Jane, Warrior of Decura Chapter 45

A Duel of Two Brothers

Despite the crowd watching them roaring for the fight to begin, the two Marshal brothers remained stationary and simply stared at each other with their joyful expressions. Both were glad to see their sibling again, albeit for completely opposite reasons. William was just happy his only living blood relative was still alive. Sedrick on the other hand, he was happy to finally have a worthy opponent to fight. “Aren't you going to ask how I've been?” Sedrick chuckled as he readied his two large blades.

“I could ask you the same thing” William replied while also readying his weapon. “Ten years is a long time.”

“True” Sedrick said after mildly shrugging. “Forgive me for assuming, but I bet you spent most of those years wasting your skills watching that Pennynook kid.”

William narrowed his eyes. “You are correct” he said. “It's something we were both supposed to do. But you chose killing people over keeping little Alesia safe.”

“Her lose was tragic” Sedrick agreed. “But her father should have realized only one of us was suited to serve as a child's protector and given me a better job.” Sedrick's eyes narrowed. “Then again, I didn't agree to work for him.”

“I told you, there wasn't any other choice” William sighed. “It was either agree to serve the Pennynook family or be put to the sword. And you weren't exactly able to give him your answer at the time.”

“No, you just went ahead and gave it for me” Sedrick said harshly. “That wasn't very nice, brother.”

“Sorry for saving your life, brother” William said in an equally harsh tone.

“You're forgiven” Sedrick said, now speaking in his usual calm manner. “Would I be correct to presume you'd like to know why I wasn't hung after I was brought here?”

“You're correct” William answered. “But I know you're not going to stand there and tell me your story.”

Sedrick smirked. “Shall we do the same thing we always used to do?” he asked.

William nodded. “We shall” he replied. “Talk as you fight.”

“Brothers?!?” Danford gasped as he stared through the dungeon's window. “That's a surprise. Did you know about this?”

“You're asking me?” Austell asked. “I've only known William for two days. The topic of siblings wasn't exactly a priority for our few conversations.”

From his stand, the speaker glanced up at Adam, who quickly signaled him to begin the match. “Good people of Etin city, the time is finally here!” he shouted. “Today's main event is about to begin! Please take your seats so I can-”

A loud clang suddenly echoed throughout the arena, immediately silencing the speaker. Glancing down, the speaker saw the Butcher and William pressing their swords against each other. “B-begin?!?” he roared weakly.

With a huge grin on his face, Sedrick swung one of his swords at William's head. Thankfully, William was able to duck down just enough to have Sedrick's weapon harmlessly pass over him. Now with only one of Sedrick's swords pushing against his, William put his hand on the side of his sword and pushed forward with all of his strength, forcing Sedrick to step back to avoid loosing his balance.

Now that nothing was pushing against his sword, William raised it high in the air and tried to bring his weapon down on Sedrick's head.

Knowing full well he couldn't stop William's sword with just one of his own, Sedrick raised both weapons and managed to block his brother's attack. “Not bad...” he grunted as his legs started to tremble from the sheer force behind William's attack. “So, I guess I should explain why I'm not dead then.” Sedrick let out a fierce roar and pushed back against William with so much strength, his brother's weapon flew upward, nearly flying out of William's hands as he was thrown off balance. Sedrick tried to swing both of his blades into William's side, but his brother was quick to jump back enough to avoid the attack. Eager to keep up his offensive, Sedrick swung both his swords at William once again.

Thankfully, William was able to regain his balance in time to block both weapons with his huge sword, the impact nearly knocking him back even further. “Yes, you should” William grunted through his teeth while pushing back against Sedrick's dual blades.

Sedrick gave his brother a small grin. “Well after I was carted off, I spent two days in one of Etin city's dungeons” Sedrick explained while maintaining enough force behind his weapons to keep William locked in place. “I waited for the moment one of the noble's knights to inform me of the date of my execution. But instead...” Sedrick used all of his strength to push William back a few feet before unleashing a flurry of wild attacks.

