FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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Halen whimpered as he bounded up the steps to the castle. He had made it past the front gates easily enough, the guards didn't even try to stop him. Now he just had to get inside. The castle was beautiful, made completely of marble and the front doors appeared to have gold engraved designs on it. He panted as he made it to the top steps, there where two panthers in armor, standing guard.

''What business do you have here wolf?'' One of them said.

''Nobody gets inside without a summon from the king.'' The other said.

''I...'' Halen panted and sank to his knees. ''I need... to see him... I have a... a letter for him...''

''You are not allowed inside unless your were summoned.'' the first guard said.

''Well... then can you.. take this to the king?'' Halen asked, panting heavily and holding the letter out.

''What's it concerning?'' The second panther asked.

''I'm not sure... I was told to deliver it to him...'' Halen said breathlessly.

''How important is it?'' the first panther questioned.

''Very...'' Halen replied.

''Alright then...'' The second panther walked up to him and pulled him to his feet, and began running his paws over his body.

''Hey! What're-''

''Checking for weapons...'' The panther said as his paws darted into Halen's pockets and over his crotch, making Halen murred slightly. The panther grinned and took a step back, holding a decorative dagger with a family crest on it. ''You can go in now...''

Halen whined slightly. ''Will I be able to get that dagger back later?''

The panther nodded. ''I'm just keeping it for as long as you're in there.''

The second panther opened one of the big doors. ''Go on in, just go straight through the doors in front of you, the king should be in there.''

Halen nodded and walked inside. The main hallway was beautifully adorned with expensive tapestries and colourful rugs. Halen walked to the doors that the guards had mentioned and gently pushed it open, walking inside.

The room was a huge circular library, books going at least a hundred feet upwards. There were huge oak ladders attached to the shelves so you could reach the higher books. Halen looked around in awe. His parents library wasn't nearly as elaborate as this one. The door behind him were shut and Halen spun around to see a fox standing there. ''Can I help you?'' He asked softly. He was gorgeous. He had silver fur, and was dressed in a red silk shirt with black velvet tights that left nothing to the imagination.

Halen shook his head and looked up at the foxes face, with held a sly grin. ''Um... I'm looking for King Richard...''

The fox grinned and nodded. ''Well... you've made it this far.. why not... I'll fire those dumb guards later for letting you in...''

Halen's ears lowered. ''They shouldn't be fired for that...''

The fox giggled and led Halen through the halls and up some stairs. ''I'm only joking. Normally a guard would be executed for that... but they've been trained to tell when a furs intentions to get in are noble.''

Halen tilted his head slightly as they walked up the stairs. ''How is that possible?''

The fox giggled again, his tail brushed against Halen's muzzle. ''Panther's have a sort of... intuition... no other species has it... they can be trained by mages so use they're own intuition to tell if a fur should be let in here...''

Halen nodded slightly. ''Alright...'' They entered a long hallway and then a room off to the side.

''Honey? Are you awake?'' The fox called out, leaving Halen at the doorway and walking into another room inside this one.

Halen looked around the room. There were expensive carpets and rugs on the floor, and expensive furniture seated around the fireplace. Halen smiled. ''Just like home...'' He muttered to himself.

''What's that?'' A voice said.

Halen jumped and looked next to him. King Richard was standing there looking down at him, smiling softly, an arm around the fox, who was probably Prince Ignius. ''I... I said 'I wish this was my home...'' He lied.

Richard looked around. ''I know... wonderful isn't it? Anyway, Ignius here tells me you needed to see me?''

Halen nodded. ''Yes your majesty. I-''

''And call me Rick, please. I hate formalities.'' The lion smiled.

''Okay... well I was told to deliver this to you.'' Halen handed him the letter from Shane.

Rick opened it and walked with Ignius over to a couch and sat down, the both of them reading. When he was finished reading he had a grave look on his face. ''Well... thank you for getting this to me...''

''If I may, what was it about?'' Halen asked curiously.

