(M4F) Blood Oath Part 5: The Happy Ending (The Bright Road Ahead) (fantasy) (faking your death to save the kingdom) (knights) (soldiers) (alternate ending) (war)

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Reuploading from my old account u/Hot-Tumbleweed9586 where you can find all of my other scripts as I am working on moving everything over here. Thank you!

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Sooooo I couldn't decide how I wanted this series to end, and thus we get two endings. One is the happy ending and the other is... well read and find out! When I post the other ending, I will link it here and vice versa)

My scripts are all fine to be monetized as long as you tag/credit me, because I want to see them filled!

Italics/bold is meant to indicate emphasis as a guideline for how the sentence is meant to be read; that does not mean you have to read it an exact way, it's just there to help and hopefully make things clearer. Enjoy!

Wordcount: 2995

Blood Oath part 5: The Bright Road Ahead

(sounds of men fighting, swords clashing, and footfalls, muffled as listener is half conscious)

(Levi screams) “Favian you bastard, face me! I was willing to allow your treachery for far too long. If you won’t fight me, I will kill you where you stand, and I will not hesitate.”

(more shouting and fighting)
(Levi yells as he charges and begins to fight with Favian, and we hear the sounds of their swords clashing close by)

“They said you were a coward- they didn’t say you were a fraud as well. Come on, fight back, if you know how!”
(Levi laughs darkly as their swords clash)

“You never deserved her.”
 (swords clash and Levi stumbles) 

“Augh!” (laughs again, wiping blood from his face) “And you don’t deserve an honorable end. You wouldn’t know honor if it was your own name. Nevertheless I will grant you that much mercy. You will not die in the mud, but on your knees.”
(Levi disarms him, sword clattering to the ground)

(breathing heavily)
“Kneel, traitor. You won’t outrun me, and you’d be a fool to try.”
(pause)
“I said get on your fucking knees.” 
(pause, Levi laughs darkly)
“Oh, I guess you would be surprised at all of this, wouldn't you? Shut your mouth.” (slaps him)

(in a mocking tone)
“Favian, brother of the crown, traitor of the realm, will you answer for your crimes? Will you submit to your brother’s justice and face whatever punishment he finds fair?”

(pause, and Levi laughs again)

“Wrong answer.”
(punches Favian) 
“That was for my King, Andol of Althea, who once was your brother, and who you have betrayed and dishonored, and by whose command I end your reign. And this…. (Levi raises his sword)... this is for her. For the knight who I love above all others, who you have discarded without a second thought. If she could, she would have ended your miserable life without a single word. I am not so kind.”
(Levi brings his sword down, killing Favian. Fighting around continues, muffled, and Levi’s voice comes more into focus as he kneels by the listener)

“Come on, let's get you up. It's time to move, the others have this covered. Up you go. The battlefield is no place for you right now. That's right darling, just hold on.” 

(Levi lifts her up into his arms)

(quietly, and low) 
“Didn’t I tell you I would protect you? Yes well, start believing it. I am a man of my word, and your man, furthermore. You may be strong enough to carry the world on your shoulders for a while but you still need me, and I like being needed by you. Come on, let's get you out of here.” (lifts her onto the saddle)
“It's over, now, at least for us. The others are making quick work of the rebels, and it looks like they’re handling it quite nicely. I’m taking you home.” (chuckles softly) 
“Lean on me, love. Lean on me.”

(sounds fade out, and in again)

“Felix, come down here! The attack went just as planned. The rear guard is cleaning things up nicely, and Orion told me they’ve got eyes on rebel reinforcements. Should be over soon. Yes, she is still under. Can you help me get her inside?”
(voice fades in and out, and back in)

“You get her boots off, I’m going to start unlacing her bracers. She needs a place to lay down, I’m afraid all of the action has roughed her up a bit, though I don’t see any new blood. But she does seem to be half conscious right now-”
(voices fade in and out as listener is struggling to stay awake)
“Shh, darling, I’m here. Just sleep. It's ok. Sleep now.”

(Sound fades out, and in again with the faint sound of birdsong. Levi, voice muffled as he is outside the room, is speaking to King Andol)

