Scales and Swords ✓

26: The Man Behind The Mask

He was slender and tall and walked like the world was his garden. His mask resembled the face of a skull. But covering his nose was what looked like the bleached beak of a bird and protruding from his forehead were the horns of a bull. Where human teeth should have been, were bigger, sharper and more teeth than that of a human. The mask was stained in an odd arrangement of vibrant colors. What was sinister however, was not the horrid fusion of animal and human fragments but the constancy in their fusion, it almost seemed like they weren't one of many but parts of one. It was someone's skull, and he was wearing it.

As he pranced into the room, the crowd parted and made way for his arrival. The ordinary citizens didn't quite catch onto what was actually happening at the moment. The woman gushed at the sight of him and man stared with jealousy. He sure knew how to hold one's attention. He walked right up to the king who stared him down with a knowing gaze. I itched to make a move, but Rowan held me by the waist and held me in place. "Wait," he whispered.

When the strange man met the king at the foot of his throne, he bowed and leaned forward to pick up the king's hand. King Arthur did not flinch nor pale. Fear, it seemed, was a foreign concept to him. The man touched the king's hand to his mask, as if to kiss the king's hand, when an arrow left the bow of a guard and headed right for the man's chest. The man lifted his free hand and waved almost leisurely. The arrow crumbled to ashes before it could reach its target.

The man raised his hands in surrender, mockingly, and turned to address the now frightened crowd. "Forgive me for interrupting your evening, ladies and gentlemen. I only wanted to say hello to a dear old friend of mine."

"Cyr," the king said, rising to his feet. "You are not welcome here, not in this manor and not in Kreatier, not anymore."

"I didn't forget your majesty, I never can."

"Then why are you here, Cyr? Are you not satisfied and back for revenge?"

"You've always thought so little of me." He chortled.

"Then what for? You were never one to initiate friendly visits."

Both man spoke so calmly, one would think they were friends though that couldn't have been further from the truth.

"I came to give a warning," Cyr announced, spinning on his heels to face the crowd. "In a year's time Kreatier will fall. Not by my hands, nor by the hands of a foreign enemy but by the very hands of your beloved ruler. You need not a seer to tell you this. Kreatier is not what it used to be, it ceased to be since his coronation. He has brought nothing but disorder and war. He does not care for the people. He will be Kreatier's downfall, not if you the citizens act now. I know one day, Kreatier can be beautiful again."

Hugh met my eye from across the room. He shook his head. My gaze travelled back to Cyr and it made sense.

"He's not really here," I muttered.

"No, he is not," Rowan said.

Cyr began his way out the door as his body slowly faded and he vanished completely. Whispers awoke and filled the silence.

"This ball," announced Aglovale, "is over."

~~~

That day while Ingram and I were on duty, Berenice, KB and Hugh, had gone down to the dungeon to interrogate the pursuers. But they only ended up wasting six hours on nothing, the pursuers did not let out so much as a peep. And so KB turned them back to stone after they decided we'd take them back to the castle and crack them there. But that night, they disappeared. Hugh said they could have been Cyr's accomplices and he used them to locate the manor. KB said nothing could break a gorgon's petrification curse, only the tears of the gorgon who had cursed them. Wherever they were, I hoped they were safely transported. Though, that wasn't the most pressing matter at the moment. The king had received a threat, a threat of rebellion. Security was increased ten-fold, our journey back to the castle we were escorted by Aglovale's guards.

The whole journey back all I could think of was Cyr and what he had said. There was some truth to what he had said, I had to admit. A few years back, Kreatier's soil was cursed to never bare a decent produce. And since then, many stopped farming because no one wanted to buy what farmers had to offer. The demand for meat increased rapidly, and so did the price. But animal meat was as good as what they ate. People were paying ridiculous amounts for poor-quality meat. And then the mages came in and decided to artificially produce food. Food that wasn't healthy but looked and tasted good and satisfied hungry tummies. The fairies were worked to the bone, they were blamed for not being able to help the plants, and so they worked day and night to grow enough for a community's consumption. There were famines after famines. It was especially hard on Florials who weren't being fed enough from the soil. Our basic needs were strained and depleting.

Everyone said it was the king's fault. If he never decided to go to war with Ogalsia we wouldn't starve and need to work till we dropped for meat as good as rotten. If he never started the war, the Kuebiko wouldn't have cursed our land. The Kuebiko wouldn't have cursed my family. I didn't want to blame him, I didn't want to hate him, but he gave me so many reasons to. And yet, I just couldn't. I couldn't let myself despise him. I needed him, if I wanted to get my family back.

Is it selfish of me, to put my family before all else?

I was the bad guy. Because bad guys don't care about everyone else, only about what they can gain. Bad guys conspire to betray even their friends. Bad guys go on, even though they know they are horrible people.

A/n: ooh a rebellion. oh no did i just make this a dystopian fiction??