Excerpt from King of the Dead (Most critical scene between Raiden and Luna) · 11:01am Feb 22nd, 2016
As I walk into the room, I see Luna with an elegant, light scarf, painted all shades of purple. The moon’s phases are depicted on it in black, from waning up to a full moon.
Celestia wears a shawl around her neck of a light rainbow, matching her equally radiant hair.
Princess Cadence wears a similar sized shawl but white, with yellow trimming.
I embarrassingly look down at my attire. A formal vest with a plain shirt underneath, my overcoat shimmers due to a light reflective layer and my pants were a fine, sleek wool. All black. It was all I had and all I was ever given. I wore it to funerals as well. It was this outfit, armor, and a basic shirt and pants was my selection and made up half of all my earthly possessions. I briefly considered asking Luna to go on a small shopping rampage with me after dinner, but realized that they probably had nothing for my...species.
I sit down uncomfortably to the left of the same “King” that has tormented me more than my enemies. Luna picks up on my anxiety and glances at me. My attention is locked onto my plate of food, and there it will stay until this nightmare is over.
Celestia and Cadence look over at me for a brief second then back to the King, the monster, the tormenter.
Celestia clears her throat “Well, King Hurrand, I’m glad you could join us this evening.”
Hurrand chuckles “Well of course, thank you for inviting us. We were just discussing how getting out of our dreary castle would do us some good.” He motions to the Mnisiter with his shoulder. The Minister smiles and nodes and thanks Celestia for the dinner. He’s unenthuiastic and it shows. I swallow, and do my best to eat slowly, even though my hands instinctively want nothing more to shovel food in my mouth so I have an excuse not to speak.
Celestia glances at me again, and then looks back to the King once more.
Celestia “I just wanted to thank you for sending Raiden here to assist with our current skirmish with the Og Nag. I honestly don’t know what we would have done without him.”
Luna and Cadence both nod and smile in agreement. They look over to see if their compliments move me, but I refuse to make eye contact with anything besides my meal. I appreciated their praise, even if it was slightly exaggerated just for me. They often try to bring me out of my shell with compliments, but this was going to get bad, and I’d prfer just to get it over with. I freeze my icy exterior in an attempt to protect myself from what is to come.
Luna speaks up “Yes, thanks to his brilliant tactics, we still have our home. He is welcome here any time.” My hands shake. I know what’s coming. The same thing during every dinner with the vile sociopath who dares sit on the throne of my country.
The King scoffes. “Brilliant? You’re telling me THIS buffoon carried out a proper defense all by himself?” He exaggerates his condescending laugh, almost souning like a donkey having a painful bowel movement and his rider joins him. Celestia and Cadence both recoil a bit in shock at the King’s blatant insult towards me. Luna casts aside normal expectations with a sharp glare. It warms me a bit, but I must remain cold to survive the winter.
Luna “I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you mean, but Raiden was the only reason we’re even still here. We had a war dropped on our lap with no official army or strategy to adapt to it. And with our normal team lead by Twilight Sparkle away, we had no clear hope of what to do.”
My stomach flips inside me. I know what he’s going to say. I know the story he’s going to tell. It never hurts any less. I had just started to believe I had purpose again. I actually let my guard down, just to have my walls rebuilt anew.
King Hurrand stares for a second then snorts loudly and bangs his fist on the table as his unnecessarily deafening laugh echoes around the room, closely followed by his owner’s high pitched squeals as well. Hurrand does a poor job of pretending to compose himself, before clearing his throat and beginning the same tale I had hoped would be lost from this land forever.
Hurrand “This idiot was leading a counterattack from our city and ended up losing almost all his troops in one attack!” Hurrand chuckles. “What was it again Raiden? Nine-hundred dead?”
I take a sip from my cup, still keeping my eyes to the table. “One thousand, two hundred and thirty-eight.”Hurrand scoffes, “How do you always keep track of that number?”
Me “Because I went to every funeral and gave a speech. We didn’t have time to bury them so we did mass funerals for groups of one hundred. I still went to each one.”
