as a monumental racket from the many heels that clicked upon the marbled floor echoed loudly. As they approached, two further guards pulled the palace doors steadily open and the sunlight raced quickly in revealing Hannah—with little William—stood at the bottom of the staircase.
The King stood silent for a moment before he continued alone down toward them. As he approached, Hannah smiled gently, as William squinted in recognition of the face that he had not seen for many a year.
“My boy,” the King blubbered as he reached out for him, “How you have grown.”
William said nothing—feeling quite unable to speak—as all of the emptiness that he had felt throughout the years suddenly built up within him and he fell deep into his father’s arms. The King squeezed as hard as he did dare, with his eyes closed tightly and a joyful smile upon his face.
After a while, the King looked down at his son, “I have missed you these many years” he sobbed. Hannah wiped a tear from her own cheek and slowly placed a hand upon her brother’s shoulder. Still, he remained clung to his father as tightly as he could—as though he never again wanted to let him go.
“What about that stable?” Hannah eventually whispered as she wiped away a few more tears and William slowly released his grip.
“Go on,” The King whispered through teary eyes, “go now with your sister. We’ll all have a long chat later.”
Hannah smiled as she led the way—followed closely by William—who watched her happily as they walked. They walked along the front of the palace, then followed it along its side until the stable could be seen tucked neatly away behind it. The huge wooden structure stood vividly among the tall grass, as the sunlight—that continued to beat down—highlighted the hundreds of parachute seeds that were silently wafting through the gentle breeze.
Inside, the stable looked much larger than it did from the outside, with four large stalls spaced generously apart. The back-end of the building was completely open and led out into the tall grass—whilst the stalls themselves—like huge wooden boxes, stood closed off to the outside world by huge wooden doors.
Two men beavered frantically away, laying fresh straw throughout the entire stable, whilst wearing dark-blue coveralls with bright red gloves that stood out so eagerly from their plain surroundings.
“Hello miss,” said one of them, whilst the other simply looked up and smiled, “hello sir,” he nodded.
“Hello John, Mathew,” Hannah returned as she smiled back, “This is my brother - William.”
John suddenly took more of an interest, “The same William that we’ve been hearing about for all of these years?” He asked intently.
“Yes,” she smiled as she looked at her brother through tears of joy that quickly built up. After a few moments she pointed out one of the stalls; “That one,” she cooed excitedly, “tell me what you think.”
William walked slowly toward it whilst John rushed and slid open its mighty door. Suddenly before him, stood on a bed of hay with food and water buckets beside it, was the most beautiful creature that William had ever seen. She was light brown in colour, with a dark-brown mane and big black eyes and unlike any other horse that he had ever seen before, she had huge wings of silken feathers. He looked quickly back at Hannah with a beaming smile of excitement; “What is she?” He exclaimed as his little eyes lit up.
“She is a unix,” Hannah smiled, “and she is yours if you want her.”
William gazed back at the lovely creature with his smile fixed firmly in place.
“Her name is Heradex,” Hannah added, as a smirk took a hold of her face, “would you like to ride her?”
“Oh, yes please!” William beamed, “very much so!”
“Then we’ll ride together,” she smirked as she walked toward another of the stalls and disappeared inside. Before long, she re-emerged, sat upon a pure white unix that bore beautiful white feathers—as pure as freshly fallen snow.
“She’s lovely!” William cried.
Hannah laughed at her brother’s reaction, “She is a he, and yes, he is very lovely,” she laughed as she patted her beast’s neck; “His name is Arcadian,” she proudly announced.
John entered Heradex’s stall and strapped and saddled her. Cautiously, William followed him in as he kept constant eye contact with his new beast.
“Would you like a hand young sir?” asked john, as he stood in place and watched William’s gaze.
“Oh, yes please,” William replied, feeling slightly embarrassed, “I’ve never ridden, well, anything before,” he said stepping into a stirrup. John helped him to clamber up and eventually, he placed his other foot into the other stirrup and took a hold of the reigns.
John fastened both stirrups tightly to William’s feet; “There you are, young sir!” he bellowed cheerfully before he led Heradex out of her stall.
“Right then!” Hannah announced as soon as they had appeared, “just hold on to her reigns and follow me. Let her do all of the work, she knows what she’s doing,” with that, they both began to trot towards the rear of the stable and out into the tall green grass.
“How do you like it?” Hannah shouted after a while as she looked across to her little brother.
“It’s great!” he squealed as he caressed Heradex’s feathers.
