Gems and Jewels

He paced around the hall, with his hands rested on his waist and his head bent in thoughts. He pushed his robe back and stared blankly into thin air before sighing heavily.

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“My Lord!” he looked up with anticipation and he walked towards the man that had just rushed in.

“What news do you have?” he asked with his eyes beaming with tension.

“There was no trace of Rogreg,” the man replied with a dejected ambience and King Mathyr walked away.

His heart was heavy and suddenly, his crown that had always sat on his head felt heavy out of nowhere.

“You have proved your incompetence, Saddr! Your loyalty to me is on a light thread now!”

“My Lord!” Saddr immediately fell to his knees. “My men and I were in the woods all through the night and as we speak, I have men keeping watch of the city gates,” he explained but that seemed to do no work.

King Mathyr shut his eyes and tried to stifle his anger but he turned around with fury and anger oozing from every part of his body.

He grabbed Saddr by his neck, wrapping his hand aggressively around it with his breath steaming with outrage and he glared at him with fiery in his eyes almost burning Saddr.

Saddr was filled with fear as this was the first time his Alpha, King Mathyr had ever been this angry. He was choking and pleading with his eyes but King Mathyr’s grip intensified, digging deeply into his skin.

Mathyr raised him above the ground and angrily tossed his across the hall as the giant door flung open noisily.

“My Lord,” the man said as he rushed.

Saddr on the other end held his neck, coughing profusely.

“Those Jewels cost a fortune. Those belong to my ancestors and those before them! It was their sweat and the only reward they got after waging war against the human world but now it's all gone!!” he yelled and the whole castle seemed to tremble at the intensity of his voice.

“My Lord,” the man called again with terror.

“What?” Mathyr yelled.

“We got a lead on Rogreg’s whereabouts!”

Mathyr paused as he stared at Boris, the man who brought the news.

“Get all of your finest knights ready; the archers and the death warrior. We are all paying Rogreg a visit!”

“Yes, sire,” Boris said with a bow as he rushed out of the hall.

“Get the finest horses ready. All of the horses are leaving the stables. We shall leave by nightfall through the Southern gate!” Mathyr instructed and Saddr rushed out.

He could feel his blood boiling in his veins and his arteries rushed the blood to every part of his body in a surged manner. His breathing was uneven and his fangs and claws were starting to poke out.

“I am the Alpha of my clan. The true Alpha!” he growled, hailing himself.

But at that moment, a thumping sound from a galloping horse invaded his hearing. He rushed to his window side, peeking out to see who it was and there, he saw Rogreg, sitting on a horse, staring up at his window side.

He scoffed before hurrying away.

As he got to him, standing a few feet away from him and with lots of people watching to know what was next and murmuring, someone from the crowd yelled. “Traitor! Seize the traitor. He had betrayed our alpha!”

The guards thumped forward and grabbed Rogreg roughly, dragging him to Mathyr.

There was a long pause, a silence that seemed to have halted everyone’s heartbeat. A silence that seemed to have ceased the birds and the waving of the tree branches.

“You thief!” Mathyr finally said in a husky voice. “How dare you steal from me after everything I have done for you. I took you more like a brother than a knight. How dare you steal my Gems and Jewels. They belong to me and my forefathers. You have no right to possess something that belongs to the reign of Alpha!”

“You are the thief!” Rogreg said and everyone gasped, including Mathyr. “You…You are the thief, Mesos!” he said with all audacity, pointing at Mathyr.

Mathyr was shocked and taken aback as to how Rogreg knew about his past name. A name he had forsaken during the years he was on a run.

“Seize him!” Mathyr said and as the guards rushed to Rogreg’s side, an old man walked forward from somewhere amidst the crowd.

“You will do no such thing, Mesos!” the voice sounded familiar to Mathyr but the old man had his cloak blocking his face. As he lifted it off his face, Mathyr froze in his stance, trembling as he pointed at the old man.

“I…you…I…” he stuttered.

“You killed me, right? But no, I didn't die!”

“Teacher Suroth, how is that possible?”

Suroth looked around at everyone’s faces with confusion laced up with shock on their faces.

“This man right here is not worthy to be your Alpha!” he pronounced.

“Why?” a young man from the crowd asked.

“Years back, he came to me wanting to learn about herbs but after a few months of learning, I noticed his lust for power and greed for wealth. He changed and Rogreg here who was still a very young boy at the time was bound to catch up on this wrong act so one day, I cast a spell and mixed some herbs to make gems and jewels which he lusted after and tested him. This led to my supposed death why he ran off with the gems and jewels. The poison he used had an antidote that brought me back to life. So Rogreg grew to seek him and bring him to justice!” the old man explained.

Everyone gasped and some murmured almost not believing his story.

“Lies! All lies!” Mathyr yelled.

“Needless do I say he killed your former alpha, King Alfred!” Rogreg.

Everyone roared and out of nowhere, stones flew at Mathyr and everything else he said to defend himself fell on deaf ears.

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Story inspired by Worldbuilding Prompt #816 - Gems and Jewels

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