September 20, 2022

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Bronagh's death made Beelzebub reflective. He went to the Dublin Museum of Art, looked at the many portraits and paintings he had done through the years.

There was that one from 1509, of Henry the VIII standing before his throne, his finger out, uttering a curse. He dared to insult His King, called him a filthy demon. Of course, His King didn't care about being called a demon. His King was what he was. In the painting, His King had his arms folded, one leg forward, that superior look on his face. But filthy? His crooked lip said, Really? Bathing was His King's favorite pastime. Lavender oils, imported soaps, an incense burner with mellow fragrances. During a full moon, he luxuriated in his dragon form and swam through all the bays and into the Irish Sea. King Henry the VIII probably thought water was the source of the sweating sickness.

His King was in his human form in this painting. Because His King had been in  his human form during this confrontation. He only had to announce a curse: "No son of yours will survive to rule England. All of your wives will live under a dark cloud. Your military will sink into a quagmire of Hell. My minions will be happy to greet you."

Then His King stood back and let his demon minions obey his orders. Beelzebub considered putting His King in the Satan-carcass-cloak, but His King had been wearing a black silk robe at the time, with red cording and silver embroidery. So Beelzebub painstakingly painted each curl and turn of the stitches.

Ah, and that painting there was the one he had done with Anne Boleyn whispering in one of His King's ears while Jane Seymour bowed her head and batted her lashes at him. His King was in black dragon form in that one. A fictional meeting, so a fictional appearance. He could be as flamboyant as he wanted highlighting each scale.

King Ao Guang wouldn't let Beelzebub hang the one of Anne Boleyn getting decapitated or the one of Jane Seymour withering away in her sickbed. But King Ao Guang was fun. He let Beelzebub stalk the ailing King Henry. He even turned a blind eye when Beelzebub decided to sneak into the crypt and eat his decayed intestines.

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