Despite having one less weapon that was both larger and heavier than either of his brother's blades, William managed to block every single attack thrown at him. Although it quickly became apparent he could not keep this up for long, as two of Sedrick's strikes managed to give William's left shoulder pad and right cheek little nicks. After shifting to the his left to avoid an attack, William spun around and swung his sword toward Sedrick's side.

Acting fast, Sedrick quickly turned toward William's weapon and tried to block the attack with one of his swords. However, one sword alone wasn't enough to fully absorb the blow and the sheer force behind the attack sent Sedrick sliding across the ground. Luckily for the champion, he was able to stay on his feet as William charged toward him. “Instead of some knight, it was a nobleman himself who came to see me” he grunted after blocking William's next strike, this time with both swords. “He called himself Adam Gigan and he'd come to me with an interesting proposition.” Sedrick tried to send a kick into William's stomach, but his brother quickly used a kick of his own to knock Sedrick's leg away. With that attack thwarted, Sedrick opted to shift to the side while tilting his swords enough to parry William's huge weapon.

“Damn!” William grunted as his sword slid down Sedrick's weapons and crashed into the ground. Before William even had a chance to lift his weapon, Sedrick swung one of his blades toward his brother's head. Thankfully, William was able to avoid the attack by leaning his head back just enough so that the blade barely skimmed the tip of his nose. Knowing full well another attack was coming, William tore his sword from the ground and lifted it up just in time to deflect Sedrick's other blade and break his stance.

Unfortunately, before William could take advantage of the new opening, Sedrick quickly jumped back several times. “Well, that was close” he chuckled before cracking his neck. “So, Adam gave me a choice; Be hung or enter the coliseum as one of its fighters. Apparently he'd been having problems with his champion getting bored with weak opponents and he needed someone new to spice things up.” Sedrick grinned. “Well, I spiced things up alright. I killed that 'champion' in two minutes and took his place as this arena's top fighter.”

“This is beginning to sound hauntingly familiar” William grumbled as he remembered Adam requesting he slay a bored champion too.

Sedrick immediately realized why his brother was now forced to fight in the arena and glanced up at Adam for a second before returning his gaze to William. “I haven't lost a fight since I got here” he said with a pleased grin. “It's been so much fun brother. A never ending line of opponents just waiting for me to crack their skulls...”

William narrowed his eyes. “And you've been here for ten whole years” he finished, causing Sedrick to nod. “Why didn't you try to contact me?”

Sedrick rolled his eyes. “Because you thought I was dead” he answered. “No point in changing that. Besides, if you knew what I was doing, you'd only try to stop me with one of your 'senseless killing is wrong' speeches and then we'd be in this same situation only ten years ago.” Sedrick lowered his guard. “Tell me, have the past ten years been pleasant ones?”

It only took William a second to decided on an answer. “Yes... Yes they have” he replied. “I cannot deny that spending the last ten years protecting master Albert were some of the best years of my life.”

“I figured as much” Sedrick sighed, looking a little sad but at the same time, relieved. “All you needed was your unstable twin brother out of the way and you got to live a peaceful life. I'm pleased you were able to have that brother.”

Now it was William's turn to drop his guard. “Sedrick... That's not-”

“The truth?” Sedrick finished. “Of course it is William. We both know most, if not all of our troubles in life stemmed from me and my desire to do battle. While it's true we both loved to fight, you were always the more reserved half of the two Marshal brothers. That's why I failed my charge while you managed to keep yours safe for ten whole years.”

“You weren't the only one who failed...” William said after averting his eyes, the image of Albert's death appearing in his mind.

Sedrick lowered his head. “I suspected as much” he said. “Sorry for your loss brother. I'm sure you did everything you could to help him.”

“Maybe...” William mumbled to himself. “Maybe not...”

Sedrick quickly surveyed the coliseum's huge crowd, which had remained silent for the entire battle. He immediately spotted several people beginning to grow irritated that the fight had stopped. “Looks like we've run out of time to talk” he sighed before resuming his battle stance.

“Brother...” William said while also readying his weapon. “Must we continue?”

