Georg and Humphrey Chapter 5
"Unspoken Dreams"
(L'Renouille)
A dream is an answer to a question we haven't yet
learned how to ask.
The bells, at the Highland capital, rang loudly,
sending their tones throughout the city. Civilians
slept peacefully, exhausted from a hard day's work.
However, at the L'Renouille inn, the situation was
different. A cold wind blew through the open window
into the small room, which housed Georg Prime,
Humphrey Mintz, and Camille Valentine. The wind
hovered over each sleeping figure, until it chose it's
first victim, Humphrey Mintz. It swept over him,
creating a nightmare from a memory, which Humphrey had
attempted to push back into the dark recesses of his
mind.
In the golden age of the Scarlet Moon Empire, it's
influence stretched across the continent. From the
grand city of Gregminister to small villages, Emperor
Barbarosa ruled with a firm, but just hand. As of
late, however, Court Magician Windy takes more control
of the emperor's affairs, leaving some to believe that
she is only serving her own agenda.
"Humphrey!" a voice called, pulling the Captain of
the Elite Guard to reality.
Humphrey turned to face the source of the voice, a
tall sturdy man, riding an ebony mare. He was dressed
in the attire of a General, complete with silver armor
and steel gauntlets. His name was Georg Prime, a
knight, whose skill was unmatched. "Besides, how did
you get up here?" he asked.
"I walked." Humphrey replied.
Georg merely shrugged. By now he was used to the
dour man's short and to the point responses. 'Well
there's no reason for you to hike all the way back
down the cliff. Come get a ride with me." he said,
extending his hand.
Humphrey placed his white-gloved hand into Georg's
gauntled one and hoisted himself onto the mare. The
General tightened the reins, causing the horse to
gallop down the cliff face. During the journey,
Humphrey held on to Georg's cape, so he wouldn't fall
onto the jagged rocks below. At the horizon, the
small town of Kalekka laid, completely unaware of the
troops camped half a mile away. Georg directed his
horse into the small caravan of tents, scattered on
the grassy meadow. The two men jumped off the mare
and Georg handed the reins to a young squire standing
nearby. "Come on, my friend, let's report to Pierre."
he said, motioning towards a large tent located at the
edge of the camp.
As Georg and Humphrey approached the tent, they
overheard an argument-taking place inside the
structure. Humphrey quietly crept forward and
carefully lifted up the flap to discern the
conversation. He then motioned for Georg to come
closer. Inside an Elite Guard and General Pierre were
discussing the current situation. "Sir, Leon
Silverberg refuses to surrender unconditionally. Your
orders?" the guard asked.
"Why, run the man through with a sword! Surely,
he'll change his tune!" Pierre laughed madly. "Now
find General Georg and Captain Humphrey and bring them
to me as soon as possible."
"Yes sir!" the young guard said, as he saluted
Pierre, and then turned and ran out of the tent.
Unfortunately, he tripped over Humphrey's extended
leg and fell into the brown mud. Angrily, the Elite
Guard sat up and yelled: "Alright, when I find the
fool that-" his voice trailed off as he saw the grim
faces of Georg and Humphrey. "Oh, hello sirs.
General Pierre wants to see you now. Bye!"
The Elite Guard ran off into the midst of a company
of soldiers. Without saying a word, Georg and
Humphrey walked into Pierre's tent. The General sat
behind a wooden table, using a mirror to fix his
ornate mustache. He placed the mirror down, and, for
the first time, noticed the two men standing in front
of him. "Gentlemen, welcome! I need to talk to you
about our new orders from Windy." Pierre exclaimed.
"What orders?" Georg asked curiously. "I thought we
were just going over training maneuvers."
"There's been a change of plans. Our new orders are
to destroy and plunder the town of Kalekka!" Pierre
said, with a mad look in his eyes.
The two younger men became speechless. Finally,
Georg managed to speak. "With all due respect sir, I
will not participate in the massacre of innocent
civilians!"
"Oh, do you think you're too good to follow orders?
Just because you're an outsider doesn't make you
better than anyone else, Georg Prime!" Pierre sneered.
The dark-haired man drew his sword and pointed the
tip at Pierre. "An outsider is better than a
murderous bastard, such as yourself!" Georg shouted,
barely controlling his anger.
Calmly, Humphrey restrained the older man, by placing
his hand on Georg's arm. "Stop it, Georg. It's not
going to help matters." he said.
Through his clenched teeth, Georg seethed: "We can't
let him get away with this, Humphrey."
"I already have." Pierre smirked. "Just listen."
