5 Massacre Inside the Keep

"Kill them all." was Meldor's order.

The elves glanced at each other, at first unsure if they misheard. The order came after the servants refused to open their mouth even after the gruesome display.

"My lords, please spare yourselves of this great sin! Take the gold, take all you can find, but please spare our lives and theirs!" one of the servants argued.

"Must you make a mockery of me? Must I kill these lowly fools myself?!" the elven prince snarled at his hesitant retainers.

Against their will and out of sheer loyalty, Orlem and the other elves made their way to the screaming servants.

Surrounded on every side, all the servants could do was huddle together. The male servants were on the fore, and the rest behind them. But there was no strength in their numbers, and one by one, they were killed where they stood.

In desperation, some would kneel to plead for their lives, others would try to fight, but the blades would go through them all the same. When the last scream died out, blood had splattered everywhere. On the walls, on the floor, and on the faces and armor of their elven executioners.

With every soul in the ground floor extinguished, and his main goal yet to be fulfilled, Meldor turned his attention to the upper floors.

"Search every room and kill every one that you can find." Meldor ordered as he climbed the stairs.

"Are we not here to kill the royal members alone?" Orlem was the only one who dared to raise the question at the visibly fuming prince.

"Who is a royal, who is not?" Meldor answered without stopping in his climb, "These fools would not help us, so we slay them all. Burn the field, and the rats burn with it."

Orlem shook his head in disbelief, his hesitation was present in the other elves as well, but it was Meldor who spoke. They continued to follow him, ignoring the voices in their head that told them to stop.

Most of the rooms in the second floor had been barricaded. But the elves had long considered human constructions to be flimsy. The doors broke with a single kick. Those inside greeted them with fervent pleadings, and the elves pose to them questions. However, to their confusion, the servants refused to reveal the whereabouts of their masters. And in accordance to Meldor's orders, the massacre continued.

Meldor led the search himself and targeted the largest of the room in the floor.

He forced himself inside and as soon as the door opened, he was met with a charging guard.

"Die you murderer!" the man shouted, holding a short sword beside his waist.

The bearded guard was no mere underling, he wore a fancy armor to be a mere footman. He was stout and his excellent form revealed he was experienced and trained. His boots sounded sharply against the wooden floor as he dashed to close the distance.

He executed a forward stab, which Meldor easily evaded by moving to the side. Still weighed down by his thrust, the guard could not turn in time to block his strike. The prince made a vertical slash, his sword descending from his right shoulder, cleanly decapitating the swordsman.

The headless body, still carrying the momentum of the charge, continued to lunge forward, finally falling in front of the door. It was also then that Orlem was about to make his entrance.

"My lord, are you alright?" Orlem blurted, surprised.

"That man was guarding someone important." the prince said, his eyes scanning the room.

Meldor wasted no time and opened the closets and found nothing but women's clothing and sewing kits. Orlem lent his hand and looked below the large bed that was on the corner of the room, also finding nothing.

It was then that the prince noticed the opened window, which was at first shrouded by the dark curtains, aided by the passing wind. Silently cursing, he hasted towards it. Confirming his premonition, a rope crafted out of clothes and sheets had been laid out. Right below the window, a young woman and a boy had just landed.

Fortunately or unfortunately, an elf was nearby, emptying a storage house.

"Tholpiel! Prevent those two from escaping!" shouted Meldor.

The booming shout, that could be heard from kilometers away, caught the attention of the elf. He pivoted his head towards the window and then to the two escapees. After fully understanding what Meldor's order was, he dropped what he was carrying and sprinted to the royals.

The two saw Tholpiel coming for them, and so they tried to run in the opposite direction. The elf outran them with ease and was able to grab the woman, the young boy, however, slip through his arms.

"Run Frederick! Run!" the young woman cried.

The boy briefly glanced back, tears on his young face, but heeded the woman and continued to run. He was without direction and all he knew was that he needed to escape, or he dies.

"Give me your bow, Orlem!" the raging prince spatted.

"My lord!" Orlem exclaimed, after realizing what Meldor was planning.

"Your bow!" Meldor repeated, wideyed.

"Meldor, you need to st-"

Meldor's fist landed on Orlem's cheek, briefly disfiguring his handsome face. The elf guard fell to the floor, and the bow that was on his back was removed from the quiver along with a few arrows upon impact.

The prince picked up the weapon, and the quiver. He returned to the window, and swiftly aimed at the small running figure.

The distressed young lady noticed Meldor on the window. And fearing the famed elven arrows that never miss, she pleaded on the top of her lungs.

"Lord elf! Please spare him! He is but a boy!" the girl struggled at Tholpiel's grip.

"We surrender!" she continued, and then she jerked her head in the direction of the boy, "Frederick, stop, stop running! We surrender!"

As if he had been waiting for the call, the boy halted. He was about to turn around, when he was knocked down to the ground, an arrow in his chest. He coughed off blood upon impact, and right after ceased breathing.

Tholpiel looked at Meldor, horror and shock all over his face. The woman in her arms wept and struggled to break free from his arm.

Meldor looked down with indifference.

"Kill her, Tholpiel."

The elf pursed his brow, as if he did not understand the words.

"Weak! all of you!" he reloaded his bow, and targeted the woman. Tholpiel out of instinct, moved her out of the way and shielded her with his body.

The furious Meldor refused to lay down his bow, and the string was stretched to its full extent. But the elf below was as unrelenting and kept the woman in his arms.

"Bring her to the keep!" the prince finally relented, but was not in any way less angry. He slammed the bow to the ground and stormed out of the room.

Tholpiel could no longer defy his lord, and though he wanted her spared, he could only lead her to the slaughterhouse.

+++

"What had happened to your kind? Did not your king, the one who gave us our laws and moral codes!?" she ejaculated at the gruesome sight that greeted them from the door.

The elf did not respond, he was himself horrified, oblivious at what had transpired inside the keep. The thick walls made sure the screams would not be heard outside.

"Upon whose orders do you commit such atrocity?" she pressed him further.

"Meldor, the prince of the Atherdaine" he revealed, "Who loved his kingdom as much as he had loved himself, and loved his father more than his life."

"And now the Atherdaine had fallen to the hands of men, and he was made to see the severed head of his father, hanging at the hand of a general of the empire." he recounted. "And your king partook in it all, now he had come for his vengeance."

Before the woman could answer, they heard footsteps from above. Another elf emerged from above the stairs, holding his bruised cheek. He pitifully eyed the captive and then turn his gaze to the guard.

"What happened to you, Orlem?" Tholpiel asked out of concern.

"Bring her to the next floor, the prince wishes to exec-… deal with her there." the elf informed, ignoring his previous question.

Upon hearing the news, the young woman unconsciously tightened her grip on Tholpiel's robe. The despair in her imploring eyes tugged at the elf's heart strings.

"If you wish to save your life, use your words wisely" Tholpiel gave his final advice.

"You shall not plead for your innocence, and you shall never speak to justify your king's innocence. You shall admit of the wrongdoing, and you shall ask him for forgiveness."

+++

"Thou shalt refrain from harming those who cannot harm you. Thou shalt save them from the sword, those who do not wield it."

Excerpt from "The Laws of War according to Meldor, King of the World (2300, AoE)."

*Referring to Meldor the Just