A Smash of Kings

Chapter 20: In The Dark

"I don't know how you are so blind to this, Princess!" a Senator yelled, standing up from his seat in the back of the half-bowl, "If we concede to Marth and his army, thousands of Sarasa lives will be spared. If we don't—"

"Then what will happen, Senator?!" Princess Daisy spat back as she stood in front of her throne. Now, facing the fuller part of the Senate, "I'll tell you what happens if we surrender; Marth and his army will lay waste to the city. Your plan that will save thousands will kill millions."

In the seat next to Robin, Lilah stood up. Robin turned his attention away from the frustrated Flower Princess and looked up and to his left as Lilah began, "Your Majesty, the Senate already voted to pull out of the war tenfold. Your stubbornness to comply with the Senate goes against our democracy—!"

"Sarasaland isn't a Republic, Lilah," Daisy interrupted quickly, "The Senate can vote on matters, but the Crown will intervene on matters such as war. The Ylissi Army is a threat, and I must act because you lot do not see it."

"A threat to whom? A dead King on the other side of the world?" Lilah challenged. To Robin, it seemed that, anytime Lilah spoke with that loud, passionate voice, Daisy lost more support from the Senate, "This war has devastated our economy and our people. We need to pull out before it's too late. Marth's forces are stationed in Fort Birabuto, Your Majesty. If they wanted to, they could begin an attack on Sarasaville in three days."

Daisy sighed and looked at Robin, who still had his attention on Lilah. She nodded her head slightly towards him and asked, "Senator Ramsay, what do you think? You've been awfully quiet recently."

Slowly, Lilah looked down at Robin, patiently waiting for a response with the rest of the room. Robin stood up slowly and looked at the room. When he looked Lilah in the eyes, he noted to himself that he knew them from somewhere. Quickly, he looked at Daisy and said, "With all due respect, Your Majesty, I agree with Senator Lilah; it would be more beneficial for Sarasaland to surrender. The High King is dead, his rebellion is over; we had no reason for fighting in the first place, and we definitely don't have one now."

"High King Mario's death is the exact reason why we need to keep fighting," Daisy contradicted, "We are the last hope for the Realm of Smash; if we pull out now, we've doomed the Realm and ourselves."

"This is ridiculous..." Lilah muttered under her breath as the meeting became adjourned. She stood up and walked towards the exit. Closely following behind, Robin caught up with her as she left the building and walked down the sandy road, "By choosing not to acknowledge the Senate, she's become a tyrant. All because of some idiot rebels in the Mushroom Lands."

"Tyrant is a strong word... Reserved for only the cruelest rulers... No doubt that our Flower Princess is abusing her power, however," Robin posed. Lilah stopped in the middle of the road and sighed deeply. When she lifted her head again, she did not turn back to meet Robin's gaze.

"If Daisy chooses to serve the High King over Sarasaland, we must do something," Lilah sighed sadly, "Before it's too late, and the Ylissi Army sacks the city."

****

Clad in his green cap, Kirby walked down a large, spiralling staircase a few days after Meta Knight's arrest. In those days, Kirby asked Cloud to use his ravens to send a letter across the Orange Ocean. Kirby wished to tell King Marth of the current events in Smashville and to stop sending letters until further notice. When Kirby reached the bottom of the sandstone staircase, he saw a Gerudo in the prototypical King's Guard armor. Because of Kirby's status as a Lord and War Hero, the Gerudo did not say anything when he went inside the dungeon. The door closed itself behind Kirby as he looked around the small room that was only lit by torches. He saw three cells, all with only one steel door. When he saw two guards by one of the doors, he knew which cell Meta Knight stayed in. Quickly, Kirby walked towards the door and took a torch from the wall. Turning to the guards, Kirby said, "I want some alone time with the prisoner."