Hurrand ponders outloud. “Odd, I don’t remember the funerals.”
Me “You insisted on sailing to the North with your family as a mini-vacation before they attacked again.”
Hurrand “Oh yes, that’s right. Quite stressful being a King during a war. I apologize that I always ask, what went wrong with your silly plan again?”
My blood begins to boil. My frozen exterior begins to give way under the heat, just like it always does. “They had stormed the city in one final massive wave. We were still recovering from their last siege as it were. Our only hope was to take our last 2500 soldiers, and ambush them from all sides, evening the odds, since they had easily six times our numbers. Right as we were about to ambush them, you gave the order for HALF my men to fall back and protect your vault. Upon leaving, they were spotted and the enemy took another path instead of our intended one. To stop our soldiers from getting trampled from behind, I moved everyone I had to block their path, revealing their hidden positions, so our losses wouldn’t be an entire 2500, but we still lost everyone who stood in their way but a handful. We laid down our lives so our brothers and sisters could live.”
The princesses mouth’s hang open.
Hurrand scoffes “Oh come now, you can’t run a kingdom without gold can you?”
I sigh “You can’t run a kingdom without soldiers or loyalty either.”
Hurrand laughs loudly “Right, but you can always just buy more soldiers.”
Anger begins to take over.
The King senses my rage and continues his attack.
He laughs “We called him the Sot Suker after that. In our realm, it refers to those born with certain…intellectual disabilities, who’s only purpose is to shovel the excrements of those higher up, like ourselves.”
The Minister squeals with laughter. “Yes yes, we also took his black crown and dyed it brown as a reminder too!”
They both share in a roaring hysteria of laughter along with sliding around on their seats.
I start trembling. My skin is on fire with the fury and pain he so kindly brought back. I glance at the knife next to me and contemplate putting an end to his tyranny. I look up for a brief second and see the horrified looks of my newly acquired friends.
All I can hear is the screams of my men, fighting and dying, and calling out for orders. I had none. My last ditch effort, ruined by greed, and we were left for slaughter.
Hurrand “Afterwards, we got flooded with letters from all the land. Mothers, fathers, siblings, all sorts wanting to know what had happened to their loved ones.”
My boiling blood turns back to ice.
My rage becomes a lifeless tundra.
My pride turned to ash.
The letters, oh God the letters.
The Minister decides he’ll enjoy taking a few jabs at me as well.
“We made sure he read EVERY message and replied to them. Those families deserved to know what had happened.”
Hurrand “Yes well, I feel every one of our citizens deserves justice.”
Celestia stutters. She wants to say something, but she’s caught offguard. It’s just as well. I’d rather him get it out of his system so this dinner can be over with. The King and Minister knew that disapproval from their subjects could easily be met with a quick demise, so they used me as a scapegoat. They placed all the blame on me. Every last bit. Only the soldiers under my direct command knew the truth, and they’d be swiftly executed for speaking it.
I remembered the look of my black crown. It was only for formal purposes, but it was the first gift I had received not meant for combat. The crown was a massive symbol of pride for me, and the only reason the king tolerated my protest, was under the condition he would dye it brown. In the middle was an orange gem, symbolising the fire within me. It wasn’t the most original idea ever, but it meant everything to me. While the crown was more of a solid, custom-fitted headband, it was still a gift. The entire crown was chiseled to look like the silhouette of a black forest, with trees in the middle holding the gem, that had now been covered up with brown paint. Every so often, when the king was asleep, I’d scrap off the brown paint and stare at the gem, only to cover it back up before the sun rose. I haven’t done it in months.
I crawled back inside myself. Those soldiers were dead because of me. They had stored their hopes and lives inside someone who would inevitably crumble. I had apologized in every letter, taken the full blame in every sentence. Each letter telling me who had died, their name, favorite color, memories, and the pain they now felt at the loss of their loved one. Each letter felt as if I had helplessly watched the soldier die. In a strange way, I got to know every warrior that died under my command that day, more than I ever would have after a thousand battles along side them.
