The Rules of Blood

Volume Two ; Chapter 114 (330) - The Last Promise

[Translated from Iskahese.]

“Good morning,” Blanc greeted him with a smile.

Lendros scoffed, but soon groaned lightly.

“I know I’m funny,” Blanc sighed. “But no need to laugh now.”

“I hated you since the day I met you,” Lendros whispered, looking towards the sky.

“Be at ease, buddy, so did I,” Blanc replied, looking forward. “We do not have the best of relationships, but we can start working on that when you get better, eh?”

“Stop,” Lendros shook his head gently, the colors of his eyes a lot paler. “I won’t get to see the boat. We both know that.”

Blanc clenched his jaw, “I know. You have lost, and are losing too much blood. Probably your liver is damaged too.”

Lendros blinked, holding his eyelids closed for a few seconds before opening them again. “Fuck.”

“Mhm,” Blanc muttered. “But if you focus, there is still a chance.”

“The only thing I can focus on is the faces of my wife and daughter,” Lendros muttered. “If I make it to the boat, I will just die on the way home.”

Blanc stood silent, knowing that to be the most realistic scenario.

Lendros sighed, “Are we at least close to the boat?”

“Five to six hours away, yes,” Blanc nodded, “Close.”

“Good, good,” Lendros muttered weakly. “At least I can keep one of the two promises I’ve made when I left Iskahul.”

Blanc tried to guess. “Keeping Velakia safe?”

“Yes,” Lendros grinned lightly.

“And what’s the second?” Blanc asked, curious.

“Going back to my family,” Lendros whispered, his eyes closing as if seeing what he was describing. “I won’t get to see my daughter grow, hear her argue with me, train her to fight, or chase off the fools who’d try to court her. I won’t get to see my wife’s smile as we dance on the beaches of Lepnos, taste her cooking, watch her hair turn silver with old age, or hear her laughter carried on the sea breeze… I won’t get to smell the salt tangled in her hair or hold her hand as the years take us. What a pity.”

Blanc closed his eyes tightly, trying to calm down his swelling emotions at Lendros’s words, “Talking so much will do you no good, buddy.”

“Calling me buddy, what a cruel joke,” Lendros muttered. “You’ve made all this so difficult.”

“I know I did,” Blanc replied.

“You’ve also got into the princess’s pants,” Lendros added.

“I know I did,” Blanc nodded lightly.

“A warning for you… Buddy. If the royal family does not come hunting you, the boyards will,” Lendros added. “I’ve killed enough to know how they think.”

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“Blanc?” Velakia asked from behind them. “Are you speaking with someone? Is Lendros awake?”

“I am not, and, unfortunately, he is not either,” Blanc lied, turning his head to the side. “But how are you all holding up?”

“We are still fine, stop worrying,” Sera argued. “I pity all the women around you if you are always like this.”

“I will smash one of your teeth for that, sister,” Blanc chuckled. “But not to worry, you can ask Velakia there, if I really am always like this.”

And with that, he turned back to Lendros.

[Translated from Iskahese.]

“Where were we?” Blanc whispered. “Ah, yes, what did you mean by the boyards hunting me?”

“If no outside alliance is being made through marriage, one of the boyard families marries into the royal families,” Lendros explained, barely able to speak, “They will try to eliminate… the competition, especially if you get to Iskahul.”

Blanc sighed, unable to comprehend yet another issue.

But Lendros continued, “However, there are just as many good boyards out there. If you get to Iskahul, look for the Lepnos, Metra, or Brata boyard families; they are to be… trusted.”

“It will be a long time until I get to see Iskahul,” Blanc muttered. “But I will take it to heart.”

Lendros shook his head, clenching his jaw.

“Yep,” he sighed. “I really am dying.”

“Why do you say that?” Blanc asked.

“I am helping you out of my own free will,” Lendros muttered. “I must already be dead.”

Blanc chuckled lightly, trying to hide the grief the moment brought him, “Not yet.”

“Soon enough, if I’m speaking with you,” Lendros countered.

“At this point, I doubt wanting to help you,” Blanc sighed. “Should I just throw you off the horse?”

Lendros smiled, “Soon enough, but not yet. I have a request.”

“Do you not want to talk with Velakia and Tahreni?” Blanc frowned.

“I always hated goodbyes,” Lendros shook his head. “So no, it will be better for them too.”

“What is it then?” Blanc asked, now back to being serious.

“Take care of the princess,” Lendros replied. “Tahreni as well, however you can.”

“Of course I will,” Blanc nodded, “As long as I am nearby.”

“Then, when you get to Iskahul, if you see my wife and daughter, let them see you,” Lendros muttered, his voice weaker than before.

“If they hear how it all happened, they will hate me,” Blanc replied. “I am not sure that would bring any of them comfort.”

“It won’t, but do it regardless,” Lendros said. “And give them the marble. I want my daughter to have it, but feel free to use it until then. You know… the incantation, no?”

“I do,” Blanc replied in a whisper, “But do not give up yet.”

“No,” Lendros shook his head. “It is time to see the Vita. Now, take the marble.”

The light was slowly fading from Lendros’s eyes.

“Lendros, no,” Blanc muttered, his voice getting louder.

“Blanc?” Velakia asked, her heart jumping at her words.

“Bye, bye… buddy,” Lendros groaned, grabbing Blanc’s hand that he held on his chest, and did not let go.

“What are you doing?” Blanc asked, his eyes growing wider, his voice even louder than before, “Lendros, don’t.”

“A gift,” Lendros smiled, slowly starting to look towards the blue sky above.

“NO!” Blanc yelled, trying to move his hand away from Lendros’s chest.

But all that left Lendros’s lips was “Kaia, Lenia…” then a short gasp as his different colored eyes lost their light for the last time.

Lendros was dead.

But Lendros, even dead, held Blanc’s hand in place atop his chest.

“BLANC! LENDROS!” Velakia yelled as she ran towards the horse, tears overflowing her eyes.

It was too late.

Lendros was dead.

Blanc, the reason he died.

Thus, as the rules of the Vita dictate, as Lendros’s body fell lifeless to the ground, as Blanc fell unconscious off the horse on top of him, as the three women rushed to them, and as Blanc’s mind fell below the surface of the world once more, the harvest for Lendros’s Raw Vita had begun.