Scarlet Queen

Chapter 4

My tunic pulls uncomfortably around my neck. "Father, how much longer will we have to stand here?" I don't care if I sound like I'm whining. The sun beats down on the village square, and I know that I'm not the only one grumbling.

"Not much longer. This speech should be finished up within a minute, then we're up!" He flashes a smile that does nothing to make me feel better. "The villagers should be thrilled to see us on that stage!"

I want to scream that this is all pointless, but I obviously can't. So I do a trick that I learned a long time ago- I push my emotions down into a ball, knotted deep inside of my heart. I can feel my chest throbbing as I push down my feelings, so I take a few deep breaths and look around. The village square is surrounded by golden banners with symbols of hearts and crowns on them. How ironic the setup is, with everything being so different from last year.

The decorations and the sun combine to create a nearly blinding effect, so I easily catch the dark flash out of the corner of my eye. I turn around, but there's nothing but a banner fluttering in the wind. Probably just a bird, I think, turning back to face the curtain. Still, I can't battle down a sense of unease growing in my chest. An emotion that I can't battle down, no matter how hard I try.

I remember my wish for something to happen. If something does happen, I just hope that it's good.

Father nudged my shoulder. "It's time." We marched up the steps and went out onto the stage. Father stood behind the stand and I took my place beside him just as the curtain began to rise.

I battled down a wave of nausea. You can do this, Lucas. Just get this over with. One minute at a time. You just have to stand there...

---

I perched on a rooftop, hiding in the shadows of its slope. Vengeance rested in its sheath across my chest. When the time was right, it would come out. I replayed my future in my head. Me on top of the stage, listening to the king ramble on with a meaningless speech. Then, when he was done and everyone was forced to stand and clap, I would jump down. Take out the two guards on either side of him, then I would turn to him...

It would be over quickly. I'd do it as cleanly as possible. Then, at last, his tyrannical reign would be over. The people in the crowd would applaud, but not because they were forced to...

When the king and the prince went onto the stage, I drew my bow and fired two arrows swiftly and silently, striking down the two guards standing by the door. Then, I pulled out a chain and swung it at a supporting beam. I then swung across the gap and landed gracefully on the cloth roof of the pavilion. I then crept to the edge and peeked over.

The king had started his speech. "Greetings, loyal subjects, I am King Arcane, I have personally come to deliver this speech to you, blah blah blah," or something like that. My attention was more on Prince Lucas.

He looked incredibly uncomfortable, wearing what seemed like a tight-fitting tunic and standing out in front of all of the villagers. I didn't blame him. Then a thought struck me. When we kill the king, what will happen to the prince? I didn't want to kill Prince Lucas. I didn't have anything against him. It was highly unlikely that Slinger would let him have the throne. So what would happen to him?

I shook my head. I couldn't think about this any longer. The speech was coming to a close. I shifted my position so that I could easily drop down. The king finished his speech and raised his arms with a flourish, and all of the villagers in the square stood up and applauded.

Now. This is my chance. Do it now!

I lunged from the roof, pulled out Vengeance, and held it up, ready to strike, my aim straight and true at the kings' heart.

---

I stood on the pavilion next to Father. When he started to raise his arms, I was ecstatic. That was how he finished all of his speeches. I waited until all of the villagers were standing and applauding, then I turned to walk (totally not run) off of the stage.

But then I heard shouts and screams, and whipped around just in time to see a hooded figure plunge down from the roof, holding a deadly sharp knife, aiming straight towards Father.

It was like time slowed down. I heard someone screaming, and realized it was me. I could do nothing but watch as the blade sunk into flesh, and blood spurted everywhere. But it wasn't Fathers blood, I realized, as time started to speed up again. It was the blood of a guard.

The guard lay still, blood pooling around him. He was dead.

The hooded figure stood frozen for a moment, like everyone in the crowd, then let out an animalistic roar. Pulling out the dagger, they leaped for Father, only to be blocked by another guard. One slash of the blade, and that guard fell dead as well. More guards were coming, and more were being slaughtered by that hooded figure.

I closed my eyes. I couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't breathe. Then I felt a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and looked up to see one of Father's honor guards there, leading me away as quickly as possible. "Come on, prince, come on," he muttered, steering me off of the stage and down an alleyway. Then, he called out, "I got him!"

I only realized something was wrong whenever five more men came out from different hiding places in the alleyway. "What about the king?" One asked. The soldier holding me grunted. "Got away, I suppose. First Mate was still killin' their way to him last I saw."

The men sneered, and I felt the breath leave my lungs. I had to run. I bolted towards the stage, towards real guards, but one of the men grabbed me and pulled me back. "OH, no you don't, prince," He snarled, pulling me back further down the alley. I kicked and punched at him, but nothing I did really bothered him. He pulled out a cloth and pressed it over my face. I made the mistake of breathing in.

Immediately my head started to feel woozy. My legs felt like jelly. The last thing I heard was, "...doesn't kill the king, this'll make it worth it..." and then I fell to darkness.