King's Of Sons

Kings of sons

By Sebastian H. Alive

Published by Sebastian H. Alive

License Notes

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Copyright 2015 Sebastian H. Alive

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Prologue

Thessalopolis - The Krasian Fields

Was I a good King? he gasped weakly.

Antal cradled the King’s head in his arm, rocking ever so slightly on his knees and turned his head as he surveyed the blood drenched battlefield around them.

The lush green fields of Krasian were once again stained red with the blood of the dead and dying as the bodies of thousands of Garanti warriors littered the ground with their groans and cries echoing eerily all around them.

As he stared he grimly noted several Talian infantry moving slowly through the fallen toward them as they coldly dispatched those that were still clinging onto life with a savage thrust of their swords. Looking back down at the fallen King, Antal swallowed hard before tenderly wiping the blood from his forehead with a silk kerchief.

You are a great King my lord, soothed Antal softly. You have no idea how great you are,

You…..should run, croaked the King spraying droplets of blood into the air and down onto his face and chestnut brown beard.

My place is by your side, my King, replied Antal blinking rapidly, his voice betraying his emotion.

I command you to flee, roared the King with the last residues of his anger before his head sagged back against Antal’s arm in defeat.

This is one order I will not follow my lord, not now, said Antal, his shoulders slumping.

The King closed his eyes momentarily, his breathing rapid and shallow before fluttering his eyelids back open. For the briefest of seconds a familiar hardness replaced the pain and weariness in his eyes and he gritted his teeth trying to summon his fading strength.

Then you need a sword to defend yourself, hissed King Terebeus, his face creased and wracked by pain. The enemy is all around us,

Is that what those big shiny things are for? remarked Antal chuckling.

But there was no humor in his voice; it was dry and flat, almost as lifeless as the corpses strewn around them.

You are a fool Antal, but a brave fool, he wheezed with a terrible death rattle in his throat.

Better to die as a brave fool than to flee as a coward, whispered Antal faintly.

High up in the sky birds wheeled and dived, screeching loudly as they circled over the field of death below them. Antal glanced up at the carrion crows and felt the weight of despair hang heavy on his slim shoulders.

They can smell the death in the air, said Antal curling his lips in disgust.

Many souls have been slain today and their blood now soaks into Thessalopolis soil. This has been a dark day and we have lost much.

His once powerful voice trailed off and Antal looked down and saw again the sword protruding from the side of the King’s stomach and out through his coat of mail. Suddenly harsh sobs escaped Antal’s throat and tears began to form in his blue eyes.

Aye, we did my lord, murmured Antal nodding and wiping away his tears savagely with his spare hand.

The enemy outnumbered and outthought us I think, said the King frowning.

Leaning forward Antal kissed the King’s cheek gently, feeling the cool of his bronze cheek plates from his helmet against his face.

You fought like a lion today, my lord,

If I had fought like a thousand lions it still wouldn’t have been enough Antal and they have won again,

With a groan King Terebeus tried to sit up but cried out in pain.

I think I am dying Antal, I feel such…..coldness,

Nonsense, just rest my lord and gather your strength,

His head lifted a little from the crook of Antal’s arm as he struggled to sit to gauge his wound.

Don’t look, my lord,

Cursed Talian steel, it feels like poison inside me,

It is but a flesh wound lord,

King Terebeus chuckled and lowered himself gingerly back down and sighed deeply.

You are as adept at lying as you are at following your King’s orders, Antal,

This time Antal couldn’t find the words to answer him as he stared silently at the approaching Talian warrior hefting the bloodied blade before him.

Antal, whispered the King.

He didn’t reply. Instead he narrowed his eyes at the Talian and swallowed hard.

Antal, he repeated in a startled broken voice. Are you there? Is it getting dark?

I am here, my lord,

I…..I want to feel the air on my skin one last time, gasped King Terebeus, reaching up with his fingers and weakly clutching at his chin strap.

Here let me, my lord, said Antal gently pushing his hand away.

After a couple of seconds he removed the bronze helmet with the high crest and plume allowing the spill of his shoulder-length chestnut brown hair to fall over his arm. Tossing the helmet aside he glanced up once again at the warrior who was almost upon them.

You have been a good friend Antal, in many ways you have been like a father to me and I am happy you have been by my side, said the King softly turning his face to where he could feel the sun.

Thank you, my lord,

My sword Antal! cried the king urgently. Where’s my sword?

Antal looked around for the King’s blade but it was nowhere to be seen amongst the dead and he cursed under his breath.

Reaching out with his hand his fingers curled around the haft of a discarded sword and he pulled it over to the king and pressed the weapon into the man’s calloused hand. The King sighed and his face relaxed when he heard the approaching dull footfalls.

Someone is coming, he hissed.

Mercifully they were the last words the king spoke before his last breath rattled from his throat and his head lolled to one side. He looked peaceful now, almost exactly how Antal remembered him in his prime. With his head bowed Antal didn’t look up at first as the shadow fell over him and the dead King.

It is time to die, said a deep voice above them.

Antal could see the shadow of the man’s blade hovering around his neck and he laughed a high cold laugh and looked up into the warrior’s unforgiving eyes.

Another will come, he replied.

Then they will die too, spat the man raising the blade.

Antal looked back down at the King and stroked his cheek absently.

Another will come, he whispered.

Chapter 1

November 2012, York, England

The photo was a perfect moment captured in time and every time he looked at it the memory was as clear as if it was yesterday.

Jacob could still smell the rain in the humid air and feel the fat droplets on his face as he poised to take the picture of Jessica underneath the looming mountain range of Sierra Nevada in the region of Andalusia. The travel brochure had said there was a no rain guarantee in September with an average rainfall of something between 2 to 7 days per month, but that apparently excluded September 02nd as that day the clouds were grey, heavy and pregnant with rain.

It's going to rain by the looks of it, Jacob had muttered staring up at the bunched angry sky and lowering his Canon digital SLR camera to his chest.

So what if it rains, she had said smiling sweetly and planting her boot on a rock. It’s all part of the hiking experience,

I told you it’s not called hiking it called organized body torture, said Jacob laughing heartily. To my legs, knees and feet I’m sorry, my girlfriend is a sadist who enjoys sucking the fun and life out of any vacation,

It’s no more torture than watching you shoveling down French fries in front of the TV watching sports, she chided. Plus it’ll do something for that waistline you’ve been carrying along for a while now,

I’ll always be fat inside, said Jacob sucking in his stomach. You can’t take that away from me,

Just like your French fries,

Geez, I thought you always said I looked great carrying a few extra pounds,

Yes honey, you look great! said Jessica rolling her eyes.

See, how many times have I heard you say that? replied Jacob laughing.

You’re like a giant adorable, cute onion ring,

You know in all the 3 years we’ve been dating that might probably rank as the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,

Welcome, now take my picture before it rains,

Smiling he raised his hands in mock surrender and lifted the camera to his eyes with his finger poised over the shutter release.

And to think I wanted to go to Vegas,

There’s a reason people call it Viva fat Vegas Jacob, it’s where fat people go to get fatter,

Sounds like heaven,

The picture, she said tilted her head slightly.

Then it came and they had no umbrella. It was expected but the ferocity of the rain caught them unawares. It came sweeping in across the mountains and drenched them to their skin in a matter of seconds.

Jessica had been wearing linen trousers because the day had been uncomfortably humid and now it clung to her like a second skin. Her mousey brown hair had gotten wet and it looked all limp and stringy as she shook the rain droplets from her head while screeching in laughter. She laughed at the rain as she did a lot of things and it was the one sound he missed the most.

Despite the torrential savagery of the downpour and with rain water coursing down his neck and between his shoulder-blades he got the picture and they scarpered for safety.

Now when he looked at that photo he could remember how beautiful a moment that actually was.

