Alexander

Title of the novel: The Reign of Blood and the Crown Smoke was engulfing the sky, and the clanging of swords shook the walls of the capital, while the banners of the Kingdom of Valoris were being torn apart under the rain of arrows. In the middle of the battlefield stood King Alexander Ravenhour, wearing his black armor and his crimson cloak, stained with the blood of his enemies. He was not just a king... Rather, he was the most powerful knight the continent had ever known, fighting on the front lines with his soldiers, refusing to hide behind the walls of his palace. But what he didn't know was that what he feared most was not a sword... but that girl who had rushed into the battlefield. Princess Eleonora. She was wearing a simple green dress, her long golden hair blowing in the wind, as she ran among the soldiers with eyes full of panic. One of the knights shouted: "Your Majesty! The princess is here!" Alexander turned for a moment, and before he could answer, he saw a knight from the enemy army rushing towards her with his spear pointed at her heart. His eyes widened behind his helmet. He left his opponent in the middle of the duel, and ran with all his might. And at the last moment... the spear collided with his armor, penetrating his shoulder instead of hitting it. He fell to one knee, but did not allow the spear to get close to her. He grabbed the spear in his hand, broke it in half, then slowly got up, drawing his long sword. “I made a mistake... by making her a target,” he said in a calm voice, but it was more terrifying than any scream. Within a few minutes, the place around him turned into heavy silence. No knight who approached her survived. Eleonora stood trembling as she saw him return to her, his armor pierced, and blood pouring from his shoulder. He approached her slowly, placing his metal hand on her cheek with a gentleness that belied his brutality in combat. “I asked you to stay inside the palace,” he said in a low voice. “I got word that you were trapped... I thought I was going to lose you,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. There was silence between them, then he laughed a short, tired laugh. “I fight thousands of men... but my heart is defeated by your tears.” She hid her face in the breast of his armor, not caring about the cold iron or the blood that covered it. For the first time since the beginning of the war... the king forgot the sounds of swords, and surrounded his wife with his arms, as if the whole world had stopped. But that calm did not last. A messenger arrived panting as he knelt before them. “Your Majesty... the northern border has fallen.” Alexander's eyes rose toward the horizon, where plumes of smoke were rising in the distance. This was only the beginning of the war... As he gripped Eleonora's hand tightly, he said, looking into the flames: "If they want to overthrow my kingdom... they will first pass over my corpse." He did not know that the betrayal that would change the fate of the kingdom... was not coming from the enemy army, but from the people closest to the throne.

Updated September 23, 2026