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“Richard,” Charles said as he breathed a sigh of relief, he stepped forward hands outstretched to embrace him.
Beside him, a woman with long blond curls, and blue-green eyes reached out a hand and pulled him back. “Wait.”
“It’s Richard,” Charles said. “He’s not a threat to us.”
“He’s- something’s off about him.” The woman said. “Just… let me go first.”
“It’s Richard, he could never be a threat to me or you,” Charles argued.
The woman looked at Charles and then back at Richard, “I don’t think that’s our Richard.” She whispered. “Just… let me go first. Richard - our Richard - would never forgive me If I let something happen to you.”
“He’d hate it if something happened to you too,” Charles argued, back.
The woman clutched his elbow, and shook her head, “You’re the king.” She whispered, “If you die-”
“Then I died bringing my oldest and most loyalist friend home,” Charles said. “Melody-”
Melody looked at Charles searching his face, whatever she saw must have convinced him, “Alright, but stay behind me, we don’t know what to expect.”
Charles nodded once and they both turned to Richard.
The duo carefully stepped closer and closer to the man. “Richard,” Melody said. “It’s us. Melody and Charles.” She said hands raised to show she wasn’t a threat. Charles followed her movements. “We’ve come to take you home.”
“You have no idea the lengths we went through to find you.” Charles said, “It’s so good to finally see you, again.”
Richard still said nothing, as the two of them slowly walked forward, every instinct in Melody screaming to take her weapon’s out. Just in case, but she dared not raise a weapon, lest that just made everything worse. “Richard. Let’s go. You’re safe now.”
Charles's hands twitched once or twice to the sword strapped to his belt, but he didn’t grasp it either. The was Richard, they were fine. “We can go home now old friend.”
“I was safe,” Richard growled out at them. “You’re the threat.”
Both Charles and Melody hesitated, before they continued toward, this time slower than before. “Richard.” Melody calmly, “We’re not going to hurt you. Just… let’s just go. Everything will be ok.”
“He won’t listen.” A melodic voice said.
Melody turned and her expression soured. “You” Melody hissed. Hermes had given her and Charles a plant that would protect them from the woman’s powers, but it still made her want to cover her ears when she saw the woman.
“Me.” The woman said, with a laugh. “Come now, Mels, did you think I could let what happened slide? You had to know that I’d come back for revenge.”
“What did you do?”
“Do?” The woman said, with a wicked grin, her eyes changed from green to blue, to brown, to violet then back again. “I only improved him. He fought me, and he did, I’ve never seen someone fight my charm and speak so hard before. But eventually, he succumbed. They always succumb.”
“You are a monster, Isabella” Melody said stalking toward, but Ashcombe’s celestial bronze sword shot out in front of her blocking her away.”
Charles unsheathed his sword, “Richard-” Charles said, “You don’t-”
“You know better than that Mels.” Isabella tutted.
Melody did. She looked back at Ashcombe. “You don’t want to do this.”
“You want to kill my queen,” Ashcombe said. “I think I do.”
Melody pulled out her sword, the sword Ashcombe had given her years ago. She shook the pin once twice three times and it grew into a three-foot blade. “Richard please.” She whispered.
Charles readied his blade.
“Oh, Richard ,” Isabella said, her voice taking on that hypnotic quality that Melody was quite familiar with. Before Isabella could say anything, Melody fisted her hand, and Isabella’s voice cut off.
Instead of being afraid though, Isabella just laughed. Melody didn’t have time to wonder because suddenly Richard was attacking her, Melody barely had time to raise her sword, before Ashcombe’s sword swung down. She blocked but just barely. “Richard please.” She begged. “Stop.”
Charles jumped into the fray, covering her blind spots, making sure that Richard couldn’t take advantage of the mistakes she made.
With Melody’s attention split, Isabella’s voice came back. “You shouldn’t have done that.” She said. “Should have known that I’d have a contingency in place should you try to take my voice.”
“Please.” Melody said, “Richard, this isn’t you.”
