I know, I know… way too long:
Phillip stalked low and slow as the wind blew against his besmirched face. Deep in Burol Forest, the brush grew thick and the game got big. Few hunters ever ventured this far from the Castle.
He crawled alongside the slightly worn path that he watched an Elk beat the morning before. The tips of the large animal’s velvety antlers rose just above the brush, and Phillip could hear it moving about at the edge of the creek.
Phillip silently pulled an arrow from his quiver and ran his finger across the well-sharpened steel. He rose into a crouched position as he drew back the bow. The forest around him grew quiet. Phillip let the arrow fly.
The great beast lowered its head just as the blade made contact and the strike was not perfect. The injured elk reared up and charged forward. Phillip quickly drew another arrow and dove towards the path, but couldn’t avoid a glancing blow from the enraged beast.
Phillip managed to bring his injured arm up long enough to fire one last shot. A direct hit that finished off his prey.
Before recovering, he took a knee beside the elk and said a prayer. The meat will feed many in the kingdom… and just in time for The Great Feast. Phillip stood from his prayer and looked over the magnificent animal.
“How the hell am I going to get this home?” he thought.
A few days later, Phillip returned to Castle Adiart with his haul in tow. Many greeted him warmly as news of his successful kill spread around the Castle. Out of the sea of smiles, one stony, unimpressed face stood out.
“Had to send a squire ahead to gloat about your kill?” asked his twin brother Robert. “I thought it was all about the thrill of the hunt? The only reward you need is the prosperity of the kingdom.”
“I never said that a little recognition wasn’t appreciated. I just don’t see myself choosing to stand guard outside some scared noble’s doorway acting like a wet nurse for two pieces a night. There’s not much satisfaction in that.
“Plus, being a part of the royal court has its perks. I’m sorry you’ll miss out on tonight’s feast. I’ll sneak you out a pint… if I don’t drink them all.”
As the party raged on around him, Phillip floated from one area to the next and jumped between conversations in his drunken haze. He often circled back to the large buffet of elk, cooked in a multitude of ways. He grabbed a piece of his kill and raised it up in victory. Each time, the crowd cheered his name and Phillip downed another pint of the malty Bavarian-style beer that was brewed just for the feast.
He turned another corner in the maze-like corridor and noticed the familiar silhouette and long blonde hair of his brother speaking with one of the noblemen in the distance.
“Did you sneak over the wall or is nobleman White your date for the evening? I guess I should ask him if you are his date.”
“Charming, brother. Enjoying your victory laps? I’m surprised you can even stand.”
“Stand? I could shoot that ugly hat off your head at 200 yards. It’d even help you with that haircut,” said Phillip as he snatched his brother’s drink form his hands and stumbled back to the party.
Phillip woke up and he could hear his headache. With every beat of his pulse it worsened. There was too much light for his half-opened eyes and he sat in a stupor for the next thirty minutes.
When he finally stood up, he stumbled over towards the curtains and shut them tighter. Things began to snap into focus as Phillip looked around the room. Disheveled from the party, his door was wide open with none of his traps set.
He could see the dark hair of the castle psychic sticking out from his sheets, so he returned to bed. He put his arm around her tightly and could feel the icy cold of her skin. He threw off the blankets to reveal the grizzly scene. Blood soaked into the mattress and spilled off of the side of his bed as he ran from the room, looking for help.
Phillip entered the royal court in shackles. His dirty brown hair was disheveled and covered some of the bruises he received in the dungeon. The guards tossed him into a chair and all eyes beset on him.
The entire royal court, including the King, sat judging him. Phillip looked to his right and gained some comfort in the sight of his brother beside him.
“What do you have to say for yourself?” asked the Prince.
“I am innocent,” Phillip pleaded. “The night is a blur, but I know that I would never harm her. I loved her. I was set up.”
“By whom? She was in your bed and you admit to lying right next to her. Your room is better protected than any in the castle. What kind of assassin could slip passed your defenses without rousing your companion?”
“I cannot explain it. I just know that it isn’t true. You all know me. Please, trust me.”
“We all know that my brother would never act this way,” said Robert. “He is the sturdiest, most stable man I know.
“But last night, I saw a different side of him. He was full of an unseen liquid rage. I could see the bloodlust from his celebrated kill boiling behind his eyes. He confronted Sir White and I just after midnight.”
Phillip’s eyes grew wide with betrayal. The conversation with Robert and White was one he remembered clearly… and Robert was the only other person close with his wolf, Leloo.
“That is a lie!” he shouted before the guards wrestled him back into his chair.
“I can attest,” said the nobleman. “Phillip is a close personal friend, but he seemed possessed last night. There was ill intent in his words and malice in his heart. I warned Robert that he should keep a careful eye on his brother. I wish he had listened.”
Phillip slumped into his seat, as the faces around the table grew redder. All loved the psychic, and Phillip’s fate was surely decided by the betrayal of his brother.
“As I’ve already stated,” Phillip said in a slow and somber tone, “the night is a blur and I have no alibi. I humbly accept my fate. I simply ask, as a long time servant of the court, for one day to say goodbye to my loved ones. And I request that you hand the burden of my execution to my brother.
The King rose and the court followed suit.
“We can allow that, young Hunter.
“Under the power of the Lord and my title as King of Castle Adiart, I hereby sentence you to death. At this time tomorrow, we’ll handle the execution privately.”
Phillip walked down the steps of the dungeon with two guards at his back and his Leloo at their heels. Dressed in full hunting gear with his face painted dark, he said a prayer to himself and stared at his feet, refusing the make eye contact with his brother.
Phillip took a knee a laid his bow and quiver at his side. Leloo sat beside him.
“Any final words, my brother?”
“I would just like the court to know that I accept my punishment. Justice always comes to those who deserve it. Since I can never prove my innocence in life, I will find justice in death.”
“May you find comfort in death,” said Robert as he lifted the executioner’s axe.
With his head still hung low, Phillip grabbed the lone arrow from his quiver and drew his bow in an instant. As the axe came down, he fired his lone shot into the heart of his brother. The axe struck home and cut deep into Phillip’s neck.
Phillip could see the physician rush over to his brother as the light faded.
The physician quickly stripped Robert of his tunic and applied pressure to stem the bleeding. The arrow pierced a large pendant that was sewn into his undershirt and they cut open the shirt to expose it. At the sight of the Unseen’s black rose, the physician quit his work.
The pools of blood formed into one as the two brothers went their separate ways into eternity.
