Gaius triumphs, but Marcus manages to shock him

In the stories, sword fights between brave, skilled warriors lasted a while. Each man would gain or lose advantage many times over the course of an honorable duel, before at last the one with right on his side would triumph with one clean sweep of his gleaming blade. The horrible reality was nothing like that. Gaius and the King leapt at each other suddenly, longswords flashing. There was a brief and furious exchange of blades glancing off each other as Gaius fended off a vicious hail of strikes from the King. Though he knew nothing about dueling, Marcus guessed his Father was trying to finish this as quickly as possible and for one hopeful moment it seemed like he might just overwhelm his brother. Then Gaius turned his shoulder, letting the King's savage downward stroke fall through the air where he'd stood moments ago. Marcus gasped in shock as his Father stumbled, left off-balance by a missed swing he'd put his all into. The King tried to recover, but his brother was just too fast even in that heavy armor.

There was a hissing noise as Gaius' blade slashed down like a falling star. Time seemed to slow as Marcus watched the sword descend in horror, trembling as he realized it had been aimed right across his Father's body. The King's eyes widened in horror and he stumbled back somehow, his legs buckling. That vicious stroke slashed through the air, just missing his chest, but cutting right across his sword-arm instead. For a moment the young prince just couldn't grasp what had happened. It was all just too fast, too horrible! He watched his Father collapse to his knees, a howl of raw agony escaping the King's lips. Blood on the floor, thick and red and sickening to see, blood spraying from his Father's wrist in hot gouts, a mangled stump where a hand had once been. Marcus felt his head spin, darkness dancing on the edges of his vision. For a moment, he was sure he was going to faint, or vomit, or both.

"Sorry, Castor." Gaius grunted, his dark eyes flickering to the severed ruin of his brother's hand. "I wanted a quick finish, but then you were always just a little faster than I gave you credit for, weren't you?" He chuckled darkly, then raised his sword once more. His jaw clenched, gaze narrowed, and his blade trembled as it hung in the air, gleaming mercilessly. It was clear this was meant to be the killing stroke. The King raised his head, a dull look of shock in his eyes. His lips trembled, like he was trying to speak, but no words emerged from his straining jaw.

"No!" Marcus shrieked, darting forward on trembling legs. Gaius froze at the frantic shout, his gaze flickering to the young prince and widening in surprise. Before his Uncle could stop him, Marcus frantically dashed to his kneeling Father and threw himself between them. The King made a muffled grunting noise, shaking his head, and Gaius seemed to freeze in place, standing there like a statue with his sword still hanging in the air and shock in his eyes. The young prince knew he had to speak, had to say something and stop his Uncle now while he had the chance. "Please...Uncle Gaius...please don't kill my Father!" The young prince begged, tears streaming down his cheeks. He kept his own body between them, still silently believing that his once kind uncle wouldn't use that sword on him too. "Please...I'll do anything. You've got the throne now, you've got what you want! Please, just don't kill my Father!" His voice died in a trembling sob as he raised his head to stare up at his uncle's handsome face with pleading eyes. For a few long moments, Gaius just stared back, his sword held up and his chiseled jaw clenched tight and something conflicted in his silent stare.

"Bravely done of you, nephew, to stand between us." He muttered at last. "I admit, I didn't expect such courage from of you of all people. Begging for my mercy, perhaps that's all you can do, but..." He paused a moment, his dark eyes flickering between Marcus and his kneeling brother. "You're right. The throne is mine, the Kingdom is mine. Perhaps there's no need to begin my reign with an act of kinslaying after all. No-one's going to raise their banner for a maimed King who ruined his own realm." With a sharp sigh he lowered his sword. Marcus let out the breath he'd been holding in one trembling gasp of relief. "Thank your son for this, Castor, if you can." Gaius grunted, glancing coldly at the kneeling King. "You're going to live because of him, for now at least."

"Damn you, Gaius." The King spat back.

"Get him out of here and take him to the surgeons, have them bandage his arm and stop the bleeding if they can." Gaius ignored the curse, waving his hand at a few of his watching soldiers. "Then take him down to the dungeons and lock him in a cell. If he survives, I'll decide what to do with him then." Three of the soldiers darted forward, one of them the young man who'd come to find them in Marcus' bedroom. Ignoring the King's muffled curses and feeble struggles, they dragged him to his feet, fresh blood still oozing from the ruin of his hand. His dull eyes flickered to the young prince, full of pain and anguish.

"I'm so sorry...son, I...wasn't strong enough." He moaned hoarsely and the defeated look on his face brought fresh stinging tears to the young prince's eyes. Marcus sobbed and sniffled. This was so awful...but at least...he'd managed to save his Father's life for now. And Gaius had listened to him, right? Maybe that meant...somehow deep down the kindly Uncle he'd admired so much was still in there. As the soldiers started dragging the King towards the door, the young prince moved to follow them, expecting to be taken to the Dungeons too. The thought of being locked away in some horrible cell wearing only this thin shift made him shudder, but at least he'd be with his Father. Then a cold, mailed hand landed on his shoulder, grabbing him firmly and holding him in place. As he squeaked in shock, his slender body was turned round, and he found himself staring right back up at his Uncle's handsome face.

"Not so fast, nephew." Gaius murmured. "You're coming with me, I'm afraid."