In the distance, the three men could faintly make out
the sounds of battle. Enraged, Georg started to lunge
towards Pierre, but Humphrey held him back. "Let me
handle this." he whispered, releasing his grip.
"A word in private?" Humphrey asked Pierre.
"Alright, but make it brief." Pierre said warily,
carefully watching Georg, as they exited the tent.
Humphrey led his commanding officer to the woods
surrounding the outskirts of the camp. They traveled
until a small clearing appeared, untouched by man.
Pierre turned his back to Humphrey, as he observed the
thick layers of the lush greenery. "Now I hope you're
not going to be as rash as Georg about this or else
I'll-" Pierre's voice faded away, as he realized that
the blade of Humphrey's khopesh was against his
throat.
"Order the troops to retreat. Now." Humphrey said,
in a low voice, leaving no room for compromise.
"Humphrey. Humphrey. Let's be rational. What good
is this going to do you?" Pierre said, his voice
rising to a high squeak.
"I am being rational. I will not hesitate to kill
you, if you do not stop the reckless slaughter of
human lives." Humphrey said, bringing the blade closer
to Pierre's throat.
The older man managed a weak laugh. "Is this your
revenge? For never being the man I am? You have no
friends but outsiders. Also, no woman loves you,
because you refuse to let anyone get too close. What
kind of life is that? Perhaps I should put you and
Georg out of your misery and have both of you executed
for treason!"
Humphrey stared intensively into the helpless man's
hazel eyes. "I won't give you that chance." he simply
stated.
Slowly, Humphrey raised his khopesh over his head,
hesitating for a moment, and then plunging the blade
into Pierre's chest. Blocking the dying man's screams
of agony, Humphrey pulled the blade out, leaving a
bloody heap on the ground. The blood quickly seeped
out, leaving small rivers of blood in the dirt.
Humphrey glanced at his hands and noticed that
Pierre's blood had stained them.
Will I always have blood on my hands?
Humphrey stood motionlessly, for a few minutes,
accepting the burden that he would always carry. Then
Georg's voice interrupted the eerie silence.
"Humphrey! Where are you?" he called urgently.
Georg Prime entered the small clearing and noticed
his friend standing alone. "Humphrey, there you are
but where's- Oh my God!" he exclaimed as he realized
that the body lying on the ground was his former
commanding officer. "What happened? You didn't-"
"I had to Georg." Humphrey interrupted. "It was
necessary."
"Well, you just don't-don't MURDER people because oh
my-" Georg said, nauseated at the disturbing sight.
The General, who had fought through countless
battles, leaned against an elm and threw up his lunch.
Wordlessly, Humphrey watched and then he wiped his
khopesh on a broad oak, in order to remove the blood,
leaving reddish-brown stripes on the bark. After
scanning the scene one last time, the former Captain
of the Elite Guard quietly exited the clearing, away
from the army camp. Recovering from his illness,
Georg ran through the woods, trying to catch up with
his friend. "Humphrey, wait!" he yelled to the figure
ahead, which was stalking through the lush greenery.
Humphrey stopped and patiently waited for Georg.
Finally, the older man managed to reach Humphrey and
recover from running through the rough terrain.
Hesitantly, Georg asked the man, who had just
committed cold-blooded murder, a question to which the
answer he would receive; he would never forget. "Tell
me why you killed Pierre." he demanded.
The younger man gave Georg a hardened look, in which
he conveyed everything without saying a word.
"Sometimes death is necessary in order to prevent the
waste of human life." he said quietly.
Georg stared at Humphrey's icy-blue eyes,
understanding his friend's inner pain, completely.
"Then where are you going?" he asked.
"To a place where I can fight for justice." Humphrey
Mintz said, his last words before disappearing into
the shadows of the dark underbrush.
Satisfied with the nightmare it had just concocted,
the cold wind left Humphrey and proceeded to search
for its next victim. After floating over Camille, and
then Georg, it finally decided to infect the latter
with its dreams, for his soul was the darker. The
wind descended upon the restless man, bringing only
dreams of death.
Running down the dark corridor, Georg occasionally
glanced back to make sure no one was following him.
In the distance, he could hear the shouts of the angry
mob. Georg was extremely thankful that he had managed
to grab his sword from the guards. However, it would
take great skill in order to escape this mausoleum.
The builders of Falena Castle had thought that it was
clever to build many corridors and hallways coming to
dead ends, in order to prevent intruders from invading
the castle.
Or allowing them to escape.