Terrible vacation, great photo, muttered Jacob tracing his finger along the tops of the mountains and around her laughing face which was permanently frozen in time.

Placing the image onto his chest he sighed deeply and lifted the half-empty beer can to his mouth and drained it in a couple of swallows. Wiping his mouth and belching out loud, he rested his hand gently on the photo and closed his eyes remembering what happened 2 weeks after they had returned from Spain.

One morning Jessica had sat bolt upright in bed and rushed to the toilet and after a couple of minutes of listening to her retching and flushing the toilet Jacob padded slowly towards the door and had knocked lightly.

Can I come in?

The only answer he had was a gargled grunt of some description.

You okay sweetheart?

I puked a little on the floor, she cried pitifully. Didn’t quite make it,

He had opened the door quietly and stepped into the bathroom to see Jessica on her knees in front of the toilet, her head resting against the toilet seat and one hand holding her brown hair to the side.

I feel so sick. Can you get me some water?

Sure I can honey, said Jacob walking back out of the bathroom quickly.

I told you that chicken from the takeaway place didn’t taste right, she shouted back at him.

Then there was more gagging and retching.

The very next day after he returned home from work Jessica was waiting for him in their apartment and her face was ghostly white and ashen, alarmingly so.

What’s wrong, Jess? he had said, concerned and taking her hands in his.

I…I think I’m pregnant, I mean we’re pregnant, she stuttered as she stared at the ground not wanting to see his expression.

Are you sure? I mean are you sure-sure?

Yeah, I kinda just peed on a stick,

He was too stunned to speak and she leaned towards him and looked up studying his face intently.

Say something Jacob, she whispered, her voice close to tears.

He had nodded slowly and blinked a few times.

Jacob?

We’re going to have a baby? he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Yes,

We’re going to have a baby! cried Jacob grinning.

Suddenly he scooped her up into his arms and twirled her around making her giggle.

Oh shit I better put you down haven’t I? he said gently lowering her.

What are you thinking? she had asked resting her head against his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist.

Right now? asked Jacob scratching his mop of curly dark brown hair. I reckon we’re going to need a bigger apartment,

Jessica was 8 weeks pregnant and the next 27 weeks passed by in a flurry of excitement for them both. In truth Jacob was also pretty scared but towards the end he proudly thought of himself as a foremost expert on the trials and tribulations of motherhood. He had become immune to her outbursts and the icy questions about her 30 pounds weight gain and the only thing they seemed to agree on was that they both didn’t want to know the sex of the baby through an ultrasound.

It was pretty evident at the time that Jessica hated Jacob, the world and every other living thing that inhabited the planet during this time, but more so it was to do with the transformation of her once slim, size 8 figure. She hated the on and off nausea, the constant tiredness and irritability, the heartburn and the cravings and sometimes the gassy repercussions of those weird cravings. She despised how she waddled comically from side to side, scowled at her popped belly button, cursed bitterly how she had suddenly developed varicose veins along with constant leaking breasts and wept over something rather unpleasant called a Linea Nigra.

Through the tears and tantrums, the melancholy and despair Jacob would nod his head and smile, make regular visits to the chemist, supermarket or takeaway of her choice when it was demanded of him and offer a reassuring hug or a tissue when it was required of him. Soon enough she would turn round to him with a wide smile on her pretty face as if nothing had happened at all.

Then one Saturday morning, feeling pretty groggy and tired from Jessica’s umpteenth visit to the toilet throughout the night, the pains began. She had begun feeling discomfort in her lower abdomen all morning on and off and complained of it briefly over the breakfast table.

Jacob was just lathering a healthy measure of Raspberry jam on his toast and paused mid-spread when she delivered the news.

You’ve just decided to tell me this now? I mean, what is it? Could you be in labor, do you think? asked Jacob with a look of panic on his face.

You gotta calm down, Jacob, she said as he tore a large chunk from the toast. It’s like you’re going into meltdown the closer the due date is. Bump is still due another 5 weeks anyway so let’s just go and get the rest of the baby stuff and finish setting up the nursery,

Jacob chewed mechanically as he stared at her then looked down at her swollen belly then back up to her.

