Return of The Forsaken Heir

CHPT 2

Victoria's footsteps slowly faded, leaving the broken hut in dead silence. Leo dropped to his knees wrapping his arms around his weeping father and trembling little sister. He pulled them against his chest, blocking the wind howling through the shattered door.

"Lift your heads, Father. Lily, look at me," Leo said, his voice ringing with absolute, unshakable strength as he wiped the tears from her face. "I am back. While I stand, no power in this world will ever lay a hand on you again." 

Thomas’s shaking hands held onto Leo’s sleeves as if he was dreaming. "My son, You just returned to us, and already you are bleeding for our sake.  We must not let them break what we fought ten years to reclaim." 

"You are my world, Father, Ten years of pain was nothing compared to seeing you both breathe again. As long as I have blood in my body, I will protect this family." Leo said.

Before Leo could even wipe the mud from Lily's broken legs, iron boots stomped outside the broken doorway. A violent kick smashed the splintered door completely into pieces. Four guards from the Seven Sects burst inside, their spears gleaming with cruel light under the moon.

The chief guard sneered with pure malice, his eyes locking straight onto Leo. "The Grand Patriarch wants the Dragon Sovereign Edict right now, you little dog!" the chief guard barked loudly. "Give up the ancient scroll this instant, or your family will not live to see the morning sun rise!"

The Dragon Sovereign Edict was the sacred ancient chronicle of the city, written with the holy laws of heaven. It was the only physical proof that the Lin bloodline were the true, divine rulers destined to sit upon the royal throne.

Without that holy scroll, the Seven Sects were nothing more than bloody thieves and unlawful usurpers in the eyes of the citizens. They desperately needed the edict to rewrite history, legalize their stolen rule, and destroy the ancient protective seals slumbering beneath the city forever.

"Get away from my family!" Leo commanded in a dangerous voice, stepping between the sharp spears and his father. Thomas reached out blindly, begging his son to get behind him, while Lily shivered in absolute terror. Leo planted his boots deep into the mud, refusing to move even a single inch.

The chief guard laughed evilly, swinging his spear handle straight into Leo's chest with all his strength. A crack echoed through the hut as two of Leo's ribs snapped under the brutal blow. Leo coughed a mouthful of blood onto the dirt, but he locked his knees and forced his body to remain standing.

"Speak, you worthless cur!" the chief guard shouted, kicking Leo hard in the stomach with his heavy iron boot. "Where is the royal scroll hidden? Tell me now, or I will break every bone in your body one by one!" Leo bit his lips, taking every cruel strike in silence so his hidden dragon power would not expose his family to danger.

" stop beating my brother!" Lily shrieked from the ground. The chief guard laughed and raised his blade to cut off Leo's right arm. But before the metal could fall, a fast silver needle shot through the dark and pierced the chief guard right through the throat.

The chief guard dropped his weapon flat into the mud. A graceful woman in a silk dress stepped through the doorway, holding a glowing silver whip that hummed with terrifying energy. A bright aura swirled around her body, filling the room with a suffocating wind.

"Run for your lives, it is Maiden Clara!" The remaining guards screamed in pure terror, dropping their spears into the mud. They scrambled out like frightened rats. The woman walked over, looking down at Leo's bloody chest with sorrowful eyes.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Leo asked in a raspy voice, holding his broken ribs in deep pain. Thomas tilted his blind face toward the light, his nose twitching as he caught a familiar, sweet flower scent in the air. The old father reached out with shaking hands, his voice trembling with deep emotion and relief.

"Trust her, my boy," Thomas breathes, his tense shoulders finally relaxing as a tear slips down his scarred cheek. "That familiar scent... it's the Star-Moon lotus. Ten years ago, her master sacrificed her own blood so we could survive. She is one of us, Leo. We are safe with her." 

Clara dropped to both knees in the cold mud, bowing her head deeply to the blind father with utmost respect. " I’m not a stranger to you, and I'm not here to hurt you or your family, Leo." Clara said softly. "My master owed an unpayable life-debt to Queen Eleanor, and I swore on my honor to protect your bloodline from these evil dogs."

"victoria gave me three days to bring the edict," Leo said, wiping blood from his swollen mouth. "Why are their guards already kicking down our door before sunrise?"

Clara's face grew very serious as she stood up, pointing out the door toward the high stone towers of Dragonfall City. "Gareth does not care about victoria's words. He moved the timeline up because he wants to break your spirit immediately, and he has already prepared a cruel trap for you in the city square."

Leo’s eyes widened in surprise, a cold shock running straight through his chest as he stared at her. "A trap?" Leo asked, his voice filled with rising disbelief and anger. "What kind of trap could Gareth possibly set for me in front of the whole city?"

"Gareth will bring your mother’s sacred Jade Crown to the main city square. He plans to burn it to ashes in front of thousands of people to insult your mother. He knows your heart, and he knows you will walk straight into his blades to save your mother's honor."

" Clara explained.

Leo’s heart burned with a furious fire as he heard those cruel words spoken aloud. He looked down at his blind father and his crippled little sister, knowing this broken hut was completely exposed. "We must leave this place right now," Leo said.

 "Leave?" Thomas whispered, his voice trembling. "Leo... this hut is the only roof we have. In the dead of night, where on earth are we supposed to go?" 

"The sects already know where we sleep, Father," Leo answered softly, his voice firm and protective. "Clara just killed their chief guard on our floor, and their troops will swarm this hut the moment dawn breaks. If I leave for the square to stop Gareth, victoria or the sect elders will sneak behind my back and slaughter you both while I am away."

Thomas swallowed hard and nodded in silent dread, understanding that staying in the hut meant certain death. Leo secured his little sister onto his back, holding her tight, and guided his blind father by the elbow through the dark back alleys of the city.

He led them into the eastern mountains, far away from the prying eyes of the sect scouts. Behind a wall of bushes, he found a deep cave hidden inside the cliffside. The cold morning wind whistled across the rocks, but the inside of the stone cavern was warm and safe.

"Stay hidden in this cave, Father," Leo whispered, setting his little sister down on a soft bed of dry grass. "I must go to the city square and take Mother's crown back from Gareth's hands." Thomas grabbed Leo's coat, begging his son to reconsider.

"No, Leo, you cannot go there!" Thomas cried out, his voice cracking with intense fear and sorrow. "It is a deadly trap set by evil men who want to kill you! Let the crown burn, my son, but please do not leave me and your sister all alone in this dark cave!"