It was the proverbial fight of good versus evil. Everybody saw it coming. Ever since the self-installed Prime Minister Fran Hurgeb announced martial law and ordered for cleansing, eradicating the half-blooded Doans, Richard and Madelaine knew that this called for another challenge. It would be an adventure where they would fight with all their might to defend human rights that has been abused by the evil PM. It would be a fight to take back the kingdom from Hurgeb. It would be a fight that would test their relationship as well.
They were members of the nobility. Richard was the crown prince of the realm, while Madelaine was a duchess and member of the queen’s court. When the monarchy was forcefully abolished due to greed for power, most of the nobles were exiled. Richard had to end his engagement to Madelaine to leave her out of trouble, and to focus on his fight against the said mutiny who took down the monarchy. The ruling sovereign was murdered. The crown prince escaped however, and while in hiding, he created a league that would be enough to fight against Hurgeb’s army. He was technically the king now but unless Hurgeb would step down, the prime minister’s army would still hunt him down for his head.
This league started a few months ago as an accident. They, as Doans, had different kind of powers, depending on which part of the kingdom you were from. There were five, and each represented the treasures of the earth, the wind, fire, water and the fifth element. The royal family possessed the last one, that which combined all elements together, and they ruled the fifth province – the main city and the whole kingdom. Being the only child of the sovereign, the crown Prince Richard was the most powerful now because the king was dead. He was most feared because of this. He would have taken this to his advantage if not only for a slight problem – he could not fully unleash his power. This was why he created a league of superheroes that would help him fight off Hurgeb and his army. He needed a team to finish this madness and bring back the old kingdom.
The league was composed of six powerful people, his childhood friends. Elias was a master of the earth and he was accompanied by his twin brother, Jonas, who was the master of the animals. Together, they could easily command the said elements according to their will. Liandra was the mistress of the fire and metallic elements that went with it, a great mistress of different weapons. Gracia was the mistress of the water and minerals, who used her powers by the sound of her voice. The last one was Madelaine, Richard’s former fiancée. She has the power of the wind and the weather, and she could easily manipulate these by her psychokinetic skills. As the full-blooded royal, Richard has the power of all the elements but he knew that he could not do this alone, especially when he could easily lose his energy during his battles.
But today, he did not want to disappoint himself. This was a battle that he, along with his team, had to win – for the sake of their freedom and taking back his kingdom. He would not let them lose this one, even if he knew that his energy has its limit.
“I will be back. I promise.”
Richard turned when he heard Madelaine’s voice. The young duchess hugged her little sister. Their parents were also one of the casualties when the prime minister decided to murder the senior nobility after the ruling sovereign died. She joined their league, not only because she has powers strong enough to level with Hurgeb’s army, but also to avenge the death of her parents. He watched as she kissed her sister goodbye and he promised himself that she would return alive, no matter what’s the cost. He would die for this woman, even if she would not even believe him.
“You still love her,” Jonas whispered quietly, as he busied himself tying his enchanted lasso to his armor.
“Of course, always.” Richard muttered. He watched as Madelaine stood up. The wind softly blew her soft bouncy waves. There was a small bronze tiara on her head, a symbolism of her family that also held stronger powers to her psychokinesis. She walked towards them and met his look. She held it and Richard felt as if a different kind of energy was flowing through him, like a magnet that was pulling him towards her. When she reached their group, she turned to Liandra and Gracia, her best friends.
Richard turned away, but only to see the look coming from Elias and Jonas. They gave him a knowing look but neither said anything. He cleared his throat. “All right, team. We already talked about the plan last night. If anyone of you is in trouble, raise the signal,” he tapped the gold band on their wrists that also served as their communication and tracking device to be able to reach each other.
The twins nodded and flew off. Liandra turned into a flame and shoot herself up in the sky, while Gracia disappeared, teleporting herself. Madelaine looked at Richard. For some reason they did not know, when they held hands, they could easily whip up the wind that would fly them to anywhere they wanted. Richard tried to use his powers with the other four but he could not keep up with them. They knew that he, being the king now, received the ultimate elemental powers but as the newest recipient of such magnitude of power from his father, he did not have a full control yet on what to do. But with Madelaine, it seemed like he could manage it. She only held his hand one time and things seemed to be alright in this world.
“Madelaine, before we go, I want you to know that whatever happens, I will never let anyone harm you.”
“I know.”
He stared at her.
Madelaine raised their entwined hands. “I feel that whenever we held each other, it was like we are one. Remember also that I will never let anyone harm you as well.”
Richard smiled, his dimple showed. And in just a blink of an eye, they soared through the heavens and right smack into the heart of the enemy’s lair. The twins were already engaged in the battle, releasing dirt from the earth and forming gigantic balls and fired it to their enemies. Liandra created her own armory and began shooting down. Gracia called for the power of minerals and created a shield for them, while throwing her own version of a bomb.