Sure you’re okay?

Well I haven’t passed my mucus plug yet, she replied absently stroking her stomach.

Mucus plug?

Yeah you know that brownish blood-tinged discharge. That’s usually the first sign. You read the books right?

Jacob looked down at the half-eaten toast in his hand and decided that breakfast was officially over.

Probably Braxton hicks again, she muttered.

Ahhhh Braxton hicks, he asked, a little unsure. Yeah that could be it. Do you think it’s wise that we go out today?

We’re going out, she said matter-of-factly.

Jacob knew he was on dangerous ground now and the subject was over. She had made the face which said ‘don't question me or doubt me, I still love you but let’s face it, if you push me I’ll kill you in a heartbeat,’

So despite his concerned looks they took the short drive across to the local baby superstore to buy some last minute essentials before the birth. In truth they weren’t really buying last minute essentials and he knew this. Jessica’s nesting instinct had been in full gear now for a couple of months and she was prone to uncontrollable and sometimes irrational urges to spend. Occasionally that might mean throwing out something they had just bought and replacing it with something entirely the same, but more likely in a different color, fabric or price-range.

Do you like this blanket? she had queried, holding it up to his eye-level. It’s broderie anglaise fabric,

Jacob had peered intently at the white blanket which bore a striking resemblance to the one they had bought last week.

What about in blue?

We have to go neutral, she said placing the item back onto the shelf and selecting another. It could be a girl and girls can’t have blue,

It’s a boy, I’m sure of it, said Jacob grinning and planting his hands on his hips.

Hmmmm, I think it’s a girl. I think bump is carrying quite high and that’s usually the sign of a little girl,

Nope, I’m not having it. I’ve just got this gut feeling about this,

Jessica smiled and turned back to the shelf and picked up a couple of bibs, turning them over a couple of times in her hands.

These are cute, she said holding them up. What do you think?

Jacob didn’t respond as he was staring at the spreading wet patch on her grey maternity trousers.

Ermmm…Jess, he mumbled nervously.

Do you think we need to disinfect the whole apartment when we get back? she asked frowning.

Jess,

What?

I…I think your waters just broke,

My waters, she murmured looking down and dropping the bibs onto the tiled floor of the superstore.

Shit, whispered Jacob licking his dry lips and running a hand through his hair. Shit, shit, shit,

Oh my god, my waters have broken! whispered Jessica distantly.

Right! Where’s the overnight bag?

Car, she answered with a hint of alarm in her voice.

Let’s go, said Jacob taking her gently by the hand.

But we need some extra nappies, a baby sack, some booties and another set of bibs, she said looking back over her shoulder.

It can wait; let’s just get you to the hospital,

Okay, but quick I need a pad, a pad! she cried. This feels icky,

He rang the hospital delivery suite on the way in a blind panic as he sped towards the hospital telling the calm woman on the end of the phone line that he was unsure if her water had broken or not.

It has, shouted Jessica crying out in pain. It has, it has,

The woman on the line told him to try and relax and to take her to the hospital delivery centre where they would give her an exam and check her progress. The journey seemed to take forever and fate seemed to intervene delaying them at every traffic light, crossing or round-a-bout, but in reality the drive probably lasted no more than 10 minutes until he was screeching into the hospital parking lot.

Do we need a ticket? asked Jacob with the engine running idle by the double-doors.

Forget the goddamn ticket, she roared out in pain.

That’ll do for me, he said killing the engine and jumping out of the car.

Half waddling and half carrying they made it up to the front desk but there was no-one there and Jacob looked around quickly.

Nurse please! he shouted loudly.

Jessica burst into tears as suddenly a female nurse came dashing from behind a door.

Her waters have just broken, he cried, rubbing her back gently.

How many weeks is she? asked the nurse.

36, no 35, said Jacob.

