Twists Adventures: Chapter 2: Twist and trouble
#2 of Twists Adventures
Chapter 2: Twist and Trouble
So that was it. With nowhere to go, Twist felt alone and hopeless as he walked away from Fenshadow Camp. Thoughts were flowing through his mind of all the good times he had had with the pack and with Steach; something he thought would never end. Twist hadn't felt this bad since the tragic news of his parents being killed a few years ago. It was never confirmed who had in fact had killed them, and they both swore that they would find whoever it was and make them pay for what they did; slowly and as painfully as possible. A single tear fell from his eye as he shook the memories out of his head.
He headed into Setherwood Forest and went walking in any direction, it didn't matter anymore. He was an outcast, probably doomed to die from stronger predators eventually. He wasn't entirely wrong; he was unaware of what he was walking towards. The second group of guards from Tyridge was approaching fast. Startled, and rushing clumsily to move out of their path, Twist stumbled into one of the traps the Wolves had set up to catch unfortunate passers by who would eventually become food. Things weren't going so well, and even though he was feeling down, he still hoped the guards wouldn't notice him hanging helplessly in the tree, strung up in the strong rope net trap. Unfortunately, they did see him. You could hear the childish laughter coming from the guards, pointing and mocking at Twist's misfortune as they approached him. One of the guards broke off a nearby branch and started prodding him repeatedly with sharp thrusts, causing Twist to get extremely agitated and let off fierce growls to try and warn them away, but they persisted.
After a short while one of the guilds started looking at Twist differently, as if something he finally noticed something unusual. They started whispering to each other and Twist could pick out the odd word but it didn't make sense; "...him...king...parents..." That caught his ear; they knew his parents?
Twist looked at the guards curiously as they said to him, "You're coming with us!"
One of the guards hit Twist over the head, knocking him out, and they tied him up with the netting he had been trapped in. The guards then started to head back to Tyridge. Gaining consciousness for a few moments when travelling through the town, Twist found something vaguely familiar about the surroundings, but before he could think on it further he drifted off again. Waking up he found himself chained inside a cell under Tyridge Castle. Still disorientated, he tried to get his baring and, standing up, looks around. There wasn't much to see. It was a small one person cell with open bars at the front where more cells could be seen. Moments later footsteps could be heard from down the hallway, followed by a sharp click as the stout door at the end of the corridor unlocked. It was King Denoven, with Pringle and Treat.
"Good, you're awake," said King Denoven to Twist, "I've been waiting to talk to you alone. Twist, isn't it? Yes, I remember you now, but you were much younger back then."
More memories unlocked in his mind. Memories of when he was younger, running and playing in the castle, but he couldn't think why.
"You look confused. Didn't anyone ever tell you what happened?"
Twist shook his head; he didn't know what to think or believe at this point. Today had been one big downward spiral of surprise and bad news.
King Denoven smiled at Twist and said, "It's getting late, and by the looks of things you have a lot on your mind. If you still wish, I'd be happy to tell you what happened."
Twist nods nervously, not really knowing what to say.
"I'll see you tomorrow then! Forgive me for leaving the chains, but... well... you know we have no guarantee what you could do left... unhindered."
Twist let out a confirming groan. It was all he could do at that moment as King Denoven, Pringle and Treat left Twist alone to get some rest.
The night went slowly and the fact that he was locked in the prison of his enemy was last on his mind. Every time it felt as if he was drifting into sleep all that he could see was another memory before his eyes; being in the castle when he was young. But none of it made any sense. Eventually, feeling cold and helpless and hoping it was all a dream, Twist fell into a fitful slumber.
As morning came, Twist awoke after managing a few hours of sleep. The night hadn't been as nice to him as it usually was, and the harsh reality that he was still in the prison of Tyridge Castle settled in. It was not a dream; the events of the day before really had happened. The feeling of being trapped and alone was crushing, and not knowing what was going to happen to him made everything very daunting. Thoughts of escape came to mind, but then he remembered that they had something he wanted, information. He wanted to know; no, he needed to know, what they had to say, true or not. It was more than he knew already as Steach tended to avoid the topic whenever it came up.