Georg quickly pushed that thought aside. He was
determined to lose the mob and to leave this accursed
castle forever. Pausing against a wall to catch his
breath, the former Royal Knight attempted to slow the
beating of his heart, which felt like it was pounding
out of his chest. Around the corner, Georg heard
voices coming closer, so he ran away like a hunted
animal. He had no desire to be caught and put on
trial again. The dark-haired man vividly remembered
the cold steel blade of his own sword against his
exposed neck. Fortunately, the rebels had excellent
timing in invading the castle, when his execution was
taking place. Georg had narrowly escaped during the
resulting chaos and he was hoping he could do it
again.
Looking ahead, Georg noticed a small opening and
ducked into it. The opening led to the castle
courtyard. He ran pass the willow trees, which he and
Marguerite had taken walks pass. It seemed like
centuries ago since then. Instead of love and
contentment, Georg Prime only lived in fear and pain
now. To his amazement, the castle's iron gates laid
directly in front of him, across the moat. He ran
towards them, when a loud noise from the castle
stopped him in his tracks. Flames rose towards the
nighttime sky from the stone castle. Thick smoke
bellowed from the towers, up to the stars.
Marguerite.
Georg silently cursed himself for thinking about the
queen. She had betrayed him and their love. He
needed to forget everything about her, including the
sacred love they had shared. Georg started to cross
the moat, when he heard a familiar voice calling his
name. The raven-haired man warrior reentered the
courtyard to see Marguerite, dressed in a brown robe,
beckoning to him. Georg stood, like a statue, not
knowing what to do. When Marguerite realized that
Georg wasn't coming over, she ran over to stand face
to face with him. She started to speak, but the look
of rage in Georg's eyes caused her to become silence.
"What do you want?" Georg said, coldly.
"I-I want to go with you." Marguerite said, timidly.
"And betray me again? Forget it." Georg said,
glaring at her.
"Georg, I had no control of the situation. Can we
forget about it and move on?" Marguerite pleaded,
with tears in her emerald-green eyes.
"No control? Let's think about this for a moment. I
was put on trial for causing a massacre that happened
before I came to Falena, even before you became queen!
During the trial, you could have mentioned the facts,
but no, you sat there, like the cold goddess you are,
and said nothing!" the former Royal Knight spat out
bitterly.
"I had no choice." the queen said, stiffly.
"Every word that you say is practically law here!
One mention of my innocence and I would be a free man,
not a fugitive." Georg shouted.
"Listen, Georg, I have responsibilities. After all,
I am the queen of Falena.' Marguerite shouted back,
tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Look!" Georg shouted back, pointing towards the
burning castle. "Your beloved queendom is in
shambles. Yet, you are still loyal?" the former Royal
Knight asked in disbelief.
"Yes, I am. Duty comes before such pleasures as
love." the queen said, still distraught.
"Oh so love is only mere pleasure now." Georg pulled
the slender woman towards him, until their faces were
only an inch apart. "Listen. All these time, we have
spent together; do you realize that love is more
sacrifice than pleasure? I would do anything, even
give up my life for you, Marguerite. Can you do the
same?" Georg said, staring Marguerite directly in the
eye.
Slowly, the meaning of what Georg said sank into the
very core of Marguerite's soul. She leaned against
Georg and wept. Georg gently stroked her raven black
hair. "Everything will be alright." he murmured.
Carefully, Marguerite pulled away and wiped away her
tears, with her robe. "Yes. I will make sure of
that. We are going to the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia,
so we can finally get married." she said determinedly.
The couple embraced for what seemed like an eternity,
then Marguerite let loose a bitter laugh. "And to
think this all started when I ordered that trial." she
scoffed.
Georg quickly backed away from her. "You what?" he
exclaimed, shocked beyond belief. "I though Franz
ordered it!"
Marguerite shook her head, not fully understanding.
"No, I did, but it was Franz's id-"
All the anger, which had dissipated, came back to
Georg stronger than before. "So you betray me again?"
the enraged knight shouted, cutting her off. "You
traitor!"
Before Marguerite could react, Georg reached over and
backhanded her across the cheek, with all his
strength. Dazed, the queen stepped back and tripped
over a rock, protruding from the ground. She slipped
and her head slammed into a nearby tree. Finally,
Marguerite collapsed to the ground, with sticky blood
seeping from the wound to her head.
And in that one moment, everything was changed
forever.
"NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" Georg screamed, praying to the
heavens that his deepest fear had not just become
reality.
He immediately rushed to Marguerite's side and fell
to his knees. "Marguerite, I-I-" he stuttered.
The queen was barely conscious, but managed to speak.
"Georg, be quiet. Every person has actions they wish
to take back." she whispered.
"Not like this." Georg moaned in torment. "Not like
this."
"Now Georg you have to go now, because I cannot make
the long journey which lies ahead." Marguerite said,
her delicate voice, barely audible.
