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The King laughs.
It is a startling sound to those who had at most heard a mirthful chuckle as his greatest expression of humor, but now he laughs, so long and hard that he must take breaths. Inhaled through a closed smile, in a sound that could be mistaken for pain to those who don’t know better. And no one in this room knows better.
“All of you to the basement.” She snaps to attention, giving the orders. “Ellios enter first, Edan walks behind me, Steam and Jayce follow last and stand at the foot of the stairs. Go.”
Perhaps with some confusion, the stairs are descended. King takes each one in stride. The red under her feet, the elevation, maybe if she were sentimental she could be somewhere else right now. But he’s given up on such frivolities. He knows where he is, and the next step in front of her.
It’s better down here. There is less room for intrusion. Only one entrance, one exit.
The King turns to face his people, all standing in a circular formation as they often do, and addresses them. Or, one of them, as her head turns.
“Ellios,” she says with the cadence of curiosity, “I have some questions for you.”
Ellios looks at her with some confusion, but nods.
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Where did you last set your spawn?”
The question is answered by concerned looks shared by Jayce and Steam, a furrowed brow from Edan.
“I- Why do you want to know?” Ellios’ unease is clear in his voice, and how they lean just slightly further from King.
“Don’t overthink it, just answer.” The King says, folding his hands behind his back.
They hesitate, but comply. “Here, probably. In the beds.” He gestures toward the wall where the pair of bunk beds and single bed sit.
“Good. That was easy, then. Next question, and hopefully this will be more pleasant to answer.” The King seems slowly, subtly to be losing patience. Each question feels less like a request and more like a command.
“Are you aware that you matter very much to people?” He says, with a twinge of both amusement and bitterness.
Ellios appears almost embarrassed, perhaps there’s some fear there, some guilt. Something of regret. It’s familiar.
“I know.”
“My lord- if you’ll forgive the interjection,” Steam stepped forward, “but could you tell us what this is about?”
“Quiet, Viceroy. Do as I tell you.” The King turns to face her, expression a perfect picture of cold command. He lets it settle back to something kinder. “Have some faith in your king.”
Steam frowns, but steps back. Next to her, Jayce narrows their eyes, expressing some of that unspoken distrust for them both.
The King turns back to Ellios, who seemed to have stood taller after his brief respite from her withering gaze. Her eyes don’t meet theirs again just yet, as The King pulls a communicator from his pocket.
“I have just one more question for you, my Ward,” He says, typing a message into the chat.
gecck: hey mikey
“What is it?” Ellios asks in turn, unsure.
crikeymikey123: whatever do you request m’lord?
gecck: just making sure you’re paying attention
Seemingly satisfied, The King pockets the communicator and looks at Ellios again.
“Do you trust me when I say that no matter what happens, you will be alright?”
“What? I- don’t know if that’s true, you’ve seen-“
“Do you trust me then?”
Ellios hesitates. But he nods.
That was all the confirmation King needed to unsheathe his sword in one hand and grab Ellios' shoulder with her other to pull him forward, onto the blade, as it’s thrust into his chest.
He crumples, and is laid gently to the floor.
The aftermath of that swift few seconds is loud and chaotic. Steam is loudest, asking panickedly what he had just done,
Edan takes a step back, hand on the hilt of her sword. Seemed she had been prepared for action, as usual, if not too late.
Jayce is quiet, but it’s hard to miss that stunned expression, and how they grip the handle of their shield.
The King just lets them wonder. He closes his eyes, trying to bottle that lightning, the fading effects of the curse. Oh, how she would have liked to hold onto it for some time longer, but this opportunity, it was too good.
It was strategic. It was spiteful. It was proving a point.
Ellios would be red when he returned. It was horrible, risky, even among curse bearers, they retained enough humanity not to kill yellows until necessary.
But most yellows didn’t have someone willing to die for them.
crikeymikey123: what did you just do
It wasn’t killing Ellios. It was killing Mikey.
And if it didn’t give a life to vir’s poor, murdered, husband, what did that leave? It left King, ready to give that life instead.
King opened her eyes. She could see Ellios, sitting up again in the bed, while Steam and Edan quickly gathered what he’d dropped to give back. He looked at her, and she could recognize it. Hurt. Betrayal. Sadness.
She looked away, back to the communicator.
gecck: it doesn’t matter. what will you do?