But Richard was too far gone. He attacked again and again. He’d taught Melody, and Melody was able to hold her own against him in normal circumstances, and with Charles beside her, this should have been an easy fight.
but with their mental state as it was, with neither Melody nor Charles not wanting to kill him and Richard doing everything in her power to run them through-
They were losing – Fast.
Ashcombe beat her back, Melody tried to hold her ground, but he was the better swordsman. And all she could do was stop him from running her through.
Charles was beaten back and tossed to the floor, and in the distraction, Melody missed an attack, she hissed in pain as she took a cut in her arm from Richard’s sword.
She barely had enough time to recover before Ashcombe came back at her. Melody raised to block again, but with the cut on her shoulder, she wasn’t able to raise her sword in time.
Charles re-entered the fray, his sword coming in to stop Ashcombe’s blade that she was too slow to block, stopping it from cutting off her head, missing her through by mere inches.
“Deal with her,” Charles ordered Melody as he blocked another attack.
“He comes out of this fighting you -” Melody blocked again, and then sliced Richard’s arm. She hated to hurt Richard, but they needed him weakened to have a hope of surviving this.
“You can shut her up.” Charles reminded me as he blocked another attack. “I can’t.”
Melody eyed Isabella, and she gave Melody a grin. Melody couldn’t argue with Charles she stepped away from the fight.
Isabella opened her mouth, a grin on her face, but Melody snapped her fingers, and Isabella’s eyes widened as whatever she said was locked in her throat.
Ashcombe turned to Melody. His loyalty still to Isabella, but Charles was a good soldier in his own right, he forced Ashcombe to fight him. Stepped in between Melody and Ashcombe and took the brunt of the attack. Take a slice in his arm for his trouble.
People came out of the trees as Isabella smiled, but Melody had been trained by the best.
She pressed her broach transforming into a quiver filled with arrows. She stretched her bracelet and it elongated into a bow.
She didn’t kill the mooks, she didn’t know how in control of their own actions they were, but she shot them in just the right place to not be a threat.
The only person in active danger was the Aphrodite girl who dared enslave them.
When there was no one in between her and the child of Aphrodite. The woman stared at Melody, her eyes wide and turned and fled.
An arrow hit the woman in the arm, she stumbled but kept running. Melody didn’t let that stop her she kept on the calm and steady walk, firing arrow after arrow. When she ran out of arrows she grabbed her knife and tossed it, it caught her in the middle of her back, and Isabella fell to the ground. Paralyzed.
Melody stepped toward her. She pulled her sword out again. Isabella eyed it wearily.
“Please.” She said. “Melody, please.”
Melody refused to be taken in by the tears. “I should have killed you years ago,” Melody said.
“You kill me, you’re mentor’s mind will break,” Isabella said. “Melody-”
Melody’s eyes glowed yellow, and Isabella’s voice locked up.
“I’m not the reason he is attacking the king. I’m not the reason he tried to kill me.” Melody whispered. “You are.” She knocked another arrow.
Isabella’s tears stopped flowing and she grinned wickedly. You will live to regret this She mouthed at Melody.
Melody knew she would. She lifted her sword and swung down.
She turned away from the woman, her death not even worth her time, and hurried back to Richard and Charles.
She got back just in time to see Richard his sword raised high and Charles on the ground, bloodied and bruised, his sword too far away to be of use.
“STOP!” Melody screeched, just as the veil lifted from Ashcombe’s eyes.
He stopped the sword wavering in the air, Ashcombe looked around confused. “Where am-” He looked down at his King, eyes wide. “What happened-” He looked to Melody, her quiver half empty. “Mel?” He said. “What-” His question cut off as the memories came hot and fast. Confusion quickly turned to horror as he fell to the ground in shock.
Melody remembered what Isabella had mouthed to her in her final moments she hurried to Lord Ashcombe. “Richard,” Melody said. “It wasn’t-"
“No. no. no.” Richard said his hands clutching at his hair. “No, I didn’t I-”
“It wasn’t you,” Charles said reaching out to grab his shoulder, but Richard just pulled away. “No. I’m sorry. I-“ Richard’s eyes became wide and distant, locked in the memories of what happened. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”