"so, you are the one that called for parley?"?" the asshole they called the king asked standing in the middle of his war council. I ignored him, not even bothered to memorize his face or counted the wrinkles he had on his face to recognize him with later. He smelt of nothing but ass. I didn't need anything else.
I took in the faces of the councilmen. The noblemen of Arga. But they weren't those that I knew. Only Raoul was the one I recognized from the former regime's council. All these were new.
all these were partly the cowardly soldiers and a few noblemen I've seen during the hunt of the dragon. the men who once tried to kill me after the princess' hand was promised to me.
I took in their faces once more and vowed to get back at them before the sunset today and told myself I was going to enjoy it.
"The king is talking to you!" the guard responsible for my secure imprisonment barked at me and threatened to hit me with the hilt of his ax.
I almost scoffed at it as I slowly turned to face him. Deep within my heart I dared him to hit me. To even try. Please, please touch me.
" What king?" I asked without removing my cold bluffing face. Or even changed it expression. His associate, the one on the left, hit me with his shield as if pushing me towards the… king. I almost plummeted forth.
third rule of Parley, dishonored. Parley, revoked.
guess the guard is not all bark no bite. Guess he'll be the first to kill once this play is over. i thought as i felt the blunt pain.
"I like your balls, what's your name?" someone asked me. The old guy with a huge mole on his eye that made him seem as though he had two pupils in his left eye.
i closed my eyes and took a deep breath. What was my plan again?
"What's your name?" i remembered the pain my father put me through. That was the phrase I heard every time I was tormented. that was his favorite phrase. "what's my name?"
"what's your name?" the ogre torturing me asked in his Ogre-an grunts. Thought these motherfuckers were supposed to have less tongue than humans and centaurs. Thought they didn't talk as much as they did. I remember thinking.
"What's your name?" my father repeated once again from a safe distance and shelter of huge carven at the root of the tree a few feet from where the ogre prepared to roast me. Literally.
"I hope to remember your name and the fight you've given, now what is your name?" the ogre asked again while seasoning me. I couldn't understand his logic at all. Roasting a fully clothed human over the fire. how did he think i was gonna taste? I wasn't wearing straw or grass for fuck's sake. I wasn't even wearing leather or any metal. i was wearing my own hand made armor. fleshy Aloe, Argothian spiderwebs strong enough to hold the weight of a man, with basmil wood and resin for glue, sandwiched between giant Papai leaves. They were nasty, to taste, but medicinal and functional as armor, so i didn't have to take it off. i just had to pour water on me and reap the benefits.
"you don't need my name." I coldly responded as i took a peek at the king. "what you need to know is that i called parley. And by the rule of parley and the law of Arga and of the guardians that protect this land, i am entitled to it, not this bitch party of an excuse thrown on my face. Where is the law of this land?"
the men i insulted kept quiet but i could tell they were burning inside. aching to have me for the crows.
"I am the law of this land. I am the king…" he really thought he was the king. I thought as he ranted on about how uncultivated I was. How unruly I was to not take him as the king of this land.
"You are not the king of this land!" I told him as I confidently raised my head and looked above him. "Arga does not have a king, it has a queen! And you are nothing but a thief…!"
"I am a king!"
"…who stole the throne!"
"Guards! Make him bow!" he told the guards and I looked at them. The arm braces were growing exponentially hot as I prayed for the handcuffs to be broken so I could snap their necks off.
"Like you did to the Queen?" I asked him, stealing the attention of the council. Raoul frowned and looked at the king.
"My queen…"
"I don't mean your Harlot, who slept with the king to get you a place in the palace!" He drew his sword as the men forced me to the ground. He raised it and I felt my heart race. My sword! He had it.
"you…"
the guards pushed the heavy wooden cuffs down as they tripped me. Manhandled, I allowed myself to fall straight down with my front rather than bend my knees and bow as he wanted, though it hurt my neck.
"Like I thought, you stole my sword!"
I felt something press upon my neck and cover it. But staring at the thief and my drawn sword, I knew it wasn't the blade that was about to cut my head off.
"Wait!" the double pupil old crone stopped the asshole with my sword from offing with my head. "I want to know what he meant by the queen. Who did he mean?"
"Commodore Rankin." The blonde guy with batty ears growled out the old crone's name.
"Did you just dare to question my decision?" The thief asked, turning to face Commodore Rankin.
"I just wanna know what he meant." He looked down at me. what did you mean?"
"you don't need to know." I growled at him.
"Young man, what did you mean?" he asked once more, and I ignored him. Looks like everybody was just in the dark about Ariana and the little girls the hunters are paid to go after under the guise of them being witches.
I looked at the thief who stole my sword as he angrily looked at the commodore.
"what has the kingdom got to?" he growled, his face, darker than before. "The king is made fun of! And the guards and the noble just watch!"
he pointed at the commodore as more guards ran into the room. "Take his head off!"
"Ahh! so you show your colors, quick question, are you sure you want to do that?" the commodore asked, showing no hint whatsoever, of fear.
The guards approached him with drawn weapons.
"Bring me his head." He ordered the guards and turned to the rest of council. "let him be an example, if anyone questions my authority, or broods any sign of disloyalty, I will cut off his head and hang it on the square."
"Well then, I guess we are done then." The commodore folded his hands and smiled.
I think I like this guy.
The guards who jumped in at him froze as his left eye gleamed. "goodbye then." He bowed and vanished. The guards unfroze and fell to the ground.
"incompetent!" the thief growled and shot the seven guards with my throwing knives. I saw the arm brace I lost months ago under his robe before he covered it up like it was nothing with his ling robe.
Now he was being pissy!
Wonder where the rest of my staff is. Under his robe?
"throw the trash out." He told the remaining guards and looked at me. he snarled and took a deep breath. "keep this one in chains, and throw him back into the jail, tomorrow, execute him."
He walked out of the room. The quiet room went into a silent uproar. The council men, including Raoul all seemed to be in disbelieve of what just happened.
The king had just murdered his guards in the middle of a parley meeting and threatened a person under the protection of parley.
They complained about the traditions being broken and the guardians being pissed. But the king wasn't rattled by any of it.
"so shall it be then." I said as the guards helped me up. Or rather forced me up. Let them kill me then. They'll see.
The guards dragged me back to the cell. I didn't put up a fight or anything. I just… allowed myself to be thrown around. And tossed, like a sack of potatoes into the cell.
Looks like I underestimated everything.
The king was… I smiled at the thought. He wasn't at the very least, as cunning as I thought he would be. He was worse. He was also cold. But I was cold too.
This would be fun.
He was going to be fun.
I never thought I would see anyone as he was. Fearless. That's what he was. Ballsy enough to kill the king and put a bounty on the rightful heir to the throne but still pretend to be the innocent frail guy.
Ballsy enough to toss the code of the guardians and their laws aside and tell it to fuck off. Bad ass ballsy, stupid and dumb, but ballsy.
I love it. But I'm glad he took his mask off and show he is to be feared, I'm not really good at mind games.
I laughed as I stared at the bars and wall beyond.
Guess I finally found my own monster.