Court of Snakes: This Desert Cage

Sleepless - The Tavern | March of the Third Year

"You killed him?"

Terran had led Vena to The King's tavern from the palace and told The King what had befallen her husband. The King's face rippled with expressions of shock and anger, but after a few moments of silence, he stepped forward and hugged Terran, a strong, heart-felt hug.

Terran hugged Lexus in return, and asked, "Are you all right?"

"Thank you," The King replied and stepped back awkwardly. "Which card?"

"Death, actually. He must have seriously had it coming."

"Let's walk," The King said, and then addressed Vena. "There are a few new books on my desk for you."

The King said nothing to Terran as they walked, and when they got to one of the Atsa watchtowers, The King climbed to the top, Terran following. When he reached its apex, he took a deep breath and smiled, and he seemed as though his soul had been released, like nothing was holding him down. "Can you sense the change, Terran? Freedom. Rapturous, glorious freedom. Justice sure is sweet, isn't it?"

"Is that what this is?" Terran asked, scooted to the edge of the abandoned tower, and looked out over the city. "Sometimes I wonder if we're being selfish, carrying out bloody revenge. Sometimes I hate Talbot so much that I... I begin to wonder."

"It's only revenge if you're only helping yourself." The King took out his cards. "These cards don't discriminate."

The King drew a card from the top of the deck, The Lovers, and put it at the bottom. He waited for a few moments, and when he pulled the bottom card out again, it had changed to the Knight of Cups. "When I see evil, Terran, and these cards are in my pocket, I feel the need to use them. When I don't, my heart tells me I've done something horrible, like I should have helped. We've seen the evils that Talbot has committed. When I was in the Council, he pushed against every act that would level the playing field for people. If there were no benefits for the Embassy, then he would fight it, and most of the time he would win, too. His pack of dogs, members like Wolff, would gladly follow. When your grandfather died, your mother was ready to shoulder the burden. It was... inspiring."

"One of my grandfathers was from Dza'ya. The other was from Naa'a." Terran watched a Mammoth lumber down the street and remembered where he had been years ago.

"Legendary. The first two men to be married and rule Segeno. Wasn't that same grandpa from Dza'ya the inventor of the washing machine?"

"And the hand mixer. Not to mention, he was the one who figured out how to repair those fancy ancient guns. Revolutionized the gunsmithing industry."

"Your mother inherited his morality, the perspective that most in the Embassy did not have. Suddenly, she was pushing new, great, life-changing ideas. Talbot fought it. He fought it hard, and he was the main reason your mother was consistently stuck in stalemates. Meanwhile, the people wandered along, sleepless, lost. Poverty has been getting worse. Soon, there will be no Atsa. Talbot is literally sucking the life out of people, like some vampire."

"I hear that."

"You're not killing him for yourself, Terran. You're killing him for the people. Who knows? Maybe the cards don't even have death in store for him. As long as you don't make it selfish, it's Justice."

Terran nodded, "I understand."

"So. You haven't checked in in a while."

"I'm at the peak of my relationship with Talbot."

"What makes you say that?"

"He told me to marry his daughter."

"Yeah, I'd say that counts as the peak."