Within minutes, Crypto returned to collect me, ushering the females away. As they walked out the door, one of them threw me a long stare, a silent request for their freedom, should it ever come to it. I nodded and smiled with gratitude, aware that I would not see them again.
To my surprise, Cryptodid not add iron shackles to my ankles and allowed me to have a dignified walk towards the dining room.
A different corridor opened before me, conveying the same decorations as before, the ruby-marked walls and black wax chandeliers that illuminated all the pathways on this side of the building.
The more I walked, the more impressed I became with the firelings' way of life, they had truly created a beautiful place to exist in, even with the lack of basic materials. All my life I was taught to see them as enemies, but being here, in this place that they called home, made me understand their curse.
The dining hall that we stepped in felt similar to the throne room. Instead of the dais hosting the two thrones, large tables were situated along the room, gathering all the court to feast together. Above them all, onto a set of stairs, a smaller table accommodated the king and queen, with a few empty seats on each side, for special guests.
The third commander rushed me through the grand hall, amongst the seats at the long tables, and through the entire length of the room, until we reached the royal table where Marreth already sat next to the queen.
Crypto forced me in the only seat opposite them, facing everyone and keeping my back towards the court before he occupied the chair at the right of the king.
All gazes turned towards me, expectant.
I returned the gesture, scanning each and every one of their faces in turn. I observed the King’s crown and forehead wrinkles, the Queen’s intricate hairstyle and new jewellery, Marreth’s long dark locks that appeared brushed for once, and Crypto’s short brown hair that still preserved some grains of dirt.
“My friend is missing, should we wait?” I directed the question to my walker for the day, knowing it will irritate the third commander out of his skin.
“Serpium has plans for you, prince,” the King took the reins of the conversation, understanding I would not be the one to cooperate or follow whatever intention they had for me.
“He has delighted me with many of his ideas during this time, King Drahden,” I replied nonchalantly. “How long have you been king for?” I asked and grabbed a bun from the table, without invitation and raised it towards my mouth.
To their surprise, I took a big bite out of it although my teeth barely broke the shell, struggling to interact with solid food after such a long time. Apart from the times when Marreth made sure I was fed, which did not come very often, the most I’d eaten in the past months had been a disgusting oat broth that tasted like slug vomit.
I would not succumb to this; I would not sell the remainder of my energy out of cowardice. I did not know much about these rulers, only heard about their merciless ways but had never seen them in the flesh. Still, they were the ones who directed the wars I had been trapped in, the ones where Vikram nearly lost his life and father lost a brother, where my grandfather could barely protect his own kin and had to form an alliance with Water to get his people out of the battlefield and where many others, thousand others had perished.
Now they dared treat me with respect for a few hours, as though the long time of torture could be erased with a warm bath and a loaf of bread, expecting me to betray my kingdom for a few days of comfort. If that.
“I have ruled the Fire Kingdom,boy, for the past three hundred and twenty-six years,” the king spat, throwing my lack of manners a disgusting look.
“Hmm,” I nodded and continued to chew on the piece of bread. My stomach immediately rejected the first swallow and struggled to send the food back, but I forced myself to keep it in. After all, I had a part to play.
It seemed interesting to me that they had chosen my execution to be clean and even put on a show for their court, portraying them to be kind and forgiving, and I, the disruptive one who would not give a short answer for peace.The Tear of the Goddess. How did they even know about it? How did they even know our customs? Fortunately, they didn’t know them that well...
I sensed my answer displeased the king because he tried to remain silent and continue with whatever plan they had for me, but my impertinence annoyed the royal so much he had to stop and demand an explanation.
“What do you mean by‘hmm’, prince?” he demanded and I had to keep my smile in. It was working.
“Oh, nothing,” I waved him off — as much as the iron chains still on my wrists allowed me to — and found some kind of brown sauce to dip my bread into, then continued chewing silently.
No one dared speak while the king slowly boiled with rage.
“I insist that you speak your mind,” he murmured through his teeth, anger conquering more territory on his figure with each passing second.
That is when I let my smile show, straightened my back, and put the remaining piece of unchewed bread back, adopting the most royal posture I could find.
“You are not very experienced as a so-called ruler,” I said, raising my shoulder as if it was just a minor thing. “That is all,” I smiled again, like an amenable and reassuring guest who did not mean to imply anything by such a comment.
“Is three hundred years not enough experience for you,my prince?” His displeasure resounded across the hall, making all the glass clinking and chattering halt abruptly.
I raised both my arms and pointed across my shoulder, like I was trying to show him the perfect example of my meaning.
“An experienced ruler never counts years, but decades, or in your case, centuries. The way you are doing it makes it look like an achievement, rather than a birth right. Like you are so proud that you survived this long and wilted on the throne.”
Marreth choked on his wine at my phrase and Crypto rose to his feet, ready to execute me then and there. They were both stopped by a hand gesture of Drahden.
“What else?” he demanded and I knew I had him caught by the royal balls. Chances were, the more I irritated the king, the quicker he would order me dead, and with it, lose what they wanted most, so I gave the king exactly what he asked for.