Madelaine let go of his hand as she began to call the wind to bring forth an extreme weather condition in their area. Supported by Gracia, they distracted the enemies. Richard, on the other hand, formed a sword of fire in his hands as Gracia’s mineral elements created a shield for him. He, along with the twins, took charge and fought off with the enemies. His sword rang a loud clang as it hit the bullet that was fired to him. In an instant, a series of shots came and he raised his shield against them. They needed to win against this army first before they could reach the headquarters where Hurgeb was.
He heard a loud swoosh behind him as Elias protected his king. A bang was heard and he turned to see Elias down. Jonas saw what happened to his twin and immediately went to him while Richard looked up to see the person who shot his friend. Fran Hurgeb.
“I knew you were coming,” Fran grinned. He was walking towards them. Richard stood in front of the twins, blocking them from the prime minister. Just as he did that, Fran shoot fire from his hands and the crown prince blocked them with his shield. A sudden gust of wind blew between them. It was Madelaine. She and Gracia both tried to freeze Fran.
The big man growled aloud and released an energy that fired up against the freezing embers that the two women started creating. The ice and glass broke into little pieces. Madelaine and Gracia were thrown back. Richard, upon seeing this, swung his sword towards Fran, who stepped back and aimed his fire bursts towards him. The latter took it with his fire sword and its flame grew.
“You’re not getting away from me this time!” Fran shouted as he stepped forward. His arm produced a sword. His powers coming from the minerals just like Gracia. He and Richard continued giving each other a blow, their swords clanged against each other. Fran continued to parry but Richard was able to block each. A series of loud clanking rang in the whole battlefield as the young king and the man who violently claimed power over them fought. Fran spun around and swung his sword to the side but Richard was quick enough to deflect the blow with his shield and with this, Fran lost footing and stumbled backwards.
Sweat trickled down Richard’s face. No, not today. He could feel his energy draining. He probably had all the powers now since his father died but he was not yet fully accustomed to everything. He could feel his body was going to give up on him if he forced himself. A series of sharp metal objects, resembling ice crystals, rained on him, surprising him. He used his shield but he was not quick enough as these brushed against his body.
The young king’s cry echoed in the battlefield.
Everything seemed to stop at that moment. Madelaine immediately went to Richard as Gracia cast a force shield around the king, and the twins behind him, while Liandra fired Fran with a series of shots.
“Richard…” Madelaine cried. He was down on the ground, blood now covered his body. His face became paler, faster than it should, and he was losing his energy. His body was overwhelmed by the magnanimous amount of power he had and it was slowly killing him.
“Madelaine.”
“I asked you if you could do this.”
Richard gave her a weak smile. “Of course, I do. I just needed to practice,” he tried to chuckle, but he choked and he coughed. He looked up to her. “I love you.”
Madelaine bit her lower lip. “I love you, too. Nothing’s going to stop us now.”
Richard held her hand. “You’re my forever, you know that? I will not turn myself away from you again.”
She nodded. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She leaned down to place a light kiss on his lips. But he responded back and it became deeper, full of passion and longing. Unbeknownst to them, a striking blue light surrounded them and everyone had to turn away from its bright glare. The wind started to swirl around the two lovers, cloaking them until nobody could see what was happening between Richard and Madelaine now.
Fran stood up. He held his palm up as a ball of fire came out of it, ready to take fight back again.
Just as suddenly, a sonic boom was heard, like a bullet cracking and passing overhead. The wind was instantly wiped everything clean and from where the lovers used to be on the ground was now Richard, standing, his arm outstretched towards Fran. His body was glowing with a combination of fire and ice. The blood on his body was no longer there. He didn’t seem hurt at all. Behind him was Madelaine, whose tiara shone brightly against the light emanating from Richard’s aura.
Before anyone knew what happened, Fran fell down. His eyes were still wide eyed open, but he was dead.
That was when Richard put down his arm. He looked around. His friends and the remainder of Fran’s army stood and stared in shock at what they saw in his transformation.
“It all ends here!”
He turned to Madelaine. The war has ended. He got his kingdom back. But having this woman back, it was the most important thing that ever happened today. He held out his hand to her. As she gladly accepted it, he swooped her down for another mind-blowing kiss.
***
The kingdom was on the road to recovery. When Fran died, his allies and the army who conspired with him surrendered, especially after witnessing the power that the new king exhibited during the battle. It was something that they have never seen before. And they knew that King Richard was not alone with this. Beside him was his new wife, and her powers may be not equal to the king but her presence and her love contributed to his strength. Seeing the new couple brought a new hope and strength for the kingdom, as well.
A month after the battle, a simple royal wedding happened. It occurred in the cave where they used to camp out during their hiding and was witnessed by his friends. Elias survived and he was on the road to recovery, much to Jonas’ relief. Liandra and Gracia became part of the new queen’s court and her advisers during her reign. When the solemn ceremony ended, and the newlyweds sealed their new life with a searing passionate kiss, they went back to the palace, where the people patiently waited and welcomed them with a celebration that lasted a week.
S.W.E.E.T. Books 