CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

GOSHA (Ruldolph's father)

Breathless and heart pounding, I couldn't recall how long we'd been fleeing. Our survival depended on outrunning the enemy, but the sound of swords clashing echoed all around us, the Kingdom in chaos and flames.

"Keep moving! He's gaining on us!" I yelled at my wife, who was struggling to keep up.

"I can't go on," she gasped, collapsing in exhaustion. "Just a short break, please."

The seconds felt like hours as we paused, the adrenaline still pumping through my veins. We had to keep moving, but could we outrun our pursuer? Every second counted in this deadly game of cat and mouse.

I couldn't risk staying put, not with my son's life on the line. "Rest at your own risk," I warned the woman, my heart pounding in my chest. "But as for me and my dear son, we aren't stopping until we're out of this danger."

I pressed on, my senses on high alert. Every sound, every rustle in the bushes made me jump. And then, just when we thought we had escaped Marius's trap, Adolphus appeared out of nowhere.

My legs turned to jelly as fear gripped me. Had we been caught? Was this the end? I turned to face Adolphus, my heart racing. But he just stood there, a sinister grin on his face. What did he want? And how were we going to get out of this alive?

ADOLPHUS

"You think you can escape Adolphus' wrath? Think again. You have two choices: hand over the child to me, or face me in a fight to the death. And even if you choose the latter, I'll still take the child away," I said, my voice dripping with finality.

"I'd rather die protecting my son than hand him over to you like a coward," Gosha replied, his voice trembling with fear and determination.

"Ha! You seem to think you stand a chance against me. But you don't know anything about my history, do you?" I taunted, a wicked grin spreading across my face. "You're in for a surprise, young man."

As he rose to his feet, I barely had time to register his movement. In a flash, he sliced through my cloak, leaving me vulnerable and exposed. His smile was unsettling, almost as if he was enjoying my fear.

"That's not supposed to happen!" I screamed, lunging towards him with all my might. But once again, I found myself lying on the ground, defeated.

"Let me show you the true power of an elf," he taunted, his voice dripping with arrogance.

My anger boiled over as I charged towards him, determined to prove him wrong. But he effortlessly dodged my attack, leaving me sprawled out on the ground, gasping for air.

"This can't be real," I muttered, my eyes burning with rage. But deep down, I knew that this was only the beginning of a much larger battle.

Gosha sneered at me with a self-assured grin. "Everything you are witnessing at this moment is real," he boasted, his voice dripping with arrogance. "And it's obvious that your end has come."

But I refused to back down, meeting his gaze with a steely determination. "You can't dare think you will win over me, your commoner," I spat out, my heart racing. "In case you don't know, I have never lost any battle my entire life."

Gosha merely chuckled, his eyes glinting with malice. "Then suit yourself," he sneered, his voice lowering to a dangerous growl. "And let's combat and see who's the boss." With a flick of his wrist, he drew his sword, and the sound of metal scraping against metal filled the air.

As I advanced towards him, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. It was as if the air around us had grown thick with tension. "Seems like you have developed wings," I said, my voice low and menacing. "But I will show you why I am called Adolphus."

He dodged my first attack with ease, his movements fluid and graceful. I gritted my teeth in frustration, my anger boiling over. I couldn't let him get the upper hand. Not again.

As I lunged towards him, he sidestepped my attack, causing me to stumble and fall to the ground. I cursed under my breath, my heart pounding in my chest. This time, I knew I had to use my powers.

With a fierce determination, I conjured a ball of fire in my hand and aimed it at him. But just as I was about to unleash it, he surprised me by conjuring an ice ball, extinguishing my flames with ease. I was left standing there, my heart racing, wondering what he would do next.

With a fierce determination, I hurled yet another fireball at him, but to my dismay, he effortlessly dodged it. I couldn't believe it - how could he be so skilled at avoiding my attacks? For what felt like an eternity, I relentlessly sent wave after wave of fire at him, but he remained unfazed. Suddenly, he retaliated with an ice ball that struck me with such force that I was sent tumbling to the ground, gasping for air.

As I lay there, struggling to catch my breath, a feeling of rage washed over me. This was not how it was supposed to go. I had to do something drastic. With a fierce determination, I sprang to my feet and clapped my hands together, summoning a thunderstorm that crackled with electricity. As he watched in awe, I conjured a cluster of ice that enveloped him completely. But I didn't stop there - I continued to add fuel to the fire, quite literally, until the ice began to blaze with a ferocity that threatened to consume us both.

With a sinister smile, I lifted him up with just one finger. He was already burning and completely powerless. His wife, who had been watching, began to back away, but I seized the opportunity to advance and snatch the child from her grasp. Just as my fingers touched hers, a bolt of lightning struck me, causing me to fall to the ground in agony. I watched in horror as the woman grabbed her child and vanished into the darkness, leaving me alone and defeated.