''It has the locations and the whereabouts of the Jhariv. Including a list of most of their names.'' Rick said monotonously. Ignius's ears were laid back and he was hugging Rick to his chest.

''So what's the problem.'' Halen asked worriedly.

''This...'' Rick took the letter and began reading. ''It may pain you to know this, but among the members of the Jhariv are Felix and Helston Lionheart. Helston is their current leader and Felix is his right hand fur.'' Rick finished.

Halen's eyes were wide as he looked at them. ''You mean... are they your brothers?'' Halen questioned.

Rick shook his head. ''Felix is my brother, and Helston is my father...'' He said, whining softly.

Halen's ears drooped. ''I'm sorry to hear that...''

''My father left when I was a cub... he took Felix with him... but I never knew they were part of the cult...'' He sighed. ''It's unfortunate that they will have to be killed. We cannot afford to have them left alive...''

Halen nodded numbly. ''I think they've abducted my friend... he was seen being kidnapped by a lion... and I was told that the Jhariv have posts in every town... when we came form the forest they must have been suspicious... so I think that's why the took him...''

King Richard stood up, pulling Ignius to his feet. ''There's more though... not only will I have to send an army to their hideout... but I have to have a King and Queen killed...'' He said gravely.

''They're also members... which means we will have to wage war with them before anything else...''

Halen sighed and looked up at him. ''King and Queen of which kingdom?''

King Richard looked at him. ''Ashaile.''

***

Cheyenne whined as he opened his eyes. His head was pounding from being hit. He couldn't see anything around him, but could feel that he was being chained to a table, each of his limbs in a corner. He opened his mouth to scream, but realized that his muzzle was being tied down. He whimpered and began crying.

There were sounds of metal and then a door opened. Light poured in, blinding Cheyenne for a bit. A tall figure walked in and stood near his feet. It was about this time that Cheyenne realized he had been stripped of his clothes. He whined and tried to move his tail, finding that it had also been chained down. Whether to reveal his body, or his tailhole he wasn't sure. ''Stop crying...''

The figure commanded.

Cheyenne whimpered and closed his eyes, fighting back tears. ''Now I'm going to give you a chance to tell me who you are and who you're friend is...'' The figure stated as he walked around to each of the corners, lighting a torch to illuminate the room. ''And if you don't...'' The figure, now seen as a tall lion, bent down and grabbed something, standing back up with a whip. ''Then you will undoubtedly regret it.'' With his free paw, he pulled the harness off of Cheyenne's muzzle.

Cheyenne gasped a bit for breath and whimpered. ''I'm... I'm nobody... my hometown... was destroyed... and... and I just wanted... to find a new... home...''

The lion growled and shouted. ''Who was that you were with then!''

Cheyenne whimpered. ''I'm... I don't know... I-''

The lion growled and whipped the fox across the chest, leaving a long bleeding gash. ''LIAR!''

Cheyenne yelped in pain and began crying, his chest heaving as he closed his eyes. ''I don't know... who he is... he... he freed me from the dungeons at Ashaile...''

The lion raised his whip. ''What are you're names?''

Cheyenne whimpered loudly. ''His name was Halen... I don't know his surname... my name is Cheyenne Rockwind...'' He closed his eyes and braced himself for another hit.

The lion's expression turned to shock and then he growled. ''HOW DARE YOU!'' He unleashed his whip on Cheyenne, overlapping the first gash. ''The Rockwind's...'' He lashed the fox again, causing a third bleeding wound to appear on his abdomen. ''Were our finest assassins...'' He whipped Cheyenne again, the fourth gash hitting him across the stomach. ''and they're dead!'' He whipped Cheyenne again, hitting him across the thighs, barely missing his sac. ''Don't you dare speak about them!''

Cheyenne was crying loudly and wailing in pain, shaking violently, his chest covered in blood. ''THEY.... WERE... MY... PARENTS...'' He shouted out, gasping for breath.