“Well no, we don't have to” Sedrick assured as his eyes glanced up to Adam once again. “But if we don't, a certain noble will most likely send you to hang, or worse...” Sedrick started to slowly approach his brother. “So either you kill me and win your freedom, or I kill you and go right back to what I've been doing for the past ten years. And quite honestly, we both know which one of us actually deserves to live. Little hint, it isn't the one who lost himself in battle and allowed a little girl he was supposed to be protecting die.”

“Sedrick... I don't want to kill you” William said as a single tear ran down his cheek.

“I know you don't” Sedrick assured. “But I don't want the one Marshal brother who isn't a bloodthirsty animal to die either. I also know you're going to be conflicted, so I'm not going to hold back and force you to retaliate William. Fight back with everything you've got and win or die and disappoint all those who, I presume, are waiting for you to come back to them.”

William closed his eyes for second. He knew deep down his brother was right, there were people who would be crushed if he died now. He also know that Sedrick wasn't the type of man who'd ever quit a fight until his opponent was dead, even if that opponent was his own brother. Holding back wasn't an option right now. There was no other choice. For miss Patti, miss Jane and everyone else, William Marshal would have to kill his brother...

Sedrick and William suddenly rushed toward each other at top speed, their weapons colliding a second later, causing a loud clang to echo out into the streets of Etin city.

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Elsewhere, both Jane and Nate found themselves flat on their back with golems looming over them. A terrified Emina had her fist raised over Jane's face while Felix continued to press his heavy foot down on Nate's chest. “Emi...” Jane muttered as she stared into her little sister's horrified eyes.

“Big sis...” Emi whimpered as her fist trembled. “Emi can't fight Mr. Welkin... There's another voice, a scary voice... In Emi's head...”

“Enough!” Welkin barked, causing both golem's to completely lock up, much to Felix's irritation. “Our hostess wishes to speak with our guests.”

Jane slowly sat up, spotting a familiar woman standing next to Welkin. “Scarlet?” she gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“Well this is my home Jane” Scarlet chuckled.

“You... You're working with Welkin?” Jane asked after glancing over to Welkin, who was bowing to Scarlet.

“With?” Scarlet seemed surprised. “Oh no, he works for me. He'll always work for me.”

Jane's eyes widened. “So you were behind Nice's kidnapping?” she asked, a look of confusion on her face. “Why?”

“Why?” Scarlet parroted before giggling a little. “For the same reason I ordered Felix and his bandits to attack the reyn. The same reason I gave Vanrig just that little extra power so that he could rule like a tyrant.” Small blue flames started to flicker from Scarlet's eyes, much to Jane's horror as she immediately realized who Scarlet really was. “It's all for one purpose. To make me, Hazel August Garnier, the one true ruler of Decura.” Blue flames suddenly consumed Scarlet for a few moments before immediately dissipating, revealing the same witch Jane had fought in Bhaldural.

“You...” Jane growled through her teeth as her fingers dug into the stone ground.

“Of course bitch, you thwarted both of those plans” Hazel grumbled. “But fortunately for me, a little kassi decided to pay Decura a visit. Sure, you stopped both Quill and Sigmund from retrieving her. But it seems destiny is on my side.” Hazel gave Jane the most sinister of grins. “And once Welkin has her reveal the location of her homeland, I'll be one little vacation away from achieving my goal.” Hazel tapped her chin with one finger a few times before turning to Welkin. “Speaking of that... Welkin, go see if your associates have gotten everything they need from the kassi.”

Welkin seemed confused. “But mistress, I'm sure I would be better suited out here” he argued.

Hazel's eyes flared up for a second. “Shut up and do what I say!” she snapped fiercely. “Don't make me repeat myself.”

Welkin shrugged and wandered back inside. “Alright, come along Felix” he said. “I may need your skills to make the kassi talk.”

“B-but what about the reyn brat?!” Felix snapped as his body started to move on it's own, following Welkin inside and leaving Nate laying on his back.

“Emina can handle them” Welkin assured, speaking unnecessarily loudly. “In fact, she can do whatever she wants.” The second that last sentence finished, Emina's fist fell to her side.