After what seemed an eternity of waiting, three guards arrived as the first rays of sunlight fell through the cell window.
"The King wants to see you! Light knows why, but if you try anything you'll be killed without hesitation!" warned one of the three, whilst he cautiously released Twist from his chains.
Having been in the chains and imprisoned overnight, it felt good to be let out, even if Twist did have three swords surrounding him, waiting for him to make a wrong move. The corridors of the castle seemed familiar to Twist whilst making the way to the Conference Room, almost like it was home.
When they got to the Conference Room, the King was sat at the end of a large table in the center of the grand room, paintings of previous families adorning three walls while a huge antique bookshelf filled with rows and rows of books took up the other. Everything had a sparkle to it; polished, dust free and generally perfect.
Surprisingly, the King was alone. Pringle and Treat weren't with him, nor were any guards.
"Ah, excellent! You're here Twist," said King Denoven, "Please come sit down, make yourself at home. You can leave him with me guards. That will be all."
The guards looked unsure; why would the King want to be left alone with...That? Even so, they knew better than to question his orders so left without a word.
Twist took a seat near the King, and, shyly, asked "Umm...don't you want to tie me up or something?" Though after saying it, he did question why he had brought it up.
"Just relax Twist, I'm not here to hurt you, and I'm pretty sure you won't try anything stupid. Especially with all the unanswered questions you must have. Besides, you'd be no match for me. So let's get down to it. Didn't anyone tell you anything about your parents and what happened thirteen years ago?"
Twist replied, turning his head from the King "No. Every time I tried to get anything about...About my parents from my brother, all I was told is that they were killed eight years ago, but no one knew by whom. I am curious why this place seems familiar to me though. And how come you recognised me?"
"Well, recognising you was easy. You have the Wildtooth birthmark on your ear. Now, this will come to you as a bit of a shock, but originally your family used to be...Very close to mine. Yes, the Wildtooth's and the Rosethorn's used to live in this castle together, at least until the...Incident."
Twist found this hard to believe, but it did make some sense. He curiously replied "What 'incident'?"
"Like I said, it happened thirteen years ago, and I'm sorry to say this, but that's when your parents died. Your father, Dathe Wildtooth, was respected around here. He was a good fighter and a very good trainer. But for some reason he never got on with my brother, Bolvid. My guess is that they were always in each others' way, trying for the same thing. There were rumours going around that they both wanted rid of the other, but no one took them seriously. After all, it was just assumed to be a petty rivalry. Then one day we found Dathe, Bolvid, and your mother, Sefila, dead on the floor, next to a pool of poisoned water. It was later found out that my steward had overheard Dathe talk to your brother about secretly poisoning Bolvids drink, and your brother foolishly poisoned your parents too. From that day, you Steach and your sister-"
"WOAH," Twist exclaimed, "My sister? And... And Steach killed my parents? This is all too much...No! You're lying!"
Anger had built up inside of Twist, and even trying to hold back he couldn't help himself. He pounced at King Denovan, only to get a swift backhand across the muzzle, knocking him backwards, hitting the floor with a loud thump and whimper.
King Denoven let off a deep chuckle and said, "I'll let you off this once; it must be a lot to take in, a huge shock in fact. Now, there are a few other things I want to discuss with you, but I have some important duties to attend to for the rest of the day. There's a guest room set up for you, that is, unless you wish to have another go at me, in which case you can go back to the prison. What will it be?"
Twist picked himself up from the floor, much calmer, and replied, "No...I'm sorry. I don't want any trouble. I just need time to take all this in. It's just too much."
And so, King Denoven called on the guards to escort Twist to his room. Meanwhile, back at Fenshadow Camp, news had arrived about Twist's capture.
"Hmmmm," growled Steach, glaring at one of the scout wolves. Talking to himself, he thought it out. "So, it's true? The humans have Twist? This is the last thing I wanted to happen! I shouldn't have been so harsh on him. On top of all that I bet they're filling his head with lies. Something I wouldn't have had to worry about if I had just been honest with him. It was that bastard King Denoven who killed our parents..."
Thanks for reading. Please leave any comments on what you thought, good or bad. Also would like to thank Foxfyre for proof reading this for me.