"There is a balance to all things. It is a fundamental principle of our world.
There is no action without an equivalent reaction. A light casts shadows. Great evil inspires great heroism. Love begets jealousy. War breeds those strong enough to establish peace. All things have a cost, and all things have a consequence.
There exists no better example of this fact than the Chosen.
During the Age of Conflict, they rose from the dust of their humble beginnings and rallied the kingdoms to strike back against the Dark Alliance.
It was only during this dark period in our annals that such a man could be born. This author dreads the time when such a man would be born again."
~ Excerpt from "The Histories of the Human Kingdoms."
Written by Damocles, Lord of the Tower, Scholar Most High.
***
I can never remember falling asleep. It's always been a thorn in my side and probably has something to do with the disorientation of laying in my bed one minute and my alarm blaring the next. It's not something that should bother me, but it does.
It was soon after I blinked the sleep from my eyes that I heard a muffled voice, gruff, and sounded perpetually disappointed.
"Did it work?"
"It must have. I felt a presence through the spell, and I followed the scrolls exactly. There is no way it could have gone wrong. I had every component, and my pronunciation was perfect."
A second voice, but I recognized this one. The girl who was calling for my help. I can't hear any desperation in her voice now, although she did sound panicky.
The man continued in his deadpan drawl. "Well, if it worked, why is nothing happening?"
"I…well… maybe it just takes some time before the summoning finishes. I'm sure he'll burst out of there any minute now."
Are they talking about me? Maybe I should introduce myself.
I decided to open my eyes to look at my new surroundings. But I discovered that they were already open. Wherever I was, it was so dark that there wasn't a difference between my eyes being open or closed.
I tried to move whatever was blocking my vision, but I could barely move. Was I in a box? I was lying down, but I wasn't uncomfortable; it was sized almost perfectly, maybe a little bigger. Kind of like a coffin– Oh my god, am I dead? No, obviously not, but maybe I passed out, and the girl calling for me thought I was dead? And loaded me into a coffin? Probably not that either.
"What the hell is going on?" I said.
At that moment, the conversation I was half paying attention to stopped. The silence was so thick that I even paused my breathing.
"Sir Reinhardt, did you hear that?"
"I did indeed, my lady. I think our Chosen has arisen."
I faintly heard the sound of heavy steps on stone as the man approached.
Then a loud knock reverberated throughout my space, which I had come to realize was made of stone. "Rise and shine, hero."
The girl gasped, "Do not mock the Chosen, Sir Reinhardt!"
"If he's alive in there, I'll give him the respect he deserves. If not, the dead don't have feelings to hurt, m'lady."
Suddenly, a loud grating sound echoed out, and with a grunt of effort, the lid of what I presumed to be my sarcophagus opened.
Illuminated by firelight was a man who looked to be in his late 50s. He had dark grey hair, with a face covered in wrinkles and scars. His left eye was covered by an eyepatch, with a large scar peeking out from the top and bottom. The other eye was a bright ice blue and was looking at me with a critical gaze.
The man addressed me in his gruff manner, "You're a bit young for a Chosen one, aren't you?"
"You're a bit old and ugly for St. Peter."
The old man's right eyebrow raised a fraction of an inch.
"Looks like your spell worked, Princess, this one's alive and kicking."
The girl's voice became far more high-pitched. "Really? Let me see!"
The firelight drew closer, and one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen stepped into my view. She was holding a torch in one hand, which lit her whole face. She had pale skin that was complemented by white-gold hair that flowed past her shoulders. Her eyes were a brilliant shade of amethyst, filled with such genuine hope that made her eyes almost glowed.
"And you must be the angel."
The words slipped out of my mouth before I could think about it. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that maybe she didn't hear me. I really should keep my big fat mouth shut more often.
I heard her approaching the sarcophagus and I cracked open an eye to watch her reaction. In an instant, her face went through a series of emotions, from her previous excitement, to confusion, to anger, and finally, she stopped somewhere between disgust and disappointment.
"Oh."
I didn't think it was possible to pack that much bitterness in a single syllable, but I could feel the physical edge of her disappointment stab into my chest.
The princess promptly spun on her heel and walked to an empty sconce on the wall. She then placed the torch in the empty socket. She turned back and frowned, crossing her arms, and muttering under her breath. I could barely hear her, but it sounded like… math calculations?
I tried to sit up, but every muscle in my body was burning. Thankfully, Rheinhardt was close enough to grab my shoulder just as I started to fall back.
"Careful there, Chosen."
"Eurgh, thanks… um… Sir Rheinhardt, right?"
The old man's eyebrow twitched again, which seemed to be his only indication of emotion.
"The Chosen knows my name. I'm flattered."
I shook my head, and this time it helped to clear my brain fog. My mind, which was already racing at a million miles an hour, narrowed its focus on the repeated words.
"Why do you keep calling me that? There is no way I am this… Chosen One, you're talking about."
As I spoke, the old knight offered me a hand. I took it gladly. Nearby, the princess stopped kicking pebbles.
"I performed the ritual perfectly. You awoke from the Sacred Seal. Despite your... physical irregularities and obvious mental deficiencies, you ARE the Chosen One."
Meanwhile, Reinhardt was able to heave me up and out of the stone box, where I nearly lost my balance. Luckily, I was able to catch myself by grabbing the rim of my box.