Once Welkin was out of sight, Hazel turned her attention back towards Jane. “Now then, should I just burn you to ashes right here?” she pondered as her hands started to emit blue flames. “Or have your former friend there strangle you to death? Which would you prefer, you overgrown bitch.”

Jane, after lifting herself to one knee, hung her head.

“What's wrong?” Hazel asked. “Are you scared? Having a hard time coming to grips with your imminent demise?”

“No...” Jane replied, glancing up just enough to see Emina wink at her. “The only thing I'm having a hard time with, is listening to you speak. You wrinkled, dust-ridden, old hag!”

“You damn...” Hazel took a deep breath and aimed an open palm at Jane, a crazed grin on her face. “Fine! Burned to ashes it is!” A fireball burst forth from Hazel's palm and flew straight toward Jane's head. However, much to Hazel's surprise, Emina quickly leaped into the projectile's path and threw her arms out, allowing the fireball to explode onto her stony back. “What are you doing?!?” Hazel snapped before throwing another fireball into Emina's back which like before, did little to no damage. “Get out of the way now!” Hazel started to create a third fireball, but was shocked when Jane suddenly leaped incredibly high into the air.

“How about you get out of our way!” Jane roared as gravity caused her to plummet fist-first towards Hazel. “Permanently!”

Hazel glanced up to toss her fireball at Jane, but the sun's glare force her to shield her eyes. She still tossed her projectile upward, but it missed Jane by a wide margin and exploded, propelling Jane even faster toward her. With no more time to conjure another fireball, Hazel jumped back.

Jane slammed into the ground a second later, her fist smashing into the courtyard's stone floor and creating a large crater. Not only that, but the sheer impact shook the entire property, knocking Hazel, Nate and Emina off their feet. The only one able to stay on their feet was the imposing knight in purple armor standing just within the large mansion.

Hazel started to pull herself back to her feet, only to find Jane already out of the crater. “Oh no!” her mind yelped as Jane lunged at her with a fist raised.

However, as Jane was barely a few feet away from Hazel, a hulking knight suddenly dashed in between them and took Jane's powerful punch to his chest plate.

Recognizing her new opponent, Jane's eyes widened with fear as she felt her fist dig into the knight's dark purple armor. The massive force behind her punch sent Sigmund flying backwards, soaring over Hazel and crashing into the mansion's wall. “No...” Jane gasped as she remembered what happened the last time she sent Sigmund flying with a single punch.

Thanks to Sigmund's distraction, Hazel was able to get back to her feet and shoot jets of flame from her hands, allowing her to both propel herself away and force Jane to shield her face and stumble back. “Nice work Sigmund” Hazel chuckled as she noticed a faint orange light begin to glow from the rubble that had buried Sigmund.

“Damn it...” Jane thought after raising her fists. “Am I going to have to fight that knight again?”

Nate ran to Jane's side, Emina quickly doing the same. “Are you alright Jane?” he asked while clutching his aching chest.

Jane gave the reyn a quick nod while keeping her eyes on Hazel and Sigmund, who was starting to lift himself out of the rubble, bright orange lines beginning to appear all over his armor. “What about you Nate?” she asked. “And you Emi. Are you alright too?”

“I don't think my ribs are broken” Nate grunted as he pressed his hand against his chest. “I should be fine.”

“Emi's back is smoking” Emina said while pointing to her back. “But she'll be alright. Emi can move on her own again.”

Nate spotted Sigmund begin to stand. “Not him again...” he growled, the image of Jane's defeat at Sigmund's hands fresh in his mind. “You're not going to fight him again are you Jane?”

“I have to” Jane explained. “Otherwise who knows what they'll do to Nice. I can't abandon her, but you and Emi should go while you can.”

Nate gave Jane's thigh a quick thump. “After all this time, do you think I would leave you?” he asked before drawing an arrow. “Right when you need me the most.”

“Emi isn't going to run either!” Emina cheered before assuming the same combat stance as Jane. “Emi is going to help big sis and save Nice!”