The lion walked up and raised his fist, bringing it down swiftly on his muzzle. ''Their child was executed at Ashaile... along with the rest of Verona who didn't go to war. You are not their child...'' He turned around and walked out of the cell, slamming the door behind him.

A female husky walked around the corner, a crossbow mounted on her back. ''Felix? Something wrong?''

''Yes Jasmine... There is...'' Felix grunted and looked back at the cell door. ''That prisoner... he dared to call himself the child of the Rockwind's...''

Jasmine crossed his arms. ''Did you give him a good lashing for it?''

Felix nodded and growled. ''Several... and when my father lets me... I'll kill him... how dare he...''

Jasmine grinned and walked towards Felix, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly. ''Well, he could be telling the truth... just have the shaman ask him.''

Felix stared into her eyes for a moment, grinning. ''I'll do that after...''

She murred and presses her canine nose to his feline one. ''And what would that be after?'' She asked coyly.

He murred along with her and licked her cheek. ''After I give a certain someone the ride of a life time...''

***

Halen opened his eyes slowly and looked around. He was in the King's chambers still. ''Wha... what happened?''

Ignius giggled from above him, Halen's head was in his lap and Rick was sitting on the couch in front of them. ''You fainted silly.'' Ignius replied.

Halen whimpered and curled up slightly. ''Oh...''

Rick looked down at him curiously. ''What was so horrible that it made you faint?''

Halen whimpered again and looked up at Rick solemnly. ''My parents... you said they were members of the Jhariv...''

Rick looked confused. ''I did?''

Halen nodded and sighed. ''The king and queen of Ashaile... are my parents...''

Rick leaned back against the couch. ''Oh... I see...''

Ignius looked down at Halen, rubbing his shoulders. ''So you're a prince then?''

''Yeah...'' Halen said softly. ''I don't want to be though...''

Rick stood up and stretched, before looking down at Halen. ''So why aren't you still at Ashaile?''

Halen sighed. ''Because they slaughtered everyone in Verona... they didn't care about it... they were heartless.. I hate my parents... I want nothing to do with them.''

Rick nodded. ''Well we will be waging war with them before the day is out... I'm sorry to say that they will have to be killed.''

Halen whined slightly. ''What about the Jhariv?''

Rick sighed and rubbed the back of his head. ''Either way one of the two will help the other in battle. We need assistance... we have about five hundred warriors ready to bear arms. Heradon has another seven hundred and fifty warriors that might help us if we ask for their help.''

Halen groaned as he stood up. ''But Ashaile has an army of thirteen hundred warriors... they'll wipe out one kingdom by itself, much less two!''

Ignius stood up also, wrapping his arms around Halen's waist. ''And hun... the Jhariv... one of their warriors equals about three of ours... and they have a hundred and fifty... we won't last one day without stronger reinforcements.''

Rick walked over to the both of them, placing a paw on each of their shoulders, Halen was looking over his shoulder at Ignius, apparently confused as to why he was being hugged by him. ''Listen... we can get Heradon to join us in battle, they'll be more than happy to take up arms against the Jhariv. And if we send out a messenger right now, we can get reinforcements from the far eastern town of Servinta''

Halen looked up at him. ''They don't help anyone though! They won't help!''

Rick looked down at him and grinned. ''Ignius and I have a special arrangement with King Sorrid... they'll help us...'' He winked at Ignius, who giggled.

Halen blushed. ''So what're you going to do now?''

Rick sighed. ''We can't waste too much time here...'' He walked out into the hall and to an adjacent room. After a few minutes he came back. ''I've sent messengers to Heradon, Servinta, and to our troops. We take up arms against Ashaile and the Jhariv in the morning.''

Halen nodded and sighed. ''I hope that Cheyenne is okay...''

***

Felix led the shaman to the cell. ''He's in here Yami.'' He led the wolf inside the darkened cell.

''I'll need some blood from him if you don't mind...'' Yami spoke.