Hurrand “That’s why we call him the King of the Dead, given the bulk of his forces are now lying in wooden boxes under the earth.” he chuckles, and his eyes reflect admiration of his self-proclaimed witty nickname for me.
Luna looks down at her plate horrified. She had called me the King of the Dead a few times, thinking it was a compliment. I wasn’t mad at her, I don’t think I ever could be. I wanted to reach out and stroke her head, and tell her it was ok, but I can’t bring myself to even lift my head. I watch the entire circus with the corner of my eye.
The next few minutes are consumed by nothing more than tension, and the awkward sounds of eating. I was trusting dinner would be finished soon, and this wreck would be washed out to sea. I was wrong.
Hurrand “Oh! Funny story! Did Raiden ever tell you how he became a captain?”
I was done.
I got up. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be back in a moment.” I bowed to the table, walked to the end of the room on my left, went right down a corridor, then left up the stairs that exited to a balcony.
I couldn’t hold it anymore. Silent tears made their way down my face. The disgrace, the turmoil, all of it pounded on the door, an uninvited guest who won’t leave without at least getting tea. I gazed at the moon, wishing I could live there for a moment, maybe even forever. I was used to stifling the sound of my crying back in the old castle, until I made no sound at all. Tears from the past had been the majority of my company during numerous empty nights.
I gently leaned against the balcony, and peered at the lands far beyond. The full moon washed over everything. A gentle breeze brushes the back of my head. I hear the door behind me open and close, followed by that familiar vanilla perfume.
I sigh and hang my head. She slowly walks up to me.
“Can I join you?” she asks, in that gentle soothing voice.
I say nothing. How could I? My entire past was laid bear for all to hear. I had been humiliated to the highest degree. I wanted nothing more than to vanish. And yet, her presence comforts me. I longed to tell her how I felt, but what could a Princess want with the King of the Dead.
After waiting for a reply, she appears at my side, not staring this time, but just being there. We say nothing. While only seconds pass, it feels like hours, as every part of me aches for her to know how I feel. She gets on her hind legs and lifts her front hooves onto the banister of the balcony. We stand there, enjoying eachothers company. It was just a well, I had nothing to say anymore.Then suddenly, the tension is lifted by the smallest of gestures. I feel her gently whip my lower back with her tail. I do nothing. She waits for a reaction. When she doesn’t get one, she hits me just a bit harder. She looks at my face as the corner of my mouth twitches, trying to hold back a smile. I hear her exhale a bit as she muffles a giggle, then she repeatedly hits me over and over as fast as she can. After several of these, I can’t help it. I step behind her and tickle her sides. She jokingly tells me to stop in that wonderful, playful tone of hers. I stop and go back to standing, more relaxed now. The tiny bit of silence is broken by our mutual chuckles.
I look down at my hands, as I rub them anxiously.
“Thank you” I say, barely above a whisper.
I peek at her briefly.She smiles at me. She tilts her head to the left just a tiny bit. The gentle glow of the moon illuminates that elegant hair of hers, a breathtaking mixture of blue and purple. Her magnificent teal eyes pull me in; embrassing me, almost promising peace and happiness. I can’t help it, I stare right back. Once again, words fade from necessity, as I’m captivated by that alluring stare. The winter that had been my soul melted away. I forgot about the dinner. I forgot about everything. There was only one thing I wanted, and that was this moment with her.
I can’t keep it in anymore. I start babbling“That man in there, he used my honor, my pride. I was nothing more than a napkin for his appetite of approval and popularity. He alone is responsible for killing every last one of my men. My soldiers were my family. I would have died for them. But they died for him instead, for coin, for gold. And when it was time to pay respects to those who had been silenced forever, he takes his family and goes on a pleasure cruise. I have been dishonored, abused, neglected...forgotten. They call me the King of the Dead. A novelty of a name, that is a thousand daggers every time I hear it uttered.”
She shows sympathy in her eyes.
“He stole it all from me!” tears begin forming in my eyes. I start stuttering. I can no longer produce words. I can’t hold the pain anymore. I fall to my knees sobbing. She puts her left hoof between my legs so she can lean over and place her head on my shoulder. She wraps her wing around me, and soothingly strokes my back with her right leg.