“Follow me then!” she shouted, as Arcadian began to gallop. William held on tightly to the reigns, as Heradex too, began to gallop. The two raced around as Hannah’s long dark hair danced ferociously behind her in the wind. As Heradex gained, Arcadian galloped ever faster as their manes shook wildly. They raced along the side of the Palace, through the open grassland and swiftly toward the inner battlement gatehouse. The iron gate quickly rose into its housing as they approached it and they raced through the archway and over the cobblestones—kicking dust and debris high into the air as they went. Arcadian spread his mighty wings and began to flap vigorously, as Heradex spread her own wings and closed the small gap between them. Gradually they took off—along with their riders—as they raced a hair’s width above the ground. They tucked their legs tightly beneath them and quickly ascended high into the air. William clung to Heradex as tightly as he could and watched the ground and the Palace fall quickly away beneath them.
Hannah was in her element and still out in front, as she soaked up each and every moment, “Come on!” she shouted playfully.
William was far too nervous to shout anything back—he just clung tightly on and looked ahead through half-closed eyes as they flew higher and higher above the grassland and into thin cloud. The world
now seemed far more peaceful to William as he gazed at it from a new height, with only the sound of the wind rushing passed him to distract from the mesmerising exhilaration of the flight.
After a long while, William began to relax and slightly loosened his grip from around Heradex’s neck, only to quickly renew it—tenfold—as he watched his sister upon Arcadian drop swiftly and sharply before him. Just as he had feared, Heradex too, dropped—just as swiftly and as sharply as Arcadian had and they descended, at great speed, until the cloud cleared from all around them. Now below them, rose a vast hilltop that raced dramatically up to greet them, as it stretched effortlessly out in all directions. William braced, as they quickly approached it and the two elegant beasts came within touching distance of each other. They gradually levelled off and slowed their mighty wings—that had beat so vigorously—until their hooves, once again, touched the ground and they landed with a gentle canter. William remained frantically clung to Heradex’s neck long after she had come to a standstill, which sent Hannah into a fit of giggles.
“You can let her go now!” She laughed uncontrollably, as she climbed down from Arcadian and allowed him to roam free on the hilltop. She unfastened William’s stirrups and helped him down as he lost complete balance and nearly fell on top of her.
“Go on,” she whispered in Heradex’s ear, as she patted her gently on the neck. Without a second thought, Heradex galloped off to join her brother—as he galloped around happily in the sunshine.
“Where are we?” William asked as he gazed around.
“Table-top Mountain,” she smiled, “even though it's not technically a mountain … I didn’t want to take you too far for your first flight,” she laughed; “How did you like it?”
“It was amazing!” He exclaimed without hesitation, “A bit scary in places though.”
“Yes,” she smiled, “it does take some getting used to!” Hannah paused and scoured the sky above, “We are a bit early by the looks of it,” she said with some disappointment, “I wanted to introduce you to the other Reapers.”
“Reapers?” William smiled.
Hannah smirked, “Reapers are … small groups of highly trained assassins, if you will. We hunt down the beasts that plague us and destroy them. There are many Reaper units in Glitherhiem. My team should be here soon,” she quietly added, still gazing at the sky.
“How many are there?” William asked, “In your team, I mean.”
“Just two more,” she replied quietly.
Two men sat about drinking flagons of ale whilst enjoying the silence of each other’s company amidst the low hum of the machine that carried them. The one man was tall and broad with long black hair and a black beard and moustache that flowed into one another confusing the boundaries between them. His huge dark eyes held secrets that he had always carried with him for as long as he had cared to remember. He wore dark coloured clothes with a black leather coat that he seldom removed. He carried a four-barrel shotgun on a thick leather strap that wrapped neatly around his shoulders, whilst two silver-handled pistols nestled comfortably in his waist-line. The other man was short and dumpy in comparison with short white hair and hazel eyes. He wore light neutral colours and carried no weapons.
“Sirs,” came a radioed voice through the speaker system, “we are almost there.”
The stocky man rose from his seat, “Well!” He bellowed in such a loud and deep voice that it almost shook the flagon right out of his hand, “are you coming you old dog?” He laughed.
The smaller man stood up, “Yes, Zaybian, I’m coming!” He said slowly, “and less of the old! It’ll happen to you too ya know!”
Zaybian laughed heartily as though he had never laughed before and opened the heavy metal door that had shut them away before leaving the room. The two friends emerged into the belly of the airship that carried them, as two uniformed soldiers manned their stations not far from them. The soldiers wore red tunics encrusted with silver buttons that ran from their necks to their belts, with thin black trousers and smart black shoes. They sat in the nose of the ship and wore huge headphones that were plugged into the panel of instruments that sat just before them. The giant windscreen—just beyond them—offered up dramatic views of whatever they flew through or above and allowed them to see, almost one hundred and eighty degrees around them unimpeded.