She clumsily reached behind her neck and unfastened
her necklace. Georg took it from her shaking hands,
carefully examined the blue crystal heart, and placed
it in his leather satchel. "Please remember me."
Marguerite whispered, her skin turning pasty white.
Georg leaned over and gave the queen a long
passionate kiss. He savored the moment, for he knew
that it would be the last time he could experience
such pleasure. "Goodbye my love." he whispered, his
vision blurred through his tears.
"Goodbye Georg." Marguerite whispered, closing her
eyes.
The former Royal Knight stood up and ran towards the
castle gates. Pausing one last time to look at
Marguerite, Georg then proceeded to cross the moat.
"And where do you think YOU'RE going, Georg Prime?" a
familiar voice called.
Georg whirled around to see Franz, the royal
minister, standing in the middle of the courtyard. At
that moment, the trees caught on fire, due to the
burning sparks from the castle, turning the courtyard
into a flaming inferno. Shadows, from the fire,
caused Franz's gaunt features to appear almost
demonic. "Franz! I can explain this!" Georg shouted.
"Oh, I think this is all I need to see." Franz paused
fro a moment. "It is rather ironic, considering your
little affair, with the queen."
"You knew?" the younger man said meekly.
"Of course. It was so obvious; the both of you were
always staring lustfully at one another." Franz
smirked, enjoying watching the former head of the
Royal Knights squirm.
"Our love was not lust!" Georg protested.
The royal minister laughed hollowly. "Georg, my boy,
do you realize that all love is mere animal lust?
However, this is not the time to be philosophically.
I have to avenge my queen's death." he said, wielding
an oak staff.
Georg realized that the fire was eating away at the
tree trunk. "Uh, Franz-" he started.
"Silence!" the royal minister shouted. "I will have
no more of your pitiful excuses!"
Giving in to the pressure, the great oak snapped in
half and crashed to the ground, separating Franz and
Georg. The latter could no longer see Marguerite's
still form. After scanning the dense smoke to no
avail, Georg Prime finally exited the castle grounds,
leaving part of his soul in the fiery hell behind
him.
There's no way she could have survived.
I know that already!
Let's not deny the facts Georg.
Who are you?
You know who.
No, not again! Stop tormenting me!
Contrary to your beliefs, I'm not as selective as
you think I am. In fact, I just paid a visit to your
friend, Humphrey
Kalekka?
Of course, but there's more to Humphrey than
Kalekka. Perhaps you should ask him sometime. I have
to go now, but we'll meet again.
Wait! I have to ask you something!
Sorry. See you later.
Georg sat up in bed, beads of cold sweat dripping
down his face. He shuddered, as the last remnants of
the wind wafted out the open window. The wind
appeared almost evil, striking him in his most
vulnerable spot. Noticing Humphrey standing outside
on the balcony, the older man decided to join him.
"Couldn't sleep either?" Georg greeted his friend.
The stolid man shook his head and continued to gaze
at the stars. After standing outside for a few
moments, Humphrey broke the silence and asked: "Who's
Marguerite?"
"What?" Georg exclaimed, barely believing what he
just heard.
"Who is Marguerite?" Humphrey repeated. "You were
muttering that name, when Camille and I brought you
into the inn. Can you tell me who she is?"
"Alright, my friend, I can trust you. Marguerite was
ruler of the Queendom of Falena." the older man began.
Humphrey managed to crack one of his rare smiles. "A
queen? You always went for the best Georg."
"Oh, but she was. I loved her more than anyone on
this earth, for we were soul mates." Georg pulled out
Marguerite's necklace. "This is all I have to
remember her by. I could not control my temper and-"
Georg trailed off.
"You killed her." the blond haired man said flatly.
"Yes." Georg replied, forcing out the words.
Humphrey reached over and placed his hand on Georg's
broad shoulder, making eye contact with the older man
for the first time in their conversation. "I
understand." he said, sincerely.
"Your reason for murdering Pierre was acceptable;
mine was unjustified." Georg lamented.
"Spilled blood is the same, no matter what the
reason." Humphrey simply stated. "Now go back to bed.
We have a long journey ahead of us."
"Goodnight, my friend." Georg said, as he walked
towards his bed.
"Goodnight." Humphrey replied, turning his gaze back
to the stars.
Someone once told me that the stars are the keepers
of fate. That was during a time when I had something
worth living for.
Humphrey shook his head. He could ponder the meaning
of life another day. He walked over to his bed,
immediately collapsed into it and fell asleep. The
cold wind returned through the window briefly.
Sleep well, my friends. For the time is coming,
when death will play a role in your lives yet
again.
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