Story dump

Chapter 8

Conrand's Massacre
(Original date: 7/4/22)

Warning: Slight gore

Conrand stared down at the entrance from their throne, their expression blank. Their crown sat crooked atop their messy, black hair, having been too overwhelmed to take care of themselves. They had been given task after task after task, all while having to learn proper etiquette despite being king. They leaned their head on their arm, waiting for their next task. A servant walked towards their throne, bowing to them. "Permission to speak, my lord." She said to them, the light from the windows behind them illuminating her dark brown hair, despite the thorny vines obscuring parts of the windows. They knew that this was another task of theirs, but they were not permitted to deny any of them. They sighed. "Granted." They said sharply, their tone dull. The servant uprighted herself before speaking. "There are more concerns about magic users being permitted to roam free. Some have suggested creating a device to nullify their magic." Conrand began to tap their fingers, growing irritated. They had heard this issue come up time and time again, and it had all been thanks to their outburst of magic a few months ago, which had ended up killing their father. "Denied." They said, their tone sharper. "But your highness, do you not wish to avoid what had happened thanks to your magic?" She asked, clearly attempting to persuade Conrand to accept. They straightened themselves, both hands now resting on the arms of their throne. "When I say denied," they said slowly. "I mean denied." The servant seemed utterly surprised. "But.. but my lo-" she started before Conrand stood up. "Silence." They snapped, the servant flinching in response. She was quiet for a moment, a hint of fear in her eyes as they felt their magic grow stronger. The two stared at one another before the servant spoke up. "You know what? I'm.. I'm not g-going to stand for this..!" She cried, now looking determined. Conrand tilted their head, intruiged.

"A-all you ever do is d.. deny the people's r-requests!" She stammered, clearly still nervous. "Even.. even though th-they're.. important i-issues!" Conrand grew more irritated the more the servant in front of him spoke. "I deny such requests because I do not wish to oppress those who have magic. They do not have the same magic I do." They snapped, shadows beginning to crawl up their ankles. The servant clenched her fists, appearing to grow angrier with them. "You're.. you're just making excuses! Y-you're a t.. tyrant..!" She cried, Conrand now no longer able to keep themselves silent. "SILENCE!" They boomed, though the servant ignored their orders. "No! I.. I'm done l-listening to you!" She snapped, the shadows around Conrand creeping up above their waist and over the windows, slowly dimming the room. "P-plus!" The servant hastily added. "If.. if you kill m-me.. the.. the whole k-kingdom will h-hate you.. and.. and want you dead..!" Conrand was silent, thinking to themselves. The servant had a point, seeing as the villagers would only see it as an unprompted murder. Unless.. "Unless.. I destroy everything.." they mumbled, the room now dark as their magic engulfed it. The servant's eyes widened, a look of terror now on her face. "Wh.. what..? What.. do you.. m-mean..?" She stammered, Conrand still keeping their blank expression. "Can't you guess..?" They asked. "It means that everyone you know will die.. including you." The servant was still for a moment before running to the throne room's entrance, but their magic quickly blocked the door. She yelped, falling backwards before a shadowy spike pierced through her chest. She twitched for a moment before she looked at Conrand, a look of fear still on her face as they noticed the life draining from it. She looked as though she wished to speak, but her breathing came to a halt as her eyes glazed over.

The spike retracted from her body, blood dripping from it as they looked down at the pool of blood beneath her. They felt slightly sick at the sight of her body, therefore they looked up towards the entrance. They knew they had to commit to this path that they had gone down, otherwise they'd be killed themselves. They sighed, reluctantly walking out of the throne room, wincing as they accidentally stepped on the servant's arm with a quiet cracking sound following. They continued on, the shadows parting to let them through the doorway unharmed. They squinted at the sunlight, placing an arm over their eyes to try to dim everything, seeing as they had been inside for what had felt like years. They looked down at the bustling streets, the people all seeming so happy and carefree compared to how Conrand was. "Oh! Hey Con!" A voice said, snapping them back to reality. They looked to the voice, not recognizing who it was that was speaking to them, though they responded anyways. ".. Greetings.." they said, their tone blank and slightly shaky. "Finally was able to get outside eh?" He asked, Conrand nodding in response. "That's good. You really look like you need the fresh air and sunlight.." the stranger said, smiling. Conrand froze for a moment as they recognized who was speaking to them. It was their cousin-in-law, Ko, who was on their mother's side of the family. They felt guilty for having to kill them, but they kept themselves together and held a straight face. "I guess.." they said, hearing Ko chuckle before speaking again. "Why are you outside anyways?" Conrand went silent, thinking to themselves. ".. No reason.." they mumbled after a moment, looking away from Ko and back at the bustling village streets. "Ah.. I see.." Ko replied. "Well, I'll leave you to it! I gotta get home! See you Con!" Conrand nodded, hearing Ko walk away. They sighed after a moment, attempting to shake off their guilt.