Slowly, the two men walked up to—and stood behind—the two soldiers. As they looked through the giant windscreen, they watched the cloud that they flew through as it thinned to nothing and Table-top Mountain—surrounded by its lush valleys and many flowing rivers—emerged gradually out of the ether. The two unix could be clearly seen as they galloped through the lush green grass that adorned the flat hilltop, whilst Hannah and William stood and waved up at them as they descended.
Hannah smiled, as William gazed up in amazement at the incoming vessel. It was gigantic in size with an elliptical shape, made entirely from silver sheets of pressed metal with huge propellers attached to its sides toward its rear. The entire ship was carried by a mighty balloon—dark red in colour—that stretched from far beyond its rear, to far beyond its nose and easily tripled its width. Countless ropes strapped it to the ship that it carried, with its own monumental propeller at its rear that rotated slowly and wafted the entire vessel—almost silently—through the air.
“William, meet the Firefly,” Hannah said gleefully as she watched with pride.
Its huge windscreen—curved around its nose—allowed William to see clearly, the two soldiers at its helm, with the two strange men stood behind them. He watched them intently—as they watched him in return—as closer and lower they flew, until they landed a short distance before them. Immediately, they disappeared from view as Hannah rushed toward the landed craft.
“Come on, William!” She squealed in excitement, as she looked back to see him still glued to the spot. Quickly, he rushed to catch up with his eyes still fixed on the magnificent ship before them.
A shining door opened at its side, whilst a ramped walkway protruded to the ground below it. The two men—that William had watched so intently—followed shortly along it. Arcadian had raced back to Hannah and had gotten to her long before she had gotten close to the ship and without hesitation, she jumped on to him and he galloped on. Heradex was not far behind him—as always—as William nervously climbed up on to her and she proceeded to gallop ahead. By the time that Hannah had gotten close to the ship, Zaybian and Thysis were stood, smiling once again, on solid ground.
Zaybian began to chuckle, as Hannah swiftly approached and Arcadian’s gallop turned to a trot;
“Missed us that much did you?” He laughed.
“You know how I like my ship!” She smiled.
Arcadian came to a standstill, just feet from the two men, as Hannah looked back in wait of William. Slowly he approached, still mounted on Heradex, as she too, came to a standstill;
“I’m sure you know who this is, gentlemen,” Hannah announced, as her eyes sparkled with her smile.
“My name is Zaybian,” the broad man piped as he stepped boldly up to Heradex, “Glitherhiem Reaper. No harm shall come to you whilst there is still breath within me.”
“You always did have a talent for the theatrics!” The small man exclaimed, as he too, stepped up, “I am Thysis; I too am a Reaper of Glitherhiem. It is however, true, that no harm shall come to you whilst you are here with us.”
“Enough talk!” Zaybian bellowed, “Do you want to see the ship, William?” He asked excitedly.
“Well of course he does!” Exclaimed Thysis, before William could even reply.
Hannah chuckled, as William smiled shyly, “They are like a little married couple!” She giggled, “Let us all see the ship!”
The two men turned and headed back along the ramp, followed quickly by Hannah; who was hesitantly followed by William—still mounted upon their respective unix.
“What about the unix?” William asked quietly, as he swayed gently with the motion of his beast.
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br /> “We have a stable on-board,” Hannah smiled.
No sooner had Heradex cleared the doorway that its ramp began to retract and its door began to close, to once again, seal off the ship from the outside world.
“What do you think of it then?” Zaybian roared in his usual jolly way. It was much bigger inside than William had thought possible, with cabins that ran along either side of the ship, all with their doors facing inwards to its centre. The cabins were stacked three high on either side, with thin metal staircases toward the back of the ship that led up to thin metal walkways along both sides of the second and third levels. The vast expanse in the centre stretched impressively from its helm, to a set of large double doors that stood boldly toward the back and flew all of the way up to the ceiling—that stretched out proudly over the third layer of cabins. The ship was alive with uniformed soldiers going about their daily business to the clinking rhythm of Firefly life.
“It's immense!” William exclaimed as he gazed around.
“Each man has his own cabin,” announced Hannah, “you have one too.”
“I do?” William questioned, with a hint of confusion in his voice.
Zaybian laughed, “Aye William! You do!”
“You will be travelling with us;” Hannah said softly, “beyond those doors is where we keep the unix.”