Then I processed what she said.
"Did… you just call me slow?"
She responded in a tone that made rocks sound emotional.
"If you can figure that out, there might be hope for us yet."
I pushed off of the "Sacred Seal," my legs having finally solidified from their previously rubberized state. Rheinhardt stayed close as I took a few hesitant steps. Satisfied with my mobility, I turned back to the princess.
"You know, you sure are talking a lot of crap for someone who was literally BEGGING for me to come to wherever this place is and help you with… whatever thing you need help with."
The girl turned her head away and crossed her arms. I could hear the crack in her voice, "That– That's completely unrelated to what we're talking about! I was just worried that the spell wasn't working!"
I opened my mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a deep cough from behind, and Reinhardt began speaking.
"Lady Aurelia, as happy as I am for you and the Chosen to discuss matters of great importance, I must remind her ladyship we are breathing borrowed air."
The princess– Lady Aurelia– pulled at her hair and yelled.
"Ahhh! Stop annoying me!"
She took several, then violently gestured in my face.
"I'm trying to save the world here, and you are NOT helping!"
Now that she was closer, I could see that I was a solid head and a half taller than her. I was NOT going to let some little spoiled brat talk down to me, ESPECIALLY one who was shorter than me.
"Helping? Why should I help? You're the one who KIDNAPPED ME!"
Aurelia faltered, "I– what?"
I continued, my anger rising as I actually thought through my situation. "Five minutes ago, I was home, having a nice day to myself, when YOUR voice appeared and DRAGS ME INTO THIS DARK, STUPID DUNGEON! SO YES, I THINK I DESERVE TO BE A LITTLE ANNOYED!"
The princess was speechless, which brought me a small morsel of satisfaction. Then Reinhardt scratched his beard, his brow furrowed in thought.
"Forgive me Sir Chosen, correct me if I am wrong, but are you saying that you were brought here from some other place?"
"Yes! Isn't that the whole point of whatever summoning ritual you two did?"
Aurelia, who seemed to regain her composure, was muttering under her breath. I could only catch every other word, but she sounded… panicked? Worried? Maybe I went a little too hard on her.
Just as I was going to apologize, Reinhardt's hand shot up, palm out, and we all became silent.
The moment stretched on, filled with a tension that I didn't notice before. I tried to listen, but all I heard was a faint drip, drip of water falling onto stone.
Reinhardt, who had closed his lone eye, opened it, and I could see his face shift into a look of grim determination.
"My lady, we are out of time."
Aurelia swore, "Hells, I hoped it would take them longer to find the entrance."
Reinhardt shook his head. "Commander Gavin has lived in this castle since he was a boy. He knows its hidden passages almost as well as your father did."
The princess nodded and walked over to the torch, picking it up before walking back.
As she drew closer with the light, I got a better l better look at the two.
Aurelia, despite being some kind of princess, was wearing what I assumed were this place's version of practical traveling clothes. Reinhardt, on the other hand, was wearing simple clothes with light armor.
It was then that I noticed all the bloodstains covering the knight. He didn't seem to have injuries himself, but while he wasn't drenched in it, the man had clearly been fighting. I engraved this scene in my head in the event I decided to call him old and ugly again.
He looked me dead in the eye and spoke. "Sir Chosen, I am afraid we must continue this discussion later."
I shook my head, "I understand that something is wrong here, but I'm not going anywhere until you give me an explanation, even a small one."
Aurelia scowled. "Do you want to die, idiot? We–"
Reinhardt cut her off with a look before turning back to me.
"I am Sir Reinhardt, Royal Protector. The lady is Crown Princess Aurelia, the last daughter of House Goldmane. And your help in escorting her highness out of the city is sorely needed."
I couldn't put the pieces together.
"But if she is the Princess, why can't you just demand safe passage?" I looked towards Aurelia, "If they stop you, even if you're the youngest, I can't imagine that your father would leave you in enemy hands without a fight."
She looked away, biting her lip, then answered in a shaky tone. "I am not the youngest daughter of House Goldmane."
"What?" I turned back towards Reinhardt, "But you said–"
The knight ran a hand over the smooth stone wall, like he was feeling for something. He answered without turning back. "Princess Aurelia is the lastdaughter of House Goldmane, not the youngest."
I furrowed my brow, then my eyes widened as the truth dawned on me.
"Oh god, you mean–"
A loud click sounded from where Reinhardt was standing, and with a harsh grinding sound, a section of the wall slid down. In the new gap, a long hallway was revealed.
I slowly looked down at Aurelia, who still refused to meet my eyes. When she spoke, her voice was filled with bitterness.
"Lord Commander Gavin led a coup against my father and killed my family. We are in the catacombs beneath my family castle, and the soldiers loyal to Gavin are hunting us down as we speak."
Only then did she turn back, and I saw tears welling in her eyes. The bitterness in her voice curdled to anger.
"Does that answer your question, Sir Chosen?"
It was my turn to be speechless.
The princess glared at me for another few seconds before wiping a hand across her face and walking over to where Reinhardt was standing by the hidden tunnel.
He nodded to the girl and stepped first into the dark, Aurelia close behind, her torch the only light in the dusty corridor.
I paused for a moment in the doorway, looking back at the sarcophagus I had crawled from. As the light began to fade, I turned back and jogged after my only lifeline in this new world.