Court of Snakes: This Desert Cage

Soul Dance - The Palace | December of the Second Year

Terran watched The King move closer and closer to Alvena and tensed. If The King did anything reckless there, he would be dead, and Councilman Wolff looked more and more agitated by the moment. He stumbled just a little on his feet, and Terran suspected he was drunk enough to be stupid but not drunk enough to be out of his mind. When The King lifted his mask to kiss Vena's exposed lips, Terran reacted. He dashed through the dancing crowd, but it proved difficult. People kept twirling in front of him, and when Terran caught a glimpse of The King again, their lips touched.

Councilman Wolff had seen and charged his way through the crowd, a juggernaut. When he reached The King, his fist flew at full speed at The King's face, and the brittle, paper mache mask shattered with the first hit.

Councilman Wolff was a large man, so it was not a surprise when The King hit the floor hard, taken completely by surprise. The partygoers scattered and stepped back from the scene, an organic ring of bodies around Vena, The King, and Wolff. Wolff huffed and puffed, his shoulders rising and falling under his pelt. He, too, looked not entirely sober, and Terran pushed his way to the edge of the circle to get a better look.

"Get up, Jester!" Councilman Wolff barked and shoved Vena out of the way, a little too roughly, as The King stood. The blow had cut his lip, and blood dripped onto his clothing and the alabaster. Rather than recoiling, The King began to laugh, a side-splitting laugh. Wolff rushed to him and yanked him from the floor with brute strength and roared, smoke practically coming out of his ears, "Who the hell do you think you are?"

The King merely chuckled. Terran was about to stop The King from doing anything stupid but held still. The King locked eyes with him in the crowd, and he nodded. Something else was afoot. This perhaps was a part of his plan.

"You know me," The King replied, "a rich man, royal, privileged, but I am also a poor man, the oppressed, the beat, the starving. I am a beggar, but I am also a king." The King took his mask and threw it to the ground, causing it to shatter. Those around him saw his face, and the ones who recognized him let out gasps of surprise or fear.

Ah, so this was all for show. It was a declaration. Terran stepped back only just a little to let his master work.

"Do you recognize me?" The King continued. "I am your brother. You threw me out, cast me into the shadows, a place where you forget things. Have you forgotten me? You all have heard the horror stories about who the guards suspect I am, how I was born of the filth of Dza'ya, how I am a ruthless killer. Would you have believed that I am one of your own?"

"Lexus? Lexus Haywood?" Wolff muttered as The King ripped the Councilman's hulking hand from the collar of his costume. Wolff studied his face, recognizing him from some time long since gone.

What was he doing? Declaring war? Terran ran his teeth over his lip. After all the times that Lexus had told him to lay low, this was going to result in a brawl.

"The shadows are more powerful than you would like to admit. I know the misery that your beloved Sovereign," The King spit the word out with such spite that a few people flinched, "has caused the people. Do you even look beyond the district walls? The Council is supposed to keep all people safe but are drowning out the voices of those that suffer most. Lies leak from his mouth like rats from a hole. I was on the Council! I saw all of the destruction he caused, and it's not just him..."

Talbot stood and a few guards moved to apprehend The King. The commander of the Elite Guard entered the room, the heaviness of his boots an indicator of his presence. Terran heard the doors to the throne room open and felt Perseus and Parisa rush up behind him. Lord Talbot held his fist up, signaling his men to hold. He smiled underneath his mask. It seemed this display amused him.

"It's the whole damn thing," The King continued. "It's rigged. There are documents that only the Sovereign's eyes are allowed to see, books and codes from the beginning of Segeno, and I'm sure they hold all sorts of secrets. I was onto it all, and what did Talbot do? Threw me out! He claimed that I had seduced his wife and driven her to madness. We all know who did that."

When The King locked eyes with Talbot, Terran saw Parisa second guess herself, her eyes darting from the stranger's face to her father's. Terran wanted to reach out and take her hand, comfort her, but now was not the time.

"I come to deliver a message. This wasn't my intent for the night, but, heh," The King chuckled to himself, "plans change. Opportunities present themselves. My heart's not done me wrong before. Change is coming, the truth will be exposed, and Justice will rain down upon those who are guilty. Brace yourselves. I suggest you all practice some penance for your sins and take some time to educate yourselves. Otherwise, you might just end up regretting everything you've ever done."

This was a declalration of war.

The King drew a card. Everyone flinched and gasped, afraid of the power. "I'm sure you all have heard of these," he continued. "You think I am a demon, cast out from hell and given glorious dark powers by Satan himself."

"Enough of this," Talbot spat. He had become bored. "Get him out of my sight."

Guards swarmed, pushing through the partygoers and royalty, and The King placed the card on his hand, igniting the paper and his flesh. The guards paused for a moment as a sword materialized in The King's hand. Some chuckled as The King turned the sword.

"Ready men?" Commander Crevan barked, drawing his blade. "Dice him to bits."

The King struck with such ferocity that the guard jumped back. Eight swords erupted from his back and The King used his weapons as extensions of his body to slash at all his targets at once, like some sort of metal tarantula. It was beautiful, really. Sweat dripped from Parisa's brow as she danced with The King, dodging blows to get close with her dagger. Perseus knelt in the crowd and drew his rifle, cocking the gun and waiting for an opportunity to fire. Terran watched all of Commander Crevan's men fall like flies. With one swift motion, The King grabbed Parisa's arm and spun her in front of himself, blocking Perseus's shot.

"You shoot, and she dies," he said. He turned and pointed to Councilman Wolff. "Now you... you remember me, don't you, you bastard? You took everything I loved away from me. If you touch her again, I'll end your life."

"I'll kill you," Wolff spat. "I'll kill you, you insolent—"

Parisa threw her head backward into The King's and knocked him back. The King's nose began to bleed and Parisa swiped at him with her dagger. He barely dodged the blow and pulled another card from his pocket. In an instant, golden, shining wings burst forth from his shoulder blades, tearing his costume. He flew through the doors at the front of the throne room, shattering the glass, and Parisa and Perseus followed, whistling for backup. Terran knew they would not catch him. No one would be able to catch The King.