“Where are we going?” William asked with a renewed intrigue.
“That is what we must to figure out, Master William,” came a small, frail voice, as a small, frail man approached. He had short, white hair and white, bushy eyebrows. He had sea blue eyes, set deep into wrinkled skin and wore plain clothes of blacks and browns.
“This is Ivor, he is our unix soother,” Hannah whispered lovingly, as she leant into William. Ivor took Arcadian’s reigns, “It's good to see you old friend,” she said as she smiled gently.
“Glad to see you too, miss,” replied Ivor as Hannah dismounted—which triggered William to do the same. Ivor took the loose reigns in his caring hand and slowly walked the two unix towards the huge double doors.
“He is a very sweet old man,” Hannah whispered, prompting Zaybian into thunderous laughter as they watched the double doors—all by themselves—open and then close again, as Ivor went through them.
“How are you with heights?” Asked Thysis out of the blue.
“I’m … getting used to them.” William replied as he thought carefully about his answer.
“In that case, do you care to see the deck?” He asked.
“That’s a great idea!” Exclaimed Hannah.
“Never let it be said that I don’t mingle!” Zaybian announced loudly, “I’ll join you.”
The four new friends headed to the thin metal stairways that would take them up to the third layer of cabins and then to a small ladder—which in turn—would take them up to a hatchway in the ceiling. After countless numbers of stairs and clinks, the quartet reached the base of the little ladder. Zaybian went first, followed by William—then Thysis and Hannah—as he reached the hatch and unlatched it. He pushed its mighty weight slowly up, until it fell backwards on to the deck above with a loud thud. Refreshing winds raced down through the hatchway accompanied closely by dazzling sunlight, as Zaybian lifted himself up on to the deck and then turned to offer his hand to William; who lifted himself, just enough to raise his head and shoulders through.
A vastness of deck space stretched out before him—surrounded by rails to stop anybody from falling off. The whole lot was ceilinged by the mighty balloon that sat above their heads, strapped to the ship by monstrous ropes. William offered his hand to Zaybian’s and as they pulled together, he was quickly lifted on to the deck. Zaybian then continued to lift Thysis and then Hannah before he closed the heavy hatch once again. By the time Zaybian had looked back up, William was already on the far side of the deck as he gazed over the rail in excitement. The other three eventually joined him. The Firefly had already taken off and the monstrous propellers danced around as they slowly lifted the ship and her crew, back into the sky. The four friends watched as the lushness of the scene below them sank gradually away before it completely vanished below the clouds one more.
All at once, the deck became swamped in thick mist, as stowed away clouds seized the vessel. With the four friends stood close, they could still make one another out, whilst the massiveness of the balloon above them, now looked like a harrowing omen that was steeped in shadow.
William began to think as he looked at Hannah through the building mist, “Father doesn’t look much older than when I was seven.”
Hannah smiled, “He wears an amulet that slows his ageing dramatically. As for us…” she beamed, “we are Thyagreetion,” she laughed, “I, myself, have been here almost three hundred years!”
“And you look as youthful as ever!” Zaybian quipped as he roared uncontrollably with laughter.
The friends laughed heartily in the dull silent mist before a chill began to take a hold of William’s thoughts, “When are we going back down?” He asked nervously.
“I wouldn’t try it yet, Prince,” Roared Zaybian, “we’ll be out of the clouds soon enough. It’ll be safer then.”
“You wait ‘till you see the Glitherhiem Games, young William!” Announced Thysis—who by now could hardly see him.
“What are they?” William asked excitedly.
“Whenever a Reaper vessel returns from a voyage with fallen crewmen,” Hannah explained, “great games are held in Galadria to replace them. Contenders from all over the Kingdom take part and the winners join the rest of the crew.”
“We lost twenty this time,” Zaybian uttered.
“Where are you returning from?” William asked after some thought.
“The Northern plains!” Thysis quickly snapped in a quick flip of personality, “A few less monsters roam there now aye!”
With that, the cloud thinned dramatically, as sunlight once again recovered the deck and the mighty ship dropped back out of the clouds. The four friends gazed over the rail—that they were still stood beside—at the great city of Galadria that lay stretched out below them. William, for the first time, saw the true size of the city and gazed in wonder, as it stood proud, centred in open grassland and surrounded by forest. Stone buildings filled it, as plumes of pure white smoke wafted up high into the air, whilst open parkland and waterways sat dotted throughout it. The majesty of the Palace and its battlements looked even more impressive from the air—whilst a mighty wall of stone surrounded the entire city—which, in itself, made William feel more at ease.