Felix laughed and went about the room, igniting the torches. ''I don't mind...''

Yami caught sight of Cheyenne's bloody body. ''This will suffice...''

Felix laughed and left the room. ''Tell me if he gives you any trouble...''

Yami nodded as Felix left. ''Okay little one... time to tell me what you know...''

Cheyenne's eyes opened slowly to find the wolf standing over him. ''Who... who are you...?''

The shaman laughed. ''I'm asking the questions here... Now be still or this will hurt more than it has to.'' He took out seven small needles and stuck one in each of the seven charkas. Cheyenne winced a little with each needle. Yami then went and lit a sage branch in the fire from the torch and then lit each of the needles. ''Okay fox... what is your full name?''

Cheyenne's eyes dilated and his voice went monotonous. ''Cheyenne Lancia Rockwind.'' The flame on the first needle glowed green.

Yami grinned. ''And what was the name of the wolf that was with you?''

Cheyenne spoke again in the same voice. ''Halen...'' The second flame glowed green.

The shaman growled slightly, annoyed that that was all the information he acquired. ''Who is he?''

Cheyenne's voice came again, slow and monotonous. ''He's the prince of Ashaile...'' The next flame glowed green.

The shaman was surprised and he smiled. ''What are the names of your parents?''

''Tobias and Ysabel Rockwind.'' He replied obediently, the fourth flame turning green as well.

The shaman was surprised again. ''So you are their son, eh?'' He said to himself.

''Yes.'' Cheyenne answered, making the fifth flame turn green.

'DAMMIT!' The shaman thought. He had just wasted one question, only two questions remained.

He growled. ''What business did you have in Canterbury?''

''I was locked up in the Dungeons of Ashaile and Halen decided to rescue me. We ran away from Ashaile, through the Forest of Remembrance and we went to Canterbury to deliver a letter to King Richard, from Shane.'' The sixth flame turned green, one question left.

The shaman gasped. ''Where was Shane?''

''Shane was hiding deep in the forest, though when we left, so did he.'' The seventh flame turned green and then they all went out, Cheyenne went unconscious.

The shaman sighed and gathered the needles and then exited the room. Felix was sitting there, quietly. 'It's done...''

Felix stood up. ''What did he tell you?''

The shaman smiled. ''He really is the son of Tobias and Ysabel Rockwind. His wolf friend was

Halen, prince of Ashaile. They ran away to Canterbury, and on the way there they ran into Shane, who asked for them to deliver a letter to King Richard.''

Felix was astonished. ''He knows where Shane is?''

Yami shook his head. ''When they left the forest, so did he. I didn't have any more questions left to ask where, though I don't think he knows anyway.''

Felix growled. ''Just do it again and ask him!''

Yami growled back. ''You can only perform this ritual on a fur, once every moon cycle. We still have two weeks left before the next cycle. There is nothing I can do.'' He began to walk away from Felix.

''Wait!'' Felix grinned. ''I want to brainwash him. If we brainwash him, then he can fight for us. I'm sure that any moment now, Canterbury will go to war with Ashaile and we will need to assist them. Let's brainwash him so that he'll be fighting for us!''

Yami grinned. ''That I can do...'' They both walked back into Cheyenne's cell. The shaman pulled out a small vial of liquid and opened Cheyenne's muzzle, pouring it down his throat. Cheyenne twitched for a few moments and then his scars began to vanish, his muzzle opened and he screamed in agony.

Felix covered his ears and growled. ''Hurry up!''

Yami pulled out five black candles and placed them on Cheyenne's chest as a pentagram, lighting the candles. Cheyenne instantly quieted and stayed still, his eyes shot open. ''Hello puppet...'' Yami said.

''Hello masters...'' Cheyenne answered in a low voice.

Felix grinned and stepped forward. ''If I say I want you to bring Halen to me... you say?''

Cheyenne grinned evilly. ''Dead or Alive?''