One Legend, Two Destinies
Chapter Three: Bad Tidings
^~^Gaea^~^
~~ Green 1 GU, 6th Moon~~
~Two Days after 'The Chase'~
Folken sat bolt upright, sweating profusely and gasping for breath. Crimson colored his vision. 'Something's wrong.'
"Lord Folken!" A faint, but urgent, call rang out from the castle hallway, reaching Folken's ears.
'Something is most definitely wrong!' Folken's vision remained prominently bathed in red. Folken scrambled to his feet, sliding into slippers and a dressing gown. Folken quickly shuffled to the door, opening it just as a young guard skidded to a halt beside his door.
"Lord Folken!" The boy panted as he bowed his head respectfully. "Star Blaze is approaching!"
Folken's brow furrowed. "Van isn't due back for another week."
The guard looked up at Folken with blue panic-stricken eyes. "The King isn't riding." He started hiccupping softly.
"Whose the rider?" Folken nearly growled with solicitude. 'Oh god. What are you playing at, Van?' Folken asked himself, hoping against hope that Van had goaded the guard into making him panic.
The guard stepped back at the feral feel to Folken's body language. "Th-th-there is no rider." The guard stuttered with absolute sincerity.
"No." Folken whispered, horror stricken. 'Van!' Folken screamed mentally as he ran out to the courtyard.
Folken watched as a black war horse was led up to the castle gates by a stable hand. He dashed over to search Star Blaze. What he found, shocked him into reality. The horse, although startled, was uninjured. What surprised him the most was the presence of Van's sword and crossbow, both completely clean and neither damaged.
"Van!" Folken cried out in despair. His dream came back to him full force. One moment Van had been standing before him in all his magnificent glory. The next moment Van disappeared, leaving only a gaping hole that could be described as a rip in the fabric of the universe. A hole through which blood and crimson light flooded the surrounded dreamscape, leaving behind a morbid feeling of encroaching death.
'Where are you?' Folken sobbed silently, while kneeling upon the ground, silent tears joining their purple, tattooed companion.
A/N 1: Please do not tell me "Folken died." I know full well that Folken died. I happen to like his character very much. I hadn't planned to have him in this story when it was just an idea, but the idea culminated and *PRESTO* Folkie resurrection. I hope to fit in his entire "still-living-and-breathing" situation in a later chapter but I haven’t figured that in yet.
A/N 2: The date is January 6th, by the Earth Equivalent.
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