Jane grit her teeth. Facing both Hazel and Sigmund at the same time was going to be incredibly difficult and extremely dangerous. It would be impossible for her to defeat them together while keeping Nate and Emina safe.

Hazel let out a giggle and stepped forward. “Well, well bitch” she snickered. “Are you and your friends ready to die? You could always run if you'd like, but then who knows what will happen to that fragile little kassi.” Hazel glanced toward Sigmund. “Are you ready handsome?”

Sigmund sighed. “Yes...” he grumbled.

“Good, because I want you to-”

That was about as far as Hazel got before thick tree roots suddenly burst forth from the courtyard's stone floor, impaling Sigmund and nearly doing the same to Hazel.

“What the?!?” Hazel gasped before torching the tree roots that got a little too close to her. “What's going on?!?”

The lines of trees surrounding the circular courtyard started to shake violently, causing Emina and Nate to shuffle closer to Jane. “What's happening?” Nate asked.

“I'm not sure...” Jane muttered while surveying her surroundings.

Suddenly, one extra tree root, the largest one yet, burst forth from the ground directly in front of Jane and smashed into one of the mansion's upper windows. Hazel, Jane and her friends all glanced up to the smashed window.

“Look!” Emina cheered as she pointed to the familiar kassi waving back to her. “It's Nice! She's alright!”

“She must have escaped on her own!” Nate cheered before grinning. “What a clever little lady.”

“She hasn't escaped yet!” Hazel roared before attempting to throw a fireball up at Nice, only to be forced to use the attack to stop another tree root from piercing her.

Nice, after letting out her usual over-the-top laugh, started to slide down the thick tree root sticking into Hazel's mansion. “Don't worry minions!” she cheered. “Your master has returned to save the-” Unfortunately for Nice, her celebration was cut short when she tripped over a small twig sticking out of the tree root.

Jane, Nate and Emina all let out a gasp as they watched Nice tumble the rest of the way down the tree root, only stopping when she hit her head on the ground directly in front of Jane's feet a few seconds later.

“Nice!” Emina cheered before scooping up the dizzy kassi and pressing her tightly to her stony face. “Emi missed you!”

Jane and Nate gave each other happy smiles, only to immediately lose them when their gazes were drawn to Hazel, who had just finished torching every piece of wood that should have remained underground. “I think it's time for us to go Jane” Nate said as he watched Sigmund use his huge axe to cut himself free from the tree roots impaling him.

“Good idea” Jane said before picking up Nate and Emina.

“Damn it, don't you dare run!” Hazel roared as flames erupted from her eyes and hands.

Jane stuck her tongue out at Hazel. “Sorry but I don't listen to crusty old hags!” she snickered before bolting off Hazel's property at an incredible speed, disappearing from the witch's sight in seconds.

“How did this happen?!?” Hazel roared as Welkin and Felix darted out of her mansion, Felix holding what appeared to be a scroll. After lighting her hand on fire, Hazel thrust it into Welkin's neck. “You! You let the kassi escape! How could you be so stupid?!?”

Despite Hazel's hand burning his neck, Welkin was able to speak up. “Actually... We know... We know...” he grunted while pointing to Felix, who quickly reveal the contents of his scroll.

Hazel released Welkin. “You know what?” she growled through her teeth as she looked at the map in Felix's hands.

“We broke the kassi's resolve” Welkin explained while rubbing her burnt neck. “She told us exactly how to get to Kassile.”

Hazel narrowed her eyes. “Oh? You're not lying to me just to save your skin are you?” she said. “Because it won't help you.”

Welkin quickly shook his head. “No mistress” he assured as Felix pointed to a mark on the map. “We know where it is now. If we hurry, we can get to Quill's ship in the lower quarter's docks and sail there right away. It takes about a week to get there so we should leave as soon as possible.”

“I see...” Hazel growled. “Then we'd better get going and if after a week we haven't found Kassile, I'm roasting you into ashes.”

“Understood mistress...” Welkin said after bowing.

Without wasting any time, Hazel, Sigmund, Welkin and Felix hurried to find a carriage that hadn't been knocked over when Jane shook the entire property with a single punch.

TO BE CONTINUED....