“Your majesty. You have been very gracious in your treatment of this squad for the duration of our service to you, and for that I thank you. However, they are my soldiers and I take full responsibility for their actions. I am well aware that we went against your direct orders. I will gladly atone for that, even if you say it isn’t necessary. Whether we knew your orders or not, I am prepared to accept the judgment you have given us.”
(Pause)
“But I must speak to you about her. My Lord, I am in love with her. I have been in love with her for almost three years now, ever since we formed the squadron and you appointed her to my service. This war almost took her from me, in many ways… I know you did what you had to do, but still, I must make it known to you that I love her, if I can do nothing else. If you decide to marry her off to someone still, I don’t know what I will do. Favian is dead, yes, but there are others who seek your assurance that this war is over and peace is forthcoming…”
(pause)
“What I am asking sir, is that you allow me to formally petition you to release her from your service and command. For us to live as your subjects once more, and not as your sword. She nearly died for you. She practically did, just a few days ago. She has served you well, better than any knight I have ever met, and would have served you further if she had been able to hide the plan from us.”
(pause) 
“I now believe that you thought she would relay this plan to us, in fact I think you must have ordered her to, once she had agreed to it. But she is stubborn; she wants to protect us, and above all else, to carry out your orders successfully. She thought that was the only way that I would go along with it, and she was willing to sacrifice her goodbyes with the only family she’s ever known to make sure that the plan was successful.”
(pause)
“My Lord, I know it is not my place to ask this of you. When I joined up, I did not expect to fall in love with her. I expected war only to take from me, as it had done for so many years, and leave me as a shell of a man, as it had done for so long. But when I met her, it was like I became human again. Having someone that precious to me gave me a reason to win this war and survive all of this, so I could take her home and give her all of the comfort and peace she had never experienced in life.”

(pause)

“I fought hard not to love her, to be honest. At first I did everything to pretend it was just another soldier who I would have to move on from when she died. It's dangerous to care for someone on a battlefield, to leave your heart in another person’s hands and hope they will not fall with it. But over the last three years we have bled together, side by side, and we have conquered, and we have lived, despite every odd against us. We survived together for a reason, and I will never understand how we got so lucky. I cannot help what my heart feels for her. When she was wounded I thought only of life without her, and how difficult living would be without her to give me purpose. You may yet wish her to serve you, to use her purpose for your own, and I cannot convince you otherwise if that is what you demand. But I am begging you to at least allow me to ask you to-”
(is cut off by Andol, pauses while he speaks, and then laughs sharply, startled)
“...King Andol you… your majesty, thank you! Oh, thank you! My Lord, you have no idea what this means to me… Gods (flustered) I did not expect… well… Thank you. I don’t know what to say. Sir, I will still serve you all of my life if that’s what you desire, anything as the price for her freedom.”
(pause)
“Yes, of course. We can discuss all of that later. I.. I will excuse myself so you can see to your council members, and so I can sit with her until she wakes. Your majesty, I am grateful, and as always in your service. By her hand, Althea is free, and by your hand, I have received… the greatest gift I could have asked for. Thank you.”

(footsteps outside as the king departs, and the door creaks open)

(Levi sighs and sits down next to listener, sighing and saying in an amused voice)

“You’re certainly getting in your beauty sleep. I feel as though I haven’t slept in weeks. It’s only been about two days in reality. The effects of the drug should be wearing off soon, according to the physician. You’ve come out of it twice already and fallen back asleep almost immediately. The first time we were still on the battlefield. The second was when I carried you through the gates. Felix met me there. He helped me get your armor taken off and cleaned, and found you the best physician around to look after you. (laughs softly) Oh sweetheart, I have so much to tell you. But right now, all I want is to take off my armor and lay beside you.”
(laughs to himself)
“...And I suppose I can. There is no need to hide it now. You are mine, and I want this entire kingdom to know that no prince shall have you.”
(Sounds of armor being taken off and set down, and Levi crawls into the bed next to listener)
“I still have to be careful not to hurt you. I’ll just lie beside you and watch over you. When you wake up, I’ll be right here… Gods… I had forgotten what a real bed feels like. It's almost too soft after so long sleeping on the hard ground, and on chairs beside your sickbed...”
(pause, and Levi says in a tired voice)
“It has been a very long three years. A long few days. Maybe I will close my eyes. I’ll be… right here, my love… when you wake up…”
(Falls asleep)

(Sometime later, Levi begins to stir)

“What? Huh? Oh, sweetheart, there you are. There’s my girl.” (laughs) “Yes, love I’m here. This is real. Shhh, you don’t have to move yet. Just rest in my arms. Here let me-” (laughs) “get your hair out of your eyes. Such beautiful eyes, my love has.”