A couple of minutes later and Jessica was wheeled away in a wheelchair by a male nurse to the examination room, closely followed by Jacob who was sweating profusely. He struggled helping Jessica get changed into a blue gown and spent the next few minutes pacing the room for what seemed an eternity until the doctor arrived.

Hi there, I’m doctor Prabue, he said smiling warmly. I believe mum’s waters have broken,

Yes… yes that’s right, stammered Jacob. But she’s really early,

Have you started timing them? asked Doctor Prabue turning to face Jessica.

Timing what? whimpered Jessica screwing her face up in pain.

The contractions,

No…I think they’re like 6-7 minutes apart I guess, she gasped.

Well, okay then. Now let’s have a little look at you, said the Doctor slipping on some gloves. This might feel a little uncomfortable, but I need to do a vaginal examination just to make sure that baby is healthy. Is that okay?

She nodded and lifted her legs up to her chest in discomfort.

Legs up as far as they can go please, he said.

After a few minutes of heavy silence with Jacob whispering soothing words into Jessica’s ear the Doctor stood back up and removed the gloves, discarding them into a waste bin.

Mum is in good active labor, he said.

But she can’t be, said Jacob in disbelief. It’s too early isn’t it?

It’s called Preterm labor when baby decides to come any time before 37 weeks gestation period,

Jessica screamed out in pain and sat bolt upright in the bed clenching Jacobs arm tightly.

There goes a contraction, said the Doctor. Just remember your breathing exercises. I’ll be sending in a midwife shortly for the delivery and she’ll talk you through everything,

Can’t it be delayed or anything? asked Jacob feeling weak.

Mum is 10cm fully dilated sir; you can’t stop labor if it’s underway. You’re going to have a baby,

Is the baby okay?

You’re in the best possible care, said Doctor Prabue offering a smile of reassurance.

The day was supposed to be the best day of their lives but tragically it turned out to be the worst day of his life. Their son, Noah Alexander was born into the world weighing 6lb 8oz and was dutifully assisted with a shiny pair of forceps because Jessica had been so exhausted from just less than 5 hours of intense labor.

She looked ashen faced and physically drained as she looked around bewildered as the healthcare team that had been monitoring her and the baby whisked Noah away before they could even hear him cry.

Wait! cried Jacob looking confused and grabbing the shoulder of the midwife angrily. Why can’t Jessica cuddle our baby?

He needs urgent medical attention Mr. Torello. Your baby is quite weak and is finding breathing difficult so we’re transferring him to Neonatal. Everything will be fine and we’ll update you straight away,

Jacob nodded his head numbly as the nurses began to rush frantically around the bed of Jessica as monitors began beeping in alarm from the surrounding equipment.

What’s happening? shouted Jacob spinning around.

Sir, can you come with me please? asked a male nurse placing a hand onto his shoulder from behind.

Jacob shrugged the hand from his shoulder and turned but saw the look in the nurse’s eyes and knew something wasn’t right.

Will someone tell me what the hell’s going on? he cried in a panicked tone.

The nurse nodded and ushered him out into the corridor and sighed heavily.

It’s bad isn’t it? What’s happening? Tell me!

Jessica is incredibly weak having lost so much blood, Mr. Torello,

But that’s normal right? I mean it’s normal to have some bleeding after birth, isn’t it?

Mr. Torello, Jessica has had something called a postpartum hemorrhage and is losing a lot of blood but she is very, very weak at the moment. Rest assured we’re doing absolutely everything we can,

Jacob paused and shook his head from side to side.

Don’t let her die on me doctor, whispered Jacob taking a step back on hollow legs. Just don’t let her die,

He remembered most of what transpired up to that moment but when the Doctor finally came back to see him everything felt hazy, like he was in some kind of dream state or alternate reality not his own.

The Doctor’s face was grave and solemn and Jacob knew within seconds by his look that something terrible and irreversible had happened.

I’m afraid I have some bad news, Mr. Torello,

No, said Jacob shaking his head stubbornly. No, no, no,

"There was nothing anyone could have done. I'm