The tears stop immediately. I let myself enjoy the moment, for once in my life. She takes her head off my shoulder, closes her eyes, and presses her cheek against mine. She takes her right hoof and pulls my head against hers.
“It’s ok to cry.” she whispers in my ear. My eyes run again. I bury my head into her shoulder. I lay my fingers in her mane. She pulls me in tighter. I had never let myself be exposed and vulnerable before, but she just had a way of not letting me hide it.
I let myself drift off. It’s just us now. No war, no misery, just her and me.
“Every time I look at that moon, I just want to live there for the next 1000 years.” I mutter.
She chuckles. I sniffle and clear my throat, “What?”
She sighs amusedly, “Just a story. I’ll tell you another time.”
I feel her smile. I lift my head from her shoulder and look her in the eyes once more.
I had no idea how she felt. I had no idea how I would ever explain to her how astonishing she was to me. Once again she had pulled me out of a river of my own tears, and dried me off.
She narrows her eyes while smiling.
“I don’t know what we would have done without you. I look over our kingdom every day, grateful that you came when you did. You saved my home, my friends, my family. Everything I’ve ever known is now safe because of you.”
I’m speechless. She had said the words I had longed to hear. I was appreciated. My existence now meant something. I can’t help but stand there, locked in her gaze. A single tear makes its way down my cheek. I don’t bother wiping it away. Just once I wanted her to see the real me. No lies, no excuses, no insecurities. She knows what she’s just said to me. She knows how much it meant. She nuzzles the tear off my face. It takes all my willpower not to embrace her again. Her warm breath on my face makes me tremble; it smells like honey and sugar. I was grateful we said nothing, for I had absolutely no clue how to respond.. Those gorgeous teal eyes embrace me again. We go back to staring. Was she just being nice, or was this real? Do I go with my heart, or do I accept this as nothing more than an act of charity?
We both nervously swallow. I timidly run my right hand up her neck and stop right before her cheek. She twitches for just a second and lets out a tiny gasp, but doesn’t move, doesn’t look away, and most importantly, she doesn’t pull from me. She glances at my mouth then back to my eyes. I reach out with my right thumb and start stroking her cheek. She looks down at my mouth for a bit longer this time, glances at my eyes, and starts to close them as she leans closer.
Our moment was cut short by the loud shouting coming from the dining hall.
Luna and I quickly ran back inside and down the steps to where we found the 40 foot dining table, turned over and against the wall.
Celestia was standing fiercely, yelling at Hurrand. He sits there cowering with his master, intimidated by the very wrath he most likely brought on himself.
She screams at him. “How dare you say such words in my halls! We owe that man our very lives and I will not sit here as you mock him so! I do not care what he has done! You are nothing but a self-centered greedy oaf, and I want you out of my castle now!”
He swallows nervously, as his owner clings to his arm in terror. A sly smirk crosses over my face. He turns to the Minister “Just as well, it is getting late.” They both get up, turn and walk to the door. I follow them out, but not before turning around, and bowing to princess Celestia. “My lady.” Is all I let out. She restrains her angry glare just long enough to nod her head at me. I give Luna one quick glance, she returns my look. A subtle, gentle smile crosses my face. She returns the gesture. For the first time in years, someone had stood up for me, not even I had done so. As we walk to the door, I hear the gentle sound of hooves behind me. I stop and turn around. Luna stands there.
She looks at me for a moment, then her scarf slowly unravels from her neck, soothingly floats through the air, and ties itself around me, caressing my beard. I can’t help it, I smile, narrow my eyes and tilt my head to the left the same way she always does. She quietly snorts, gives me a huge smile, and tilts her head down in slight embarrassment without breaking eye contact. I keep my gaze locked on hers as I turn around. We walk down the steps from the castle. And to my joy, the light scarf faintly glows purple in the moonlight. I hold it to my nose and take a gentle whiff; it smells like honey and vanilla.
Xerpt My ass this is almost a chapter. But it's still great. :)
3887819 Touche sir!