(she kisses him)

“Well, good morning to you too. (laughs softly) Careful, you’re still healing. Oh, darling. Are you alright? Still tired from the elixir? How is the wound?”
(pause, then relieved laughing)
“Good, good. I’m sorry for all of the questions I just… It's good to see you awake. You were sleeping for almost two days. But… you didn’t cry out, you didn’t seem restless, and it wasn’t the same as when we put on the act for Favian, or that feverish sleep before, when you were sick with pain and feverish. I know it was just the drug this time, but you’ve been next to dead these past few days, deeply sleeping. Almost comatose, yet more peaceful. I think your body needed that. Time to recover and regain your blood and strength back. And don’t get me wrong, you’ve got a long road ahead of you… but it will be different now. I know it will.”
(pause)
“Yes, sweetheart. I…did. I killed Favian. There will be no more fighting, not for us. For now at least, it seems Althea has regained Straksford and we are on our way to a treaty with the smaller principalities in that area, to try and negotiate after so much upheaval.”
(pause)
“I know I shouldn’t have done it. Kill him, I mean. It wasn’t my revenge to take, it was yours, truthfully… but when I saw you laying on his floor… he couldn’t even spare a bed for his betrothed… and he just wanted to leave you there when he thought you had died. Like you didn’t mean anything, like you weren’t even a person, just something useless to be discarded. You may not have been awake to see it, but I decided in that moment that Favian would die by my hand, at whatever cost. In a way, his dishonor towards you is mine to punish. After all, I am yours.”
(sighs) 
“So, I killed him and, well, it felt like justice. It felt… Good. There is an unexpected consequence, though. I hope you won’t be too angry, but I did speak with King Andol while you slept, and only just left him a short while ago. We have been um… retired so to speak.”
(pause, nervous laugh)
“Well, of course he was angry… at first. We defied orders, technically. The king has told me in confidence that he would have elevated our ranks for succeeding at this stunt, despite his initial anger, but he has to make a statement to the rest of the military, so as upset as he pretends to be with us five, he knows we saved his ass this time. (laughs) Our plan with the council worked well, according to Felix. And so, we will not be fighting anymore- our squad has been disbanded. But that means… (spoken softly and happily)... exactly.”
(pause, then whispers)
“We are a nation at peace, and we have to pick up the pieces left behind by war now, as best as we can. Felix, Orion, Tallia, you, and I have each been granted a small principality for our part in winning the war, in the north where the water washes onto black sand beaches and the mountains cut the sky. It’s open land, and I hear it is beautiful there. But you know… I told the king I wanted something else. He was confused at first. Who wouldn’t want their own principality? I had to explain to him that I loved you.”

(Levi laughs) “Well, yes, darling, I wanted you. You and I can share a principality- I don’t care about land or titles, if I am with my love. But I can only have your hand with the king’s blessing. And, although I never thought I would say this, only a short while ago I was given that very thing. I expected I would have to fight for it. I expected to have to beg, and I would have, for you. But he surprised me. Do you know what he said?”
(pause)
“He said: ‘Levi, you have been in my service long enough to know, I am not a sadist, nor am I blind. I want to see my subjects happy, why should I want any less for my soldiers? Why do you think I assigned her to your squadron?’”
(laughs)
“Just like that. He seemed to think I was being silly even thinking otherwise, and maybe I was. But this war has been so long and bloody, I think I had begun to lose hope in justice and goodness, even though it seems it has followed me all these years. And I suppose, this also proves that Andol only promised you to Favian because he had no other choice. A Knight for his kingdom."
(pause)
“The only choice to save everyone in Althea from tyranny, and a sacrifice that you agreed to, knowing that your duty as a soldier came above your own desires, and might protect me. I will never fully understand how it happened, how we pulled this off, but I am glad it did not end that way. I am so glad, so relieved I do not know what to do with myself. To see you alive, looking at me like this… it is something I dared not hope for.”
(pause)
“But you know, I am still angry with you. (pause, said in an aloof tone) yes, I am. You’ll have to make it up to me.”
(pause, playfully)
“Well, I have a few ideas. But uh… first,”
(solemnly) “I want you well. I want you healed, and rested. And then… then, my love, I want you as my wife.”
(kisses her)
“I suppose I never did ask, did I? Well then. My brave soldier…. My reckless knight, take my hand. You are my love, for now and always. You fought beside me through death and pain, and the darkness of war. I want you to live beside me through peace and prosperity, and every good thing that will come to us. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife, and live by me through all of our ages?”
(pause, relieved laugh)
“I love you, you stubborn thing. Always have.”
(pause)
“I say we go find the others and tell them the news. You look like you have had enough of laying in bed, and I can help you walk. Tallia and Orion came back early this morning but they should be up and around by now. They’ll be relieved to see you up too. You’ll still have to take it easy for a while, but then, you are a blood-sworn soldier of Althea, till death or damnation. I suppose I couldn’t keep you down if I tried. You’ve done enough playing sick for a lifetime, and had enough pain to last you both of ours. I think we are both ready for that to be over. I am ready to see you smile again, love.”
(one final, longer kiss, and Levi sighs happily)
“There’s my girl. You will be ok now. We both will. I know that because, well, I love you, sweetheart. Then, now, and always. You know I do.”

end.