The Fused & The Muse Ch.6

Wallachia, Romania

Early 1462

Radu and his men arrived back to the Ottoman Empire. The townspeople watched them march into the castle. Radu spoke to a servant of the Council, in haste. "We have arrived and request for a Council meeting immediately."

The Council gathered in a round table in the middle of a white room. The members whispered to each other—their words scrambled, as it echoed throughout the room. The door opened, and in came Radu. The talking died down and their attention was drawn to the man standing before them.

"If I may speak." The head of the Council raised a hand, allowing him to continue. "My men and I have just come back. There was no battle fought at the House and there were no casualties. We were making our way to the castle of my—...the monster." His gaze lowered and his heart began to beat faster, upon the word 'monster.' After a pause, he continued. "Upon our arrival at Targoviste, we had encountered a forest of our own men—their bodies hanging through stakes. My men, and I too, were not prepared enough to face the same fate." One of the council men stood up from his seat and spoke. "Are you telling us, that you and your men were not brave enough to fight a battle? How can we possibly entrust you to save our families? Forest of dead or not, you should be prepared to deliver the same fate those men had. You, yourself, surround yourself with a dead forest of your own in every battle you had fought...what is the real reason, Radu? Was it really because you and your men were too weak and cowardly to fight just one more battle?" Radu bowed his head down.

"Or was it just you, in fear of meeting your brother once more—only he wasn't the same lad you'd grown up with?" The members of the council began to chatter all at the same time. The head of the Council had to silence them down. The room was silent once more and the head of the Council spoke. "Radu cel Frumos...you will report back to me once I close this meeting." He stood up from his seat and rang his bell twice to dismiss the men.

The room was now empty and there stood Radu. The head of the Council beckoned him to move closer. He took four steps forward and stood straight before the man. "Radu, you are like a son to me. You are the bravest man I know. Those men—the other members of this council, have not seen half of the things that you have during battle. Now, I think I know why you ordered your men to stand down..." Radu bowed his head down once more. "Look up at me boy. There is no shame to it. We are what we are. You have been loyal to us, so there is no worry as to where your loyalty stands. You have been fighting as a man, but perhaps...you should just give in." Radu looked up at the man, staring into his eyes. "Let go, my son. Don't fight yourself anymore...be free. It may be the only way we win this battle."

16 Years Later

Early 1478

Two swords clang together making bright, yellow sparks. Maria watched as her husband and son trained together. The young prince was 20 years of age now. He grew up into a fine gentleman—brave, strong, and very handsome. He surpassed his father at sword-fighting and was much stronger and faster than any other.

The young prince swung his sword once and his father's sword flew from his hands, across the room. Radu watched as his sword made its way across the room and clanged down on the pavement. He sighed, then turned around with his arms up. "You got me again." The young prince smiled and lowered his sword. Maria and her maids clapped their hands. Radu and his son bowed.

"Why don't you boys go and clean yourselves up? We have a ball to attend in a few." Maria stood up from her seat and walked toward the young prince. He stared at her and smiled. "Mother." She cupped his cheek with her hand and smiled warmly to him. "You have grown up too fast..." Her eyes were filled with worry. He chuckled at her and shook his head. "You don't have to worry mother... I'll prepare myself now."

He left the room with his sword and walked down one of the hallways of the castle. As soon as he left the room, Maria walked to Radu. Radu smiled at her too but she held onto his arms. "What's the matter?" "Our son...I looked into his eyes and they're different from any of which I've seen before." "What are you talking about Maria, I saw his eyes too you know." "No! You were focusing on his sword." Radu was taken aback from his wife's reaction. "Come now." He took her to a seat and crouched down in front of her as she sat down.

"What do you mean they are different from any you've seen?" Maria held a hand over her forehead. "I'm not scared of who our son is, but what he is...if your brother were to find out, he'd have him killed! Kai is strong, yes, but he's still too young and in development. I'm afraid that he won't be strong enough to protect himself from your brother." Radu stared intently at her and sighed.

Meanwhile, in the washroom, Kai—the young prince—cleaned himself up. The steam filled the whole room, fogging up the entire area with mist. After washing his body, he splashed water on his hair. "Your highness, your mother and father will be waiting for you at the front gate," a maid called out from behind the doors of the room. "I'll be right there!"

He finished up and got dressed into a formal attire. The maids all gushed about him—giggling and whispering amongst each other as he passed by them. One of the maids had her arms crossed and made her way over to the others. "You know, he is off to the castle of House Harth." The other maids stared at her in confusion. "I heard he's off to marry one of the princesses of House Harth...so you all shouldn't get your hopes up too high." Another maid spoke up to her. "Well, who knows if he'd actually like any of them. From what I know, he's different from the other princes. There would actually be a possibility that he'd fall for one of us." The maid rolled her eyes at them as they continued to watch him from the windows.

Kai hopped inside the carriage and sat across from his parents. Radu and Maria stared at him as he looked outside the window of the carriage. They passed by forests and views of the ocean–and finally, the town before the castle. The townspeople all stared at the rich, fancy carriage. Children ran after it, laughing as they trotted through the cobbled floor. The trumpet played as they hopped off their carriage. Radu escorted his wife down and Kai followed after.

"Don't be afraid of being different,

be afraid of being the same as everyone else."

-Ukn