Of Jesters and Kings

Part 5- A King's Dream

The Jester tumbled through the air, the air whipped past his face. He should have thought about the drop down, toward the world below before he jumped. But, the feeling of the fall was a little off. At first he plummeted then it felt as if he were floating down toward the ground below as he drew closer. 

It looked surprisingly familiar. The land below looked alot like Astrophel. Except it was all in black and white. 

The Jester gently landed on both feet, as if some giant magical hand had carefully placed him on the ground below. Although, once his feet touched this foreign soil, all the green lights illuminating the city changed color. They were all shining gray now. Honestly the Jester had no idea how something could create a gray light, but that was the only way he could describe the color of the glow. 

He was standing in the middle of a deserted square. 

"Helllooo?" he called out.

No response. 

The Horse Prince took a minute to observe his surroundings. 

"Wait what....?" The Horse Jester Prince looked up. He expected to see the cavern roof and the crack he had fallen through. But, there was just sky. A gray cloudy sky. He was confused. The young man looked around a couple times before going down one of the empty streets. 

It seemed so familiar.

There! Wasn't that the Lab?

Lukas was an old alchemist who had worked near the town square. For some odd reason, there was a building that looked exactly like his workplace in this part of city. The young man started to walk over, his breath quickened. His foot steps created a faint echo through the empty streets. 

***

Kevin let out a sigh. He was way to full. The Mulrich was so good that he couldn't stop eating. Who knew when they would spot one again in Angel's Cup? He slowly stumbled out of his chair and walked toward his chambers. Time to nap. Kevin smiled lazily to himself as plopped down on the silk bed sheets.

The ruler slowly drifted off to sleep.

Kevin had the strangest dream. In the dream he seemed to be viewing kingdom that resembled Astrophel, but it seemed....darker. 

The Kings's Dream-

The Horse Prince Jester sat in the upper courtyard of the palace overlooking the gardens down below. The view was nice, soft clouds rolled by and a nice warm breeze brushed the leaves of several trees. Some fiery Maples and broad Oaks were planted near the entrance and exits of the courtyard to provide natural shade when entering. The Prince of Horses placed his colorful four-coned hat down on the marble bench, bells tinkling as it landed. The patch of green the palace was set on faded into black and shades of grey the further the land was from the castle. Dark clouds of smog that smelled of industry and steel billowed through the smoke stacks of many of the factories surrounding the countryside.

The Jester's clothes were a sharp contrast to the landscape outside. Dead grass and weeds were strewn across the kingdom, vast patches of dead trees, and piles of corpses rotting and covered with unidentified filth. Walking back inside the Jester Prince quickly snatched his cap of the bench and plopped it on his head. Swiftly he descended the stairs down to the commons where he hoped to find the king to address the troubles in the land. Instead he was met with loaded guns. A large battalion of horseback rifle men were in formation right outside the main gate. The captain of the guard was perched on a large white draft horse and outfitted with a flamboyant combat dress, full with feathers and medals. How the hell is he going to fight in that?

"Sir!... Excuse Me Sir!!" the young man called out, waving his small colorful jester staff at the captain.

"Could you please tell me what in God's name is going on here?"

"Ah! My good sir, We under the King's Order have been given a pardon a while ago to.. "relieve" the kingdom of it's impurities."

"Impurities? What the fuck that?"

"The Slums of course! I'm taking the lads down to clean up alittle. The last run was a massive success wasn't it?" The captain laughed and threw a sack toward the Jester, who caught it with an exasperated "Umpfh".

It smelled of meat and iron and as he opened it his eyes widened and the Jester felt a small torrent of vomit working it's way up his throat. The bag contained the chopped up pieces of various body parts. They were stacked upon a gooey mess of organs and blood like sludge crawling with insect larvae. A hand was at the top of the pile, fingers mauled and broken with bits of bone piercing the yellow decomposing skin.

"Wait...w-what?" The Jester slowly brought the bag up to the Captain's field of view.

The captain slowly grinned, a full smile of brilliant white teeth. "Why don't you join us royal fool? It's good sport." He grabbed the Jester and threw him onto a largish mule that brayed and bucked when he landed on it. As the battalion rode through the grey gates, the Jester was hit with a blast of foul smelling air. He gasped as he looked around. The dead trees surrounding the castle seemed to have been decorated. Each branch displayed a severed human head. The ground soggy with blood. The Horse Prince Jester slowly turned and looked at the Captain, to see he was watching him with large smile.

"Great sport..." The captain said slowly, a gust of wind howled through the air whipping the Jester's hat off. The Jester couldn't break the Captain's gaze. He had never actually taken the time actually look him face to face. Was he just imagining the solid black eyes?

A trickle of blood dribbled through the Jester's lips. He closed his eyes and gripped his staff tightly. Waiting for the battalion to pass he slowly followed behind with his mule. The sky darkened and everything was tinted with a hue of grayish red.

The King woke up gasping. 

***

The Jester peered through the shop window. His heart skipped a beat. There was the alchemist, working at his table. He worked mechanically, it seemed, and occasionally there was a small twitch of his head. 

There was something very wrong. 

You see...

The Alchemist had been missing for several years. 

Signing off, Gin