The Tyrant's Reward

Chap IV: A daughter for a kingdom

As night began to take over the goddess of joy's terrain, bright flames emitting from the kingdom could be seen twisting and twirling through the dark fabrics of the night sky. Not to confuse these luminous rays for festive lights or any bonfire in honor of their youngest ruler, for these burning infernos will forever scar the history of the kingdom of Euphrosyne.

Inside the castle's throne room, the beheading of the Elkmans and their accomplice was being held by a restless tyrant who had recently invaded their beloved home country. Luckily, a mysterious figure made their appearance by blocking the emperor's blow. Eyes from all across the room would widen in shock at the unexpected arrival, yet none of them were as shook as the emperor. Of all people, he never would have thought, that description of the youngest princess would belong to the very woman he danced with in the royal library. He flashes his teeth with a sinister grin before he thrusts his sword further against the two long spikes held above the princess' crown only for them to disperse from one another. The emperor couldn't help but smile at this hilarious yet tragic turn of events, especially when it involved his brother's emotions. The enemy knights, baring witness to the scene, were ready to pounce at the girl but were stopped once the disapproving hand of their leader prevented them from taking further action "Do not get yourselves involved, men. I will be taking care of this one" he takes his stance. The princess looked both confused and angered at the man as she readies herself for combat. "Why are you doing this?" She shouts "My people and I have done nothing to you yet here you stand welding a sword to one of my subject's head! Just what has this country done to deserve such devastation?" The emperor scoffs "What do I want? Why to take over this land of course" he smiles "But why!? Why this land?...Why on tonight of all nights..?" Despite her last words being spoken so softly, the emperor was still able to hear it, "Why? Was there something special tonight?"he grins as his finger pressed the edge of his smile, pretending to be clueless to what Flaky was referring to. "Yes, there was!" Enraged, Flaky charged for the emperor's head. He dodges the attack then holds her wrists up in the air in suspension "Takes more than getting pissed off to defeat m-" she quickly impales the emperor's muzzle using her head, releasing her from his clutches as well as leaving him with a lot of quills to the face. Although he was injured, the emperor shrugs the pain off with a smile, "I changed my mind. YOU, princess, shall have the honor of being the first to die by my hands" he cackles menacingly. Gulping doing her fears, she does her best to stop trembling as her opponent readies their blade.

Soon enough, their battle had begun. They glared into each other's eyes as they circled around one another, resembling two tigers fighting over territory, waiting for their opponent to make a move. The emperor takes the lead and swings at the princess only for her to block it with one of her spikes. He takes another swing only to miss her tender neck by a hair. Flaky took the initiative by delivering the first effective blow to the emperor's neck, but due to her spikes being too dull to slice his throat, a dark bruise appeared on the left side of his neck. From that point on, the two continued to go back and forth with their attacks, almost all of them barely scraping the other. The more hits the emperor took, the more impatient he became. As for our dear princess, she was starting to lose stamina as well as her strength. When the emperor had grown tired of this dispute, an idea came to mind; "I have a question for you, dear princess" She attempts to pierce his torso but fails "I don't want to hear another word come out of that wretched mouth of yours" she shouts. Oh she was angry, yet it appears that the more she displayed her rage, the more amused the emperor seemed. "Have you perhaps encountered one of my men during your time at the party?" He questioned as he slowly rested his sword to his side while displaying a weak smile. It was clear he was tired and this would've be the perfect time to take advantage of the situation, but Flaky was just as exhausted as him. So she listened. "He's...a kind soul...that one, although I sometimes find this kindness of his to be...impractical, but it seems this time it has been of great use to me" at first she thought of the young merchant from earlier, but she found it hard to see his actions as 'kind'. So she continued to listen to satisfy her curiosity. "That...d-depends...c-care to give me...a description?" She panted. "A young man who's about my height, carried a sword to his side, wore...a dark green cloak? " The princess froze in shock as soon as the word cloak was mentioned. Flaky was almost immediately heartbroken. The man she encountered in the library, the man she had just fallen for, turned out to be the one responsible for the destruction of her land. She couldn't help but let go of her only self-defense to bury herself in her pain. Seeing this opportunity, the emperor quickly took action and charged at her at full speed. In the blink of an eye, the emperor wrapped her own arm behind her back and held his blade up to her throat. "Flaky..." Giggles whispered hopelessly as she glanced at her dear sister being held in a deadly embrace "Looks like you've lost, princess. You should know to never let emotions, let alone ones of love, get the best of you in combat" Flaky was too weak to even respond. All she could do was shed tears. The emperor smirks in satisfaction "Tell you what, as a thanks for entertaining me up until now, I shall allow you to speak to your loved ones one last time" Flaky glances over to her lower left to see the king clenching his teeth and her sister and childhood friend both in tears "However, I do advise you make haste. For you see, I've lost quite a lot of time thanks to you. You are not the only one whose head needs to be chopped" he comments. So in her last moments, she puts on a faint yet bright smile. In a quivering voice, she speaks in a low soft yet sorrowful tone: "I am...s-so sorry...for failing all of you" Petunia and Giggles both shrieked in horror as the emperor placed his sword further against her throat when all of a sudden: